# 2021 ARCA Menards Series West

The 2021 ARCA Menards Series West was the sixty-eighth season of the ARCA Menards Series West, a regional stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. The season began at Phoenix Raceway with the General Tire 150 and ended with another race at Phoenix Raceway, the Arizona Lottery 100, on November 6.

## Teams and drivers
### Complete schedule

| Manufacturer | Team | No. | Driver | Crew chief |
| Chevrolet | BMI Racing | 88 | Bridget Burgess | Sarah Burgess |
| Ford | Naake-Klauer Motorsports | 54 | Joey Iest | Mike Naake |
| Ford | Sunrise Ford Racing | 6 | Trevor Huddleston | Bill Sedgwick |
| Ford | Sunrise Ford Racing | 9 | Jake Drew (R) | Jeff Schrader |
| Toyota | Bill McAnally Racing | 16 | Jesse Love | Travis Sharpe 8 John Camilleri 1 |
| Toyota | Bill McAnally Racing | 99 | Cole Moore (R) | Mario Isola |
| Toyota | Jerry Pitts Racing | 7 | Takuma Koga | Jerry Pitts |
| Toyota | Performance P-1 Motorsports | 77 | Tony Toste 1 | Dave McKenzie |
| Toyota | Performance P-1 Motorsports | 77 | Dave Smith 1 | Dave McKenzie |
| Toyota | Performance P-1 Motorsports | 77 | Nick Joanides 1 | Dave McKenzie |
| Toyota | Performance P-1 Motorsports | 77 | Mariah Boudrieau 3 | Dave McKenzie |
| Toyota | Performance P-1 Motorsports | 77 | Caleb Costner 2 | Dave McKenzie |
| Toyota | Performance P-1 Motorsports | 77 | Ryan Roulette 1 | Dave McKenzie |
| Ford 3 Toyota 6 | Central Coast Racing | 13 | Todd Souza | Michael Muñoz |
| Chevrolet 7 Toyota 2 | Hillis Racing | 27 | Bobby Hillis Jr. | Ed Ash |
| Toyota 7 Chevrolet 2 | Pedroncelli Racing | 33 | P. J. Pedroncelli | Ty Joiner |

