ARCA WEST: Nick Joanides struggles to get going in an intriguing last-place battle at Sonoma
by Ben Schneider / LASTCAR.info Staff Writer
Nick Joanides’ car sits on jackstands during the opening laps as the team works to diagnose their mechanical problems (PHOTO: Brock Beard/@LASTCARonBROCK)
Nick Joanides finished last for the 3rd time in his ARCA Menards Series West career in Friday’s General Tire 200 at Sonoma Raceway when his No. 77 King Taco / Weber’s Auto Parts / REXMD Toyota fell out with suspension issues after 9 of 64 laps.
The finish came in Joanides’ 37th career West Series start.
Despite a relatively low career start total, Joanides has been a recognized name in the West Series garage for over two decades. He made his series debut at Fontana in 2004, where he picked up his first last-place finish after an early crash. His second came nearly 19 years later when another accident took him out of a race at Irwindale Speedway. Friday marked Joanides’ first ARCA West start of 2025 and his first with Joe Nava’s Performance P-1 Motorsports team since Shasta in 2023.
With Sonoma being one of ARCA West’s most prestigious races, a total of 26 cars appeared on the entry list. While all 26 started the race, at least two teams were left scrambling to prepare their cars. Spencer Gallagher, making his first West Series start since 2011, sustained crash damage in practice, forcing his team to start last as they prepared a backup car for the race. Jonathan Reaume’s Strike Mamba Racing entry, meanwhile, was a brand new car that the team had just acquired earlier this week. The car was first unloaded without any number decals, then practiced and qualified with a makeshift “72” on the door made out of orange tape, before finally getting the full decals applied for the race.
Per live timing and scoring, all 26 cars took the green flag, but Joanides pulled right back into the pits on the opening lap. The Performance P-1 Motorsports team put the car on jackstands to attempt a driveshaft repair, while Joanides remained in the car. Eric Johnson Jr. also brought his car into the pits to repair a broken axle, putting him multiple laps down from the start. “Coming to the green, I've never had it happen, but we broke an axle before the green even dropped,” Johnson explained. “So, [we] tried to survive the best we could. The guys did a great job fixing that as quick as they could, and I think we started the race like about five laps down really. So, [I] was just in recovery mode trying to make sure we get a good read.”
Joanides was able to rejoin the race around Lap 14, leaving him last behind Johnson, but quickly returned to the pits as he remained unsatisfied with the repairs. Joanides eventually rejoined the race for a second time on Lap 23.
Meanwhile, 2018 race winner Will Rodgers, making his first ARCA West start since 2020 for Naake-Klauer Motorsports, went off course before stopping on Lap 17 with terminal mechanical issues. With the ARCA West team haulers parked on the track’s dragstrip, Rodgers’ car was parked behind the wall just before the first pit box at Turn 11. Three crew members later came by to unload their remaining fuel in the cell so they could more safely transport it home. According to the crew, the car had snapped an oil pump belt, causing the damage to the engine.
This meant that if Joanides could complete 17 laps or more, Rodgers would secure the last-place finish. However, after the halfway break, Joanides was seen on pit road out of the car, indicating that he would not return for the second half of the race. He ultimately completed nine laps, more than enough to avoid a “did not start” status, but not enough to overtake Rodgers. The finish also made Performance P-1 Motorsports the first repeat last-place finishing team in the 2025 ARCA Menards Series West season, as Mariah Boudrieau also finished last in Nava’s No. 77 at Colorado National Speedway earlier this year.
Following Joanides and Rodgers up the running order was Dale Quarterley, who suffered misfortune on Lap 28 as he spun out from the Top Five and hit the wall between Turns 4 and 7. While Quarterley was able to refire and nurse his car back to the pits to prevent bringing out a caution, the damage proved terminal and forced him to settle for a disappointing 24th-place finish. Todd Souza was the next to fall out of contention, pulling behind the wall with a suspension issue after running 36 laps.
