TOLEDO, Ohio — Ty Gibbs wasn’t going to settle for anything less than a win.
The 17-year-old from Charlotte, North Carolina, held off Sam Mayer in a two-lap overtime sprint to win Saturday’s Herr’s Potato Chips 200 at Ohio’s Toledo Speedway.
It marks his first ARCA Menards Series East win and fifth in the last two years between the ARCA Menards, East and West series.
The victory came in the first race back for ARCA Racing since Phoenix Raceway in February due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Gibbs didn’t forget, during the layoff, that he led 122 laps at Phoenix only to end up third after a series of late cautions. Nor did he forget about his runner-up finish at Toledo last year, one of eight career runner-up finishes across the three series.
“It’s really good to come back out here and get a win,” said Gibbs. “I was able to move up a spot, which is always a fun time.”
Gibbs qualified third but quickly put the No. 18 Toyota in front. He lost the lead to Mayer in a three-wide battle with a lapped car as they came to the first of two scheduled breaks on lap 75, but held off Mayer in a fierce battle before the final break on lap 150. A late caution set up a third round, which went to Gibbs again.
“I had a fun time out there racing; I learned a lot,” said Gibbs. “A little bit of drive off, I thought I was pretty loose there and that’s what hurt me and where (Mayer) was a little bit faster. Once my guys fixed that, it was still a little loose and I had to work for it which is always good. I had a good learning experience today.”
Mayer settled for second, followed by Bret Holmes. Rev Racing teammates Chase Cabre and Nick Sanchez finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Mayer, the defending East champion, holds a two-point lead over Gibbs in the championship race. Sanchez is 13 points back in third.
Justin Carroll, Parker Retzlaff, Taylor Gray, Ryan Repko and Bob Pawlowski rounded out the top 10.
ARCA Menards East Series
Toledo Speedway – Toledo, OH
Herr’s Potato Chips 200 – June 13, 2020
1. Ty Gibbs
2. Sam Mayer
3. Bret Holmes
4. Chase Cabre
5. Nick Sanchez
6. Justin S. Carroll
7. Parker Retzlaff
8. Taylor Gray
9. Ryan Repko
10. Bob Pawlowski
11. Giovanni Bromante
12. Max McLaughlin
13. Mike Basham
14. Mason Diaz
15. Brad Smith
