ARCA EAST: Fast Track’s No. 12 Toyota goes back-to-back as Sorah finishes last
by Ben Schneider, LASTCAR.info Staff Writer
Presley Sorah finished last for the 1st time in his ARCA Menards Series East career in Saturday’s Music City 150 at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway when his No. 12 Tatanka Sauce / Layin Coin Podcast Toyota fell out with brake issues after completing 20 of 150 laps.
The finish came in Sorah’s 2nd career East Series start.
Sorah’s racing career began at the age of 10 as he competed in karting events in Indiana, including at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Like many of today’s drivers in NASCAR, Sorah also honed his racecraft virtually through iRacing, competing in the eNASCAR Ignite Series in 2018 and working his way up to the Monday Night Racing Pro Series, where he won a championship in 2022. In 2023, Sorah began competing in late model events and earned the opportunity to participate in this past January’s preseason ARCA test at Daytona. In March, he made his ARCA debut with Fast Track Racing in the East Series race at Five Flags Speedway, finishing 14th of 16 drivers as electrical issues sidelined him after 42 laps.
In total, 18 cars appeared on Nashville’s entry list. With no withdrawals and a short enough car count, all 18 started the race as expected. Sorah ranked 15th of the 18 drivers in practice and improved to 14th in qualifying, clocking a time of 21.942 seconds. While Tanner Reif’s team was able to replace his No. 42 Chevrolet’s oil pan that had broken during practice in time for the race, they were forced to sit out qualifying, meaning he would anchor the starting lineup. The slowest of the 17 cars that took time was 2023 LASTCAR ARCA East champion Nate Moeller, who clocked in at 23.200 seconds.
At first, it appeared as if Sorah would avoid last place even if his entry was forced to “start-and-park.” On Lap 7, the FloRacing broadcast showed Reif on pit road with the hood up, signaling a return of the mechanical issues his team had been fighting in practice. At the same time, polesitter Giovanni Ruggiero spun out due to a flat tire, making hard contact with the outside wall. Both cars were able to return to the track to log additional laps, however, leaving Sorah in last place as he only completed 20 laps before pulling his Toyota behind the wall.
The first driver ahead of Sorah in the running order was Moeller, whose two Bottom Fives and Bottom Tens leave him in a tie with Sorah for the LASTCAR championship lead. Steering issues sidelined him after 23 laps, the same number of laps Brad Smith completed before handling issues forced him behind the wall. Reif then sustained terminal crash damage while trying to enter pit road, leaving him 15th with just 26 laps completed. Ruggiero rounded out the Bottom Five, completing 49 laps before bringing his car behind the wall for good.
At the front of the field, defending East Series champion William Sawalich took advantage of Ruggiero’s misfortune by dominating the evening, leading 145 laps on his way to another win. Isabella Robusto, whose one lap led was the only lap not led by Sawalich or Ruggiero, finished 2nd in her East Series debut after a spirited battle with Dover winner Connor Zilisch. Zilisch rounded out the top three, just ahead of Sorah’s Fast Track teammate Zachary Tinkle, whose fourth-place finish marked a new career-best for the driver from Speedway, Indiana.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
18) #12-Presley Sorah / 20 laps / brakes
17) #0-Nate Moeller / 23 laps / steering
16) #48-Brad Smith / 23 laps / handling
15) #42-Tanner Reif / 26 laps / crash
14) #20-Giovanni Ruggiero / 49 laps / crash / led 4 laps
2024 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES EAST OWNERS CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Fast Track Racing (2)
2nd) Peterson Motorsports (1)
2024 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES EAST MANUFACTURERS CHAMPIONSHIP
1st) Toyota (2)
2nd) Ford (1)
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 EAST DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 3 of 8)
