FLAT ROCK, Mich. — ARCA Menards Series East championship points leader Max Reaves (No. 18 Cook Out Toyota) scored his second series victory of the season and his second consecutive victory at Flat Rock Speedway in Saturday’s Sunbelt Rentals 150.
Reaves led 130 of the race’s 150 laps but had to work for it late as he traded the lead with runner-up Tristan McKee (No. 77 Zeigler.com Chevrolet) and third-place finisher Isaac Kitzmiller (No. 79 A.L.L. Construction / Carter CAT Chevrolet) inside the final 10 laps.
Reaves extended his lead in the ARCA Menards East championship standings to seven points over McKee with two races remaining. Both races, at Iowa Speedway on Friday, August 8 and Bristol Motor Speedway on Thursday, September 17, are combination races with the ARCA Menards Series.
“My guys brought me such a good car, so we had to win this one,” Reaves said. “I wanted to back it up from last year, but there was a lot of good competition here this year. They ran a good race. I like this track, I’m learning to like it a lot. I like these little tracks like this.”
McKee led twice but only for a total of five laps; he led laps 53-56 and then for a single circuit at lap 141.
Kitzmiller restarted third at the final restart of the night with 11 laps remaining, but moved to the lead for a pair of circuits at lap 142 and 143. Kitzmiller’s third-place finish matches his career best, set earlier this season at both Hickory Motor Speedway and Rockingham Speedway.
Matt Kemp (No. 91 ELH Detailing / Michael Maples Motorsports Chevrolet) also matched his career-best finish, set at Flat Rock in 2025. All three of Kemp’s top-10 finishes have come at Flat Rock, a track that he’s won at multiple times in MCR Dwarf Car competition. Kemp’s fourth-place finish is also the best finish for the Michael Maples Motorsports team.
Quinn Davis (No. 85 Orlando Health Ford) scored her first career top-five finish in fifth. Davis is the sixth female driver to record a top-five finish in ARCA Menards East history joining Kenzie Ruston, Isabella Robusto, Dominique Van Wieringen, Toni Breidinger, and Mackena Bell.
Esteban Rodriquez (No. 38 MCM Racing Development / EMWA Toyota) finished sixth, besting his previous career best finish, seventh, set earlier this season at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.
Austin Vaughn (No. 19 First Alert Safes / Wood Sales Ford) scored his second top-ten finish of the season in seventh; the reigning ARCA Menards Series East Bounty Rookie of the Year finished tenth in the season opener at Hickory Motor Speedway.
Jackson McLerran (No. 95 JSJ Construction Toyota) continued his streak of impressive performances by finishing eighth. He finished just ahead of Craig Pellegrini, Jr. (No. 10 Lets Be Frank / Fleet Reps Toyota), who scored his fifth top-ten finish of the season in ninth. Blaine Donahue (No. 11 Atlantic Bay Mortgage Ford) gave team owner Andy Hillenburg two top-10 finishers in 10th.
Carson Brown (No. 28 Grizzly Coolers Chevrolet) set a track record (11.948 seconds/75.326 miles per hour) to score the Sioux Chief PowerPEX Pole Award for the second consecutive week. Fuel pickup problems hampered Brown in the race, relegating him to 18th at the finish.
There were six lead changes among four drivers. Reaves led the most laps, 130; Brown led 13, McKee five, and Kitzmiller two.
There were three cautions for 29 laps; the race was run in 39 minutes, 50 seconds at an average speed of 56.485 miles per hour.
Reaves’ margin of victory was 0.403 seconds.