### Limited schedule

| Manufacturer | Team | No. | Driver | Crew chief | Rounds |
| Chevrolet | Brad Smith Motorsports | 48 | Brad Smith | Kevin Schwarze | 1 |
| Chevrolet | Fast Track Racing | 01 | Bryce Haugeberg | Kevin Cram | 1 |
| Chevrolet | Fast Track Racing | 12 | D. L. Wilson | Dick Doheny | 1 |
| Chevrolet | GMS Racing | 21 | Jack Wood | Chad Bryant | 1 |
| Chevrolet | GMS Racing | 22 | Daniel Dye | Chad Bryant | 1 |
| Chevrolet | Kart Idaho Racing | 11 | Andrew Tuttle | Tony Jackson | 1 |
| Chevrolet | Pedroncelli Racing | 31 | Paul Pedroncelli | Mike Regelman 2 Rodd Kneeland 6 | 8 |
| Chevrolet | Philpott Race Cars | 52 | Ryan Philpott | Chuck Dozhier | 1 |
| Chevrolet | Rev Racing | 2 | Nick Sanchez | Steve Plattenberger | 2 |
| Chevrolet | Rev Racing | 66 | Rajah Caruth | Glenn Parker | 1 |
| Chevrolet | Richmond Clubb Motorsports | 27 | Tim Richmond | Alex Clubb | 1 |
| Chevrolet | Rodd Racing | 68 | Rodd Kneeland | Chris Drysdale | 2 |
| Chevrolet | RSS Racing | 28 | Kyle Sieg | Jeff Green | 1 |
| Chevrolet | Spurgeon Motorsports | 86 | Tim Spurgeon | Mike David | 2 |
| Chevrolet | Steve McGowan Motorsports | 17 | Zane Smith | Bruce Cook 1 Sean Samuels 5 | 2 |
| Chevrolet | Steve McGowan Motorsports | 17 | Amber Slagle | Bruce Cook 1 Sean Samuels 5 | 3 |
| Chevrolet | Steve McGowan Motorsports | 17 | Conner Jones | Bruce Cook 1 Sean Samuels 5 | 1 |
| Chevrolet | Young's Motorsports | 02 | Toni Breidinger | Ryan London | 1 |
| Ford | Borneman Motorsports | 8 | Johnny Borneman III | Tony Caputo | 3 |
| Ford | David Gilliland Racing | 17 | Taylor Gray | Chad Johnston | 4 |
| Ford | David Gilliland Racing | 45 | Jake Garcia | Mike Hillman Jr. | 1 |
| Ford | David Gilliland Racing | 46 | Thad Moffitt | Derek Smith | 1 |
| Ford | David Gilliland Racing | 46 | J. P. Bergeron | Derek Smith | 1 |
| Ford | David Gilliland Racing | 71 | Taylor Gray | Chad Johnston | 1 |
| Ford | Fast Track Racing | 10 | Mark Lowrey | Jeff McClure | 1 |
| Ford | High Point Racing | 51 | Dean Thompson (R) | Travis Thirkettle | 7 |
| Ford | High Point Racing | 51 | Ryan Partridge | Travis Thirkettle | 1 |
| Ford | Jerry Pitts Racing | 5 | Kyle Keller | Charlie Wilson | 1 |
| Ford | Rette Jones Racing | 30 | Max Gutiérrez | Mark Rette | 1 |
| Ford | Stewart-Haas Racing | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Johnny Klausmeier | 1 |
| Toyota | Bill McAnally Racing | 1 | Jolynn Wilkinson | Mario Isola 1 John Camilleri 1 | 2 |
| Toyota | Bill McAnally Racing | 4 | Dylan Lupton | J. R. Norris | 1 |
| Toyota | Bill McAnally Racing | 5 | Sebastian Arias | Gary Collins | 1 |
| Toyota | Bill McAnally Racing | 19 | Derek Kraus | John Camilleri 6 Mike Nascimento 1 | 1 |
| Toyota | Bill McAnally Racing | 19 | Eric Nascimento | John Camilleri 6 Mike Nascimento 1 | 1 |
| Toyota | Bill McAnally Racing | 19 | Amber Balcaen | John Camilleri 6 Mike Nascimento 1 | 3 |
| Toyota | Bill McAnally Racing | 19 | Jolynn Wilkinson | John Camilleri 6 Mike Nascimento 1 | 1 |
| Toyota | Bill McAnally Racing | 19 | Sebastian Arias | John Camilleri 6 Mike Nascimento 1 | 1 |
| Toyota | Cook-Finley Racing | 42 | Tony Toste | Amber Slagle | 1 |
| Toyota | Cook-Finley Racing | 42 | Christian Rose | Evan Bertone | 2 |
| Toyota | Fast Track Racing | 11 | Richard Garvie | Steven Barton | 1 |
| Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 18 | Ty Gibbs | Mark McFarland | 2 |
| Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 81 | Sammy Smith | Mark McFarland | 1 |
| Toyota | Nascimento Motorsports | 4 | Eric Nascimento | Mike Nascimento | 5 |
| Toyota | Venturini Motorsports | 15 | Drew Dollar | Billy Venturini | 2 |
| Toyota | Venturini Motorsports | 20 | Corey Heim | Shannon Rursch | 1 |
| Toyota | Venturini Motorsports | 20 | Gracie Trotter | Dave Leiner Jr. | 1 |
| Toyota | Venturini Motorsports | 25 | Gracie Trotter | Kevin Reed | 1 |
| Toyota | Venturini Motorsports | 25 | Parker Chase | Kevin Reed | 1 |
| Toyota | Venturini Motorsports | 55 | Toni Breidinger | Shannon Rursch | 1 |
| Toyota | Velocity Racing | 78 | Travis Milburn | Roger Bracken | 2 |
| Chevrolet 5 Ford 1 Toyota 1 | Kart Idaho Racing | 08 | Josh Fanopoulos | Joe Daley | 1 |
| Chevrolet 5 Ford 1 Toyota 1 | Kart Idaho Racing | 08 | John Wood | Jeremiah Clever | 4 |
| Chevrolet 5 Ford 1 Toyota 1 | Kart Idaho Racing | 08 | Stafford Smith | Mike Holleran | 1 |
| Chevrolet 5 Ford 1 Toyota 1 | Kart Idaho Racing | 08 | Caleb Costner | Unknown | 1 |
| Chevrolet 1 Toyota 3 | Kart Idaho Racing | 21 | Josh Fanopoulos | Joe Daley 1 John Wood 1 Dennis Wurtz 1 Unknown 1 | 4 |
| Ford 5 Toyota 1 | Kart Idaho Racing | 38 | Hiroyuki Ueno | Mike Holleran | 3 |
| Ford 5 Toyota 1 | Kart Idaho Racing | 38 | Dave Smith | Unknown | 1 |
| Ford 5 Toyota 1 | Kart Idaho Racing | 38 | Stafford Smith | Mike Holleran | 2 |
| Chevrolet 1 Toyota 3 | Legal Limit Motorsports | 80 | Brian Kamisky | Derrick Copeland | 4 |

