A tradition was born in 2014, when what is now the ARCA Menards Series East first competed at Florida’s New Smyrna Speedway.

Now, for the ninth year in a row, the East Series season will begin at the half-mile paved oval as part of the track’s nine-day World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing with Tuesday night’s Race to Stop Suicide 200 presented by Place of Hope.

And if the 2022 edition of the East season-opener is anything like the 2021 running, we’re in for quite the show.

Max Gutiérrez, a rookie at the time, won last year’s East Series race at New Smyrna in dramatic fashion, as he conquered both Sammy Smith and Taylor Gray with a three-wide pass on the final stretch to take the checkered flag. All three drivers are entered again in 2022.

Tickets to Tuesday night’s Race to Stop Suicide 200 presented by Place of Hope are available. The race will be shown live on FloRacing, the new streaming home of all NASCAR Roots properties.

Race to Stop Suicide 200 presented by Place of Hope at New Smyrna Speedway

WHAT TO WATCH FOR:

Smith and Gray both will be looking for redemption at New Smyrna given how last year’s race ended, with Gutiérrez stealing his first victory on the ARCA Menards platform by a nose.

Smith, the defending East Series champion, had the dominant car last year at New Smyrna and led 78 laps. Yet it was Gray, who led 43 laps himself that night, who had the lead at the white flag. Smith dove below Gray in the final corner, but contact between the two allowed Gutiérrez to slide below both for the winning pass.

Gray has the same ride this year in his No. 17 Place of Hope Ford for David Gilliland Racing. Gutiérrez will try to defend his race win once again driving the No. 30 TOUGHBUILT Ford for Rette-Jones Racing.

Gutiérrez is one of five drivers in Tuesday’s field at New Smyrna who also are entered to run in the ARCA Menards Series season-opener at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, Feb. 19.

Willie Mullins, Brad Smith, Mason Diaz and Christian Rose also are entered in both races.

Five drivers entered in the East Series opener at New Smyrna — Ashton Higgins, Leland Honeyman, Donald Theetge, Steve Austin and Daniel Escoto — will make their debuts on the ARCA Menards platform. Higgins will run his own No. 49 ALH Motorsports Toyota. Honeyman recently joined Young’s Motorsports to pilot the No. 02 Chevrolet. Theetge is scheduled to run at least two East Series races for Visconti Motorsports this year. Austin is in the No. 22 Chevrolet for CCM Racing. Escoto will run the No. 60 Chevrolet for JW Motorsports.

Christian Rose, who finished 10th and seventh at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Bullring and California’s All American Speedway, respectively, in the West Series last season, will make his East Series debut at New Smyrna. Andrew Tuttle will make his first East Series start since 2018.

Stephanie Moyer, who finished 10th in East Series points last season on the strength of a pair of top-10 finishes in six starts, will race at New Smyrna in Andy Hillenburg’s No. 01 Toyota. Hillenburg will also field cars for Mullins, Ed Pompa and Tony Cosentino.

The complete entry list for Tuesday night’s Race to Stop Suicide 200 presented by Place of Hope at New Smyrna Speedway will be released in the coming days.

RACING REFERENCE:

• Previous East Series races at New Smyrna
• East Series drivers at New Smyrna

RACE FACTS

CREW CHIEF HANDOUT: The starting field for the Race to Stop Suicide 200 presented by Place of Hope is limited to 23 plus provisional positions. This event will be run under the 2022 ARCA Menards Series East rules, procedures, regulations and specifications.

QUALIFYING: Starting position will be set by each car’s fastest recorded lap in the practice/qualifying session.

RACE PIT STOP: Break pitting procedure. Break at or near the conclusion of Lap 100. No adding or moving tires to or from pit box after race has started. All cars will be required to make at least one pit stop prior to last 10 laps of race.

The maximum tire allotment available for this event is as follows: The maximum tire use at track for the event is 12. Per ARCA Rulebook, maximum number of tires allowed in pit box for use in race is four (4).