A Brenden Queen victory at Kansas Speedway on his mind in the ARCA Menards Series on Friday night in the Tide 150
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — An unfortunate sense of déjà vu befell Queen when he saw the caution flag come out only a few hundred yards away from the start-finish line at Kansas Speedway.
Brenden Queen Victory at Kansas
Only a few months ago at Phoenix Raceway, a spin by Tim Viens on the final lap while Queen was leading forced him to defend the top spot during a one-lap shootout. An aggressive dive by Brent Crews in the third turn moved Queen out of the groove, handing Crews the victory and spoiling what had been a dominant performance by Queen.
Queen ensured no one got within range of his back bumper during the one-lap shootout that settled Friday’s Tide 150. A perfectly executed restart provided Queen the launch he needed to pull away from the rest of the field, resulting in his second ARCA Menards Series victory in his fifth career start.
“I let one get away at Phoenix,” Queen said. “Of course that was going through my mind at the end of this race, but at the same time, that’s what a race car driver lives for, the opportunity to redeem yourself. These guys work so hard on this car, so the only thing I can do is take them to Waffle House tonight.”
Like at Phoenix, the primary opposition standing in the way of another trip to Victory Lane was the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18, piloted by William Sawalich.
William Sawalich versus Brenden Queen
Sawalich appeared to have the best car during the opening portion of the Tide 150. He quickly dispatched polesitter and Talladega Superspeedway winner Lawless Alan before proceeding to set a familiar, commanding tone.
Despite the strong start, Sawalich’s lead did not last, as Queen methodically chipped away at Sawalich’s advantage by searching for clean air around Kansas’ progressive banking. Queen finally pulled alongside Sawalich on lap 34, using the side draft and the lapped car of Ryan Vargas as a pick to assume control of the top spot for the rest of the night.
For Sawalich, who was searching for his first ARCA Menards Series victory on an intermediate track, attempting to overtake Queen was a frustrating process. Already struggling with the balance of his car on long runs, Sawalich admitted restarts provided little assistance while challenging Queen.
“The first segment, we were a little too loose on the long run,” Sawalich said. “In the second segment, we were a little too tight. I also didn’t have a bunch of help on the restarts. The second lane was a little tough to launch in, and we had some wheelspin. [Queen] did a good job, and I’m proud of my JGR boys for bringing me a good car.”
The Tide 150 Results
Sawalich’s runner-up finish to Queen on Friday continued an ongoing rivalry between Gibbs and Pinnacle Racing Group across all three ARCA Menards Series divisions. Along with several one-two finishes between the two programs, their battle also expanded to the East Series title fight in 2024, with Sawalich prevailing over PRG and Connor Zilisch.
PRG earned another notch against Gibbs on Friday courtesy of Queen, who used his Late Model Stock experience to be precise on restarts all evening, including the pivotal one-lap shootout.
“[Being a] Late Model guy, I’m used to going [from third gear to fourth gear], so when we were going through the whole H pattern, [I was] trying to manage the runs,” Queen said. [My spotter] Derek Kneeland up top does such a great job coaching me and keeping me in the game. They can’t say we haven’t won on a mile-and-a-half now.”
Following Queen and Sawalich in third was 2014 ARCA Menards Series champion Mason Mitchell. Alan and Lavar Scott completed the top five.
Andy Jankowiak, Jason Kitzmiller, Lanie Buice, Spencer Gallagher, and Ryan Vargas were sixth through tenth, respectively.
The ARCA Menards Series Point Standings
The point standings are heating up with Brenden Queen leading by only one point over Lawless Alan and Lavar Scott. Andy Jakowiak is down 13 points from the leader, while fifth-place Jason Kitzmiller sits 23 points behind.
The sixth through tenth spots are William Sawalich, Thad Moffitt, Kole Raz, Alex Clubb, and Patrick Staropoli.
Up Next
Charlotte Motor Speedway welcomes the ARCA Menards Series for the next race on the schedule, the General Tire 150 on Friday, May 23. The green flag is set to wave at 6 p.m. ET, with FS1 providing live flag-to-flag coverage.