The first wave of entries for the Lucas Oil 200 driven by General Tire for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards have arrived, including the defending race winner and the defending General Tire Pole Award winner.
Last year’s winner Michael Self (No. 25 Sinclair Lubricants Toyota) has filed an entry, as has last year’s pole winner Natalie Decker (No. 54 N29 Technologies Toyota). Last year’s runner-up Willie Mullins (No. 3 County Waste/Crow Wing Recycling Ford) has also filed an entry, as has the 2017 Bounty Rookie of the Year Riley Herbst (No. 18 Monster/ORCA Coolers/Terrible Herbst/Advance Auto Parts Toyota).
Two full-time NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series drivers have filed entries. Todd Gilliland (No. 4 Frontline Enterprises Toyota) will be looking for his second career ARCA win and his first at Daytona. Gilliland became the youngest winner in series history when he won at Toledo Speedway in 2015 at 15 years, 2 days of age. Harrison Burton (No. 20 DEX Imaging Toyota), another Toledo winner, will be looking for his third ARCA win in his first career start at the 2.5-mile tri-oval. Gilliland is the son of 2006 Daytona 500 pole winner David Gilliland while Burton is the son of 20-time NASCAR Cup Series winner and current NASCAR on NBC analyst Jeff Burton.
Leilani Munter (No. 55 What The Health Toyota) led the pre-season test at Daytona with a lap at 184.086 miles per hour. She has filed her entry along with Christian Eckes (No. 15 JBL Audio Toyota). Eckes was a three-time winner in 2017 and will be making his first full-season run at the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards championship.
Other drivers who have filed an entry include Eric Caudell (No. 2 Caudell Consulting Ford), Codie Rohrbaugh (No. 7 Grant County Mulch Chevrolet), Tommy Vigh, Jr. (No. 10 Extreme Energy Solutions Ford), Travis Braden (No. 27 MatrixCare/Consonus Healthcare/Liberty Village Ford), Derrick Lancaster (No. 29 Total Car & Truck Service/GRM Erectors Toyota), Gus Dean (No. 32 Win Tron Racing Chevrolet), Dave Mader III (No. 63 Diamond C Ranch/American Apparel Ford), Scott Melton (No. 69 Melton McFadden Insurance Agency Ford), and Andy Seuss (No. 02 Robert B. Our Company Chevrolet).
The first official track activity of the season will come on Thursday, February 7 when the teams receive two hours of practice starting at 4 pm ET. There will be another hour of practice on Friday, February 8 starting at 9:30 am ET followed by General Tire Pole Qualifying at 3:30 pm ET. The green flag will wave over the expected 40-car field in the Lucas Oil 200 driven by General Tire at 4:30 pm ET on Saturday, February 9. ARCA for Me members can access live timing & scoring, live chat, and live track updates from Daytona exclusively at ARCARacing.com; new members can register for free at ARCARacing.com/login.
