Lawless Alan Collects First ARCA Victory In Wild ‘Dega OT

Lawless Alan and his crew celebrate in victory lane at Talladega Superspeedway. (Max Corcoran/Race Face Digital photo)

TALLADEGA, Ala. – Lawless Alan exorcized his Talladega Superspeedway demons, and gained a new wallpaper for his phone in the process, with a sterling drive in Saturday’s General Tire 200.

Six months after nearly winning a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at the Alabama oval, Alan came back stronger and drove to victory lane with the ARCA Menards Series, leading a race-high 30 of 77 laps.

His No. 20 Venturini Motorsports-prepared Toyota was never dominant for long periods, but it remained a threat throughout the race. After taking control from polesitter William Sawalich on a lap-56 restart, Alan was out front for 17 of the final 22 circuits.

How Alan ultimately won the race was the subject of controversy, though, as a late caution for a crash by Michael Maples pushed the finish into overtime – which under ARCA’s superspeedway rules is a single attempt at a one-lap shootout.

That attempt never got past turn one, however, as a five-car pileup behind the front-runners led to an almost immediate yellow flag, freezing the field and ending the race at that point.

A video review followed to determine the winner, with Alan shown to be inches ahead of Thad Moffitt at the moment of caution as the field was getting up to speed in the banking.

Saturday marked Alan’s first ARCA Menards Series win in his 10th career start. It was also the 98th national ARCA victory for Venturini Motorsports and the team’s 108th ARCA platform win overall.

“I got a great push at the end,” said Alan. “We had a great car. I was able to stay close to the front all day and was really content to be patient and ride where I was at times. When we’d get shuffled back, I didn’t let it get to me, because I knew the last lap was the only lap that mattered.

“The way I look at it, it doesn’t matter so much how we got (to the win), but the fact we got it is a really big deal.”

As he soaked in the moment, Alan – a graduate of the University of Alabama – noted that he could finally change the background on his phone from a screenshot of the Truck Series final lap where he fell short of a run at victory to a “much more positive” frame from his Saturday celebration.

“Man, I finally got that monkey off my back and can change my wallpaper to something happy,” Alan noted. “I think me winning is the worst possible thing that could’ve happened to the competition … because I’ve got the confidence that I can do it now. No what-ifs – I can do this. Man, it feels good!”

Moffitt’s runner-up finish was his career best, but the grandson of seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Richard Petty wanted more after believing he was in the right position at the start of the final lap.

“It sucks (to finish second), but it’s good at the same time,” Moffitt said afterward. “Just dejected. I thought I won that race; I thought I got through the box better and thought I got down to turn (one) ahead, but he just had his teammate behind him to give him a push down into turn one. It sucks.

“Nitro (Motorsports) is going to win races this year though. I’ve got a good group, a good team,” Moffitt added. “We’re going to show people what we’re made of the rest of the year. Just dejected right now, because I thought we had one and we didn’t. It’s probably going to sting the rest of the night.

“I just hate that we never got to actually race it out, you know?”

Notching the best-ever ARCA finish at Talladega by a female driver, Isabella Robusto was scored third after giving her teammate the winning push on the deciding restart.

Modified ace and pizzeria worker Andy Jankowiak – who drove to the point on a lap-68 restart and led four laps before being shuffled back in the draft late – rallied to finish fourth ahead of Jason Kitzmiller.

Lavar Scott, 2024 Talladega ARCA winner Jake Finch, Bryce Haugeberg, Sawalich, and social media sensation Cleetus McFarland – known in everyday circles as Garrett Mitchell – filled out the top 10.

Finch charged to the lead on the third lap, hoping to replicate his dominant win from a year ago, but was penalized a lap mid-race after taking tires and fuel simultaneously during his pit stop prior to halfway.

He got back on the lead lap via the free pass at the halfway break, but could never reach the front again.

Incoming series point leader Brenden ‘Butterbean’ Queen had a disappointing day after being involved in a lap-26 incident with Spencer Gallagher. The short-track star finished two laps down in 25th.

The next national ARCA Menards Series race is May 9 at Kansas Speedway. Connor Mosack won last year’s running of the Tide 150 for Pinnacle Racing Group, the team Queen is driving for this season.