WEST RICHLAND, Wash. — Race fans who waited more than two decades to witness an ARCA Menards Series West event at Tri-City Raceway were provided a glimpse into NASCAR’s future during Saturday’s NAPA Auto Care 150.
Tyler Reif and Sean Hingorani, who entered the evening separated by five points in the West Series standings, were the two cars to beat through all 150 laps. Reif would be the one to prevail, besting Hingorani during a late-race restart to earn his second consecutive West Series victory.
Trailing Hingorani for most of the night, Reif was didn’t think he’d be able challenge him if the race had gone uninterrupted to the checkered flag. One last restart with 18 laps left gave Reif the opening he was looking for. A perfectly timed restart from the outside line allowed him to make the race-winning pass on Hingorani.
“The laps were counting down faster and faster,” Reif said. “Those cautions surprised me, but we did what we had to do during those last 75 laps. We practiced on the outside a little bit this weekend and it paid off tonight.”
Consistency has been a theme for Reif during his sophomore West Series campaign.
Aside from an 11th-place showing during the season-opener at Phoenix Raceway, Reif has not recorded a finish outside the top five all year.
Reif finally earned his first victory of the 2024 campaign at Shasta Speedway after he led all 150 laps from the pole. Reif and his team needed patience to keep the momentum going from Shasta. After losing the lead to Hingorani early, Reif followed his championship rival around Tri-City’s unique, tri-oval layout before a caution for Jess Havens’ spin enabled Reif to take the lead back in the closing laps.
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