DUQUOIN, Ill. — Known for his success in stock cars, ARCA Menards Series points leader Brenden Queen also has plenty of dirt experience on his résumé.
Competing at tracks across the Southeast like Dixieland Speedway and Natural Bridge Speedway provided Queen with plenty of knowledge that he could apply to the two dirt venues on the ARCA Menards Series schedule.
A top five at the Springfield Mile only fueled Queen’s desire to prove he could find victory lane on dirt with the Pinnacle Racing Group.
A poised, spirited drive from Queen in the closing laps at DuQuoin State Fairgrounds on Sunday evening allowed him to take his sixth win of 2025. He also secured a $7,500 bonus courtesy of the Hungry Hens Dirt Double by tallying the best average finish amongst drivers who competed at Springfield and DuQuoin.
While the outing was far from perfect for Queen, he knew a dirt victory was feasible at DuQuoin if he adhered to the discipline’s fundamentals and kept his car in one piece.
“I haven’t won a dirt race since 2022 when I ran full time,” Queen said. “I think everybody counted me out to win one of these, but that’s why you never give up. These guys went to work after Springfield. We weren’t quite where we wanted to be, but we just hung in there all night and knew we had a good car.”
The start of Queen’s weekend at DuQuoin didn’t initially prove promising. Queen could only muster a fifth-place run in qualifying, but he survived a chaotic opening half of the Southern Illinois 100 to maintain his track position.
Just like at Watkins Glen, mechanical issues materialized for Queen in the closing laps. This time, he turned his problem into a strength.
“My throttle was sticking pretty good,” Queen said. “I lost fourth [gear], lost fifth [gear]. Honestly, I think that might have made me drive it differently. I had to teach myself how to drive it with the throttle sticking and it got faster. Maybe that’s what I wasn’t doing the whole time.”
Queen picked off Brent Crews and Lawless Alan before setting his sights on Lavar Scott, the second-place driver in the ARCA Menards Series standings.
A bold, three-wide maneuver from Queen between Scott and the lapped car of Brad Smith got him the lead, which he held through two late-race restarts.
Alan placed second behind Queen in the final running order. Kelly Kovski, Isabella Robusto and Tim Monroe comprised the rest of the top five.
The finish:
Brenden Queen, Lawless Alan, Kelly Kovski, Isabella Robusto, Tim Monroe, Lavar Scott, Chase Howard, Tony Cosentino, Michael Maples, Max Reaves, Alex Clubb, Ed Pompa, Brayton Laster, Jason Kitzmiller, Brent Crews, Brad Smith, Jade Avedisian, Ryan Vargas, Josh White, Trevor Ward.