#### Notes

* ↑ Chris Lowden was initially entered in the car, but was replaced by Tuttle for the race.
* ↑ Entries were fielded in collaboration with Sunrise Ford Racing.
* ↑ Entry was fielded in collaboration with Nascimento Motorsports.
* ↑ Entries were fielded in collaboration with Steve McGowan Motorsports.
* ↑ Entries were fielded in collaboration with Velocity Racing.
* ↑ Entries were fielded in collaboration with Kart Idaho Racing.

### Changes
#### Teams

* On December 16, 2020, it was revealed in an article on the ARCA website that Bridget Burgess would attempt to run the full season in the West Series in 2021. She ran most of the races in 2020 (all of them except the doubleheader at UMC).
* On January 4, 2021, Bill McAnally Racing announced their 2021 driver lineup, with defending series champion Jesse Love moving from the closed No. 19 car to the No. 16, replacing Gio Scelzi, and rookie Cole Moore driving the No. 20 (it would later be changed to the No. 99). The team cut back from 4 full-time cars to 2 in 2021, which left Scelzi and Holley Hollan (who drove the closed No. 50 car) without rides in 2021. They also had a 5th full-time car to start the 2020 season, the No. 12 of Lawless Alan, which was closed down mid-season. Gracie Trotter, who drove the No. 99 in 2020, left the team to move up to the main ARCA Series in 2021, driving for Venturini Motorsports.
* On February 2, 2021, it was announced that High Point Racing, a late model racing team in the Spears Southwest Tour, would expand to the West Series in 2021, fielding the No. 51 for rookie Dean Thompson, their driver in that series in 2020. They formed an alliance with Sunrise Ford Racing to help get their new team off the ground.
* Stewart-Haas Racing returned to the series for the race at Sonoma to field a car for Chase Briscoe, their Cup Series driver, in preparation for Briscoe's first Cup Series start at the track the next day. In the race, the team used a Ford that was owned by Chad Bryant, the former owner of Chad Bryant Racing who closed his team down and merged it into GMS Racing where he became a crew chief.

