Brent Crews made a statement in the ARCA Menards Series East return to Rockingham Speedway. He was fastest in practice, captured the pole and led all but one lap en route to winning the race on Saturday, April 19.
Crews scored the first win of his East career and the fourth of his ARCA series career.
Crews won by over six seconds ahead of William Sawalich. The Joe Gibbs Racing duo finished 1-2 in the same spots that they started.
Eloy Sebastian finished third in his series debut followed by Patrick Staropoli in fourth and Andy Jankowiak in fifth.
Isaac Kitzmiller was the highest finishing series regular in sixth. Kole Raz, Lanie Buice, Lavar Scott and Spencer Gallagher rounded out the top 10 in seventh through 10th, respectively.
The much-anticipated return to Rockingham saw multiple drivers endure a rough race weekend.
Jankowiak and Gallagher suffered damage to their racecars during the optional pre-race practice session on Friday, and London McKenzie wrecked his No. 93 during practice on Saturday.
Other drivers wound up with similar fates en route to DNFs in the 125-lap race, too.
Jake Finch was the first victim, as he got loose racing alongside Austin Green in a corner, backed his No. 20 Toyota into the wall and also collected Lavar Scott.
An early 🟡 is out at @Rockingham1965 for a crash involving @jamessfinch and @LavarScott.
— ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) April 19, 2025
📺 NASCAR Channel on @Tubi | @FloRacing pic.twitter.com/NUsTTPuH4w
Finch finished second-to-last (26th). Next to crash out was Timmy Hill, who made hard contact with the wall. Hill wound up 20th.
💥 Very hard hit at @Rockingham1965 for Timmy Hill after a possible tire down@ARCA_Racing #ARCA pic.twitter.com/i91pGoo99i
— FloRacing (@FloRacing) April 19, 2025
Then, before the scheduled halfway break, Buice got loose underneath Tyler Reif and sent Reif hard into the wall.
We've reached the halfway break at @Rockingham1965 following a crash involving @TylerReif7.
— ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) April 19, 2025
📺 NASCAR Channel on @Tubi | @FloRacing pic.twitter.com/16QsbkzDgs
Reif soldiered on in the race before ultimately parking his No. 23 Chevrolet with a 17th-place finish.
When the race resumed after the five-minute break, it stayed green and Crews drove away from the field. Except with 19 laps to go, Blaine Donahue spun his No. 9 Toyota and made contact with Gallagher.
We'll have a sprint to the finish at @Rockingham1965 following this accident between Blaine Donahue and Spencer Gallagher.
— ARCA Menards Series (@ARCA_Racing) April 19, 2025
📺 NASCAR Channel on @Tubi | @FloRacing pic.twitter.com/HjthsYIILp
Neither driver’s day was done; Donahue piloted his car to 16th place. On the last restart, Crews once again sailed away to the lead and win, his second ARCA series win of 2025. With this victory, he now has a win in all three ARCA divisions.
ARCA East at Rockingham Results
The East field next heads to the famed Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway on Saturday, May 3, with live coverage provided by FloRacing.
Mark Kristl joined Frontstretch at the beginning of the 2019 NASCAR season. He is the site's ARCA Menards Series editor. Kristl is also an Eagle Scout and a proud University of Dayton alum.