Triple Bypass Racing: Grzech Gambles, Goes the Distance for Sonoma Victory in DJ Yee-J’s ARCA Farmer 40

by Tim Corder

📊 Race Stats at a Glance

🏆 Winner: Kyle Grzech (#27), 21 Laps Led
🥈 2nd Place: Tyler Merritt (#38), 19 Laps Led
🥉 3rd Place: Chad Winstead (#97)
⏱️ Fastest Lap: Tyler Merritt, 1:15.471 (Lap 8)
🚦 Pole Position: Tyler Merritt (#38)
🔁 Leaders: 2 | Lead Changes: 1
🚨 Cautions: None (Cautions Disabled)
⏱️ Race Distance: 40 Laps
✨ Clean Machines (0 Incidents): Alan Kundman (#3), Brad Cress (#9)
🚀 Hard Charger: Zachary Nurney (#36) — +9 (P18 → P9)

Qualifying Recap

Tyler Merritt (#38) set the pace early by leading the pack in qualifying. Kyle Grzech (#27) joined him on the front row, followed by Chad Winstead (#97), Alan Kundman (#3), and Adam Bosse (#83) in a stacked top five poised for a strategy race.

Race Breakdown

With cautions turned off, the DJ Yee-J’s ARCA Farmer 40 became a 40-lap green-flag chess match where pit timing and tire/fuel conservation mattered as much as raw pace.

Early Domination (Laps 1–20): Merritt launched cleanly from pole and immediately built a 2 second lead by Lap 7, stretching to six seconds by Lap 20 over Grzech.
Pit Cycle Flips the Board (Laps 21–30): Merritt pitted on Lap 22 for fuel/tires; several others cycled earlier (Baxter on Lap 10 fuel-only, Kundman Lap 11 fuel+4). Grzech and Bosse committed to a no-stop strategy.
Control Up Front: By Lap 30, Grzech commanded the lead by 3.5 seconds over Winstead, with Merritt charging back through to P3.
No-Stop Masterclass: Grzech and Bosse nursed pace and fuel to the end, while Merritt’s outright speed couldn’t claw back the time lost on pit road.
Checkers: Kyle Grzech (#27) sealed the win on strategy, Merritt (#38) settled for second after leading 19 laps, and Winstead (#97) completed the podium. Only eight cars finished on the lead lap in this caution-free grind.

Championship Update

Consistency continues to pay: Adam Bosse retains the points lead at 221, but Alan Kundman trims the gap to -7 with another clean, mistake-free day. Brad Cress remains firmly in the hunt after banking another incident-free finish, while Justin Baxter and Terry Brooks round out a tightly packed top five.

Top 5 in Points After Sonoma

Adam Bosse — 221 pts
Alan Kundman — 214 pts (-7)
Brad Cress — 209 pts (-12)
Justin Baxter — 183 pts (-38)
Terry Brooks — 181 pts (-40)

Next Week’s Teaser

The tour leaves wine country and heads back to the ovals with a trip to Kern Raceway, where track position and restart craft return to the spotlight. With just 12 points covering the top three, every bonus point could swing the momentum. Keep up-to-date with all the Triple Bypass Racing League action at triplebypassracing.com!