#### Drivers

* On November 2, 2020, it was announced that Jack Wood, who drove part-time in the West Series in 2019 and 2020 for his own team, the No. 78 Toyota for Velocity Racing, would join GMS Racing to replace two-time consecutive East Series champion Sam Mayer in the team's No. 21 car, running full-time in the East Series as well as the Showdown races in the big ARCA Menards Series in 2021. Mayer moved up to the Xfinity Series in June 2021, driving for JR Motorsports after turning 18 and therefore becoming eligible to race in the series. Despite this, Velocity Racing would continue as a part-time team, and the team entered the last two races of the season with Travis Milburn driving the No. 78 car in a collaboration with Kart Idaho Racing, the team he previously drove for.
* On January 18, 2021, it was announced that Blaine Perkins, who drove the No. 9 for Sunrise Ford Racing in 2020 and finished second in the standings, would move up to the Xfinity Series in 2021, driving part-time for Our Motorsports. Rookie driver Jake Drew replaced Perkins in the SFR No. 9.
* On January 20, 2021, it was announced that Takuma Koga, who drove the No. 77 for Performance P-1 Motorsports in 2019 and 2020, would be moving to Jerry Pitts Racing in 2021 to drive their No. 7 in 2021.
* On May 14, 2021, it was announced that former JR Motorsports late model racing driver Adam Lemke would make his stock car debut in 2021, competing in select main ARCA Series, East Series, and West Series races for Rette Jones Racing. (Lemke would end up only running 1 main ARCA Series race for the team and no West Series races,) even though ARCA East driver Max Gutiérrez would attempt the season finale at Phoenix for RJR.
* On March 2, 2021, it was announced that Tony Toste would return to the series full-time for the first time since 1998 and would drive for Performance P-1 Motorsports, replacing Koga in the team's No. 77. However, the deal fell apart after just 1 races, as Dave Smith, Nick Joanides, Mariah Boudrieau, Caleb Costner, and Ryan Roulette split the seat time for the rest of the season. Toste did run 1 more West Series race in 2021, which was at Sonoma where he drove the No. 42 for Cook-Finley Racing.
* On August 20, 2021, the day before the second race at Irwindale, Dean Thompson tested positive for COVID-19 and was replaced by Ryan Partridge for that race. Partridge, a former Sunrise Ford Racing driver, made his first start in the series since 2018. SFR has an alliance with Thompson's team, High Point Racing.

#### Crew chiefs

* On December 16, 2020, it was revealed in an article on the ARCA website that Sarah Burgess, the mother of Bridget Burgess who served as her crew chief in 2020, expressed an interest in stepping off the pit box if possible and potentially racing against her daughter in a West Series race in 2021. (This did not end up happening and Sarah Burgess crew chiefed Bridget in every race in 2021.)
* Both of the crew chiefs for Bill McAnally Racing's full-time cars were new in 2021, with Travis Sharpe crew chiefing Jesse Love's No. 16 and Mario Isola crew chiefing Cole Moore's No. 99. Also, Sharpe would miss the race at Sonoma and was replaced by John Camilleri, who crew chiefed the No. 19 in most races in 2021.
* After having 4 different crew chiefs in 2020, Performance P-1 Motorsports had another new crew chief in 2021, Dave McKenzie.

#### Manufacturers

* On December 16, 2020, it was revealed in an article on the ARCA website that Bridget Burgess would attempt to buy newer cars and equipment for her family team in 2021, which borrowed an old 2007 Toyota from Bill McAnally Racing for their starts in 2020. The team ran a Chevy in every race in 2021.
* On January 20, 2021, it was revealed in the announcement of Takuma Koga joining Jerry Pitts Racing that the team would be switching from Ford to Toyota in 2021. However, they would have a Ford entry for Kyle Keller at the LVMS Bullring.
* Todd Souza's No. 13 team ran both Fords and Toyotas after only running Toyotas in 2020.

## Schedule

Sonoma, Las Vegas, and Phoenix revealed their race dates ahead of the release of the entire schedule, which ARCA announced on December 18, 2020.
Note: The race at Phoenix in March was a combination race with the ARCA Menards Series (highlighted in gold).
| No | Race title | Track | Date |
| 1 | General Tire 150 | Phoenix Raceway, Avondale, Arizona | March 12 |
| 2 | General Tire 200 | Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma, California | June 5 |
| 3 | NAPA Auto Parts 150 presented by the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame | Irwindale Speedway, Irwindale, California | July 3 |
| 4 | NAPA Auto Parts Colorado 150 | Colorado National Speedway, Dacono, Colorado | July 31 |
| 5 | NAPA Auto Parts 150 presented by Sunrise Ford | Irwindale Speedway, Irwindale, California | August 21 |
| 6 | Portland 112 | Portland International Raceway, Portland, Oregon | September 11 |
| 7 | Star Nursery 150 | Las Vegas Motor Speedway (Bullring), Las Vegas, Nevada | September 23 |
| 8 | NAPA Auto Care 150 | All American Speedway, Roseville, California | October 9 |
| 9 | Arizona Lottery 100 | Phoenix Raceway, Avondale, Arizona | November 6 |

