ARCA: Dale Shearer takes last place for the first time since last season’s comeback
by Ben Schneider / LASTCAR.info Staff Writer
PHOTO: Timecard100/@Nascarcatholic, via X/Twitter
Dale Shearer finished last for the 5th time in his ARCA Menards Series career in last Saturday’s Berlin ARCA 200 at Berlin Raceway when his No. 98 Shearer Speed Toyota fell out with mechanical issues after completing 3 of 200 laps.
The finish came in Shearer’s 41st career start.
Shearer’s most recent appearance on this site came at Madison International Speedway in 2019. After taking last in his season debut that day, he ran two additional races at Elko and Springfield, where he placed 14th and 17th respectively. Shearer then spent the next three seasons on hiatus from ARCA, only returning to the platform last year. While the record books show that Shearer ran a modest schedule of only four national ARCA races last season, it’s because Shearer was competing full-time in the ARCA Menards Series East, which included four combination races with the national tour.
In last season’s East Series, Shearer enjoyed some of the best results of his ARCA career, picking up a top-ten finish at the Nashville Fairgrounds and finishing sixth in the final drivers’ standings. The 2024 season, however, started on a less positive note, as Shearer was one of several drivers from a massive entry list who did not qualify for the season-opening race at Daytona. After withdrawing from the East season-opener at Pensacola, Shearer returned to the second superspeedway race of the season, finishing the race under power in 29th. He then scored a 19th-place finish at Iowa before anchoring the results sheet with an early end to his day at Berlin.
In total, 20 cars appeared on the entry list. All were able to set a qualifying time, with Shearer’s 21.473-second lap placing him 19th on the starting grid. Chris Golden, meanwhile, anchored the field in his No. 86 Clubb Racing Inc. entry.
In the race, Golden was next retirement after Shearer, running only two further laps before pulling behind the wall. According to Golden on Facebook, this was a planned start-and-park, but issues with the rev limiter forced him to park the car earlier than anticipated. This marked the second-consecutive race in which Golden was the second DNF of the event. Coincidentally, this was also the second-straight week where Brad Smith was the third DNF, as his day ended after 13 circuits. Rounding out the Bottom Five was a pair of Fast Track Racing teammates, as Matt Kemp and Cody Dennison saw their days end after 85 and 121 laps, respectively.
Up front, William Sawalich led nearly every lap, save for five following the first race break when Andres Perez briefly took the lead on the restart. Perez’ Rev Racing teammate, Lavar Scott, finished second, while Sean Hingorani took third in his return to the Venturini Motorsports team. Perez went on to finish fifth, good enough to slightly extend his championship lead over Greg Van Alst, who placed seventh.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
20) #98-Dale Shearer / 3 laps / mechanical
19) #86-Chris Golden / 5 laps / mechanical
18) #48-Brad Smith / 13 laps / mechanical
17) #10-Matt Kemp / 85 laps / mechanical
16) #11-Cody Dennison / 121 laps / mechanical
2024 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES OWNERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 9 of 20)
1st) Fast Track Racing (3)
2nd) Kennealy Keller Motorsports, Peterson Motorsports, Clubb Racing Inc., Brad Smith Motorsports, Rise Motorsports, Shearer Speed Racing (1)
2024 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 9 of 20)
1st) Ford, Chevrolet, Toyota (3)
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Click HERE throughout the 2024 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.
2024 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 9 of 20)
