Kansas Speedway is the first racetrack where we see how the field will likely fare throughout the season. It’s a track where drivers can pass, the quality of equipment shows and it has a blend of green-flag racing along with exciting restarts.
Brenden “Butterbean” Queen won the race in a one-lap green-white flag overtime finish. Thanks to his second win, he retook the points lead by one over Lawless Alan and Lavar Scott. Andy Jankowiak and Jason Kitzmiller round out the top five in points in fourth and fifth, respectively. But where do these drivers fare in the Frontstretch power rankings?
1. Brenden Queen
Even though Butterbean won by 0.275 seconds, it was due to overtime. Otherwise, he had the best car, leading a race-high 72 of the 105 laps.
Queen has the most victories and laps led in the series, both accruing him bonus points to retake the points lead. Mind you, he’s learning every lap, all while driving a fast racecar.
“Probably a never-give-up attitude and, you know, Derek Kneeland doing such a good job spotting,” Queen said post-race about how he has learned so quickly. his successes thus far. “I truly think, in my late model career, I’ve always had that mentality. Just keep finding a way. I mean, the worst case is he beats me; he’s already beaten me. Go to searching and I really find a line down in [turns] 3 and 4. I was really good on the bottom tonight. Like I used the top to run him down a little bit and, like, I ended up going back down to the bottom and felt like I was the best car wrapping [turns] 3 and 4.[Turns] 1 and 2 could’ve gone either way at times. You know, I found that following William. And you never know the changes they’re going to make, cause they’re going to get better throughout the race, too.
“Learned a lot about pulling back on the side-draft down the backstretch and, you know, just making smart decisions and smart moves. We don’t need to get in a wreck, and we don’t need to tear up equipment. You got to be at the end to have a shot at it. If I wreck on lap 40 trying to chase him down or before side-drafting him, I’m not sitting in here.”
Four races in, Butterbean has a high grade in ARCA. Two wins, the points lead and momentum as the series ramps up for its summer stretch of Charlotte Motor Speedway and then 15 races in July-August.
2. Lawless Alan
Alan captured his first career pole at Kansas and led the first four laps. He ran inside the top five throughout the race, and while he felt he had a third-place car, on the final restart, he slid back one spot to fourth.
On a night when Queen and William Sawalich were more than three-tenths faster than the rest of the field, Alan’s result was indeed indicative of the speed in his racecar.
“Not much,” Alan said post-race about what he could’ve done differently to catch the top two. “I mean, I was trying all that I could do so I feel like. So, if there was something to do, I need to go and figure that out. I feel like we were about third place, maybe could steal one on the final restart but the No. 18 kind of kept it on my door, got me free then the No. 25 came with a bunch of momentum and robbed me of where I feel we should’ve been which is third. So, that stings a little bit. I hate that it’s not a win but the car is one piece, we’ll take it to Charlotte. We’ll be alright.”
Alan lost the points lead, but based on his performance this season, he will be challenging for wins and the title the rest of the way.
3. Lavar Scott
Four races, four top 10s for Scott with an average finish of 5.0. Talladega Superspeedway was the lone top 10 not in the top five – he finished sixth there.
Queen has two wins, but a poor result at Talladega. Alan wrecked out at Daytona International Speedway. Scott continues to be the model of consistency.
“Well, I think when you come with a really great team like we have, it’s kind of what we can do,” Scott told Motorsports Today. “We want more pace, but we still bring a lot of speed, so it’s pretty, I don’t want to say easy but good in that fourth-sixth place range and we’re just consistent.”
Consistency in a series with a season-long points format is always a recipe for success. Last year, that recipe won Scott’s Rev Racing teammate Andres Perez the championship. This year? Scott probably has to step it up a notch.
Scott has 18 top fives, 24 top 10s and two runner-up results in his 30 career races. However, he has only led 168 laps out of his 3,953 completed ones. That’s 4.2% out front. Scott only has one DNF, so he keeps his racecar clean. The challenge, and what he likely will have to do to win the title, is lead laps and contend for victories. Those would help him move up these power rankings, too.
4. Andy Jankowiak
Of all series regulars thus far, Andy Jankowiak has gained the most positions, on average, from start to finish. His average starting spot is 18.0 but he finishes an average of 8.0. At Kansas, he started a season-best eighth and drove up to sixth place, staying on the lead lap the whole time.
“Came home sixth tonight at Kansas Speedway!” Jankowiak posted on his Facebook page. “We had a couple chances at a top five towards the end but did not need the last two yellows. We had a disciplined second run and managed our tires well and we began to reel in fourth and fifth only to see the caution fall. We had fifth on the last lap and a caution produced an overtime finish and we got pinned on the bottom falling to sixth.
“Overall, the car is in one piece and we will be able to spend the next couple weeks hunting for the speed the top three cars displayed. Charlotte Motor Speedway is next!”
Jankowiak quietly finds himself 13 points out of the lead. However, Jankowiak still intends to run part time, first missing the race at Berlin Raceway, he confirmed to Frontstretch. It’s unfortunate not just because a series regular will no longer be full time, but also because Jankowiak is having a career-best year. Hopefully, his performance at upcoming Charlotte and Michigan International Speedway will convince KLAS Motorsports to keep running races and Jankowiak stays in these power rankings.
5. William Sawalich
Joe Gibbs Racing has four ARCA platform victories in 2025, and none came from Sawalich.
Sawalich started third and led 29 laps but was unable to match Queen’s speed.
In his three starts this year, all at racetracks he’d never been to prior to 2025,
Sawalich has two poles, two runner-up results, three top 10s and 81 laps led. His three-race winless stretch amazingly is his longest victory lane drought since a five-race stint early in his ARCA career during 2023.
Still, despite not competing at Phoenix Raceway – JGR won that race -Sawalich sits sixth in points, 34 behind the leader. It remains a worthwhile question – should Sawalich be running ARCA full time this year rather than in the NASCAR Xfinity Series?
Paint Scheme of the Race
Under the lights, Thad Moffitt’s No. 46 Nitro Motorsports Toyota stood out. The yellow in his Safety Kleen racecar caught our attention, earning him the Kansas Paint Scheme of the Race award.
Moffitt’s racecar was on full display when he impressively wheeled his racecar from a potential spin to keep it straight. The maneuver earned him the Reese’s Sweet Move of the Race award.
Unfortunately, Moffitt did not keep his No. 46 in one piece the whole race. On lap 91, he tried to clear himself in front of Scott. The attempt failed and Moffitt wrecked, ending a solid race with a disappointing 16th-place DNF.
Moffitt and the ARCA field will next race at another 1.5-mile track, Charlotte. The series will compete there to begin the Memorial Day race weekend on Friday, May 23, at 6 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1.
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.