Brenden Queen Victorious After Chaotic Wreck Fest To Open ARCA Menards Series At Daytona

In only his second career start in the ARCA Menards Series, Brenden Queen is heading to victory lane after a chaotic race in the Ride The ‘Dente 200 at Daytona International Speedway, where 29 out of 40 starters were involved in wrecks throughout the day.

The Chesapeake, Virginia native finally claims vengeance at Daytona, as he drove the No. 35 Toyota for Vizion Motorsports to a 29th-place effort after crashing in the late-goings of the race.

As the 40-car field took the green flag in the Ride The ‘Dente 200, the contenders faced a long, crash-filled race that plagued the first half of the event.

After William Sawalich and Lawless Alan led the field to green, the first big accident of the day took place just outside the exit of turn 4.

As the field approached lap 4, Cody Dennison, driving the No. 11 Timcast Chevrolet SS for Fast Track Racing, lost control in the final corner and crashed hard into the outside wall. This incident triggered a massive crash, involving several top competitors, including Thad Moffitt, Dale Quarterly, Katherine Legge, Willie Mullins, Sean Corr, and others.

As a result of the crash, Eric Caudell, Katherine Legge, Caleb Costner, Thad Moffitt, Nolan Wilson, Sean Corr, Willie Mullins, Cody Dennison, Michael Maples, and Dale Quarterly all retired from the race.

As the race resumed, the second caution was displayed when Amber Balcaen clipped the apron exiting turn 4. This caused her No. 70 car to slide up the racetrack, making contact with Garrett Mitchell, and also damaging his Rette Jones Racing teammate Kyle Steckly in the process. Steckly was unable to continue after colliding with the inside SAFER barrier wall. Mitchell and Balcaen would be able to continue.

On lap 17, Balcaen would be the reason for the caution yet again after making contact with another car midway through turn 2 collecting Mitchell once again, ending his day as well as collecting other multiple cars. Craig Bracken in the No. 02 for Young’s Motorsports sustained a heavy impact in the crash which he slammed into the back of a spinning Balcaen and made contact with the No. 86 of Becca Monopoli. Bracken was sent to the hospital for further evaluation. Balcean, Mitchell, Bracken, Monopoli, Nolan Wilson, and Takuma Koga’s days were over after the crash.

“Well, I was having the best day of my life.” Said Mitchell, also known as Cleetus McFarland, in an interview, showing off his new improv as a NASCAR driver after being checked from the infield care center. “I avoided a wreck, which was awesome. I thought I was the best driver to exist at that moment.”

As the race passed the halfway mark, front-row starters Sawalich and Alan showcased their superspeedway skills at the front, leading over half of the combined laps of the race.

Alan would be collected in a late-race wreck involving his rookie teammate Isabella Robusto, ending both of their days after colliding on the backstretch.

With Alan out of the race, only 14 cars were in contention for the win, the leaders began to duke it out for the win including Sawalich, Queen, Helio Castroneves, Lavar Scott, and Jason Kitzmiller with wide-open shots.

With under five laps to go, Helio Castroneves had fought back after being involved in a plethora of wrecks and would push his Pinnacle Racing Group teammate of Queen way out in front as the laps wound down.

Queen managed to maintain his lead on the final lap, successfully fending off the aggressive advances of William Sawalich, who had the fastest car of the day. This victory marked Queen’s first win in the ARCA Menards Series, launching his rookie campaign and his quest for the championship title in 2025.

“I’m just a late model guy who worked hard to get this shot.” Said Queen in a post-race interview with FOX Sports. “But this group right here (Pinnacle Racing Group) deserves this. I had some tough shoes to fill when taking over for (Connor) Zilisch, I hope this makes them happy that they signed me, and I hope this is the first of many.”

As Brendan “Butterbean” Queen takes home the victory, William Sawalich finished with a late race charge in second followed by Jason Kitzmiller with his best career finish in the ARCA Menards Series with a third-place finish, Lavar Scott takes home fourth place, followed by Brazil’s very own Helio Castroneves in fifth.

Kole Raz, A.J. Moyer, Andy Jankowiak, Ryan Roulette, and Bryce Haugeberg round out the top 10.

RACE RESULTS