## Results and standings
### Race results

| No. | Race | Pole position | Most laps led | Winning driver | Manufacturer | No. | Winning team | Report |
| 1 | General Tire 150 | Ty Gibbs | Ty Gibbs | Ty Gibbs | Toyota | 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing | Report |
| 2 | General Tire 200 | Jake Drew | Chase Briscoe | Chase Briscoe | Ford | 14 | Stewart-Haas Racing | Report |
| 3 | NAPA Auto Parts 150 presented by the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame | Dean Thompson | Dean Thompson | Jesse Love | Toyota | 16 | Bill McAnally Racing | Report |
| 4 | NAPA Auto Parts Colorado 150 | Todd Souza | Jesse Love | Joey Iest | Ford | 54 | Naake-Klauer Motorsports | Report |
| 5 | NAPA Auto Parts 150 presented by Sunrise Ford | P. J. Pedroncelli | Trevor Huddleston | Jesse Love | Toyota | 16 | Bill McAnally Racing | Report |
| 6 | Portland 112 | Jake Drew | Jake Drew | Taylor Gray | Ford | 17 | David Gilliland Racing | Report |
| 7 | Star Nursery 150 | Jake Drew | Taylor Gray | Taylor Gray | Ford | 17E | David Gilliland Racing | Report |
| 8 | NAPA Auto Care 150 | Dean Thompson | Cole Moore | P. J. Pedroncelli | Toyota | 33 | Pedroncelli Racing | Report |
| 9 | Arizona Lottery 100 | Ty Gibbs | Ty Gibbs | Ty Gibbs | Toyota | 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing | Report |
* ↑ Briscoe led all 51 laps.
* ↑ Gibbs led all 100 laps.

