Nitro Motorsports has had a decent showing in the ARCA Menards Series in 2026, with two of their full-time drivers, Jake Bollman and Thomas Annunziata, sitting first and second on top of the championship points standings. Annunziata picked up the team’s first win of the year at Lime Rock Park in July, and has been slowly closing the gap to his teammate by just three points. Isabella Robusto sits two spots behind Annunziata in fourth.
The ARCA Menards Series West program has also shown some recent success, with Sam Corry grabbing the team a victory at Sonoma Raceway in June, their first in the West Series division. That same race, Mia Lovell scored a career-best second place run, which was her second consecutive top-three finish in the series.
While also managing a Trans-Am Series team, Nitro plans to give themselves a bigger challenge during ARCA’s doubleheader weekend.
Looking into Friday’s JR & CO. 150 at Iowa Speedway, Nitro is scheduled to field six cars, three for their full-time drivers of Bollman, Annunziata, and Robusto, with the addition of Jade Avedisian in the No. 15, Gavan Boschele in the No. 25, and Ty Fredrickson in the No. 90.
Fredrickson’s entry will be fielded in a collaboration with Team 36, his family-owned organization for which he competes for in the CARS Tour.
Avedisian, Bollman, Boschele, and Fredrickson will be visiting Iowa for the first time in their careers. Annunziata has one previous start in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts in 2025, where he finished 32nd.
The team will then shift their focus to Saturday’s Portland 112 and Portland International Raceway, where they plan to field five cars, with full-time driver Mia Lovell in the No. 15, and Sam Corry returning to the No. 25 in an attempt to go back-to-back in victories. They will be joined by Brad McAllister in the No. 20, Ethan Tovo in the No. 70, and Graham Jacobson in the No. 90.
McAllister, who won the 2019 Trans-Am TA2 Western Championship, who is also a seven-time winner of the series, is a native of Portland, Oregon, and looks to grab a victory with his hometown crowd.
Ethan Tovo is the son of Nitro Motorsports team co-owner Joe Tovo, and currently runs in the Trans-Am CUBE 3 Architecture TA2 Series for the organization, grabbing one podium and four top-five finishes in nine starts, sitting third in the championship standings.
Graham Jacobson has a previous start in the ARCA Menards Series national division at Lime Rock, finishing 16th for Andy Hillenburg’s Fast Track Racing. He is the 2019 TA2 Western champion at Sonoma Raceway, and currently competes as a rookie in the CUBE 3 TA2 Series for Stanton Barrett Motorsports, earning a best finish of eighth at Sonoma that year.
The ARCA Menards Series will be back in action on August 7 at Iowa Speedway, which will also serve as the third combination race with the ARCA Menards Series East. After a nearly two-month break, the ARCA Menards Series West will return at Portland International Raceway on August 8, where they will also join the IndyCar Series in a doubleheader event.
