The ARCA Menards Series is now entering its final stretch of the 2025 season, with 13 races in the record books and seven more to contest before a champion is crowned at Toledo Speedway.
Last week, the series saw a near record-breaking winner, as Tristan McKee broke through to win at Watkins Glen International in his series debut. McKee was able to capitalize on Brent Crews’ mechanical misfortune prior to the final restart, holding off Kris Wright and Tyler Reif on the one lap shootout to win. In doing so, McKee became the second youngest winner in series history at 15 years and five days old.
Despite this, McKee doesn’t crack this week’s edition of Frontstretch’s ARCA Power Rankings. But which of his competitors at Watkins Glen did?
1. Brenden Queen
Watkins Glen was not kind to points leader Brenden Queen. In fact, his race was over just about as quickly as it started. Queen’s car lost power on the opening lap of the race, and he spent a number of laps on pit road as the Pinnacle Racing Group diagnosed the issue.
Queen ultimately ended up finishing 21st, 19 laps down, for his second worst finish of the season to date. If it was any consolation for Queen, his primary competitors for the championship also endured struggles at Watkins Glen, though Lavar Scott and Lawless Alan both recorded top-12 finishes. He still holds a lead of 24 points over Alan.
Next up for the championship favorite is a new challenge: his first dirt race in an ARCA car. Queen does have some dirt racing experience under his belt, and he will look to use that to his advantage this Sunday at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.
2. Lawless Alan
The trio of championship contenders struggled at Watkins Glen, and Alan was no different. A tire issue towards the end of the first run put Alan down a lap for most of the race, and his race never truly got back on track from there. He went for a spin later in the race while battling with teammate Alon Day for the free pass position, which ultimately prevented Alan from working his way back onto the lead lap. When the checkered flag flew, Alan crossed the line in 12th for his second finish outside of the top 10 in four races.
Alan still gained on Queen in the standings, however, with Queen struggling with mechanical gremlins early in the going. Alan now enters the dirt race 24 points behind Queen with seven races to go in the season, still well within striking distance with a little bit of luck on his side.
With his truck racing experience, Alan has plenty of races on dirt in a heavier stock car. He finished as high as 18th at Knoxville Raceway on dirt in the truck series, making two starts in three attempts over his three seasons in the series. He’s never made a start on dirt in his ARCA career.
3. Lavar Scott
Scott had just the day going that he needed at Watkins Glen. With both Alan and Queen struggling, Scott was situated well inside of the top 10, until a tire went down on the No. 6 within 10 laps to go. A timely caution was able to save Scott’s race and he came across the line 10th.
Scott gained a few points on Queen in the season standings, as he sits 35 points back with seven races to run. Despite this, his 10th-place finish is his second worst finish of 2025, just one spot better than the 11th that he ran at Dover Motor Speedway a few weeks ago after early tire issues haunted him there as well.
Heading into a stretch of the schedule that sees two trips to dirt tracks in three races, Scott ran well on the discipline in 2024. He recorded a top five at Springfield last season and a sixth at DuQuoin State Fairgrounds a few races later.
4. Brent Crews
Despite each of the championship contender’s misfortune at The Glen, no one suffered more poor luck than the 17-year-old Crews. He led the first 38 laps of the race, truly dominating the event. However, a battery issue while pacing caution laps prior to the final restart of the race forced Crews down pit road, losing a lap, and ultimately, the race.
The finish doesn’t change the fact that Crews was untouchable at Watkins Glen. Not only did he retain the lead for the first 38 laps, but the gap in which he held over second place was sizable.
This portion of the schedule heavily favors Crews’ skillset. After the road course race at Watkins Glen, the two dirt races come over the course of the next three races. Crews has won at both DuQuoin and Springfield in three starts, with the only other finish being a second place at DuQuoin in 2023. If there’s a favorite for those races, it’s Crews.
5. Isabella Robusto
Consistency has become the key to success in the ARCA Menards Series, and Isabella Robusto has begun to find that consistent stride. After an abundance of bad luck to start the season, Robusto has finished inside of the top 10 in each of the last eight races.
Watkins Glen was a very quiet race for Robusto. She finished eighth after starting sixth, spending the entire race running just outside of the top five. Robusto continues to close the gap to Jason Kitzmiller for fourth in the season standings, sitting just two points back of that mark.
Dirt racing is not a strong part of Robusto’s racing background heading into this Sunday’s race at Springfield. However, she was a late entrant into this race a year ago, replacing Crews who had prior obligations. Even after starting at the rear, Robusto worked her way up to a runner-up result, which still marks her best series finish to date.
Paint Scheme of the Week
Watkins Glen saw 27 entrants and 27 different unique paint schemes. Fast Track Racing brought a trio of good-looking cars for Ed Pompa, Matt Wilson and Trent Curtis respectively, each displaying a mixture of whites and bright colors that meshed really well together.
However, Nitro Motorsports and Thad Moffitt will take the crown for this week’s paint scheme of the race. Moffitt made his first start in the team’s No. 70, rather than the No. 46, finishing 15th after dealing with some mechanical issues during the race.
The car, sponsored by LEER, displayed a white and red mixture, with the familiar black No. 70 that stood out on the door.
Sunday’s race in Springfield will be on a one-day show, with practice set to begin at 11 a.m. ET, qualifying to follow at 12:15, and the green flag at 2 p.m. Television coverage of the race will be carried 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