Toledo Speedway

The talent of the ARCA Menards Series is local, national, and international. 18-year old Andrés Pérez de Lara is a growing international star to watch into the future, and certainly one to watch on October 7th at Toledo Speedway.

Andrés Pérez de Lara is a native of Mexico City, currently resting in second place in the ARCA Menards Series points standings rolling into the series' final race of the season - the Shore Lunch 200 presented by CGS Imaging.

At the same time, he's also fourth in the NASCAR México Series - with eight top tens in nine race.

Toledo Speedway spoke with Pérez de Lara at Michigan Speedway in advance of the final stretch of the ARCA Menards Series season. The driver of the number 2 car spoke about his first year in stock car racing, his first time in Toledo (spoilers: it was cold), as well as what he looks forward to in the final ARCA Menards Series race of the season - the Toledo Speedway Shore Lunch 200 presented by CGS Imaging on October 7th.

Tickets for this event are available now, and can be picked up at a discount at select Menards locations.

All right, so you're a championship contender right now. Tell me more about this year!

Well, this year has been great. I've really enjoyed racing so many different tracks and, yeah, we got really good results.

I think we're still missing that first win, but hopefully we can get it done this weekend or the weekend in Toledo or any other racetrack. Just happy to be racing here and yeah, looking for that first win of the year. 

What was the best moment so far this season? 

Well, I think our best moment so far has been Pocono. We were really fast there. We were definitely the fastest car out there. I think we could have won that race, but just the things didn't play on our favor. Some mistakes happen on others ends. So, yeah, at the end of the day, we showed really good speed and, yeah, we're happy of the performance we have had and the car is just getting better and better, improving, and, yeah, I'm happy. 

Going into the rest of the season - What races are circled on your calendar? 

Well, I think Bristol's one because that's the only track that I've already been to. I have a little more experience there. Also the last one of the season in Toledo. I think that's the one to go because everything's closing out, so everybody's going full send, nobody's going to leave anything on the track. So, yeah, I think that's going to be really interesting. There's going to be so many competitive cars trying to go for that win and finish on a high because a driver is as good as his last race. So, yeah, I think those two are my one circled on my calendar. 

Do you feel like you're getting more comfortable with the car? 

I definitely do.

I think just experience and more adaptation to this car just helping me every week because, yeah, I think I started the year as kind of a rookie. I kust didn't have enough experience as I wish for a whole season.

But yeah, the more weeks we have, the more time in the car, the better I feel and the better results we get in. 

This won't be your first time in Toledo. Tell me about your first time coming to the track. 

I went to Toledo at the beginning of the year. It was cold [laughs]. That's the first thing I come to mind. Hopefully it's not as cold when we go back.

The track is really good. I remember just walking the track. I haven't been on-track, but I was there. The place is cool. Feels like a good environment and it just feels like a cool place to go. I was there at the beginning of the year, and hopefully when we go back for racing, it's not as cold and we get good results there [laughs]. 

So going into Toledo, what's the expectation?

Toledo at the end of the year, we just want to finish on a high. That's definitely what we're looking for. I think that's very important. It can help our negotiations both for next year and not only that, but just me mentally.

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About the Shore Lunch 200

The ARCA Menards Series crowns a champion on Saturday, October 7th with the Shore Lunch 200 at Toledo Speedway. This historic race has created many memorable moments over the years as a season finale, with big finishes and a high amount of action. Tickets for this event are available now at local Menards stores! You can click here to learn more about where to pick up your tickets for this championship event. You can also follow along with Toledo Speedway on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.