KANSAS CITY, Kan. — An unfortunate sense of déjà vu befell Brenden Queen when he saw the caution flag come out only a few hundred yards away from the start-finish line at Kansas Speedway Friday night.
It was only a few of months ago at Phoenix Raceway when a spin by Tim Viens on the final lap while Queen was leading forced him to defend the top spot during a one-lap shootout.
An aggressive dive by Brent Crews moved Queen out of the groove, spoiling what had been a dominant performance by Queen.
Queen ensured no one got within range of his back bumper during the one-lap shootout that settled Friday’s Tide 150. A perfectly executed restart provided Queen the launch he needed to pull away from the rest of the field, resulting in his second ARCA Menards Series victory in his fifth career start.
“I let one get away at Phoenix,” Queen said. “Of course that was going through my mind at the end of this race, but at the same time, that’s what a race car driver lives for, the opportunity to redeem yourself. These guys work so hard on this car, so the only thing I can do is take them to Waffle House tonight.”
Just like at Phoenix, the primary opposition standing in the way of another trip to victory lane was the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18, this time piloted by William Sawalich.
Despite the strong start, Sawalich’s lead did not last, as Queen methodically chipped away at Sawalich’s advantage by searching for clean air around Kansas’ progressive banking. Queen finally pulled alongside Sawalich on Lap 34, using the side draft and the lapped car of Ryan Vargas as a pick to assume control of the top spot for the rest of the night.
For Sawalich, who was searching for his first ARCA Menards Series victory on an intermediate track, attempting to overtake Queen proved to be a frustrating process. Already struggling with the balance of his car on long runs, Sawalich admitted restarts provided little assistance as he attempted to challenge Queen.
“The first segment, we were a little too loose on the long run,” Sawalich said. “In the second segment, we were a little too tight. I also didn’t have a bunch of help on the restarts. The second lane was a little tough to launch in and we had some wheelspin. [Queen] did a good job and I’m proud of my JGR boys for bringing me a good car.”
Sawalich’s runner-up finish continued an ongoing rivalry between Gibbs and Pinnacle Racing Group across all three ARCA Menards Series divisions. Along with several 1-2 finishes between the two programs, their battle also expanded to the East Series title fight in 2024, with Sawalich prevailing over PRG and Connor Zilisch.
Queen used his late model stock experience to be precise on restarts all evening, including the pivotal one-lap shootout.
“[Being a] late model guy, I’m used to going [from third gear to fourth gear], so when we were going through the whole H pattern, [I was] trying to manage the runs,” Queen said. [My spotter] Derek Kneeland up top does such a great job coaching me and keeping me in the game. They can’t say we haven’t won on a mile-and-a-half now.”
Following Queen and Sawalich in third was 2016 ARCA Menards Series champion Mason Mitchell. Alan and Lavar Scott completed the top five.
Andy Jankowiak, Jason Kitzmiller, Lanie Buice, Spencer Gallagher and Ryan Vargas were sixth through 10th, respectively.
