Race Weekend Central

Willie Mullins Wins Pole for ARCA Season Opener at Daytona

Update (3:13 p.m. ET): Shane van Gisbergen will race tonight in the ARCA Menards Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway after Eric Caudell withdrew from the event with his No. 7. The withdrawal moves van Gisbergen up a spot in the qualifying results, allowing him to start after initially failing to qualify.

For the first time in his 12-year ARCA Menards Series career, Willie Mullins will lead the field to the green flag.

The driver of the No. 3 scored the pole for the 2024 season opener at Daytona International Speedway. 

The 43-year-old set a lap of 48.982 seconds to earn the pole and will share the front row with Tim Richmond, who also gets the best start of his career in second.

The remainder of the top five sees a pair of Venturini Motorsports teammates on row two, with Jake Finch rolling off from third and Toni Breidinger from fourth. Ryan Huff will start fifth in his No. 36. Both Huff and Breidinger are attempting to pull double duty this evening, also part of the entry list for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event.

See also
ARCA Preview: ARCA Daytona 200 at Daytona

Justin Bonsignore, Gil Linster, Bryan Dauzat, Isaac Johnson and Jason Kitzmiller round out the top 10.

Ten cars have failed to qualify for the race based on speed, including past NASCAR Cup Series winner and current NASCAR Xfinity Series rookie Gisbergen. The 34-year-old driver for Pinnacle Racing Group missed the race by one position.

Becca Monopoli, Hunter Deshautelle, Charles Buchanan, Dale Shearer, AJ Moyer, Cody Dennison, Brayton Laster, Takuma Koga and Mitch Gibson also failed to qualify.

ARCA Daytona Lineup

The green flag for tonight’s Daytona ARCA 200 is slated to begin at an estimated time of 10:30 p.m. ET, depending on the conclusion of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race preceding it. The race will start out with coverage being carried by FOX Sports 2 and will move over to FOX Sports 1 at the conclusion of its coverage of college basketball. The race was moved up a day due to the threat of inclement weather on Feb. 17.

About the author

Josh joined Frontstretch in 2023 and currently covers the ARCA Menards Series. Born and raised in Missouri, Josh has been watching motorsports since 2005. He currently is studying for a Mass Communication degree at Lindenwood University

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Drew

That’s a shocker for Shane van gisbergen who was supposed to race at Daytona for the arca race.

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