# 2023 Atlas 200

The 2023 Atlas 200 was the 19th stock car race of the 2023 ARCA Menards Series season, and the 26th iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, September 30, 2023, in Salem, Indiana at Salem Speedway, a 0.555 miles (0.893 km) permanent oval shaped racetrack. The race took the scheduled 200 laps to complete. In a wild race, Jesse Love, driving for Venturini Motorsports, would put on a blistering performance, leading every lap from the pole to earn his 12th career ARCA Menards Series win, and his tenth of the season. To fill out the podium, Andrés Pérez de Lara, driving for Rev Racing, and Christian Rose, driving for AM Racing, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
In addition to winning, Love would ultimately clinch the 2023 ARCA Menards Series championship one race early by taking the green flag.

## Background

Salem Speedway is a .555-mile (0.893 km) long paved oval racetrack in Washington Township, Washington County, near Salem, Indiana, United States, approximately 100 miles (160 km) south of Indianapolis. The track has 33° degrees of banking in the corners. Major auto racing series that run at Salem are ARCA and USAC.

### Entry list

* (R) denotes rookie driver.
| # | Driver | Team | Make | Sponsor |
| 0 | Nate Moeller | Wayne Peterson Racing | Toyota | Wayne Peterson Racing |
| 2 | Andrés Pérez de Lara (R) | Rev Racing | Chevrolet | Max Siegel Inc. |
| 03 | Alex Clubb | Clubb Racing Inc. | Ford | Clubb Racing Inc. |
| 06 | Kevin Hinckle | Wayne Peterson Racing | Ford | KH Automotive |
| 10 | Tim Monroe | Fast Track Racing | Ford | Fast Track Racing |
| 11 | Zachary Tinkle | Fast Track Racing | Toyota | Racing for Rescues |
| 12 | Ed Pompa | Fast Track Racing | Ford | HYTORC of New York, Double "H" Ranch |
| 15 | Toni Breidinger | Venturini Motorsports | Toyota | Victoria's Secret, Raising Cane's |
| 18 | William Sawalich | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | Starkey, SoundGear |
| 20 | Jesse Love | Venturini Motorsports | Toyota | JBL |
| 25 | Brent Crews | Venturini Motorsports | Toyota | Yahoo!, Mobil 1 |
| 30 | Frankie Muniz (R) | Rette Jones Racing | Ford | Ford Performance |
| 31 | Brayton Laster | Rise Motorsports | Chevrolet | Rise Motorsports |
| 32 | Christian Rose (R) | AM Racing | Ford | West Virginia Tourism |
| 48 | Brad Smith | Brad Smith Motorsports | Ford | Oktoberfest Race Weekend |
| 66 | Jon Garrett (R) | Veer Motorsports | Chevrolet | Fort Worth Screen Printing |
| 68 | Mike Basham | Kimmel Racing | Ford | Kimmel Racing |
| 69 | Will Kimmel | Kimmel Racing | Ford | Kimmel Racing |
| 95 | Conner Popplewell | MAN Motorsports | Toyota | Sunset Park RV Manufacturing |
| Official entry list |||||

## Practice

The first and only practice session was held on Saturday, September 30, at 3:45 PM EST, and would last for 45 minutes. William Sawalich, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 17.232, and an average speed of 115.947 mph (186.599 km/h).
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 18 | William Sawalich | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 17.232 | 115.947 |
| 2 | 69 | Will Kimmel | Kimmel Racing | Ford | 17.608 | 113.471 |
| 3 | 2 | Andrés Pérez de Lara (R) | Rev Racing | Chevrolet | 17.672 | 113.060 |
| Full practice results |||||||

