On a night full of surprises, a dramatic late-race restart propelled Brenden “Butterbean” Queen to his seventh ARCA Menards Series win of the season Saturday (Sept. 20) at Salem Speedway. Queen bested young Andrew Patterson to the line by 2.59 seconds, earning the top spot in the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200.
Despite leading just 23 laps, third-most among drivers on the night, Queen ran a smart, clean race on this half-mile track. Taking advantage of one last caution that bunched up the field, he made the key move when it mattered most, pushing past championship rival Lavar Scott to deny him the victory while earning another one of his own for Pinnacle Racing Group.
Speaking to Fox Sports 2 after the race, Queen said, “You don’t always have to have the best car; you just have to be there when it counts.”
With 32 laps to go, Lavar Scott had built a lead of just over two seconds and seemed poised to score his first career ARCA win. But on lap 172, a caution flew when Max Reaves slammed the outside wall while trying to chase down Scott.
While the caution was not ideal at the time, it appeared to remove Scott’s fiercest competition, as Reaves required major repairs on pit lane. That left Scott on the outside for the restart with Queen now his closest challenger underneath, a driver who hadn’t led a single lap on the night.
Queen made the most of his chance, powering past a surprised Scott to take the lead as the green flag flew.
“You got to be ready,” Queen said to FOX Sports 2 as he reflected back on the final restart. “As a race car driver, you live for those moments. That is the moment that is going to change the race.”
And it did. Queen, who didn’t have a car capable of leading all night, suddenly drove away and off to the checkered flag.
After the restart, Scott lost a few more positions and fell to fourth. Queen wound up fending off Patterson instead, who finished an impressive debut for Nitro Motorsports running second in the No. 70. Leland Honeyman took third behind Patterson, while his Venturini Motorsports teammate, Isabella Robusto, finished fifth.
Rounding out the top 10 were Mason Mitchell, Will Kimmel, Connor Popplewell, Tony Cosentino, and Ryan Vargas. Reaves ended the night in 18th.
Early in stage one, it looked like Reaves was on his way to an easy win at Salem. Many had him penciled in after securing the pole; in the past three races at Salem, the pole winner had led every lap and gone on to victory. But tonight, the script was flipped.
A turning point came on lap 112. After several unsuccessful attempts by Scott to get by Reaves on the inside, a pass seemed inevitable. It finally happened when Scott jumped to the high line and drove around Reaves on the outside to take the lead.
Scott then appeared in control of the race until the late-race caution left him vulnerable on the restart. Instead, it was another close call gone wrong as Scott tries to add first ARCA victory to his resume. His 11th top-five finish was small consolation as his winless streak in the series now stands at 44.
ARCA Results from Salem Speedway
Next on the schedule is the Reese’s 150 at Kansas Speedway, the penultimate event of the ARCA Menards Series season. The series last visited Kansas in May, when Queen scored the win.
The race begins on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. ET, with television coverage airing on Fox Sports 1.
