KANSAS CITY, Kan. – That certainly was a memorable ARCA Menards Series season finale at Kansas Speedway. Jake Bollman entered the Menards 150 on Friday, Sept. 25, with a 16-point lead over his Nitro Motorsports teammate Thomas Annunziata. One hundred laps later, and with some storylines abound, they were tied for the lead. The tiebreaker came down to wins. Annunziata scored one at Lime Rock Park whereas Bollman had none. As a result, Annunziata became the 2026 champion.
The duo had some things to talk about, and we’ll get to that, but nevertheless, congratulations to Annunziata.
Annunziata finished first, Bollman in second, their Nitro teammate Isabella Robusto was third, Takuma Koga wound up fourth, and Jason Kitzmiller rounded out the top five in points.
With the 2026 season over, these ARCA power rankings take into consideration driver’s Kansas performances and their overall seasons. Without further ado, let’s dive right in.
1. Carson Brown
Carson Brown capped his first ARCA season with a victory at Kansas. He took the lead on lap 99 from Gio Ruggiero and parked his No. 28 Pinnacle Racing Group Chevrolet in victory lane.
Brown placed eighth in the main series standings to accompany his seventh-place result in the ARCA Menards Series East standings. He won at a variety of different racetracks: Phoenix Raceway, DuQuoin State Fairgrounds, Bristol Motor Speedway, and Kansas.
“I felt like it went very well,” Brown said post-race about his season. “We had our ups and downs like any other season, right. Just ended the season very well and very bittersweet to end it on such a high note with PRG between here and Bristol and hopefully I can make some more starts with them next year. But we’ll see. Just really happy to get the Whelen Chevrolet in victory lane for the first time and hopefully there’s more to come.”
Brown led ARCA with wins (tied), pole awards, and led the second-most laps. In a part-time role, he bested two series regulars in points.
While Brown left open the possibility of returning to ARCA next year, he also told Frontstretch that other than the test at Daytona International Speedway, he does not foresee himself back in ARCA competition. While he’s undeniably talented, so it’d be fun if he stuck around, he earned this promotion to the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. Best of luck to Brown in 2027 with Richard Childress Racing.
2. Thomas Annunziata
Earlier in the season, Annunziata and Bollman were asked if there was a line that they were willing to cross in terms of racing each other for the title. They answered that question on track at Kansas.
The first time that they made contact, Bollman was the one who initiated contact with Annunziata.
The second time, it was the opposite. Was it really dirty driving though? You be the judge.
Annunziata spent a good amount of his championship presser explaining what happened on track.
To his point, Bollman’s No. 20 Toyota became heavily damaged after his involvement in a different incident, not from contact with Annunziata.
Having seen the race in person, and then watched replays to better understand what happened, the first incident looked like Bollman drove it in two deep, so he washed up the track spinning the two out.
The second time, Annunziata drove it in deep too, but his reason for doing so was retaliation. Otherwise, I doubt whether he would be willing to make that divebomb.
What doesn’t sit right with me is Annunziata trying to explain his decision-making process in his post-race presser. No “I’m sorry, Jake,” or acknowledging that his team told him to calm down on the radio, which was reported by the broadcast, after the second incident. Annunziata is correct; Bollman’s wreck came because of another incident. But a lack of remorse does not look well.
Alas, as I type this article, I’m not the one with the championship trophy. That honor belongs to Annunziata.
3. Jake Bollman
Here is the incident that altered the championship when Bollman wrecked his car.
Nitro didn’t quit though, with team owner Nick Tucker contributing to the repairs to the mangled No. 20 Toyota.
Bollman gained two spots on track, so kudos to him and his team for their perseverance. Alas, it just wasn’t enough. Bollman wasn’t done though, sharing his thoughts about Annunziata post-race.
