It’s race 8 of the ARCA Menards Series, as we get to our first road course of the season for the main series, with last time out Connor Zilisch taking the win at the Calypso 150 in Iowa, where, after the race, William Sawalich was not happy, saying he “lost respect” for the Mooresville, North Carolina driver after the last restart when the 2 collided before turn 1.

Another part of drama was between Venturini driver Kris Wright getting into Cody Dennison, racing for CW Motorsports after his announced plans for the rest of the season in East and the main series. Wright and Dennison collided, with the #93 TimCast Chevrolet SS being destroyed in the process. Dennisons stint with CW Motorsports ended after this wreck, as Dennison will be racing for Fast Track Racing in the #11 in all main races outside of the East Combo races, where he’ll slot in the 10 while Zachary Tinkle takes driving duties in his chase for a championship for Fast Track in the east series.

26 cars have entered for this Friday’s ARCA Menards Series Zinsser SmartCoat 150, with the 3 of Todd Souza and 13 of Tyler Reif withdrawing from the race, being replaced by Dale Quarterly in the 4. Notable entries include Brad Perez in the #10 for Fast Track, Daytona outside polesitter Tim Richmond in the #27, the #30, which has not been announced, Chris Golden in the 86, and Andrew Patterson in the 95.

Zinsser SmartCoat 150 ENTRY LIST

2- Andres Perez

3- Todd Souza

4- Dale Quarterly (LATE ENTRY)

6- Lavar Scott

10- Brad Perez

11- Cody Dennison

12- Mike Basham

13- Tyler Reif

15- Kris Wright

17- Marco Andretti

18- William Sawalich

20- Gio Ruggerio

22- Amber Balcean

25- Toni Breidinger

27- Tim Richmond

30- Conor Daly

31- Rob Pellosie

32- Christian Rose

35- Greg Van Alst

44- Thomas Annunziata

48- Brad Smith

55- Brent Crews

86- Chris Golden

95- Andrew Patterson

99- Michael Maples

03- Alex Clubb

06- Nate Moeller

(People italicized have withdrew)

Zinsser SmartCoat 150 RACE PREDICTION: Marco Andretti

I mean, you have to pick Mario’s grandson on a road course. Sure, Marco hasn’t had the best luck at road courses this season (example, see the COTA truck race), but I believe Marco can finally break thru this weekend at Mid Ohio.  The 2 time IndyCar winner has shown speed, getting a top 10 at Sonoma. Expect Marco to run top 5 all day and finally break through for his first win in a NASCAR sanctioned series.

RACE UNDERDOG- Dale Quarterly

Now, Dale has only raced once this season at Daytona, ending in a wreck. The #4 has shown speed at the road courses, and I expect him to be able to get his first top 10  this season.

The Zinsser SmartCoat 150 starts at 6:00 PM EST/5:00 PM CT on Fox Sports 2 on Friday.

Images: Rob Branning/ARCA Racing