Jesse Love won a chaotic-ending Atlas 100 at Illinois State Fairgrounds on Sunday afternoon. The event featured only a practice session prior to the race as crews worked the one-mile dirt oval all morning due to overnight rains. The lineup of 21 cars was set based on 2022 owner points.
Love, piloting the No. 20 JBL Toyota, led all 73 of the completed laps to score his second career ARCA Menards Series victory. In nine races the 17-year-old has 12 top five and seven top 10 finishes in ARCA’s premiere series.
Love, while concerned about the conditions of Kofoid and Haugeberg, mentioned he always looked up to Kofoid growing up and mentioned how it was an honor to beat him on track.
“I’m really grateful that Buddy is alright,” Love said. “That was wicked, and I don’t think any of us saw the lapped car [of Haugeberg], but thankfully he is alright [as well]. Buddy was my favorite dirt driver growing up, and I’ve always looked up to him, so it’s an honor to beat him today.”
Buddy Kofoid was credited with the runner-up despite being involved in a scary crash with Bryce Haugeberg on what was eventually the final lap. Both Kofoid and Haugeberg walked away.
“I’ll probably be sore over the next few days,” Kofoid said. “Even when I was two [car-lengths] behind Jesse, I couldn’t see him. Having windshields makes [seeing] kind of tough, and the glare makes it 10 times worse. I’m glad [Haugeberg] is alright, and I can only assume what happened [with him], but it’s just unfortunate.”
Due to local restrictions with a nearby concert, ARCA had to conclude the race no later than 5:00 p.m. ET. Unfortunately given where the Kofoid and Haugeberg crash happened in the timing of things, it ultimately ended the race.
2020 race winner Ryan Unzicker took home the third position after starting 20th. The driver overcame a spin in turn four on lap 18.
Sammy Smith and Nick Sanchez rounded out the top five.
Rajah Caruth, Daniel Dye, Taylor Gray, Ken Schrader and Bryce Haugeberg took home top 10s.
Nick Sanchez leaves Illinois State Fairgrounds leading the driver points by 11 points over Daniel Dye. Caruth, Greg Van Alst, and Toni Breidinger sit top five in points.
The next race for the series will be August 28th at Milwaukee Mile for the Sprecher 150. Coverage of that event will air live on MAVTV and FloRacing.
About Me: Brett has been following the sport of NASCAR since the beginning of the 2006 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Since Brett was 13, he has had a passion of chasing a job in sports that not many get the opportunity of doing. He has been in the NASCAR media since the middle of the 2010 season. Since then, he has been a part of many racing podcast shows to improve his talents. He has written for racingonfuel.com and theracingwheel.com. Currently, Brett writes for motorsportsnat.com and TracksideChatter.com. You can find him on twitter @NASCAR_Brett.
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