The 2024 Hard Rock Bet 200 was the first stock car race of the 2024 ARCA Menards Series season, and the 61st running of the event. The race was originally scheduled to be held on Saturday, February 17, 2024, but due to the forecasted inclement weather for Saturday, the race was moved up to Friday, February 16, immediately following the NASCAR Truck Series race on the same day.[5] The race was held at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, a 2.5 mile (4 km) permanent tri-oval shaped asphalt superspeedway. The race was originally scheduled to be contested over 80 laps, but was extended to 84 laps due to a NASCAR overtime finish. In a wild and wreck-filled race, Gus Dean, driving for Venturini Motorsports, would hold off the field in a one lap restart, and won the race after a vicious crash occurred on the final lap. This was Dean's third career ARCA Menards Series win, and his first of the season.[6] Dean's teammate, Jake Finch, had dominated the entire race, leading a race-high 65 laps before being involved in the last lap incident. To fill out the podium, Thomas Annunziata, driving for Jeff McClure Racing, and Greg Van Alst, driving for his own team, Van Alst Motorsports, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
Daytona International Speedway, the circuit where the race will be held.
Daytona International Speedway is one of three superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the other two being Atlanta Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.[7] The standard track at Daytona International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long.[8] The track's turns are banked at 31 degrees, while the front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at 18 degrees.[8]
Entry list
50 drivers were entered for the Sioux Chief Fast Track 200, one of the largest entries in the ARCA Menards Series in recent years. It will also mark the first time since 2017 that drivers will fail to qualify for an ARCA event.[9][10]
The first and only practice session was held on Thursday, February 15, at 4:05 PM EST, and would last for 50 minutes.[11]Marco Andretti, driving for Cook Racing Technologies, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 48.600, and a speed of 185.185 mph (298.026 km/h).[12]
Qualifying was held on Friday, February 16, at 1:30 PM EST.[11] The qualifying system used is a multi-car, multi-lap group-based system. Drivers will be split into different groups of seven to eight drivers. Each group will have four minutes to set a lap time, and the driver who sets the overall fastest lap between the groups will win the pole. The fastest 34 drivers will lock in, with the final 6 spots being reserved for provisional starters.[13]
Willie Mullins, driving for family-owned Mullins Racing, would set the fastest time between the overall groups, with a lap of 48.982, and a speed of 183.741 mph (295.702 km/h).[14]
