After history-making effort one year ago, Jake Finch returns to Talladega looking for another win

When Jake Finch entered Talladega Superspeedway on April 20, 2024, he had no idea he would make ARCA Menards Series history that day.

Driving a Venturini Motorsports Toyota, Finch started from the pole and led every lap of the ARCA Menards Series General Tire 200 that afternoon. This was the first time in the modern era of ARCA racing that a driver led every lap at Talladega. Due to incomplete records before 1979, it’s uncertain if Finch is the only ARCA driver to achieve this feat.

What is known is that no driver in the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, or NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series has ever led every lap at the 2.66-mile oval.

This unique statistic remains significant to Finch a year later.

“Obviously it was a pretty good day,” said Finch, who returns to Talladega this Saturday with Venturini Motorsports, aiming to defend his victory from last year. “Looking back and putting myself back in the car, I never really thought about leading every lap. Each lap was new to me. I was trying my best to stay out front every lap, and fortunately, it ended up being all of them.

“It was probably one of the best days of my life.”

The race at Talladega a season ago was Finch’s second on a superspeedway. His first was earlier that year at Daytona International Speedway, where he led a race-high 65 laps but was involved in a crash during overtime, finishing 11th.

Determined to overcome the disappointment from Daytona, Finch arrived at Talladega believing a win was possible. He had no idea how right he was.

“Coming off Daytona, that was my first (superspeedway) race, and I felt I did a really good job for my first time,” Finch said. “In the end, it didn’t go the way I wanted, and it was heart-wrenching for me and my team.

“It was hard to get over for a while, and I felt like I made the wrong decision when it mattered. When I got to Talladega, I focused on making the right choices, being there at the end, and hopefully being in a good spot.”

Besides its place in racing history, Talladega holds special significance for Finch and his family.

Jake’s father, James Finch, fielded cars in the Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and ARCA for over 20 years. The only Cup Series win for Phoenix Racing, his team, was at Talladega in 2009 with Brad Keselowski driving.

This added extra meaning to Jake Finch’s win last season, with his father present to witness it.