Cole Denton found victory lane for the second time in the 2026 ARCA Menards Series West season, doing so from the pole at Tri-City Speedway on Saturday, June 6.
Denton didn’t lead every lap, but still dominated the day en route to victory at the Washington short track. Denton was fastest in practice, qualifying, and took home the win in the race.
After losing the lead briefly in the early going, Denton utilized the inside lane on a restart with under 40 laps to go to pass Trevor Huddleston, holding him off until the checkered flag flew.
“This is just awesome,” Denton told FloRacing. “Every track we’ve been to this year is a new track for me, and I love it.”
Huddleston, who entered the race as the points leader, finished second after leading a handful of laps earlier in the race.
Mia Lovell scored her career-best finish in third, with Robbie Kennealy and Mason Massey rounding out the top-five finishers in fourth and fifth, respectively.
TJ Moon, Gavin Ray, Andrew Chapman, Tyler Tomassi, and Josiah Reaume rounded out the top 10 in sixth through 10th place, respectively.
Despite not winning the pole, Huddleston led the first lap after capitalizing on a bad restart from Denton. However, thanks to some tire conservation and lapped traffic, Denton didn’t allow Huddleston to pull too far away.
The first caution of the evening flew on lap 17 due to debris, racking the field back up for the first restart of the evening.
Utilizing the outside lane much like Huddleston did on the initial start, Denton regained the lead on the first start of the evening. However, that green flag run was cut extremely short, as Quinn Davis lost an engine in turn 1, forcing yet another restart.
The outside lane reigned supreme on the subsequent restart, as Denton replicated his previous moves and kept Huddleston in his mirrors. With the extended green flag run, Denton extended his lead until the scheduled race break, when the caution flew on lap 75.
Denton’s outside restarts didn’t pan out on the other side of the race break. Huddleston took the lead, restarting on the inside, after a few laps of side-by-side racing.
Just as Denton was beginning to reel in Huddleston, David Smith went for a spin on the backstretch, forcing another restart with under 50 laps to go. Huddleston was nearly collected in this incident, missing the spinning Smith by mere inches.
A large pileup was the result of the following restart, as Sam Corry and Jade Avedisian collided entering turn 3. A few others, including Eric Johnson Jr and Hailie Deegan, also sustained damage. A red flag was displayed for track cleanup.
Denton, who had his previous jump reviewed for a restart violation, replicated his moves after the lifting of the red flag. The same result ensued, with Denton quickly capitalizing on a lead through the backstretch dogleg.
Much like at Tucson Speedway earlier this season, Denton got better as his tires aged. Huddleston did not get close to the No. 71, allowing the 15-year-old to cruise to his second win of the season.
ARCA West Race Results from Tri-City
The West Series teams now endure a few weeks off before returning on June 26 at Sonoma Raceway. The ARCA platform returns June 12, as the series returns to the Pocono Raceway for the Sunset Hill Shooting Range 150, with the green flag flying at 3 p.m. ET.
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
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