The first ARCA dirt track of the season provided excitement. There were 21 entrants at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, tied for the most since 2022. For the first time since 2019, the winner started outside the top five. When the checkered flag flew, Brent Crews captured his second Springfield Mile trophy and his third ARCA dirt track one.
After 100 laps of dirt track racing, there is a new leader atop the Frontstretch ARCA power rankings.
1. Brent Crews
Head-to-head, Crews bests Brenden Queen 4-to-3. Crews’ four-race stretch is impressive, too.
He won at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, beating Queen, then finished second to Queen at Iowa Speedway. Crews led 38 of the 41 laps at Watkins Glen International, but a mechanical gremlin relegated him to a ninth-place result.
To cap that stretch, Crews led 83 of the 100 laps at the Springfield Mile to win by 3.668 seconds. He set such a torrid pace that only seven drivers finished on the lead lap despite seven cautions.
Crews’ successful streak moves him to the top of the power rankings, though he will forfeit it because he is not competing in the upcoming race at Madison International Speedway.
2. Brenden Queen
In Butterbean Queen’s first ARCA dirt track start, he led the opening 17 laps, fought hard on some restarts from the outside lane, and wound up fourth. Not a bad day by any means; he retains his 34-point lead over Lavar Scott in the driver standings and Queen’s PRG team kept its narrow three-point lead over Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18.
“Strong day in my first ARCA dirt race and finished 4th,” Queen tweeted post-race. “Was running 2nd and got stuck on the outside on a restart but gave it all I had. Ready for the next one 🤘🏼.”
To top it off, Butterbean is atop the NASCAR Regional power rankings.
3. Lavar Scott
For the third time in his career, Scott tied his career-high finish of second. He wound up runner up for the first time in 2025 after two such results in 2024.
In two Springfield Mile starts, Scott has a fifth- and second-place finish. His ninth top five of the season is tied for the second most and he has the most top 10s (13). Scott’s consistency moved up to second in points, overtaking Lawless Alan.
Still, the question remains: when will Scott win his first race? If he cannot reel off laps led and wins rapidly, he’s destined to finish in points, for the second straight year, where he finished at Springfield: in second.
4. Max Reaves
Combined in the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series East, Max Reaves has six starts. He has accrued four wins, five top fives, six top 10s, two poles, and 467 laps led.
Yes, it’s easy to run well in top-tier JGR equipment, but Springfield was Reaves’ worst performance in an ARCA car. The 15-year-old started second, as the lineup was set via the rulebook due to inclement weather, and wound up sixth.
Moreover, Reaves was involved in the final caution-flag period, when Butterbean forcibly moved Reaves.
Reaves will return to the No. 18 Toyota for the next two races and four of the final six. Will he continue to thrive, piling up more stats and moving up these power rankings? JGR hopes so to win the owner’s title.
5. Jason Kitzmiller
Jason Kitzmiller scored his 10th top 10 of 2025 and extended his gap ahead of Isabella Robusto, for fourth in points, to 13.
Kitzmiller’s day was not perfect. He ran toward the back of the top 10 for much of the race and his No. 97 Chevrolet stalled on the frontstretch, bringing out the yellow flag on lap 82.
CR7 Motorsports helped Kitzmiller soldier on to 10th place, five laps down. While his day could have gone better – or worse – Kitzmiller’s persistence to nab another top 10 run earns him the final spot in these power rankings.
Paint Scheme of the Race Award
Sean Corr made his second start of 2025 and first since the season opener at Daytona International Speedway. He wheeled his No. 8 Empire Racing Group Chevrolet from a 20th-starting spot to fifth place, and his racecar stood out on the one-mile dirt track.
With a white number that stood out amidst the dirt, and a yellow racecar on the sunny Sunday, Corr’s No. 8 receives the Springfield Mile Paint Scheme of the Race Award.
ARCA next heads to the 0.5-mile Wisconsin short track Madison International Speedway for the first time since 2019. The Badger 200 will take place on Friday, Aug. 22 at 9 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.