Gio Ruggiero celebrates with a burnout after winning Friday at Pocono Raceway. (Christian Wilson/SWN photo)

By Jacob Seelman, SWN News Editor

LONG POND, Pa. (June 12, 2026) – A dominant Gio Ruggiero cruised to his fourth ARCA Menards Series victory of the season Friday afternoon during the Sunset Hill Shooting Range 150 at Pocono Raceway.

Ruggiero piloted the No. 18 First Auto Group Toyota to a 14.342-second victory over runner-up Gavan Boschele, who rallied back from a flat tire midway through the race to a strong result.

But the day in the Pocono Mountains belonged to the 19-year-old Ruggiero, who first took command on a lap-nine restart and only ceded the top spot once from there, when Ryan Vargas went off-strategy and led two laps under the second caution of the race.

Ruggiero regained control on the lap-26 restart which followed and dominated the rest of the way.

“I thought we were good in practice, but didn’t know we were going to be that quick,” Ruggiero said. “That was definitely domination, not by me, but by this whole No. 18 crew. Everybody at Joe Gibbs Racing works so hard and I’m just proud to be part of the group.

“It’d be really cool if JGR could sweep the whole weekend and I had to be the one to start it.”

The field had one final chance to line up close to Ruggiero’s bumper, and that was on the final restart of the day on lap 36, following the scheduled halfway break in the 60-lap race.

But that was of no consequence to the Seekonk, Mass., teenager, who effortlessly launched away from the rest of his pursuers and made the final outcome a mere formality from that point forward.

All four of Ruggiero’s national ARCA victories have come this season. His average finish through five starts in 2026 with Joe Gibbs Racing is a staggering 1.8.

It also marked the third Pocono ARCA win for JGR as an organization, each coming with a different driver. Riley Herbst won at the 2.5-mile ‘Tricky Triangle’ in 2017, and Ty Gibbs triumphed there in 2020.

“[Gibbs does] such a great job,” Ruggiero said of the team. “Obviously, this is one of the most competitive cars in the series and I’m just really thankful to have the opportunity to drive it.”

Boschele’s flat tire occurred on lap 19, and he spent the last two thirds of the race trying to claw back from that issue in his No. 25 Nitro Motorsports-prepared Toyota.

A last-lap pass of Pinnacle Racing Group’s Carson Brown netted the final position Boschele got and left Brown to settle for third in the No. 28 Chevrolet.

National ARCA point leader Jake Bollman crossed fourth and Lanie Buice, who started from the pole and led the first seven laps Friday, completed the top five.

Sixth through 10th were Thomas Annunziata, Daniel Dye, Jade Avedisian, Jason Kitzmiller and Vargas.

Next on the ARCA Menards Series calendar is the Herr’s Snacks 200 at Berlin Raceway in Marne, Mich., on Saturday, June 20. Broadcast coverage airs at 6:30 p.m. ET, live on FS2.