Max Reaves is impressive with a dominant ARCA East victory at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway on Saturday night in the Music City 150.
NASHVILLE, TN. — Ever since Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway became a part of the ARCA Menards Series East schedule, one car has been dominant – the No. 18 Toyota.
Max Reaves’ Victory at Nashville
Between the Joe Gibbs Racing and Kyle Busch Motorsports banners, the No. 18 has led 606 of 755 possible laps across Nashville’s four East Series events. Three of those races concluded with the No. 18 parked in Victory Lane. The 2023 edition is the lone exception to that trend.
Max Reaves faced minimal issues maintaining the dominant status quo for the No. 18 at Nashville on a cloudy Sunday afternoon. Aside from the restarts, no one in the field could challenge Reaves. He pulled away to secure his second consecutive East Series victory in only his second career start.
Reaves entered the Music City 150 at Nashville, having previously competed in a Legends car. High expectations were placed on Reaves not only to score another win for Gibbs at Nashville but also to build on the momentum from his season-opening triumph at Five Flags Speedway.
With the guidance of NASCAR Hall-of-Famer Bobby Labonte and the experience of crew chief Matt Ross at his disposal, Reaves wasted no time getting acclimated to Nashville in a full-bodied stock car. The inclement weather on Saturday gave Reaves a crucial head start, as he inherited the pole based on last year’s owner points.
Everything that occurred afterwards was procedural for Gibbs at Nashville, a textbook stalwart performance that saw Reaves lead most of the Music City 150.
The Music City 150 Results
The only obstacles Reaves faced during the day came on restarts, the first of which saw him briefly lose the top spot to Tyler Reif. Reaves quickly shook off the mistake by overtaking Reif a few laps later. He was intent on keeping him in his rearview mirror during two ensuing restarts, both of which saw Reif fail to match Reaves’ pace.
Reif managed to hang onto the second position until the checkered flag waved, which served as a solid rebound for the young prospect after a mechanical failure ended his day prematurely at Rockingham Speedway. With his momentum, Reif will look to back up his strong Nashville performance during the next East Series race.
For Reaves, his consistency on Sunday further solidified the No. 18 Toyota’s status as the most efficient ARCA Menards Series car at Nashville during the 2020s. Luke Fenhaus besting William Sawalich in overtime during the 2023 Music City 150 prevented the No. 18 car from a clean sweep of the five East Series races held at Nashville so far.
The ARCA East Series Point Standings
Unlike past seasons, the No. 18 is not contending for an East Series driver’s title due to Reaves’ part-time schedule. Despite this, East Series victories will not be hard to come by for the No. 18 in 2025 if Reaves continues the same composure from his first two appearances.
Hunter Wright, a local Nashville competitor, bested East Series points leader Isaac Kitzmiller in a hard-fought battle to bring home a third-place finish. Kitzmiller and Zachary Tinkle were the rest of the top five finishers.
Up Next
The next race up for the ARCA Menards Series East at Flat Rock Speedway will be the last standalone event on their 2025 calendar. The Dutch Boy 150 will commence at 7:30 p.m. ET on May 17, with FloRacing providing live coverage of the on-track action.