Tristan McKee has won his first ARCA Menards Series race in his first attempt at Watkins Glen International, becoming one of the youngest winners in series history.
McKee turned 15 years old earlier this week, thus becoming eligible to compete in the series.
After running inside the top three for the entire event, McKee inherited the lead on the final restart after Brent Crews’ battery died on his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Crews had dominated the race to that point, leading every lap to that point.
McKee and Tyler Reif made contact on the exit of turn 7 on the restart on the final lap, but McKee held off the field for one circuit to find victory lane.
“I don’t even know what to say,” McKee told FOX Sports. “We got a little luck, but it’s good to have some of that sometimes. On the last restart, I knew I had to get a good jump.”
Reif came across the line second, with Kris Wright finishing third. Glen Reen recorded his career-best finish in fourth, with Dale Quarterley scoring his first top five since this race two years ago.
“I was too focused on what the 77 was doing, and not what I was doing,” Reif told FOX Sports. “Just really upset at myself, and not at anyone else.”
Ryan Gemmell, Andy Jankowiak, Isabella Robusto, Crews and Lavar Scott rounded out the top 10.
“Just grateful to be able to have heartbreaks like this,” Crews told FOX. “Had a battery issue, lost voltage there, my lights turned yellow before the caution, and once Kitzmiller spun there, I knew we were in trouble.”
The initial start of the race was a hectic one. Multiple cars spun in turn 1, while Crews took off to an early lead. By the time the cars worked into the uphill section for the first time, Brenden Queen slowed on track, citing that the car was stuck in gear.
Before the field could work a full lap, another contender found himself on pit road with issues. Alon Day brought his No. 25 to pit road on the opening lap with engine issues, taking him off of the lead lap early as well.
By lap 10, more contenders found themselves in trouble. Lawless Alan had fallen from second to fifth quickly and pitted shortly after with smoke bellowing out the rear of his Venturini Motorsports Toyota. Much like his teammate Day, Alan was able to get back on track quickly, losing just a lap. Despite all of the chaos behind him, Crews had extended his lead to well over six seconds by that point in the race.
A few laps later, as Crews continued to stretch out his lead over McKee and Reif, the caution flew for Shane Backes, who had spun at the exit of the carousel turn. The caution acted as the scheduled race break, as it fell closely to lap 21, bringing all teams down pit road for their scheduled service.
After the race break, the subsequent restart looked very much like the first, absent of any spins as the field worked into turn one. Crews was able to jump out to an early advantage, with no real competition from behind him.
Despite Crews setting sail, the first few laps of the second run of the race were not pretty for Toyota teams. Thad Moffitt found himself on pit road, joining a slew of drivers with mechanical issues. Almost simultaneously, Alan and Day made contact out of the chicane while battling for the free pass position. Alan went for a full spin, allowing Day to take the spot and track position, but both continued on from there with relatively small bits of damage otherwise.
While the battle for the lead was nearly nonexistent, the battles throughout the field made up for it. McKee and Reif swapped positions for second and third for the majority of the race. With 10 laps to go, Wright and Quarterley nearly had a wreck in the uphill portion of the track, narrowly missing Alex Clubb in the process.
Championship contenders continued to have issues inside of 10 laps to go, as Scott lost a tire at the exit of turn 1, spinning him around but not initially bringing out a caution. However, as Scott was limping around the track, Jason Kitzmiller made significant contact with the inside wall at the exit of turn 1, ultimately bringing the yellow out. The caution allowed Day to get back on the lead lap for the first time since lap 2.
Just as the field began to double up for the restart, the race turned on its end. Crews stalled out, citiing voltage issues, needing a push back to pit road. That allowed McKee and Reif to set up for the final restart, a one-lap shootout.
On the final restart, Reif and McKee both made contact with the outside wall exiting the final turn. Despite having smoke showing out of the rear of the car for the whole final lap, McKee held off Wright and Reif, winning in his ARCA debut. He became the second youngest driver in series history to win, second only to Todd Gilliland.
ARCA Watkins Glen Results
Next week, ARCA will tackle its first of two dirt tracks on the season at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Ill. The green flag for that race, the Springfield ARCA 100, will fly shortly after 2 p.m. ET, with television coverage carried on 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