by Ben Schneider

LASTCAR.info Staff Writer

Logan Misuraca finished last for the 1st time in her ARCA Menards Series career in Saturday’s Sunset Hill Shooting Range 150 at Pocono Raceway when her #63 CELSIUS Chevrolet fell out with crash damage after completing 7 of 60 laps.

The finish came in Misuraca’s 3rd career series start.

Like many drivers in the sport today, Misuraca began her racing career at a very young age, first competing in quarter-midgets at New Smyrna Speedway as early as age four. The Floridian then began racing go-karts throughout her childhood, eventually moving up to legend cars at age 12 and then late models at 18. She also traveled the country as a competitive dancer until 2020, when she decided to go all in on racing. That year, she won New Smyrna’s Pro Late Model track championship and Rookie of the Year, leading her to move up to a limited schedule in ARCA and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with Lira Motorsports in 2021.

Despite sponsorship conversations through social media with Camping World CEO Marcus Lemonis, Misuraca’s plans fell through. Her ARCA debut would not come until the 2022 ARCA Menards Series East season-opener at New Smyrna. Driving in place of an ill Daniel Escoto, Misuraca finished seventh at her home track for Josh Williams Motorsports in a #60 entry that was fielded in collaboration with Lira. While this would be Misuraca’s only race start of the year, she spent plenty of time behind the wheel as a driver for the NASCAR Racing Experience while continuing the search for sponsorship. In October, Misuraca founded 1inaMillion.Life in an effort to raise mental health awareness in the world of racing.

This season, Misuraca has competed in three races so far for Spraker Racing Enterprises, driving the team’s #63 Chevrolet with sponsorship from CELSIUS Energy. At Daytona, Misuraca qualified an impressive ninth, but faded to the back of pack in the opening laps when her car slowed on the backstretch. She eventually recovered to finish on the lead lap in 18th. In her second start at Talladega, an early multi-car accident collected Misuraca after just 23 laps, leaving her with a 28th-place finish. Unfortunately for Misuraca, her return to ARCA this weekend was even more short-lived as she only completed seven laps before suffering a tire failure, leaving her with a last-place finish.

In total, 25 cars appeared on the entry list at Pocono. While all would take the green flag in the race, Christian Rose did not set a qualifying time, leaving him last on the grid. Tim Monroe and Don Thompson did not take to the track for practice, though both cars were able to set a time in qualifying, slotting in 19th and 23rd respectively. A.J. Moyer anchored the field during practice, while Brad Smith secured the 24th starting spot with a shakedown lap several seconds slower than his best lap in practice.

Following Misuraca up the finishing order in the race was Monroe, who padded his lead in the LASTCAR ARCA Drivers’ Championship with a mechanical retirement after 11 laps. A crash for Bryan Dauzat saw his #75 entry place 23rd, while Thompson suffered mechanical issues of his own that ended his day after 31 laps. Rounding out the Bottom Five was Frankie Muniz, who lost 13 laps in the middle of the race due to power issues that required a battery change.

Up front, Jesse Love led the way in a strong overall day for Venturini Motorsports, extending his championship lead with another win. Connor Mosack placed second while Andres Perez de Lara finished third, taking advantage of Muniz’ misfortunes to move up to second in the championship points standings.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

25) #63-Logan Misuraca / 7 laps / crash

24) #12-Tim Monroe / 11 laps / mechanical

23) #75-Bryan Dauzat / 18 laps / crash

22) #45-Don Thompson / 31 laps / mechanical

21) #30-Frankie Muniz / 47 laps / running

2023 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES MANUFACTURERS CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet (6)

2nd) Ford, Toyota (2)

2023 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES OWNERS CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Fast Track Racing (3)

2nd) Smith Brothers Racing (2)

3rd) Coughlin Brothers Racing, KLAS Motorsports, Our Motorsports, Spraker Racing Enterprises, Tamayo-Cosentino Racing (1)

2023 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP