ELKO NEW MARKET, Minn. – The 2026 ARCA Menards Series season has now officially reached the halfway point.
Saturday’s (June 27) 250-lap event at Elko Speedway offered much of the same racing as the rest of the season. Max Reaves was by far the fastest car in Minnesota, triumphing after starting from the rear following an engine change after practice.
The Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota has been the most dominant car all season long, regardless of what track the series heads to or what driver is behind the wheel. Furthermore, much like the 2024 season, the full-time competitors haven’t found victory lane. So, with that said, how do the Frontstretch ARCA power rankings stack up at the halfway point?
1. Max Reaves
Elko was one of the first races that Reaves truly experienced the trials and tribulations of racing at this level. After showing his usual speed, Reaves blew an engine at the very conclusion of practice, forcing his team to install a backup engine and start the race at the rear of the field.
After taking the green flag at the back, Reaves certainly didn’t stay there long. Utilizing the outside lane, Reaves was into the top 10 in just a matter of laps, and was just outside the top five when the first caution flew. Utilizing a quick car and a few timely yellows, Reaves took the lead from Landon S. Huffman after a spirited battle and never looked back.
While the second half of the season allows for a lot more seat time for Reaves, the next event at Chicagoland Speedway is not a race he’s eligible to run. He’ll return at Lime Rock Park the following weekend, looking to improve his road course performance from his last time out at Watkins Glen International.
2. Jake Bollman
Jake Bollman has been the epitome of consistency this season, and Elko’s race was much of the same. For the third time this season, Bollman found himself in a runner-up position, falling just shy of his first win behind Reaves. Bollman credited his team for bringing him a good car after the race, but admits that the gap to JGR is hard to overcome.
No wins aside, Bollman is having about as good a rookie year as a driver can have. After coming into the year as a late addition to the full-time group and as a relatively unknown driver, he’s knocked off top fives at an alarming rate. He now has a healthy points lead, even after a pair of penalties.
Bollman said post-race that he thinks he’s taken a large step forward in 1.5-mile tracks, and that’s exactly where the series heads now. Chicagoland offers an equalizer for all teams, as no level of stock car racing has touched the track since 2019. Bollman has yet to finish outside the top five in larger oval tracks this season.
3. Thomas Annunziata
Elko proved to be a little difficult for Thomas Annunziata. The driver of the No. 70 Toyota won the pole and had good speed, but suffered issues during the race that forced unscheduled pit stops. Annunziata never recovered and settled for a seventh-place finish, one lap down.
The positives? The speed on short tracks is evident for the Nitro Motorsports driver. Entering the year raw on anything that wasn’t road courses or drafting tracks, Annunziata found a new gear at Toledo Speedway and kept that pace at Berlin Raceway last week. Elko didn’t give him the finish he wanted, but his No. 70 team is surely headed in the right direction.
Like his competitors, Chicagoland offers a new challenge for Annunziata. He has finished inside the top 10 on each of the larger, non-drafting style ovals. If he can keep that pace there, he will continue to have his name in the championship conversation.
4. Taylor Reimer
Taylor Reimer ran by far her best ARCA race at Elko on Saturday. She kept her No. 77 Chevrolet inside the top five for the entire event, and was actually well inside the top three until the final restart with under 60 laps to go. The fourth-place result was not quite as good as she ran, but a very strong showing for the 26-year-old.
Reimer had the luxury of going back to a track for the second time in her ARCA career, something she has not done many times to date. Remember, she’s still new to asphalt racing at this level. While she was disappointed with a top 10 run last year, she was able to parlay what she had learned at the bullring-style track last year into an even better run this season.
Reimer is still part time, however. She has run well in her limited starts, but her real opportunity is to come in her next two races. Dirt racing is her background, and she’ll return at both the Illinois State Fairgrounds and the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds in the No. 77. With her extensive dirt experience and a fast car underneath her, the sky may be the limit at those two races.
5. Jason Kitzmiller
Jason Kitzmiller is a bit of a rarity in modern ARCA competition. He’s not as quick on track nor as spry as some of his younger, more highly touted peers. However, he comes with more financial backing and support than some other blue-collar, family-owned teams and drivers. Most importantly, he’s still relatively new to a full schedule, with this only being his second year.
Kitzmiller has been solid at superspeedways and very consistent on short tracks. However, he had not been able to break through for a top five on the shorter ovals until Elko. He was also fastest in practice, a first for him and something that he wore with extreme pride.
Kitzmiller now tackles Chicagoland for the first time in his career. That could be an equalizer for him, as his CR7 Motorsports team has shown competitive speed on mile-and-a-halves. He’s also fourth in points, and 14 behind Isabella Robusto in third.
Paint Scheme of the Race
I’m a sucker for college sports, especially mid-major schools. It’s what makes all sports special – rooting for the underdog. So, anytime Bryce Haugeberg shows up in the North Dakota State University colors, the car sticks out to me.
On the most basic level, green and yellow mix together very well. The car would pop regardless of its sponsor. However, when you add a Mountain West Conference school, which is not a Power 5 conference, the appeal goes up. It feels very ARCA-like. In his last scheduled start of the 2026 season, Haugeberg earned the Elko Paint Scheme of the Race Award. On track, he piloted the No. 11 Fast Track Racing Ford to a 12th-place run.
You can find all of Frontstretch’s video coverage from Elko, as well as from the ARCA Menards Series West race at Sonoma Raceway, on the Frontstretch Grassroots YouTube channel.
Next up, ARCA opens the race weekend for NASCAR’s return to Chicagoland. It’s a customary one-day show, with cars on track Friday, July 3, for the 8 p.m. ET green flag, which can be seen on FOX Sports 1.
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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