The ARCA Menards Series is halfway through its 2025 national division schedule, with Friday’s (July 18) event at Dover Motor Speedway officially marking the 10th race of the year.
Miles the Monster claimed its fair share of victims over the 150-lap event, with multiple tire issues among frontrunners. Other drivers’ misfortune allowed Brenden Queen to run away with the race relatively unscathed, leading every lap and going flag to flag, capturing his fourth win of the year.
With 10 races down and 10 races to go, how do the Frontstretch ARCA Power Rankings stack up heading into Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park?
1. Brenden Queen
Queen remains on top of the list once again, and rightfully so. The 27-year-old’s dominance of Dover was impressive, lapping into the top five during the first 50-lap stint of the race and leading every lap en route to victory. The gap over the rest of the field would’ve been more noticeable throughout the whole event, but a track bar issue during the second stint of the race allowed the field to keep him in reach, but never close enough to pass him.
With both Lawless Alan and Lavar Scott experiencing tire issues at Dover and finishing outside the top 10, Queen’s points lead has grown to its largest of the season. He sits 26 notches above second-place Alan and 33 notches above third-place Scott, with 10 races left to decide a champion. Queen is on a hot streak, winning twice in the last five races, with a worst finish of fourth in that time, recorded twice at Berlin Raceway and Lime Rock Park.
Heading into Indianapolis, it’s once again a track Queen has yet to run at in stock car racing. He’ll have a new challenge on his plate as well, running both the ARCA race and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race Friday night for Spire Motorsports. It’ll be the first Truck start for Queen this season, giving him 350 laps this week, rather than the 150-lap ARCA race.
2. Lawless Alan
Alan was one of many victims of tire issues on Friday, finishing in 12th place after spending numerous laps on pit road after a tire issue. Before the unscheduled pit stop, Alan was running inside the top five, which is on par with his results this season.
The 12th-place finish marks just Alan’s third finish outside of the top 10 through the first 10 races of 2025. However, with Queen’s dominance, Alan’s point gap has grown to 26 points. He still sits seven points above Scott, putting him somewhat comfortable in second. Like many others at Dover, the tire issues were ill-timed, as the speed on track was clear, but the results were not there. Alan ended up 10 laps off the lead lap by the end of the race.
Alan has a handful of starts at IRP in his career, including one in the ARCA ranks last year. He finished 23rd for Reaume Brothers Racing in that race and also has three starts in the Truck Series at the track, with a best finish of 24th in 2023 while driving with Niece Motorsports.
3. Lavar Scott
Scott’s return to his home track at Dover did not go the way he planned, as he recorded his first finish outside the top 10 in 2025. An early tire issue created an excessively loose condition for Scott, forcing him to pit about halfway between the initial green flag and the first scheduled race break at lap 50. The unscheduled stop put him behind the eight ball early, six laps down in fact, and with little attrition after the midway point in the race, Scott was unable to crack the top 10.
The weekend wasn’t all bad for the 21-year-old, however. Scott made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut and put down a top-five fastest lap in practice, finishing 28th when the checkered flag waved, albeit early due to rain. However, that luck cannot be transferred to ARCA, and the tire issue now puts him 33 points behind Queen for the championship lead heading into the second half of the season.
Scott and his Rev Racing team return to Indianapolis this weekend for the third time. After a fifth-place finish in the race in 2023, Scott had arguably his second-best race of 2024 at the short track. He led 44 laps and crossed the line fourth when the checkered flag waved. With a larger field expected at IRP and consistent success at the track, this could be an opportunity for Scott to start closing the points gap to Queen.
4. Isabella Robusto
After a rough start to the 2025 season, Isabella Robusto has seemingly found her stride. She has recorded five straight top 10 finishes now, dating back to a ninth-place finish at Michigan International Speedway in June. In that time, she’s also recorded two top-five finishes, including a third-place finish at Dover. The podium finish ties her season-best finish from Talladega Superspeedway in April.
Dover marked perhaps the most competitive race for Robusto all season. She ran around the top five the entire race, and as high as second place late in the event until Camden Murphy got by her inside of 20 laps to go. Robusto sits fifth in the standings, closing in on Jason Kitzmiller for fourth. Her poor luck in the early portion of the season has seemingly gone by the wayside, but the deficit is yet to be overcome.
Like Queen, the race at IRP will be Robusto’s first time at the track. Tracks a mile in length or shorter have treated her well in her career, with an average finish of about eighth in seven starts, raised heavily by her 31st-place finish at Phoenix Raceway earlier this season due to engine issues.
5. Isaac Kitzmiller
Despite being an ARCA Menards Series East-only competitor, Isaac Kitzmiller made his presence known at Dover. The 16-year-old recorded a fourth-place finish in his national series debut, and slightly grew his points lead in the East by finishing a position better than Tyler Reif, who crossed the line fifth. The finish also ties his season best in East series competition as well, as he finished fourth at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway in May.
Alongside the success at Dover, the race marked a big milestone for Kitzmiller as well. It was the first time he had gotten to race alongside his father, Jason Kitzmiller, in ARCA competition. Isaac bested his dad, who finished eighth. The duo will have three more shots at each other the remainder of the season. Next week at IRP, then at Iowa Speedway in August, and Bristol Motor Speedway in September.
Heading into IRP this weekend, Kitzmiller holds a narrow seven-point lead in the East standings over Reif. It’ll be the first time either of the Kitzmillers has made a start at IRP.
Paint Scheme of the Race
The race at Dover had quite a few standout paint schemes on track. Andrew Patterson’s No. 40 Winsupply/SCS Gearbox Chevrolet stood out with a nice mixture of white and blue, and Murphy’s No. 70 Toyota might have been unsponsored, but a nice mixture of black and blue popped nicely.
However, none were better than Brayton Laster’s No. 06 Peerless Pump Wayne Peterson Motorsports Chevrolet, combined red, white, and blue in an eye-popping fashion on track. The car will return to the track at IRP, and according to Laster, it will be offered as an official Lionel Racing die-cast.
The race at IRP will be a standard one-day show for ARCA teams. Practice is slated to start at 1 p.m. ET on Friday (July 25) with qualifying set to follow at 2 p.m. The green flag for the LiUNA! 150 will fly at 5:30 p.m. with TV coverage provided live by FOX Sports 1.
Josh joined Frontstretch in 2023 and currently covers the ARCA Menards Series. Born and raised in Missouri, Josh has been watching motorsports since 2005. He currently is studying for a Mass Communication degree at Lindenwood University