Jake Finch celebrates his first career ARCA Menards Series victory at Talladega Superspeedway. (Photo: Ricky Martinez | The Podium Finish)
LINCOLN, Ala. – Jake Finch earned his first career victory in the ARCA Menards Series on Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway after leading all 76 laps in the third race of the 2024 season.
The 18-year-old made his second superspeedway start of his career and started on the pole with the lineup determined by 2023 owner points. Last year, the Venturini Motorsports No. 20 Toyota Camry driven by Jesse Love won the owner’s championship and therefore secured the front-row spot for this weekend’s race.
Seeking redemption after the late-race Daytona accident earlier this season on the final lap while leading the race, Finch looked to regroup and rebound to a better outcome this time around at Talladega. As the event started, he quickly controlled the pace and had help from his teammate Kris Wright, who sat in second for the majority of the first half of the event. Through the first race break at Lap 39, the Venturini Motorsports driver led every lap and even lapped every car up to 15th place in the field.
There were no major accidents or yellow flags in the first 39 laps despite a couple of close calls. Jason Kitzmiller, piloting his own No. 97 entry, had smoke come out from underneath his car. He brought the car down pit road to the attention of his crew to assess the situation but left the race early in the going. He wound up finishing in the 33rd position.
Before the green flag flew again with 29 laps to go following the halfway break, Lavar Scott in the No. 6 Rev Racing entry came to a complete stop in Turn 1 one lap prior to the field going back green. He was relegated to a 31st-place finish, eight laps down.
Meanwhile, the race leader, Finch hoped for similar conditions in the final 29 laps with the two Venturini drivers holding the top two spots. Once again, there were no cautions during the remaining laps of the race despite a near miss with the No. 73 of Andy Jankowiak.
At the time, Jankowiak ran in the sixth position and was on his way to a career-best finish before he began losing power and eventually suffered a loss of fuel pressure. He started to roll on the backstretch and looked as though he would bring out a late race caution. Fortunately for the leaders, he made a wise move by pulling into the access area on the back straightaway, avoiding bringing out the yellow flag with six laps to go.
Finch held the lead during the final laps of the race and went on to win his first ARCA Menards Series victory following a dominating performance. In addition, Venturini Motorsports placed all cars in the Top 10 with Wright in second, Gus Dean in fourth, and Amber Balcaen in seventh before Toni Breidinger finished in the 10th spot.
It was also a special day for the Finch family as Talladega was the site of James Finch’s (Jake’s dad) first and only Cup Series career win as a team owner with Brad Keselowski, which came in 2009.
Wright, Tanner Gray, Dean, Christian Rose, Sean Corr, Balcaen, Andres Perez, Frankie Muniz and Breidinger rounded out the Top 10 spots.
Up Next: The ARCA Menards Series will head to Dover Motor Speedway next Friday night, live on Fox Sports 2 at 5 p.m./ET.
