KANSAS CITY, Kan. — In two starts so far during the 2026 ARCA Menards Series season, Gio Ruggiero found Victory Lane in both.

Ruggiero’s second win of the year proved to be slightly more difficult compared to his season-opening triumph at Daytona International Speedway. After fading during the final long green flag run, Ruggiero used two overtime restarts to cycle back to the front and emerge victorious Saturday in the Tide 150 at Kansas Speedway.

RELATED: Complete results from the Tide 150

Multiple factors motivated Ruggiero’s drive to the win. Not only was he determined to overcome the loss in speed his car experienced in the closing stages, but he also wanted to reward the hard work his entire crew puts in both on and off the track.

“You just got to do whatever it takes to win,” Ruggiero said. “That’s what I did. I thought we had a really strong car, and I just couldn’t let these guys down and lose the race. My crew chief Matt Ross just had a baby, so I needed to get him a nice gift, [which was] to win. I definitely executed on those last restarts and did what it took.”

Ruggiero ended up making his own luck to turn Saturday’s Tide 150 in his favor, albeit unintentionally.

While trying to find his way around the slower car of Dystany Spurlock with three laps remaining, Ruggiero hit her rear bumper and sent her spinning into the infield. Spurlock successfully kept the car out of the wall, but the spin brought out a caution and forced overtime.

Standing in Ruggiero’s way for the ensuing restart was Jack Wood, who possessed one of the quickest cars at Kansas and had passed Ruggiero for the lead a few laps earlier. By lining up as the second car on the inside row, Ruggiero was confident he could overtake Wood if he timed his restart.

Everything went according to plan for Ruggiero. He dove underneath Wood on the frontstretch apron to re-take the lead. Wood’s race ended shortly afterwards when he was turned into the outside retaining wall following contact with Gavan Boschele, leaving Daniel Dye as the next driver up to challenge Ruggiero.

Dye kept Ruggiero in his sightlines during the second and final overtime restart, using the high line to generate momentum. Despite his best efforts, Dye was unable to find his way around the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 and settled for second while Ruggiero took the checkered flag.

Ruggiero’s triumph gave Gibbs’ ARCA Menards Series program its third victory at Kansas. Ty Gibbs earned the organization’s first Kansas win in 2021, with Tanner Gray being responsible for the team’s second checkered flag there during the 2024 season.

For as great as Ruggiero’s day was, he did express some remorse over the circumstances that set up the overtime restarts. Ruggiero wanted to find a clean avenue around Spurlock but was satisfied about turning a miscue on his behalf into another accomplishment for a storied organization like Gibbs.

“I was trying to work lapped traffic really aggressive to catch the leaders, or try to run them down,” Ruggiero said. “I was really struggling with a loose balance. Just kind of misjudged it, but I think [Spurlock] turned down, not sure if she was trying to go to the top or the bottom. Just got to work on that stuff, but I’m happy to get the win.”

ARCA Menards Series points leader Jake Bollman enjoyed another solid outing by coming home third. Boschele followed his Nitro Motorsports teammate home in fourth, with Lanie Buice completing the top five.

The rest of the top 10 finishers in the Tide 150 consisted of Jason Kitzmiller, Jade Avedisian, Monty Tipton, Thomas Annunziata and Spurlock.

The ARCA Menards Series immediately jumps back into action next weekend when the series tackles the largest track on the calendar, the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway. Saturday’s Alabama Manufactured Housing 200 commences at 11:30 a.m. CT/12:30 p.m. ET with FS1 providing live coverage.