Dylan Cappello celebrates in victory lane after winning Friday night’s ARCA Menards Series West race at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Photo: ARCA Menards Series West
Before Friday night, Dylan Cappello hadn’t raced in the ARCA Menards Series West since 2015.
Based on his performance during the race at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, you never would have known it.
Cappello, a veteran racer who works for Front Row Motorsports as the lead engineer for Zane Smith in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, scored his first West Series triumph in dramatic fashion aboard the No. 88 Ford Mustang owned by Mike Naake.
“Man it’s just crazy. This is just kind of a one-off deal, just come out to have fun with family and friends,” said Cappello, who has raced countless times at The Bullring in both a Late Model and a Modified. “It turned into a win. It’s out of control. It’s crazy. I don’t even know what’s happening right now.
“This car is so fast. Mike Naake has a great piece.”
The first 120 laps of the event were dominated by series championship leader Sean Hingorani, who started from the pole and appeared to be in a league of his own throughout most of the event.
However, things took an unexpected turn during a caution period on lap 120 when a fire erupted from the right-front of Hingorani’s car. He eventually had to come to a stop so safety officials could put the fire out, which also resulted in him giving up the race lead.
That gave the top spot to Cappello, who had started eighth and had slowly worked his way through the field to second before Hingorani’s misfortune.
It wasn’t a cakewalk from there for Cappello, who had to survive not one, but two more restarts as the race leader before he got to celebrate in victory lane. The final caution came with two laps left in the scheduled 150-lap distance after Hingorani slowed to a stop with a flat right-front tire.
The overtime restart proved to be no problem for Cappello, who quickly cleared second-place Trevor Huddleston before driving to his maiden West Series triumph.
“These guys are animals on restarts and I was kind of struggling getting through gears all night,” Cappello said. “Man, just got through the gears just good enough and I got a good entry into (turn) 1. It all came together. I felt like I made 30 mistakes on the last two laps, but it all came together.”
While Huddleston wasn’t the driver celebrating in victory lane Friday night, his runner-up finish was a personal victory. Entering the race second in the championship, Huddleston took a big chunk out of Hingorani’s lead in the standings after Hingorani finished 16th.
“At the end of the year we all want that championship,” Huddleston said. “Sean had a rough night tonight with a mechanical failure. We needed this night. To come home second to Dylan, congrats to him, amazing talent, but I’m going to take this as a win for us.”
Tanner Reif equaled his season-best finish in third, with his younger brother Tyler Reif in fourth, and Eric Nascimento, Jr. in fifth.
Kyle Keller, Todd Souza, Robbie Kennealy, Kaden Honeycutt, and R.J. Smotherman rounded out the top 10.
Only two races remain in the 2023 ARCA Menards Series West season. The next stop on the schedule is the series’ return to California’s Madera Speedway for the first time since 2009 on Saturday, Oct. 21.
ARCA Menards Series West
Las Vegas Motor Speedway – Las Vegas, NV
Star Nursery 150 – October 13, 2023
1. Dylan Cappello
2. Trevor Huddleston
3. Tanner Reif
4. Tyler Reif
5. Eric Nascimento, Jr.
6. Kyle Keller
7. Todd Souza
8. Robbie Kennealy
9. Kaden Honeycutt
10. R.J. Smotherman
11. Eric Rhead
12. Greg Potts
13. Dustin Ash
14. David Smith
15. Mariah Boudrieau
16. Sean Hingorani
17. Nick Joanides
18. Monty Tipton
19. Takuma Koga
20. Bobby Hillis, Jr.
21. Bradley Erickson
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