ARCA / ARCA EAST: Mike Basham pulls behind the wall early as teammate Zachary Tinkle’s long-shot title bid falls short
by Ben Schneider / LASTCAR.info Staff Writer
Mike Basham finished last for the 8th time in his ARCA Menards Series career and 5th time in his ARCA Menards Series East career in last Thursday’s Bush’s Beans 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway when his No. 01 Fast Track Racing Toyota fell out with mechanical issues after 3 of 204 laps.
The finish came in Basham’s 99th career national ARCA start and 12th in ARCA East.
The last two times Basham appeared on this site have both been in combination races between the national ARCA tour and the East Series. His lone last-place finish in 2024 came at Dover in May, while 2023 also saw him pick up the last-place finish at Bristol. This season, Basham has entered a limited number of races with Andy Hillenburg’s Fast Track Racing, and while he pulled behind the wall in an apparent “start-and-park” after just three laps, his last-place finish was not yet secure as the 34th and final entry did not start the race with the other 33.
At 5:39 p.m. EDT, Catchfence’s Chris Knight tweeted that U.S. Marine Corps veteran Josh White, making only his second ARCA start since 2023, had not taken the green flag in his Clubb Racing Inc. No. 03 Ford, with Basham already in the garage. Five minutes later, however, Knight reported that White had made it onto the track, meaning that he would overtake Basham by finishing four or more laps. While White struggled to meet minimum speed and was eventually parked for failing to hit that threshold, his 49 laps completed was good enough for 32nd place, two spots ahead of Basham. White ultimately announced his departure from Clubb’s team the next day.
Finishing between White and Basham was Basham’s Fast Track Racing teammate Takuma Koga, who was sidelined after 34 laps with crash damage, locking him into 33rd place. Yet another Fast Track entry joined them in the Bottom Five, as an oil belt issue spoiled Zachary Tinkle’s evening after 70 laps. Tinkle, who went into Bristol running at the finish in every East Series race so far this season, was still mathematically a long-shot contender for the series championship, facing a 30-point deficit with 34 cars on the entry list. Despite the early exit, Tinkle was still able to hang onto third in the standings, one place higher than his fourth-place ranking in each of the last two seasons.
Rounding out the Bottom Five was Bobby Dale Earnhardt, who took over the Rise Motorsports No. 31 Toyota. The eldest son of Kerry Earnhardt was making his first ARCA start since 2017, though the damage accumulated through two incidents in Turn 2 on Laps 77 and 94 forced him behind the wall with just 85 circuits completed.
Up front, Brent Crews survived an overtime restart to win again, picking up his fourth victory of the season and third for Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 team. In the ARCA East championship battle, Isaac Kitzmiller’s eighth-place result was enough to clinch the title, finishing the season 17 points ahead of Tyler Reif and 53 clear of Tinkle. In the LASTCAR Drivers’ Championship for ARCA East, Brad Smith won the title by virtue of being the only East Series driver with more than one last-place finish. This marks the second-straight time Smith has claimed the title after sharing the distinction with Nate Moeller in 2024. Smith ultimately finished 22nd in the season finale.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
34) #01-Mike Basham / 3 laps / quit (mechanical)
33) #12-Takuma Koga / 34 laps / accident
32) #03-Josh White / 49 laps / too slow
31) #11-Zachary Tinkle / 70 laps / oil belt
30) #31-Bobby Dale Earnhardt / 85 laps / accident
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 17 of 20)
1st) Fast Track Racing (7)
2nd) Brad Smith Motorsports (4)
3rd) CCM Racing, Wayne Peterson Racing, Kimmel Racing, Clubb Racing Inc., City Garage Motorsports, Venturini Motorsports (1)
2025 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 17 of 20)
1st) Ford (10)
2nd) Toyota (7)
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 17 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 8 of 8)
1st) Fast Track Racing (4)
2nd) Brad Smith Motorsports (2)
3rd) Venturini Motorsports, City Garage Motorsports (1)
2025 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES EAST MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 8 of 8)
1st) Ford (4)
2nd) Toyota (3)
3rd) Chevrolet (1)
2025 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES EAST DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 8 of 8)
