ARCA Power Rankings: 2024 CARS Tour Champion Brenden Queen an ARCA Daytona Winner

The ARCA Menards Series season opener at Daytona International Speedway was certainly eventful.

Seven cautions consumed much of the field with only 13 drivers finishing on the lead lap. Series regulars such as Thad Moffitt, Michael Maples and Isabella Robusto all wound up with DNFs. Eighteen drivers didn’t even make it to halfway in the 80-lap race. While we’ll further explore the continuing carnage in the ARCA race at Daytona in Thursday’s (Feb. 20) article, the checkered flag flew and a man with a championship ring took home the trophy.

Yep, 2024 zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Tour champion Brenden “Butterbean” Queen led the final 10 laps of the race en route to his first career ARCA victory.

While plenty of drivers left with damaged racecars, others left making the first Frontstretch ARCA power rankings of 2025.

1. Brenden Queen

Queen’s triumph also ended a unique streak for ARCA. Daytona was the first time a full-time driver won since 2023 champion Jesse Love won at Salem Speedway that year. That was a 21-race winless streak for full timers.

Queen outright said he expected to win this season, he just did not anticipate his first one to come at Daytona.

Queen’s celebration was reminiscent of Greg Van Alst’s emotional one at Daytona in ’23. Both were feel-good ones. And, for the waffle, err cherry, on top, he and his Pinnacle Racing Group team celebrated at Waffle House in true CARS Tour winner fashion.

You know we made it to the @WaffleHouse pic.twitter.com/XahdE6etrS

— Brenden Queen (@03Butterbean) February 16, 2025

2. Helio Castroneves

Raise your hand if you would’ve imagined Helio Castroneves making an ARCA start.

Now, in case you’re fibbing about the previous sentence, raise your hand if you would’ve thought he would make it into these power rankings. This is ARCA, not the NTT IndyCar Series, in which he is a four-time Indianapolis 500 winner.

Alas, Castroneves indeed made these power rankings. He was involved in two caution flag incidents, including The Big One on lap 5. As the laps wound down though, Castroneves drafted with his PRG teammate Queen, allowing Queen to grab the lead and win.

After Castroneves took the checkered flag, he was wrecked in a bizarre incident with AJ Moyer.

Yes, this was the fifth-place car.

This car tells a story … pic.twitter.com/4oPispi5Hb

— Taylor Kitchen (@_TaylorKitchen_) February 15, 2025

Will we see Castroneves in an ARCA car again? I doubt it, but it sure was fun to see. It was also his best run of the race weekend, as he crashed out of his Duel and the Daytona 500.

3. Ryan Roulette

In his first race driving for Maples Motorsports, Ryan Roulette started the race in the garage due to mechanical woes. He received the Lucky Dog during the first caution. From there, he avoided the messiness of the first half of the race and climbed to a ninth-place finish.

“Man, it just started back at the shop,” Roulette told Frontstretch post-race. “We knew we brought a rocket ship out here and unfortunately our battery died before the race started so we started back in the garage. That early caution came out, got that Lucky Dog. And we just being smart all day. Slowly moving forward, picking our lines, who we wanted to work with and it worked out in the end and we got a top 10. We’ll take it.

“Dude, it’s huge. You know, we took a big risk this year switching over to Maples Motorsports. We knew we’re a new team. We had a lot of growing pains but we just showed everyone we can bring some great equipment out here and we’re on a huge high right now to be able to run top 10.”

It is his second career top 10, one spot shy of his career best of eighth set last year at Salem. One word to describe how he earned ninth at Daytona? Survival.

“Yeah, we got close a few times,” Roulette said about avoiding the wrecks. “I think I’ll have to go see Tim Richmond, see how he’s doing cause he came right across our nose and got real close. But, no, it’s just trying to be smart, right? We’re out there being strategic playing chess making sure we put ourselves in the right spot at the right time. When it was time to race, it was time to race.”

Roulette’s next race is at Talladega Superspeedway. If he has the same strategy, sans starting the race in the garage, and luck, he could make another appearance in these power rankings.

4. William Sawalich

After the ’24 season finale at Toledo Speedway, I wondered if William Sawalich was done ARCA racing. Turns out, he isn’t; he’s running part time in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

In his ARCA superspeedway debut, Sawalich started first via the starting lineup set by the rulebook due to inclement weather. He led a race-high 29 laps, and it felt like he ran a quiet race.

Obviously, it’s only the first race of the 20-race season but points matter. Sawalich scored 44 points for the JGR No. 18, second-most behind Queen’s No. 28. If Queen, and the other series regulars will contend for more wins than the ’24 regulars, Sawalich’s dominance in an ARCA car will continue to be crucial as the No. 18 team chases another owner points title.

5. Lavar Scott

Lavar Scott started third, led 10 laps and finished fourth. Solid day at the racetrack, especially considering it was Daytona, right?

True. Furthermore, Scott continued his streak of eight straight top 10s with six top fives among those. He also led laps for only the fourth time in his career.

ARCA does not use a playoff system so, again, every point matters. If this championship is going to resemble the 2021 or 2022 races, then earning bonus points by winning poles, leading laps, and winning races matter.

Scott indeed earned a bonus point at Daytona. Next up: Phoenix. He finished 10th there in the ’24 race. He also has a pair of ARCA Menards Series West standalone starts there with 17th and 12th-place results. To continue to hold serve with Queen, he must run top 10 and hopefully earn bonus points.

Paint Scheme of the Race

Daytona brought out many pretty racecars. Lawless Alan, Willie Mullins, Queen, Maples and Robusto all deserve shoutouts for their paint schemes, even if they, sans Queen, did not earn their desired finish, or at least the finish indicative of their racecar’s speed.

In a close competition, albeit a subjective one, the ’25 season-opening Paint Scheme of the Race goes to Castroneves’ No. 82 Chevrolet sponsored by Wendy’s.

TOP 5️⃣ IN HIS @ARCA_Racing DEBUT!!

After an eventful day, @h3lio takes P5️⃣.@Wendys | @RacePRG pic.twitter.com/sl0ip2sx2x

— PROJECT91 (@THProject91) February 15, 2025

His top-five result earned him a shoutout in the above tweet from Trackhouse Racing’s Project 91 X account. Castroneves also piloted a Wendy’s-sponsored No. 91 in his NASCAR Cup Series debut. Unlike his ARCA debut though, his Cup debut wound up with his car on the wrecker and a DNF.

Nevertheless, shout out to PRG for the paint scheme. Its race-winning No. 28 Chevrolet is also available to preorder as a diecast.

ARCA next heads west to Phoenix for a combination race featuring the national and West series drivers. The General Tire 150 will take place on Friday, March 7 at 8 p.m. ET with TV coverage provided by FOX Sports 1.