LONG POND — NASCAR weekend officially shifted into gear Friday at Pocono Raceway as the ARCA Menards Series opened on-track competition at the Tricky Triangle.

Gio Ruggiero highlighted the day’s racing action by winning the Sunset Hill Shooting Range 150. Driving the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, Ruggiero led 51 of 60 laps to earn his fourth victory in five ARCA Menards Series starts this season. The 21-year-old Massachusetts native finished 14.342 seconds ahead of Nitro Motorsports’ Gavin Boschele.

Carson Brown placed third, while Jake Bollman and Lanie Buice rounded out the top five. Earlier in the day, Buice became the seventh female driver in ARCA Menards Series history to win a pole position and the first to do so at Pocono Raceway. The 19-year-old rookie later matched the best finish by a female driver in the series since 2007 by taking fifth place.

The weekend action continues Saturday with NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series practice from 10:30-11:20 a.m. and qualifying from 11:35 a.m.-12:30 p.m. NASCAR Cup Series teams will take to the track for practice from 1-2 p.m., followed by qualifying from 2:10-3 p.m. The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts MillerTech Battery 250 presented by KOA is scheduled for 4 p.m.

The weekend concludes Sunday with the NASCAR Cup Series’ The Great American Getaway 400 presented by VISIT PA, a 160-lap, 400-mile event set for a 3 p.m. start.

Times News photographer Taj Falconer was at Pocono Raceway on Friday, capturing scenes from the opening day of NASCAR weekend — from the action on the track to the fans who help make the annual event one of northeastern Pennsylvania’s signature sporting attractions.