Tide 150

Gio Ruggiero steered his No. 18 First Auto Group Toyota to a dramatic victory in the Tide 150, surviving a pair of overtime restarts to claim his second win of 2026.

Ruggiero’s primary objective was to reclaim the lead late in the race, and he executed perfectly by overtaking Jack Wood during the first green-white-checkered attempt. Despite heavy pressure from Daniel Dye on the final restart, Ruggiero held his line to cross the finish line first.

The race was defined by historic milestones and high-speed drama. Dystany Spurlock made history as the first Black female driver to compete in an ARCA Menards Series race, impressively climbing from the back of the 29-car field to secure a 10th-place finish in her debut.

The afternoon saw a significant incident on lap 76 when Garrett Mitchell (Cleetus McFarland) suffered a mechanical failure, dropping oil that sent both Isabella Robusto and Andy Jankowiak into the wall and grass, respectively. While Lanie Buice celebrated her first career top-five finish in 5th, and Jake Bollman maintained his points lead with a 3rd-place effort, the day belonged to Ruggiero, who proved his season-opening win was no fluke.