ARCA WEST: Eric Nascimento one of several drivers hit by mechanical woes at Sonoma
by Ben Schneider / LASTCAR.info Staff Writer
Eric Nascimento’s car was rolled behind the pit wall after an early ignition issue. (PHOTO: Ben Schneider)
Eric Nascimento finished last for the 1st time in his ARCA Menards Series West career in Friday’s General Tire 150 at Sonoma Raceway when his No. 4 Impact Transportation / Phillips Brothers Fabrication / RJ's Paint Shop Toyota fell out with mechanical issues after 8 of 47 laps.
The finish came in Nascimento’s 31st career ARCA West start.
Nascimento made his West Series debut at Sonoma five years ago, when he ran the 2021 race with Bill McAnally’s No. 19 team and finished 14th after a late mechanical issue. Since then, he has competed in the series for his family’s Nascimento Motorsports team. In 2022, Nascimento drove only the two road course races, finishing 13th at Portland International Raceway in the team’s No. 4 and seventh at Sonoma in the No. 04. Sebastian Arias and Sean Hingorani also drove the primary No. 4 car throughout the season and combined with Nascimento to finish ninth in that season’s ARCA West Owners’ Championship.
In 2023, Nascimento ran the full season, while his younger brother Ethan also drove nine races in the team’s second car. Nascimento’s full-time effort was highlighted by a runner-up finish at Irwindale, a pole position at Madera, and a seventh-place finish in the final drivers’ standings. In 2024, he scaled back to part-time but equaled his career best with another second-place finish at Roseville. Nascimento then scaled back even further in 2025, running just three races with a best finish of sixth at Sonoma.
This season, Nascimento ran the season-opening race at Kern, where he again equaled his career best, finishing second for the third time in his West Series career. His second start of the season came Friday at Sonoma, where his No. 4 car only lasted eight laps before his day came to an early end. Nascimento began slowing on the backstretch before his car came to a halt just before the pit road entry with an ignition issue, leading to the first caution of the race. The team’s replacement ignition box did not fit, preventing Nascimento from returning to the track.
Dave Smith’s No. 77 never returned to the track after practice and remained behind the wall, while Nascimento’s No. 4 was parked immediately behind Smith’s car. (PHOTO: Ben Schneider)
In total, 23 cars appeared on the entry list. Due to the withdrawal of West Series veteran Bobby Hillis Jr. and apparent mechanical issues for Dave Smith, only 21 took the green flag. While Smith recorded a practice time good enough for 20th in the 22-car field, he was unable to take to the track for qualifying. Hailie Deegan also had mechanical issues in practice, as her stalled car brought out a red flag during the session and prevented her from making a qualifying attempt as well. Nascimento, meanwhile, made it onto the track at the very end of the session, but was not able to start his hot lap before time ran out in the session. Deegan, Smith, and Nascimento each took provisionals and lined up by owner points in 20th, 21st, and 22nd, respectively. David Smith’s lap time of 1:27.894 anchored the 19 cars that recorded a qualifying lap.
Mechanical issues strike both of Bill McAnally Racing's full-time teams
Hailie Deegan’s crew looks under the hood of her No. 16, which had already sustained significant right-front damage early in the race (SCREENSHOT: FloRacing)
Patrick Staropoli’s fifth-place finish was the lone bright spot for Bill McAnally Racing. Following Nascimento up the running order in 20th and 19th were teammates Hailie Deegan, who endured one of the toughest weekends of her racing career, and Mason Massey, who also battled mechanical issues in the second half of the race.
In her media availability Friday morning, Deegan was optimistic about returning to her home state of California and a track where she performed well in her first stint in the West Series. In 2019, she qualified on pole position at Sonoma in a West race that included then-current and future Cup Series drivers Noah Gragson, Daniel Hemric, Austin Dillon, Cole Custer, and Ryan Preece.
Unfortunately, Deegan was unable to replicate that past success. While she placed ninth in practice, her car stopped on track between Turns 10 and 11, interrupting the session with a red flag. Deegan’s team was unable to make repairs in time for qualifying, forcing her to start 20th. When the green flag dropped, Deegan’s struggles continued. By the end of Lap 2, her car had sustained heavy right-front damage, which, combined with continued mechanical issues, eventually forced her out of the race after 29 laps. After debriefing with her team on pit road after the race, Deegan politely declined to give interviews, only saying, “I’ve just had a really bad day.”
By the time Deegan had pulled behind the wall, Massey’s No. 19 had also fallen victim to mechanical trouble. After appearing to overdrive Turn 7, Massey’s car came to a complete stop, bringing out a Lap 28 caution. Unlike Deegan, however, Massey was able to finish under power, completing 35 laps total.
Rounding out the Bottom Five were Rodd Kneeland and David Smith, who were both involved in single-car incidents. Kneeland initially went off course in Turn 10, then lost even more time doing nearly a full lap off the pace with a subsequent flat tire. Smith, meanwhile, spun out with seven laps to go, bringing out the final caution of the race. Both drivers still finished under power, with Kneeland completing 41 laps and Smith completing 44.
At the front of the field, Nitro Motorsports teammates Sam Corry and Mia Lovell started on the front row and ran first and second for the entire race. While Corry led every lap, Lovell briefly took the lead in Turn 11 inside of 10 laps to go, but overdrove the corner and handed the lead back to Corry on corner exit. Eric Johnson Jr. finished just behind the Nitro duo in third, a marked improvement over the mechanical issues he battled in last season’s Sonoma race.
Despite absence from entry list, Dale Quarterley remains active in ARCA garage
Veteran driver Dale Quarterley (far left) looks on as his team prepares Jeff Anton’s No. 44 car on Friday morning. (PHOTO: Ben Schneider)
Noticably missing from Sonoma’s West Series entry list for the first time since 2021 was Dale Quarterley, who has yet to make an ARCA start in 2026. Despite this, Quarterley was still at the track on Friday, as Jeff Anton’s No. 44 team’s pit box had Quarterley’s Van Dyk Recycling sponsorship decals, while many pit crew members also wore “1/4 Ley Racing” crew shirts.
“I used to run Anton’s team back in the Busch North days,” Quarterley explained after the race. “He decided to go racing again, hooked me up, and we put a deal together. We had a good effort. We were up to third at one point, we just got pushed off the racetrack a little.” Quarterley added that Anton’s eighth-place result was “still a good day” for the team. When asked about future plans for the remainder of the season, Quarterley said he hopes to get back behind the wheel himself at Lime Rock Park in two weeks, but getting Anton’s entry prepared remains his priority. “I'm supposed to run Lime Rock, but I'm trying to get [Anton’s] deal fixed [and] focus on this. We'll see what happens.”
DID NOT START
22) #77-Dave Smith
THE BOTTOM FIVE
21) #4-Eric Nascimento / 8 laps / mechanical
20) #16-Hailie Deegan / 29 laps / mechanical
19) #19-Mason Massey / 35 laps / running
18) #68-Rodd Kneeland / 41 laps / running
17) #05-David Smith / 44 laps / running
2026 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES WEST OWNERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 7 of 13)
1st) Strike Mamba Racing (2)
2nd) Rise Racing with Earnhardt-Shearer Racing, Central Coast Racing, Shockwave Motorsports, Performance P-1 Motorsports, Nascimento Motorsports (1)
2026 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES WEST MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 7 of 13)
1st) Toyota (4)
2nd) Chevrolet (3)
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Click HERE throughout the 2026 ARCA season to view the full drivers’ standings for both the ARCA Menards Series and its East and West divisions. You can also find the manufacturers’ and owners’ standings for all three series HERE.
2026 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES WEST DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 7 of 13)