### Drivers' championship

Notes:
* The pole winner also receives 1 bonus point, similar to the previous ARCA points system used until 2019 and unlike NASCAR.
* Additionally, after groups of 5 races of the season, drivers that compete in all 5 races receive 50 additional points.
** Jesse Love, Jake Drew, P. J. Pedroncelli, Cole Moore, Joey Iest, Todd Souza, Trevor Huddleston, Takuma Koga, Bridget Burgess, and Bobby Hillis Jr. received this points bonus for having competed in the first 5 races of the season (the first race at Phoenix, Sonoma, the first race at Irwindale, Colorado, and the second race at Irwindale). Those ten drivers along with Paul Pedroncelli and Taylor Gray received this points bonus for having competed in the last 4 races of the season (Portland, the Las Vegas Bullring, Roseville, and the second race at Phoenix).
(key) Bold – Pole position awarded by time. Italics – Pole position set by final practice results or rainout. * – Most laps led. ** – All laps led.
| Pos | Driver | PHO | SON | IRW | CNS | IRW | PIR | LVS | AAS | PHO | Points |
| 1 | Jesse Love | 6 | 19 | 1 | 2* | 1 | 3 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 438 |
| 2 | Jake Drew (R) | 18 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 10* | 2 | 8 | 11 | 438 |
| 3 | Cole Moore (R) | 12 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 12 | 6 | 5* | 10 | 436 |
| 4 | P. J. Pedroncelli | 11 | 3 | 17 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 18 | 433 |
| 5 | Joey Iest | 16 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 17 | 430 |
| 6 | Trevor Huddleston | 10 | 12 | 6 | 10 | 10* | 7 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 422 |
| 7 | Todd Souza | 8 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 17 | 16 | 4 | 16 | 410 |
| 8 | Takuma Koga | 23 | 11 | 16 | 15 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 23 | 378 |
| 9 | Bridget Burgess | 22 | 8 | 13 | 9 | 14 | 16 | 20 | 11 | 24 | 359 |
| 10 | Bobby Hillis Jr. | 24 | 10 | 10 | 17 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 18 | 29 | 346 |
| 11 | Paul Pedroncelli | | 13 | 11 | 18 | 19 | 9 | 23 | 23 | 34 | 252 |
| 12 | Taylor Gray | 9 | | | | | 1 | 1* | 22 | 2 | 245 |
| 13 | Dean Thompson (R) | 15 | 6 | 2* | 11 | | | 14 | 17 | 22 | 225 |
| 14 | Eric Nascimento | | 14 | | 5 | 9 | 11 | 11 | | 32 | 182 |
| 15 | Josh Fanopoulos | | | 18 | 14 | | | 9 | 21 | 31 | 127 |
| 16 | John Wood | | | | 12 | 15 | | 19 | 19 | | 111 |
| 17 | Stafford Smith | | | | | | 8 | 12 | 6 | | 106 |
| 18 | Brian Kamisky | | 16 | | | 17 | | | 13 | 25 | 105 |
| 19 | Ty Gibbs | 1* | | | | | | | | 1** | 98 |
| 20 | Jolynn Wilkinson | | | | 8 | | | 17 | 15 | | 92 |
| 21 | Hiroyuki Ueno | | | 12 | 16 | 16 | | | | | 88 |
| 22 | Mariah Boudrieau | | | | 13 | 13 | | 18 | | | 88 |
| 23 | Amber Slagle | | | 14 | | | | 21 | 10 | | 87 |
| 24 | Johnny Borneman III | | | 8 | | 18 | | | | 20 | 86 |
| 25 | Amber Balcaen | | | 15 | | 11 | | 22 | | | 84 |
| 26 | Drew Dollar | 7 | | | | | | | | 7 | 75 |
| 27 | Christian Rose | | | | | | | 10 | 7 | | 71 |
| 28 | Tim Spurgeon | | 15 | | | | 6 | | | | 67 |
| 29 | Nick Sanchez | 21 | | | | | | | | 4 | 63 |
| 30 | Dave Smith | | 17 | | | | 14 | | | | 57 |
| 31 | Rodd Kneeland | | 22 | | | | 13 | | | | 53 |
| 32 | Tony Toste | 17 | 18 | | | | | | | | 53 |
| 33 | Gracie Trotter | 27 | | | | | | | | 9 | 52 |
| 34 | Chase Briscoe | | 1** | | | | | | | | 48 |
| 35 | Caleb Costner | | | | | | DNS | | 14 | 30 | 47 |
| 36 | Corey Heim | 2 | | | | | | | | | 43 |
| 37 | Dylan Lupton | | 2 | | | | | | | | 42 |
| 38 | Thad Moffitt | 3 | | | | | | | | | 42 |
| 39 | Sammy Smith | | | | | | | | | 3 | 41 |
| 40 | Kyle Sieg | 4 | | | | | | | | | 40 |
| 41 | Derek Kraus | 5 | | | | | | | | | 39 |
| 42 | Ryan Partridge | | | | | 5 | | | | | 39 |
| 43 | Kyle Keller | | | | | | | 5 | | | 39 |
| 44 | J. P. Bergeron | | | | | | | | | 5 | 39 |
| 45 | Zane Smith | 28 | 21 | | | | | | | | 39 |
| 46 | Jake Garcia | | | | | | | | | 6 | 39 |
| 47 | Rajah Caruth | | | | | | | | | 8 | 37 |
| 48 | Ryan Philpott | | 9 | | | | | | | | 35 |
| 49 | Nick Joanides | | | 9 | | | | | | | 35 |
| 50 | Travis Milburn | | | | | | | | 20 | 33 | 24 |
| 51 | Daniel Dye | | | | | | | | | 12 | 32 |
| 52 | Tim Richmond | 13 | | | | | | | | | 31 |
| 53 | Parker Chase | | | | | | | | | 13 | 31 |
| 54 | Toni Breidinger | 30 | | | | | | | | 27 | 31 |
| 55 | Mark Lowrey | 14 | | | | | | | | | 30 |
| 56 | Andrew Tuttle | | | | | | | | 16 | | 28 |
| 57 | Richard Garvie | 19 | | | | | | | | | 25 |
| 58 | Conner Jones | | | | | | | | | 19 | 25 |
| 59 | D. L. Wilson | 20 | | | | | | | | | 24 |
| 60 | Max Gutiérrez | | | | | | | | | 21 | 23 |
| 61 | Sebastian Arias | | | | | DNS | | | | 26 | 21 |
| 62 | Bryce Haugeberg | 25 | | | | | | | | | 19 |
| 63 | Brad Smith | 26 | | | | | | | | | 18 |
| 64 | Ryan Roulette | | | | | | | | | 28 | 16 |
| 65 | Jack Wood | 29 | | | | | | | | | 15 |