ARCA: Brad Smith finishes last again at Watkins Glen despite opening lap drama
by Ben Schneider / LASTCAR.info Staff Writer
Brad Smith finished last for the 25th time in his ARCA Menards Series career in last Friday’s General Tire 100 at Watkins Glen International when his No. 48 Gary’s Speed Shop Ford fell out with handling issues after 1 of 41 laps.
The finish came in Smith’s career 455th national ARCA start.
Fresh off of a last-place finish at Iowa, Smith’s team traded their white short track chassis for their older familiar red one for the road course at the Glen. Smith’s legacy Ford is a superspeedway car with an intermediate engine, but as the team does not currently have a dedicated road course car, they elected to use it for Friday’s race. The Third Turn listed Smith’s “reason out” as handling, likely an accurate ruling due to the chassis’ incompatible characteristics.
It appeared for a moment that Smith might avoid the last-place finish, as series points leader Brenden Queen was stuck in first gear on the opening lap. Queen’s No. 28 Pinnacle Racing Group team, however, was able to replace the transmission behind the wall and returned to the track, ultimately finishing in 21st, 19 laps down.
Like Iowa the week before, a total of 27 cars appeared on the entry list. Smith lined up 25th on the grid with a lap time of 1:41.250 seconds — while the shakedown run was obviously well off the pace of the pole time of 1:13.105, it allowed him to start ahead of Corey Aiken and Jason Kitzmiller, neither of whom recorded a lap during the session.
Following Smith up the running order was Aiken, who pulled behind the wall after two laps with a rear gear issue. Fast Track Racing’s Trevor Ward performed yet another “start-and-park” for the team after completing five laps. A spin for Shane Backes in turn 5 ended his day after 13 laps, while Brayton Laster rounded out the Bottom Five, making it 15 laps before brake issues forced his own non-road course chassis behind the wall.
Up front, Brent Crews dominated most of the race before a late voltage issue dropped him to ninth, the last car on the lead lap. Inheriting the win was Spire Motorsports’ Tristan McKee, who picked up the victory in his ARCA debut just five days after celebrating his 15th birthday. ARCA East championship contender Tyler Reif finished second ahead of Kris Wright, whose third-place result was easily the best of his 2025 stock car racing season. Glen Reen and Dale Quarterley rounded out the top-five finishers.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
27) #48-Brad Smith / 1 lap / handling
26) #34-Corey Aiken / 2 laps / rear gear
25) #9-Trevor Ward / 5 laps / quit (mechanical)
24) #67-Shane Backes / 13 laps / accident
23) #06-Brayton Laster / 15 laps / brakes
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 13 of 20)
1st) Fast Track Racing, Brad Smith Motorsports (4)
2nd) CCM Racing, Wayne Peterson Racing, Kimmel Racing, Clubb Racing Inc., City Garage Motorsports (1)
2025 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 13 of 20)
1st) Ford (9)
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 13 of 20)
