PENSACOLA, Fla. — Another new driver in the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing produced a familiar, winning result in Saturday’s ARCA Menards Series East season opener at Five Flags Speedway.
Max Reaves enjoyed a near-flawless outing in his debut weekend with Gibbs’ esteemed ARCA Menards Series program. After posting the quickest times in both practice and qualifying, Reaves set a commanding pace for most of the Pensacola 150 to deliver Gibbs his fourth victory at Five Flags in the past five years.
Despite his dominance, a win was far from assured for Reaves. Facing challenges from drivers like Kole Raz and Connor Mosack while simultaneously dealing with copious lapped cars, Reaves stayed vigilant all evening and was ecstatic to see his composure pay off with a trip to victory lane.
“I’m speechless right now,” Reaves said. “I felt like Superman when I passed [Kole Raz for the lead] and passed lapped cars. It was awesome, and the car was awesome.”
With Reaves only running a part-time schedule in 2025, an East Series driver’s championship is likely not among his attainable goals. What is feasible for Reaves is helping Gibbs earn another East Series owner’s championship by absorbing information and gaining valuable experience with every passing event.
The opening laps of the Pensacola 150 saw Reaves display the same efficiency in the No. 18 as the drivers before him. Even with Mosack being a constant presence in his rearview mirror, Reaves never wavered and put together consistent lap times in front of the field.
That cohesion was nearly undone for Reaves on a botched restart shortly before the halfway point, which allowed Raz to assume control of the race.
Reaves settled in behind Raz and patiently waited for an opening to re-take the lead. Reaves gradually inched closer to Raz’s back bumper before making the race-winning pass with 27 laps remaining.
Raz could only watch as Reaves got smaller in front of his windshield until the checkered flag waved. Although he was disappointed with second, Raz said the performance he and AM Racing cultivated at Five Flags on Saturday is indicative of the chemistry they already possess after four races together.
“[The car] went away from us a little bit,” Raz said. “I just struggled with lapped traffic running the top like he could. That thing was hooked up anywhere it went, so hats off to them.
“We’ve got something to build off for the rest of the year. Whether it’s national, East or West, we’ll be ready for some more.”
Following Reaves and Raz in the third position was Tyler Reif. Mosack rebounded from a spin at the halfway point of the Pensacola 150 to come home in fourth, with Isaac Kitzmiller completing the top five.
Carson Brown, Timmy Hill, London McKenzie, Hunter Wright and Zachary Tinkle were the rest of the top 10.
