From Tadd Haislop / arcaracing.com
PORTLAND, Ore. — Jake Drew won his fist ARCA Menards Series West race in June, when the series made its first of two visits to Portland International Raceway this season. That race was shortened due to visibility issues as rain hammered the 12-turn, 1.967-mile road course.
On Saturday evening, when the West Series made its return to Portland, the race went the full distance. And Drew once again dominated on his way to victory despite completely different racing conditions.
The victory marked Drew’s fourth of the West Series season, as that initial Portland win back in June was the beginning of a three-race win streak. Drew’s Sunrise Ford Racing teammate Tanner Reif is the only other West Series driver who’s visited Victory Lane since April.
Drew earned the General Tire Pole Award with his fast lap in qualifying earlier Saturday. West Series veteran Todd Souza got the best of Drew at the start of Saturday’s race and led the first lap, but it didn’t take long for Drew to regain his rightful position at the front of the field.
Drew held the lead despite a few challenges from the likes of Souza and Cole Moore on a series of restarts, but in reality, nobody had anything for the No. 6 Ford at Portland.
Souza finished second Saturday ahead of Reif in third. Moore finished fourth despite a series of late-race issues that dropped him out of contention for what could have been his first win on the ARCA Menards platform.
Takuma Koga finished fifth to earn his third top-five finish in his West Series career. He also finished fifth in the West Series’ previous two visits to Portland.
Ryan Philpott, Davey Magras, Joey Iest, Landen Lewis and Bridget Burgess rounded out the top 10 Saturday at Portland.
Drew entered Saturday’s race with a commanding, 44-point lead over Reif for the lead in the West Series championship standings. That massive lead will only grow with Drew’s fourth win of the year.
Drew has three more chances to seal what’s becoming an inevitable West Series championship in 2022. The series returns to action on Oct. 1 for the NAPA AutoCare 150 at All American Speedway in Roseville, California. The season will end with a visit to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Bullring on Oct. 14 and a trip to Phoenix Raceway for the finale on Nov. 4.
A replay of Saturday’s ARCA Portland 112 will air on USA Network on Friday, Sept. 16, starting at 1:30 p.m. ET.
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Photo: Brian Hayes/ARCA Racing
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