“I won’t ever talk to him again, I’ll tell you that,” Bollman said post-race about his relationship with Annunziata. “I think that’s just a disrespect kid, right. Like I apologized right as I done it on the radio. Look, I just got loose man. Lapped car gave me no room. We’re battling for a championship here. To flat out dump me? C’mon. That’s just unsportsmanlike and I wouldn’t do that to him. I could’ve went out there those last few laps and wrecked him. I could have to win the championship, right. But I wasn’t raised that way. Sorry. I just wasn’t and won’t ever drive like that.”
Hopefully Bollman comes back to ARCA. He nearly won the title without a win and only led 10 laps. Imagine how well he could perform with another season at these racetracks.
4. Max Reaves
At Kansas, Max Reaves’ driver coach Bobby Labonte complimented Reaves’ successes this year. Six trophies, varying from the quarter-mile Flat Rock Speedway to the dirt track Illinois State Fairgrounds to under the lights on FOX at Salem Speedway.
Moreover, Reaves ventured into the bigger short tracks and road courses too. He finished ninth at Phoenix, eighth at Watkins Glen International, and fourth at both Lime Rock and Bristol. Pretty impressive for a 16-year-old.
Combined, Reaves and Ruggiero tallied eight wins in the main series, giving the No. 18 team the owner points championship.
After Bristol, Reaves said he will return to ARCA next year. If Reaves can improve his race craft, he will be even more entertaining to watch.
5. Isabella Robusto
Robusto’s third-place points finish gave Nitro a 1-2-3 finish in the driver standings, a first in series history. Robusto matched Hailie Deegan’s third-place finish in 2020 as the highest-finishing woman in the standings.
Robusto dealt with plenty of misfortune throughout the season, but at Kansas, she stayed out of trouble en route to P8.
Of the top 10 in points, she had the fifth-best average finish, though half of her season ended with top 10s.
“I know that I have the speed,” Robusto told Frontstretch post-race. “We show it. I feel like I’ve learned a lot of resilience this year doing everything that I can. I’ve really been focused on controlling my controllables and so, I think I’ve improved personally on that stuff. And so, I’m happy, kind of, with the growths that I’ve made this year. Yeah, overall, I still think it was a good learning year. So hopefully I can take it into next year.”
Robusto would not reveal her 2027 plans. On one hand, she’s encountered such bad luck in her ARCA career that at NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series ride would not be a bad idea. However, if she is not running well – only 10 lead-lap finishes this season – then has she grown enough to earn a Truck ride? It’s debatable. Alas, her ability to overcome those obstacles to score a third-place points finish, one spot better than 2025, gives her the final spot in these end-of-year power rankings.
Paint Scheme of the Race
Shoutout to Andy Jankowiak, who remarked to Frontstretch pre-race about the beauty of his No. 71 Phillips 66 Lubricants Toyota.
Jankowiak was right. His car stood out under the lights at Kansas, especially late in the race. As the points battle tightened, ARCA Communications Manager Charles Krall stood on pit road, furiously calculating the points as they ran. When we realized Jankowiak had the spot Annunziata needed to win the title, Jankowiak’s silver-and-white left side, paired with the orange Dak’s, became the car to watch. Obviously, Annunziata grabbed the position and subsequent title, but Jankowiak still finished sixth.
With the spotlight thrust onto Jankowiak late, and thanks to KLAS Motorsports for making the No. 71 easy to spot to yours truly, they earned the Kansas Paint Scheme of the Race Award.
You can find all Frontstretch’s video coverage from Kansas and this season, on the Frontstretch Grassroots YouTube channel.
The ARCA Menards Series West still has three races left. First, the series will go to The Bullring on Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Friday, Oct. 2 at 9 p.m. ET. Then the series heads to Phoenix on Saturday, the 17th at 11 p.m. ET. Finally, it wraps its season at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway. All races will be broadcast on FloRacing.
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.
A name and email address are required to post a comment. The email address is not publicly visible or shared. Please keep in mind that comments are moderated according to our comment policy.
Comments are listed in order from oldest to newest. Leave a comment