Andres Perez and Luke Fenhaus debut in NASCAR with Top-10 finishes
Andres Perez and Luke Fenhaus made a big statement Saturday as they both debuted in NASCAR with a Top-10 finish.
A Top-10 in your NASCAR debut is a big deal. It’s a culmination of developments and seizing opportunities knowing your potential but not your results.
Andres Perez, 19, came to the U.S. with plenty of great results in the NASCAR Mexico Series. In 2020, at just 15 years old, Perez won the NASCAR Mexico Truck Series championship.
Two years later, he won the NASCAR Mexico Challenge Series championship and caught the eye of the Drive for Diversity program.
Thanks to the program, Perez now races full-time in the ARCA Menards Series — where he crossed pathes with Luke Fenhaus.
Fenhaus won an ARCA Menards Series race at Iowa Speedway last year. The 20-year-old driver used his No. 28 Pinnacle Racing Group Chevrolet to outdo William Sawalich on a late-race restart.
Fenhaus previously competed in the Kulwicki Driver Development Program in 2019 and 2021. 2021 was a big year as he won the Slinger Nationals and clinched the KDDP title. Then, in 2022, he backed it up with a CARS Pro Late Model Tour championship in his rookie year there.
Fenhaus found his way to NASCAR competing Saturday in the ThorSport Racing No. 66 Ford F-150. Meanwhile, Perez raced the Spire Motorsports No. 7 Chevrolet Silverado.
Perez started 16th while Fenhaus started 27th and found trouble early. While trying to make a three-wide move going into turn one on lap 11, Fenhaus spun and fell a lap down.
The Wisconsin driver rallied in the final 24 laps of stage one. When the stage ended on lap 35, he earned the free pass and got back on the lead lap.
Fenhaus worked his way up to 21st while Perez maintained his track position from the start of the race as it was tough to pass, according to several drivers.
Fenhaus found track position through staying out and caught a caution on lap 130, giving him a free pass pit stop on lap 133. Perez had already pitted but had a fast enough stop and good enough performance that he stayed on the lead lap.
Perez and Fenhaus restarted sixth and 11th, respectively. They ended up right next to each other in ninth and 10th at the finish.
“Rough start to the weekend but we rebounded well. Ready for the next one,” Fenhaus said on social media.
Perez leads the ARCA Menards Series points standings by 16 points over Greg Van Alst. Meanwhile, Fenhaus doesn’t have any other confirmed starts in NASCAR or ARCA. However, he has some late model starts planned:
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com