Rodd Kneeland, Eric Johnson Jr. clear the air after late-race crash
Rodd Kneeland’s No. 68 begins to spin after contact with Eric Johnson Jr.’s No. 5. Robbie Kennealy’s No. 1 approaches the incident shortly before sustaining terminal damage of his own. (SCREENSHOT: FloRacing)
Rounding out the Bottom Five was Rodd Kneeland, who was on the worst end of a frightening three-car accident in the closing laps. Kneeland was tagged in the left-rear quarter-panel by Johnson, who was still five laps down after the repairs at the start. This sent Kneeland spinning and collected Robbie Kennealy in the process. Kneeland and Kennealy were checked and released from the infield care center.
After the race, Johnson visited the No. 68 team’s pit box to clear the air with Kneeland following the incident. “I don't put my cars together, currently. Obviously, [team owner] Jerry Pitts and their whole team does that, but I've been through the process enough before to know how much time and effort goes into it. And you know, we caught him with a group of the lead pack cars. He let them go, and he went high on the front stretch. . .I went to his inside and [it was] just kind of a misjudgment call. . .At the end of the day, I don't like tearing cars up, especially when we're not racing for the lead. So, I just wanted to make sure he was okay. And luckily, he is.”
Johnson ultimately finished 17th.
Kaylee Bryson’s debut hampered by recurring electrical issues
Kaylee Bryson attempts to refire her No. 17 Chevrolet after pulling off course in turn 4 with 55 laps to go, the first of several moments where she’d experience a brief loss of power. (SCREENSHOT: FloRacing)
One of the more notable drivers on Friday’s entry list was USAC Silver Crown race winner and 2024 Trans-Am SGT class champion Kaylee Bryson, who made her ARCA debut in the No. 17 Chevrolet for Cook Racing Technologies. Bryson qualified 20th, revealing during the media bullpen that a “sensor issue” prevented her from setting a faster lap time and required the team to spend time attempting to diagnose the issue.
Unfortunately for Bryson, those same electrical issues resurfaced during the race. While the FloRacing broadcast caught her off the pace at least three times, Bryson indicated post-race that the problem was even more prevalent throughout the afternoon. “I think it it shut off like 12 times during the race. So, that definitely stung a little bit, but we also got to make a lot of solid laps at the same time….So, we feel good about it. I think once we fix all the wiring issues, and you know, that stuff's always fun, but once we get that in order, I think we'll be set.”
When asked if she’d want to return to the series on another road course or give an oval a try, Bryson replied, “I’ll probably do a little bit of both if I get the choice.” Bryson’s perseverance through the electrical trouble paid off, as the USAC and Trans-Am regular finished her ARCA debut just one lap down in 14th, the first car off the lead lap.
William Sawalich wins in thrilling three-wide finish
William Sawalich leads Christian Eckes and Alon Day across the line in what is perhaps the closest 1-2-3 finish in Sonoma history. (PHOTO: Aaron Giffin / TobyChristie.com)
While the box score at the front of the field showed that William Sawalich led every lap, hardly unusual for Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 at the ARCA level, that stat does absolutely no justice to the finish to Friday’s race. A late caution for Kyle Keller stopping on track after reportedly running out of fuel gave Alon Day and Christian Eckes a chance to steal the win on a one-lap overtime restart. Day put the bumper to Sawalich coming up through Turns 1 and 2, allowing Eckes to take the lead, which he’d hold until Turn 11. With Eckes and Day battling on the last lap, Sawalich earned an opportunity to retake the lead through the hairpin corner, and the three remained close together through the final slight left-hander to take the checkered flag three-wide, with Sawalich just 0.066 seconds ahead of Eckes and 0.156 ahead of Day.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
26) #77-Nick Joanides / 9 laps / mechanical
25) #88-Will Rodgers / 16 laps / mechanical
24) #32-Dale Quarterley / 27 laps / crash
23) #3-Todd Souza / 36 laps / suspension
22) #68-Rodd Kneeland / 50 laps / crash
2025 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES WEST OWNERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 6 of 12)
1st) Performance P-1 Motorsports (2)
2nd) Cook Racing Technologies, Brad Smith Motorsports, Rise Motorsports, Jerry Pitts Racing (1)
2025 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES WEST MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 6 of 12)
1st) Toyota (4)
2nd) Chevrolet, Ford (1)
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Click HERE throughout the 2025 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.
2025 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES WEST DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 6 of 12)
