Ty Gibbs is perfect in return to the Monster Mile for the ARCA East General Tire 125 at Dover International Speedway on Friday night.

There was no slowing Ty Gibbs this time.

A year after watching a sure win get away from him at Dover International Speedway, following late-race contact with the wall, the 18-year-old from Charlotte, North Carolina, put together a perfect day Friday in the ARCA Menards Series’ East return to the ‘Monster Mile.’

Ty Gibbs is Perfect in Return to the Monster Mile

Gibbs was fastest in practice, won the General Tire Pole Award, and led every lap en route to winning in the General Tire 125.

It is the second straight ARCA race that Gibbs has led every lap. He pitched a shut-out win in the ARCA Menards Series race at Kansas Speedway on May 1. It’s also Gibbs’ 13th win across the three ARCA platforms.

Josh Berry Battles with Gibbs

The only real threat to Gibbs’ dominance at Dover came with 17 laps to go following the race’s final restart when Josh Berry gave Gibbs an extended battle for the lead. The two made contact in the first turn, pushing Gibbs up the track, but he maintained the top spot down the backstretch and pulled away for the win.

Gibbs’ No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota crossed the finish line 0.88 seconds ahead of Berry.

To start a very busy weekend, Berry finished second in the General Tire 125. Then, the 2020 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series champion was tabbed to fill in for Justin Haley In the NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Saturday, and for his NASCAR Cup Series debut Sunday.

The General Tire 125 Results

Former NASCAR Cup Series driver David Gilliland finished third, while East championship points leader Sammy Smith rallied from an early cut right-front tire to finish fourth. Max Gutierrez rounded out the top-five.

Daniel Dye was sixth, followed by Connor Mosack in seventh in his series’ debut, Joey Iest, Jade Buford and Ed Pompa.

Smith extended his championship lead after the fourth of eight races as misfortune fell challengers Mason Diaz (11th), Parker Retzlaff (12th), and Rajah Caruth (14th).

Smith, who earned a pair of free passes to get back on the lead lap, now leads Diaz by 22 points and Gutierrez by 23.

Up Next

The ARCA Menards Series East will next race on Saturday, June 12, in the North Carolina 200 at Southern National Motorsports Park.

The General Tire 125 was streamed live on TrackPass on NBC Gold, and will re-air on NBCSN on Friday, May 21 at 12:30 a.m.