ARCA / ARCA EAST: Basham takes last in ARCA’s first Dover combo race
by Ben Schneider / LASTCAR.info Staff Writer
Mike Basham finished last for the 7th time in his ARCA Menards Series career and 4th time in his ARCA Menards Series East career in Friday’s General Tire 150 at Dover Motor Speedway when his No. 12 NASCAR Technical Institute Toyota fell out with overheating issues after completing 4 of 150 laps.
The finish came in Basham’s 90th career national ARCA start and 7th career East Series start.
Basham’s most recent appearance on this site came at Bristol in 2023, last year’s East season finale and also an ARCA/ARCA East combination race. That Bristol race featured several LASTCAR-related parallels with Friday’s. In addition to finishing last in both of these races, Basham’s last-place finish puts him into a tie for the East Series Drivers’ Championship lead, just as it did at Bristol last season. (Moeller claimed the title on a tiebreaker with more Bottom Five finishes.)
The No. 31 Chevrolet of Rita Goulet also featured heavily in that LASTCAR battle at Bristol, as Rita’s husband Tim Goulet took over driving the car at the very beginning of the race. Despite going behind the wall as the race was starting, Tim eventually emerged from the pits to improve a few positions and ensure a last-place finish for Basham. Similarly, on Friday, Rita’s No. 31 appeared to be the first possible “start-and-park” as FS2’s scoring indicated “PIT” on Lap 5, just before Basham pulled behind the wall. However, the No. 31 eventually returned to the track and was also responsible for the first caution on Lap 28 when Rita spun entering Turn 1. After the first race break, the No. 31 was involved in another incident with Tim behind the wheel, this one terminal. While the driver change was presumably made at the race break, it is unclear when or why the change was made, as even the FS2 broadcast booth appeared unaware of the change until being informed by ARCA officials shortly after Tim’s accident. While the wreck occurred on Lap 63, the No. 31 car had only completed 35 laps by the time it pulled behind the wall for good.
While this event had historically been exclusive to the East Series, the 2024 renewal was a combo race with the national ARCA tour, boosting the car count significantly from the 15 entries in the previous two Dover races. This time, 26 cars appeared on the entry list. Just as they did at Pensacola, Brad Smith and Dale Shearer withdrew from the event, leaving only 24 to start the race. The Goulets’ was the only entry to not record a qualifying time, leaving Rita with a 24th-place starting spot. Basham anchored the field among those who took to the track, setting a time of 27.691 seconds, more than half a second behind the next slowest qualifier, Michael Maples.
Following Basham and Goulet up the running order was Tanner Reif, who pulled behind the wall after completing 65 laps before a clutch issue ended his race. Rounding out the Bottom Five were Christian Rose and Amber Balcaen, who both retired due to crash damage on Lap 75. Balcaen spun on the frontstretch trying to avoid Rose and made heavy contact with the inside wall, causing “a non-displaced fracture in her left foot” per Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass. As of this writing, Balcaen has been cleared by NASCAR to compete in Saturday’s race at Kansas despite the injury.
At the front of the field, Connor Zilisch took victory in his third career ARCA-sanctioned start and only his second on the national series tour. Zilisch’s Pinnacle Racing Group teammate, Carson Kvapil, finished close behind in third, while Venturini’s Gio Ruggiero spoiled a potential PRG 1-2 by finishing second.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
24) #12-Mike Basham / 4 laps / overheating
23) #31-Rita Goulet / 35 laps / crash
22) #42-Tanner Reif / 65 laps / clutch
21) #32-Christian Rose / 74 laps / crash
20) #22-Amber Balcaen / 74 laps / crash
2024 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES OWNERS CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 4 of 20)
1st) Fast Track Racing (2)
2nd) Kennealy Keller Motorsports, Peterson Motorsports (1)
2024 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES EAST OWNERS CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 2 of 8)
1st) Peterson Motorsports, Fast Track Racing (1)
2024 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES MANUFACTURERS CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 4 of 20)
1st) Chevrolet, Toyota (2)
2024 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES EAST MANUFACTURERS CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 2 of 8)
1st) Ford, Toyota (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 DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 4 of 20)
2024 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES EAST DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 2 of 8)
