Late caution helps Fenhaus steal Calypso 150 at Iowa
Jul. 15—William Sawalich had the fastest car in practice and was the top qualifier for the Calypso 150 on Saturday.
Sawalich also led more than 150 laps but lost the race in overtime as Luke Fenhaus passed the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota on a late restart to win the 17th ARCA Menards Series race at Iowa Speedway.
It was the second time this season Fenhaus passed Sawalich on the final laps to win a race he barely held an advantage in.
"I knew I had to win the race," Fenhaus said about the overtime attempt. "[Sawalich] was giving me the bottom and you can get ran into so easily on the top. I had to hit my restart right and not spin the tires. I got into [Turn] 1 really well and used the racetrack ahead of me. It was enough for the win."
It was the first win of the ARCA Menards Series for Fenhaus. He's won twice in the ARCA Menards East Series despite leading just four total laps.
Sawalich claimed his fourth top-five finish in five ARCA Menards Series races.
Jesse Love, the overall points leader, settled for third in his No. 20 Toyota. It was his seventh top-five finish in nine races.
The rest of the top five featured the No. 6 Chevrolet of Lavar Scott and the No. 25 Toyota of Toni Breidinger. Both Scott and Breidinger claimed their second top-five finish this season.
Breidinger, who celebrated her 24th birthday yesterday, had her best start in the series as she began the race in fourth.
Frankie Muniz, the driver of the No. 30 Ford, began the day second in the points standings. He started the race in eighth and finished ninth for his seventh top-10 finish of the season.
Andres Perez de Lara, the driver of the No. 2 Chevrolet, began the day third in the standings. He qualified sixth but was moved to the back of the field just before the race began.
Perez de Lara finished sixth for his seventh top-10 finish of the season.
Christian Rose was the final driver on the lead lap and he finished seventh in his No. 32 Ford. He began the day fourth in the standings and ended it with his fifth top-10 finish.
Sawalich was trying to give Joe Gibbs Racing their fourth straight win at Iowa, but Fenhaus spoiled the party with a late-race pass in overtime. A caution was called with two laps to go in the race.
"I was just trying to get the top to work," Fenhaus said. "I was free in and free off, but it was also hot and slick all day. To come away on top means a lot. This is a big one for us and even sweeter to have all my friends and parents here. It was a special one."
Notes: Muniz made his Iowa Speedway debut. He's a former actor who played Malcolm on the TV show "Malcolm in the Middle." ... ARCA was the very first series to race at Iowa Speedway. The series debuted at the track in 2006. ... Love is just 18 years old but has six career wins in the series, including four this season. His average finish is 5.8 ... The first caution came out 10 laps into the race and there were three cautions in the first 32 laps. ... Scott's car caught on fire during the practice session, but he still qualified third and finished sixth in the race.
