Reif Finishes 2023 with Top-10 in Phoenix

Tanner Reif closed out his first season behind the wheel of the No. 16 NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet SS by rallying to an eighth-place finish in the season finale at Phoenix Raceway. The Las Vegas, Nev., native finished the 2023 ARCA Menards Series West tour sixth in the standings with five top-five and seven top-10 results.

Reif qualified sixth for the finale and challenged for position inside the top five in the early stages of the 100-lap contest. Prior to the race’s first caution on lap 14, Reif radioed the NAPA Auto Care team that his balance was loose while going back to the throttle on corner exit and needed more rear security. However, Reif would face adversity on the ensuing restart on lap 20. Close quarters racing resulted in a cut left-rear tire and sent Reif into a spin in Turn 1, but he managed to avoid contact and suffered minimal damage.

Reif would briefly lose a lap while pitting to change the left-rear tire and clearance the fender, but he quickly regained it by earning the Lucky Dog on lap 29. Reif restarted 24th on lap 34 and methodically worked his way forward after the event’s halfway break. He rejoined the top 10 by lap 57 and took advantage of the race’s final restart on lap 74 to advance to eighth. Reif maintained the eighth position over the final 24 circuits to secure his seventh top-10 result of the season.

“We had to battle back from some trouble early,” Reif said. “We got a flat tire and spun, but managed to avoid major damage. The guys did a good job of getting everything fixed up and we had to drive back through the field. We had a good NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet, definitely a big improvement from what we had back in the spring. I wish we would have had a smoother race, but I’m proud to be part of the BMR team this year and these guys put so much effort in through the whole year.”

Start / Finish: 6 / 8
Points Standing / Total: 5th / 567 pts.

Tanner Reif: @Tanner_Reif
NAPA Racing: @NAPARacing
Bill McAnally Racing: @BMR_NASCAR