Austin Theriault Steals the Win in the ARCA Race at Michigan to Take His First Win in the Series in His First Career Start

         In his ARCA Racing Series debut, Austin Theriault ran second most of the evening, but he was able to beat Mason Mitchell on the final restart to take his first win in the series in his first start. Mason Mitchell was dominate the entire afternoon, but the first round of pit stops of the race put Theriault in first after Mitchell struggled on his stop. Mitchell was able to pass Theriault and he looked to finish off the event, but a caution waved with twenty five laps to go. Mitchell looked to win on the restart, but Theriault battled him hard and took the lead. He was able to hold on and run away from Mitchell to take the win with ease. Theriault, who only made his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut a month ago, battled hard all day and proved he does have in future in auto racing. Mason Mitchell ran well for the second straight week, but he was forced to settle with a second place finish for the second straight week. Justin Allison ran really well all day and made the Alabama Gang proud with a third place finish in his first start at Michigan. John Wes Townley battled back from starting at the back to a fourth place finish. Spencer Gallagher was a factor all evening and he took a fifth place finish even with only seven cylinders powering his car late in the event. The race only had two cautions, but it was definitely a battle all evening. One key part of the race turned out to be a set of green flag pit stops during the middle of the event. Almost all drivers in the event had problems and the race was greatly affected by these stops. It turned out that Theriault, who had a clean stop under green, turned out to be the eventual winner. After a flying fast race at Michigan, the ARCA Racing Series was left with a great race where battles filled the evening.

        Mason Mitchell started on the pole. It was his second ARCA pole of 2014 and he was looking to take a win after a second place finish to Kyle Larson at Pocono. The race went green and Mitchell immediately jumped out ahead of the field as the pack raced behind him. Mitchell looked to run away, but the first caution of the race quickly waved on lap 4. Tom O'Leary lost an engine heading down the backstretch. Smoke billowed out of his car as he drove into the turn 3 grass. He came to a stop in the grass with a finished race due to a blown engine. Rick Clifton also slowed on track and went to the garage, but he would return to the event. Due to the caution being early in the event, only a little strategy was played during the caution. Austin Wayne Self, who made slight contact with the wall on the second lap, came down for fuel along with Grant Enfinger and a few other drivers. It would be interesting to see how this move worked for both of the drivers. The field was lined back up and Mason Mitchell easily held onto the lead when the race went green. Quickly, the laps began to click by in the race as Mitchell ran away. A few drivers battled within the top five, but they weren't even close to Mitchell. As the first round of stops approached, it looked like Mitchell would easily remain the leader, but only the stops would tell. The first round of green flag pit stops of the race came on lap 45 and they shook up the race completely.

         Spencer Gallagher led the charge of drivers onto pit road and his stop went cleanly, but that wasn't the case for other drivers. Justin Boston, who was running well in the race, came down in a lap or two and his car stalled. His crew tried to get it to fire, but they couldn't and Boston coasted all the way to the edge of pit road where his team had to push him back to his stall. It turned out to be a major problem for Boston and he lost a good many laps. Mason Mitchell came down as the leader and he had a slow stop after the jackman couldn't get the jack underneath the car. Mitchell lost a ton of time and he came off of pit road behind Austin Theriault, which meant Theriault would take the lead after stops cycled through. Meanwhile, Grant Enfinger and Austin Wayne Self, who pitted under the first caution, remained on the track. Self finally came to pit road on lap 56 and he had a few problems. First, a tire rolled away from his crew on pit road and he immediately earned a penalty. Then, he had run his car out of fuel and he couldn't get it fired again. He struggled to get it fired, but he was finally able to drive away. Grant Enfinger finally came to pit road on lap 58 and he had a problem. He had run out of fuel and he struggled to get his car fired. He finally did and drove away, but he lost a ton of time along with Self. This cycled pit stops through and Austin Theriault inherited the lead. He looked to drive away, but Mason Mitchell still had a rocket. Theriault hit traffic and Mitchell took complete advantage. He powered up to the leader and took the lead with ease on lap 65. It looked like Mitchell was wanting to stay out front, but only time would tell if he would.

