TOLEDO, Ohio – During the ARCA Menards Series race at Toledo Speedway on Saturday, May 16, someone in the garage said, “This race is badass. With all this traffic, it’s making this race chaotic.”
Indeed, while Tristan McKee led a whopping 194 of the 200 laps, he took the lead after making contact while racing Max Reaves for the lead … on lap 6.
McKee won for the first time this season in the main series whereas Reaves ultimately wound up 11th, an electrical issue relegating him following an impressive drive back to second.
Twenty-two drivers finished the race, which had 60 caution laps, the most there since the 2017 edition.
Toledo was also a combination race featuring the national division and ARCA Menards Series East competitors. As such, the top drivers in points emerged at the end of the race and make up the Frontstretch ARCA power rankings.
1. Tristan McKee
In four East series starts this season, McKee has three wins, four top fives, four top 10s, one pole, and 332 laps led. He only trails Reaves in laps led by 10, and Reaves has two more pole awards.
McKee’s lone result outside of victory was a third at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway. His incredible performance this season has given him a 20-point advantage over Reaves with half of the East season [four out of eight races] complete.
While Reaves was unhappy with the early contact with McKee that set him back for much of the race, the contact came from the duo racing very hard for the lead … on lap 6. You cannot win the race on lap 6.
Nevertheless, once McKee took the lead, nobody was better than him. Even when Reaves drove back up to second, lining up alongside McKee on the front row for the final restart, his racecar couldn’t match the speed in McKee’s No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet.
McKee also set a torrid pace, especially late in the race. Only seven drivers finished on the lead lap. So, McKee moves into No. 1 in these rankings because of his dominant drive at Toledo, which vaulted him into leading the national division in laps led. Furthermore, while Toledo was his second main series triumph, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he returns to victory lane more this year.
2. Jake Bollman
While Jake Bollman had a fast racecar at Talladega Superspeedway, he got shuffled out of the front late, so his finishing position was not indicative of the speed in his No. 20 Nitro Motorsports Toyota.
Although he finished one spot lower than his career-best main series result of third at Kansas Speedway, Toledo seemed to be his most complete race. He even finished it with two flat tires.
“I feel like Doug George gave me a fast car,” Bollman told Frontstretch post-race. “We worked on it at the halfway break and I feel like we kept getting better and better. Went a little too far on the last one when we started second and I got too free, but it came together. You know, I felt it coming back and it got really good. Yeah, and coming with 1.5, two laps to go, right-rear [tire] goes flat and then right-front [tire] goes flat. I don’t know if they showed that on camera, but on the last lap I was going with both right sides flat. So, I was really lucky, even fortunate to finish fourth tonight. … it takes really a family and whole organization to make this happen. It’s really great to see all the Nitro cars perform tonight. So, yeah, move on to Michigan [International Speedway] in a few weeks and I really feel like we’ll be strong there too.”
If Bollman continues running strong, not only will he be hard to overtake as the points leader, but he’ll also challenge for the top spot in these power rankings.
3. Ryan Vargas
Ryan Vargas keeps on racking up good runs. He started 12th and finished ninth at Toledo, earning his third top 10 of the season.
Vargas stayed second in points, only losing five points to Bollman. Vargas has completed the second-most laps. He still isn’t 100% full time, though he told Frontstretch pre-race that if he keeps racking up top 10s, it’s going to be hard to say no to a full-time campaign.
“The plan is to be at Michigan,” Vargas told Frontstretch post-race. “Obviously, you know, this sport is a business. You know, there’s everything I’ve got going on within the team and, you know, around it outside of ARCA and all that stuff. You know, nonetheless, we’re in the mix so might as well try, right. And that’s exactly what we’re trying to do. You know, I think the No. 20 finished fourth so we only lost five points to him. … this two-week break here is going to be very welcome. Allow us to work on our stuff, catch up a little bit and get ready for the summer stretch here cause it’s going to get crazy.”
Hopefully, those good runs continue so that Vargas stays full time. He’s had a heck of a season, impressing multiple people in the garage.
4. Thomas Annunziata
First trip to Toledo, no problem for Thomas Annunziata. He finished second, his best career finish on an oval. Annunziata progressed throughout the day, too. He was ninth in practice, then qualified fifth. Two hundred laps later, he was runner up, 3.094 seconds behind McKee. As a result, Annunziata gained one spot in the points, up to third, 20 behind Bollman and three behind Vargas.
“It means a lot,” Annunziata told Frontstretch post-race about his performance. “There’s a lot of short tracks this year and, you know, we got to execute on those. I go into the road courses with a ton of confidence, right, and there’s two of those a year. But all those other guys have gone into those other 18 with confidence, so I feel like I’m on the back foot, so I got to keep executing, working with my guys and being on my toes here because there’s a lot more short tracks coming up to hopefully, you know, win the points championship. But overall, a really good day. I’m really happy. That definitely really helped me out mentally, so I feel really good.”
5. Isabella Robusto
The last spot in these rankings could go to several drivers for their Toledo performance. The hard-charger award ought to go to Isabella Robusto. She was sixth-quickest in practice, but it ended prematurely for her. Her No. 55 Toyota suffered an oil leak and Nitro Motorsports subsequently changed engines in her racecar. As a result, she did not qualify so she started dead last (28th).
She kept her racecar clean in the race, even using the bumper to move Annunziata for position, and wound up sixth. What a run.
“We’ll take it without getting much practice at all,” Robusto told Frontstretch post-race. “Obviously, not qualifying, my team did a great job getting a new motor in the car so we could make the race. There definitely was some adjustments that we needed to make there on the breaks, but overall, I’m really happy with the day. We had a fast Mobil 1 Toyota Camry all day and I think come the next short track, when we get a full practice session, we’ll be right there at the end.”
Next up is Michigan. Robusto started second and finished ninth there last year. Hopefully, good luck falls upon her so that she can continue to display her speed.
Paint Scheme of the Race
Toledo in the late spring is different than there in the fall, hosting the season finale. For one, the 200-lap came under the lights at the 0.5-mile short track. Multiple teams, including the victor McKee, had cool paint schemes, four of which became my pre-race candidates.
Standing in the infield during the race, Annunziata’s No. 70 Toyota really stood out. It was a different paint scheme than his previous racecars this season, which had featured the white JBL scheme that Jesse Love, Corey Heim and others have used. At Toledo, his paint scheme was reminiscent of Kyle Busch Motorsports’ NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series JBL color schemes. It was a sight to behold on a fun night of racing, earning Annunziata the Toledo Paint Scheme of the Race Award.
Look at it under the sunset. It’s a pretty racecar.
You can find all of Frontstretch’s video coverage from Toledo on the Frontstretch Grassroots YouTube channel.
ARCA teams will next be at MIS for the Henry Ford Health 200. That race will take place on Friday, June 5, at 5 p.m. ET with TV coverage provided by FOX Sports 2.
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.