Brent Crews took the top spot in the Frontstretch ARCA power rankings after his triumph at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, but he did not compete in the ARCA Menards Series race at Madison International Speedway.
Following the series’ return to Madison, only five races remain in the 2025 season. Brenden “Butterbean” Queen kept his points lead ahead of Lavar Scott. Lawless Alan, Jason Kitzmiller, and Isabella Robusto round out the top five in third through fifth, respectively.
Queen now returns to the top of the power rankings, his consistency and full-time status outweighing Max Reaves’ wire-to-wire win at Madison.
1. Brenden Queen
From the drop of the green at Madison, it was clear the night belonged to Reaves, who never surrendered the lead. Queen still led one lap, beating Reaves on a lap 81 restart.
Still, Queen proved once again why he is the driver to beat, battling through lapped traffic and keeping himself in the mix up front. Running with the leaders has become routine for Buttebean, as he has started every race inside the top 10 and has 12 top 10s with zero DNFs.
That consistent speed across the wide variety of tracks on the ARCA schedule has lifted Queen back to the top of the power rankings.
Adding to his edge is a favorable stretch of races ahead. This week, the series heads to the dirt at DuQuoin State Fairgrounds. While Queen may not be the favorite, he enters with momentum after a fourth-place run at the fellow dirt track Springfield.
After that, the tour hits Bristol Motor Speedway, Salem Speedway, Kansas Speedway, and Toledo Speedway. Kansas is the lone non-short track, but Queen scored a victory there in May.
With his short track background and an unmatched record of never finishing outside the top five on short tracks this season, Queen is poised to stay at the front of the pack through the rest of the year.
2. Brent Crews
This weekend, Crews did what no driver enjoys: watch someone else win in his racecar. The No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, which Crews drove to victory twice this year, was driven by Reaves at Madison, and Reaves took the checkered flag.
Crews still has the second-most wins and second-most laps led this season. In addition to his three national division wins, he also has two in the ARCA Menards Series East. His victory at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park was a combination race for ARCA and the East, and Crews dominated the East standalone race at Rockingham Speedway.
The No. 18 has been quick all season, but what separates Crews from Reaves is his dominance at dirt, highlighted by a commanding win in the No. 70 Nitro Motorsports Toyota at Springfield.
In four dirt track starts, Crews has collected three victories and a runner-up finish. With Reaves driving the No. 18 at DuQuoin, Crews is expected to return to the No. 70. With the Hungry Hen’s Dirt Double on the line, which awards $20,000 to a driver who can win at both Springfield and DuQuoin, Crews is immediately the favorite.
3. Max Reaves
With a dominating win at “Wisconsin’s fastest half-mile,” Reaves made it look easy. The only challenge he faced was navigating lapped traffic, as no one could catch him. The victory marked his second ARCA national win, his other at Elko Speedway in June, adding to his three ARCA Menards Series East wins.
Reaves won the pole and led 199 of the 200 laps en route to his Madison victory. He has now led the third-most laps in ARCA this year despite only competing in four of the 15 races. As such, it’s befitting he’s third in these rankings.
4. Lavar Scott
Scott is second in the standings, 34 points behind Queen. With impressive runs and consistent top-10 finishes, there is only one thing left to do: win. Posting second-place finishes at the last two tracks is impressive, but in both instances, Scott finished over three seconds behind the leader.
He has spoken openly about how much he wants to earn a win for Rev Racing. With five races remaining, time is running out, but if he continues to run up front and maintain good track position, luck may finally be on his side.
5. Isabella Robusto
Making a return to the rankings is Robusto, whose fourth-place finish was a nice way to bounce back after a last-place finish at the Springfield Mile. Not making the list this week is her Venturini Motorsports teammate Alan, who remains third in points but has recent finishes of 18th and 20th.
Robusto picked up her sixth top five and 10th top-10 finish of 2025. Of her last 10 races, her Springfield Mile DNF was her lone result outside the top 10. In that stretch, she has five top fives and nine lead-lap performances, impressive given the pace Crews and Reaves set in the last two races.
Robusto looks to continue her solid stretch with a strong finish at DuQuoin. Historically, she has shown her prowess on dirt tracks, with a second-place finish at Springfield last year. If she avoids the mechanical issues that plagued her at the prior dirt race, Robusto has a chance to be in the mix at DuQuoin.
Paint Scheme of the Race Award
Aesthetically, it was the No. 17 LSI/MMI Cook Racing Technologies Chevrolet of Kaylee Bryson that made an early first impression. The contrast of the black car with the white number 17, accented with reddish-orange stripes, quickly became a favorite.
FOX Sports 1 commentators Eric Brennan and Phil Parsons offered some paint scheme analysis during their raceday coverage. They noted the significance of the event for VMS, as it was the team’s final race close to their hometown of Chicago before Nitro takes over next year. Brennan then described Mason Mitchell’s No. 25 Toyota as the “most eye-popping car on the property.”
Adding to the moment, Mitchell’s sponsor was Detour Sunglasses, owned by Bill Venturini’s nephew. With a reported 70 friends and family members of the Venturinis in attendance, the Paint Scheme of the Race award goes to Mitchell in the No. 25 Venturini Toyota.
Next up for ARCA is the Southern Illinois 100 at DuQuoin State Fairgrounds, a one-mile dirt oval. That race will take place on Sunday, Aug. 31, at 8:30 p.m. ET with TV coverage provided by FS1.
