ARCA / ARCA EAST: Brad Smith last at Iowa as crew member Colby Evans makes ARCA debut
by Ben Schneider / LASTCAR.info Staff Writer
Brad Smith finished last for the 24th time in his ARCA Menards Series career in the Atlas 150 at Iowa Speedway when his No. 48 Gary’s Speed Shop Ford fell out with sway bar issues after 9 of 150 laps.
The finish came in Smith’s 454th career national ARCA start and 35th career ARCA Menards Series East start.
Well, sadly we're going to be one short on our crew today as Colby Evans makes his 1st #ARCARacing start at @iowaspeedway! Congrats young man. Will miss you turning our wrenches but all of us here on the #48Team definitely want to see you live out your dreams! https://t.co/NhmREy3nhr
— #DriverBradSmith #48Team #BradSmith (@DriverBradSmith) August 1, 2025
While Smith’s early exit padded his lead in both the national ARCA and ARCA East LASTCAR driver standings, it was another driver, Colby Evans, who found himself in the spotlight leading up to the weekend at Iowa. Evans, who has volunteered as a pit crew member and crew chief for Smith (and other small teams) in recent years, picked up a ride in Clubb Racing Inc.’s No. 86 for his home track’s ARCA race. This site was among the team’s associate sponsors, a decal placed next to the fuel filler inlet on the driver’s side. Evans and Smith were two of the 25 cars that appeared on the entry list in total.
In qualifying, Smith’s lap time of 27.454 seconds was good enough for 24th on the grid, just behind Evans’ car owner Alex Clubb in 23rd. Evans’ own time of 29.794 anchored the starting lineup.
Following Smith up the running order were Trevor Ward and Mike Basham, who parked their Fast Track Racing entries after 10 and 11 laps respectively. Kris Wright, who recently parted ways with the now-defunct Our Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, was involved in an incident with Sam Corry on Lap 27 that ended his night early. Evans rounded out the Bottom Five, ultimately completing 62 laps before parking his car due to a transmission issue. According to Evans on X/Twitter, his car repeatedly popped out of 4th gear before it became unavailable altogether, leading to the decision to pull behind the wall.
Clubb Racing Inc.’s troubles, however, did not end there. While leaving the track around 1:00 A.M., the team’s trailer was involved in an accident on I-80 East. While there were no injuries, virtually all of the equipment for the team’s No. 03 car was destroyed in the wreckage. Despite this, with the help of a GoFundMe for the team that raised over $17,000, both the team’s entries were able to compete at Watkins Glen just one week later, a true sign of the team’s resilience in the midst of unimaginable adversity.
Up front, Pinnacle’s No. 28 and Gibbs’ No. 18 continued their ARCA dominance with Brenden Queen winning the race ahead of Brent Crews in second. Venturini Motorsports’ Lawless Alan rounded out the top three.
In the ARCA East championship battle, Isaac Kitzmiller extended his lead by another five points with a sixth-place finish, while Tyler Reif placed 11th. Kitzmiller sits 19 points ahead of Reif heading into the season finale at Bristol, another combination race with the national ARCA tour.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
27) #48-Brad Smith / 9 laps / sway bar
26) #01-Trevor Ward / 10 laps / quit (mechanical)
25) #9-Mike Basham / 11 laps / quit (mechanical)
24) #15-Kris Wright / 27 laps / accident
23) #86-Colby Evans / 62 laps / transmission
AUTHOR’S NOTE: While the collaborative effort from Jeff Smith’s Berlin last-place finish used Fast Track Racing owner points, it was primarily a Brad Smith Motorsports entry. For the sake of consistency with ARCA’s standings, Fast Track has been credited with the last-place finish in our standings below.
2025 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES OWNERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 12 of 20)
1st) Fast Track Racing (4)
2nd) Brad Smith Motorsports (3)
3rd) CCM Racing, Wayne Peterson Racing, Kimmel Racing, Clubb Racing Inc., City Garage Motorsports (1)
2025 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 12 of 20)
1st) Ford (8)
2nd) Toyota (4)
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Click HERE throughout the 2025 ARCA season to view the full drivers’ standings for both the ARCA Menards Series and its East and West divisions. You can also find the manufacturers’ and owners’ standings for all three series HERE.
2025 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 12 of 20)
AUTHOR’S NOTE: While the collaborative efforts from Rita Goulet and Jeff Smith’s Nashville and Flat Rock last-place finishes used Fast Track Racing owner points, both were primarily Wayne Peterson Racing and Brad Smith Motorsports entries, respectively. For the sake of consistency with ARCA’s standings, Fast Track has been credited with the last-place finishes in our standings below.
2025 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES EAST OWNERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 7 of 8)
1st) Fast Track Racing (3)
2nd) Brad Smith Motorsports (2)
3rd) Venturini Motorsports, City Garage Motorsports (1)
2025 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES EAST MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 7 of 8)
1st) Ford (4)
2nd) Toyota (2)
3rd) Chevrolet (1)
2025 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES EAST DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 7 of 8)