## Qualifying

Qualifying was held on Saturday, September 30, at 5:15 PM EST. The qualifying system used is a single-car, two-lap system with only one round. Whoever sets the fastest time in that round will win the pole. Jesse Love, driving for Venturini Motorsports, would score the pole for the race, with a lap of 17.106, and an average speed of 116.801 mph (187.973 km/h).
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
| 1 | 20 | Jesse Love | Venturini Motorsports | Toyota | 17.106 | 116.801 |
| 2 | 18 | William Sawalich | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 17.117 | 116.726 |
| 3 | 69 | Will Kimmel | Kimmel Racing | Ford | 17.308 | 115.438 |
| 4 | 25 | Brent Crews | Venturini Motorsports | Toyota | 17.541 | 113.905 |
| 5 | 32 | Christian Rose (R) | AM Racing | Ford | 17.725 | 112.722 |
| 6 | 2 | Andrés Pérez de Lara (R) | Rev Racing | Chevrolet | 17.808 | 112.197 |
| 7 | 30 | Frankie Muniz (R) | Rette Jones Racing | Ford | 17.880 | 111.745 |
| 8 | 15 | Toni Breidinger | Venturini Motorsports | Toyota | 17.942 | 111.359 |
| 9 | 95 | Conner Popplewell | MAN Motorsports | Toyota | 18.029 | 110.821 |
| 10 | 11 | Zachary Tinkle | Fast Track Racing | Toyota | 18.094 | 110.423 |
| 11 | 66 | Jon Garrett (R) | Veer Motorsports | Chevrolet | 18.542 | 107.755 |
| 12 | 31 | Brayton Laster | Rise Motorsports | Chevrolet | 18.560 | 107.651 |
| 13 | 68 | Mike Basham | Kimmel Racing | Ford | 18.683 | 106.942 |
| 14 | 12 | Ed Pompa | Fast Track Racing | Ford | 19.123 | 104.482 |
| 15 | 48 | Brad Smith | Brad Smith Motorsports | Ford | 19.763 | 101.098 |
| 16 | 03 | Alex Clubb | Clubb Racing Inc. | Ford | 19.786 | 100.980 |
| 17 | 10 | Tim Monroe | Fast Track Racing | Ford | 20.275 | 98.545 |
| 18 | 06 | Kevin Hinckle | Wayne Peterson Racing | Ford | 20.922 | 95.498 |
| 19 | 0 | Nate Moeller | Wayne Peterson Racing | Toyota | 22.939 | 87.101 |
| Official qualifying results |||||||

## Race results

| Fin | St | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts |
| 1 | 1 | 20 | Jesse Love | Venturini Motorsports | Toyota | 200 | 200 | Running | 49 |
| 2 | 5 | 2 | Andrés Pérez de Lara (R) | Rev Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | 0 | Running | 42 |
| 3 | 4 | 32 | Christian Rose (R) | AM Racing | Ford | 200 | 0 | Running | 41 |
| 4 | 7 | 15 | Toni Breidinger | Venturini Motorsports | Toyota | 199 | 0 | Running | 40 |
| 5 | 8 | 95 | Conner Popplewell | MAN Motorsports | Toyota | 198 | 0 | Running | 39 |
| 6 | 2 | 18 | William Sawalich | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 195 | 0 | Running | 38 |
| 7 | 10 | 66 | Jon Garrett (R) | Veer Motorsports | Chevrolet | 192 | 0 | Running | 37 |
| 8 | 13 | 12 | Ed Pompa | Fast Track Racing | Ford | 187 | 0 | Running | 36 |
| 9 | 11 | 31 | Brayton Laster | Rise Motorsports | Chevrolet | 180 | 0 | Running | 35 |
| 10 | 6 | 30 | Frankie Muniz (R) | Rette Jones Racing | Ford | 119 | 0 | Running | 34 |
| 11 | 9 | 11 | Zachary Tinkle | Fast Track Racing | Toyota | 116 | 0 | Engine | 33 |
| 12 | 19 | 25 | Brent Crews | Venturini Motorsports | Toyota | 104 | 0 | Running | 32 |
| 13 | 3 | 69 | Will Kimmel | Kimmel Racing | Ford | 103 | 0 | Suspension | 31 |
| 14 | 17 | 06 | Kevin Hinckle | Wayne Peterson Racing | Ford | 88 | 0 | Mechanical | 30 |
| 15 | 15 | 03 | Alex Clubb | Clubb Racing Inc. | Ford | 45 | 0 | Drive Train | 29 |
| 16 | 14 | 48 | Brad Smith | Brad Smith Motorsports | Ford | 19 | 0 | Oil Pressure | 28 |
| 17 | 16 | 10 | Tim Monroe | Fast Track Racing | Ford | 9 | 0 | Handling | 27 |
| 18 | 12 | 68 | Mike Basham | Kimmel Racing | Ford | 5 | 0 | Mechanical | 26 |
| 19 | 18 | 0 | Nate Moeller | Wayne Peterson Racing | Toyota | 4 | 0 | Handling | 25 |
| Official race results ||||||||||

## Standings after the race

| Pos | Driver | Points |
| 1 | Jesse Love | 963 |
| 2 | Andrés Pérez de Lara | 822 (-141) |
| 3 | Christian Rose | 800 (-163) |
| 4 | Frankie Muniz | 774 (-189) |
| 5 | Jon Garrett | 699 (-264) |
| 6 | Brad Smith | 608 (-355) |
| 7 | A. J. Moyer | 570 (-393) |
| 8 | William Sawalich | 511 (-452) |
| 9 | Toni Breidinger | 489 (-474) |
| 10 | Tim Monroe | 353 (-610) |