         The laps began to click by once again and the race was still all Mason Mitchell's. Mitchell was hoping the race would stay green, but the second and final caution waved on lap 75. Justin Boston lost a motor on the frontstretch just in front of Mitchell. Smoke poured heavily out of Boston's car as Mitchell drove past. Boston coasted around the track and pulled into the garage with his race finished after a struggle of an evening. The caution brought some strategy for the six lead lap drivers on track. Spencer Gallagher, John Wes Townley, and Will Kimmel decided to come down pit road while Mason Mitchell, Justin Allison, and others stayed on track. It would be interesting to see how these moves worked for each of these drivers. The field was lined back up and Mason Mitchell lined up on the inside of Austin Theriault. The race went green for the final time and the two leaders ran side by side into turn 1. It looked like Mitchell would hold the advantage, but Theriault drove hard down the backstretch and bumped into Mitchell's side. This propelled Theriault to the lead while Mitchell fell right into his tire tracks. The rest of the field battled behind these two leaders while Theriault and Mitchell set the fastest laps of the event. Mitchell ran behind Theriault for a few laps, but he began to fall back. Theriault streaked away as only ten laps remained. The laps clicked by and the only hope for Mitchell to win was a caution. With five laps to go, the caution did not look possible. Theriault was setting a torrid pace as he passed the line for two laps to go. He blasted through all four turns and took the white flag with ease. Theriault looked like a veteran as he drove through the Michigan turns one final time and took the checkered flag in his first career ARCA race. It was a great victory for Theriault in his first start in the series and one that could push him to the top.

        Austin Theriault became a very notable driver one month ago when Dale Earnhardt Jr. tabbed him to drive his number five in a few NASCAR Nationwide Series races this season. The first race for him was at Iowa last month. Theriault ran quick all afternoon and kept his nose clean to take a fifteenth place finish. It was a nice show for him and he will have more opportunities, but he made the most of this one today. He took a very good Venturini Motorsports ride to a win in only his first start in the ARCA Racing Series. He beat the likes of Frank Kimmel, Grant Enfinger, Ken Schrader, Mason Mitchell, and John Wes Townley to take the win in grand fashion and prove he belongs. It looks like the name Austin Theriault will be said for years to come as his career progresses. Mason Mitchell walked away disappointed again with a second place finish, but he won't be held out of victory lane for too much longer. Justin Allison looked like the rest of the Allison's as he took a hard fought third place finish at Michigan. John Wes Townley came back from a bad finish at New Jersey Motorsports Park to take a fourth place finish at Michigan. Spencer Gallagher ran without a little bit of power late in the race, but he still managed to hold onto a fifth place finish. A few notables like Frank Kimmel, Grant Enfinger, Justin Boston, and Tom Hessert finished outside the top five, but they will have another chance to redeem themselves in the future. Mason Mitchell remained disappointed with a second place finish, but he managed to take the points lead away heading to Elko Speedway next Saturday. Speaking of Elko, the three eighths of a mile track will certainly hold some great racing next Saturday. Will Frank Kimmel repeat at Elko to take his first win of the season, will Mason Mitchell finally take his first series win, or will another driver head to victory lane at Elko? We only have to wait until next Saturday to find out this information and a whole lot more.
(More Stats Down Below!)




Cautions:
1st Caution: Lap 4- Tom O'Leary lost an engine heading down the backstretch and drove into the grass.

2nd Caution: Lap 75- Justin Boston lost a motor heading down the frontstretch. 

Top 5 Finishers:
1st: Austin Theriault
2nd: Mason Mitchell
3rd: Justin Allison
4th: John Wes Townley
5th: Spencer Gallagher

Notables Not in Top 5:
7th: Frank Kimmel
8th: Grant Enfinger
9th: Austin Wayne Self
11th: Ken Schrader
12th: Tom Hessert
21st: Justin Boston





Credits:
-My Own Notes
-Statistics:
http://www.arcaracing.com/
http://racing-reference.info/race/2014_Corrigan_Oil_200/A
-Image:
http://wwwcache.wralsportsfan.com/asset/2014/06/13/13733144/14f17262c708490d9144816957e395d6-Photo-1-350x450.jpg