AVONDALE, Ariz. — Brent Crews scored his third career ARCA Menards Series victory in Friday night’s General Tire 150 at Phoenix Raceway.
Crews, in his first start for Joe Gibbs Racing, took the lead from Brenden Queen in the final corner on the second of the race’s two overtime attempts.
Crews’ three victories have all come on tracks one mile in length, but his win at Phoenix was his first victory on a paved surface. He won at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in 2023 and followed it with a win at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds in 2024, both one-mile dirt surfaces.
Queen finished second and combined with his victory in the season opener at Daytona Int’’l Speedway, he has a 1.5 average finish in the two races.
Joe Gibbs Racing has had two drivers in the first two races of the season, but the team has mirrored Pinnacle Racing Group and Brenden Queen’s results.
Queen won at Daytona and finished second at Phoenix, while JGR finished second at Daytona with William Sawalich driving and won at Phoenix with Crews. The two teams are tied atop the ARCA Menards Series team owner standings.
• Treyten Lapcevich (No. 15 Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship Toyota) finished third in his ARCA Menards Series debut. Lapcevich was driving for the team that helped propel Sean Hingorani to each of the last two ARCA Menards Series West championships.
• Lawless Alan (No. 20 AUTOParkIt Toyota) finished fourth to score his first career ARCA Menards Series top-five finish.
• Lavar Scott (No. 6 Max Siegel Inc. Chevrolet) finished fifth, his second top-five finish of the season; he also finished fourth in the opener at Daytona.
• Kole Raz (No. 76 Cyclum Nextgen Travel Centers Ford) finished sixth for the second time in two career ARCA Menards Series starts. Raz, who won the ARCA Menards Series West race at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway in a photo finish last April, also finished second in the season-opener at Daytona.
• Thad Moffitt (No. 46 Pristine Auctions Toyota) finished seventh; Moffitt scored his career best finish – third – at Phoenix in 2021.
• Patrick Staropoli (No. Syfovre Toyota) recovered from an early-race spin to finish eighth in his first ARCA Menards Series start in eleven years. Staropoli has one career ARCA Menards Series West victory, at the now-closed Irwindale Speedway, in March 2014.
• Robbie Kennealy (No. 1 Jan’s Towing Ford) was the highest finishing ARCA Menards Series West regular in ninth. Kennealy, who finished fourth in the season opener at Kern, scored his best career ARCA Menards Series finish and closed on ARCA Menards Series West championship points leader Trevor Huddleston (No. 50 High Point Racing/Racecar Factory Ford) who finished 12th. Huddleston leads the West standings by five points headed into the next series race at Tucson Speedway on April 5.
• Corey Day (No. 77 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet) finished 10th, his third career top-ten finish in five career starts.
• Tanner Reif (No. 13 Central Coast Cabinets Toyota) finished 13th driving for the Central Coast Racing team that won the 2024 ARCA Menards Series West owners championship. Team owners Todd and Kelly Souza fielded a second entry for 16-year-old Spaniard Adrian Ferrer, who finished 18th.
Tyler Reif (No. 23 Sigma Performance Services/Vegas Fastener Manufacturing Chevrolet) nearly scored his second ARCA Menards Series victory at Phoenix. On the first overtime attempt, he pulled even with leader Brenden Queen through the dogleg, but a nudge from behind sent him sideways into the inside pit wall, heavily damaging his car and ending his night. Reif, who won at Phoenix in 2023, was scored in 19th at the finish.
