ARCA: Crash damage leaves Isabella Robusto first out of Springfield dirt race
by Ben Schneider / LASTCAR.info Staff Writer
SCREENSHOT: FS1
Isabella Robusto finished last for the 2nd time in her ARCA Menards Series career in Sunday’s Allen Crowe 100 at Illinois State Fairgrounds when her No. 55 Mobil 1 Toyota fell out with accident damage after 10 of 100 laps.
The finish came in Robusto’s 18th career national ARCA start.
In 18 career starts to date, Robusto has earned seven top-five finishes, including a career-best of second in last year’s Springfield race. Robusto also earned runner-up finishes in ARCA East and ARCA West races last season, placing second at both the Nashville Fairgrounds and Irwindale Speedway.
After running part-time across all three ARCA divisions last year, the 2025 season marks the first for Robusto as a full-time driver, as her schedule includes all 20 races on the national ARCA tour schedule. A slow start to her season resulted in four DNFs in the first five races, with the lone bright spot coming in round three with a third-place result at Talladega Superspeedway. Since then, Robusto came into Springfield on a run of eight consecutive top-ten finishes, with another P3 result at Dover equaling her season-best.
Robusto entered Springfield with high hopes on Sunday, looking to replicate last year’s performance, where she went from a 19th-place starting spot to finish second despite her minimal dirt track experience. However, her second attempt at Springfield would be cut short due to an on-track incident in Turn 3. While the FS1 broadcast provided few details, the damage was severe enough to force Robusto behind the wall, securing the second last-place finish of her career, the first coming at last year’s race at Kansas.
All told, 21 cars that appeared on the entry list. Inclement weather canceled practice and qualifying, forcing ARCA to set the lineup by series owners’ points. Following Robusto up the running order was her teammate, Lawless Alan, who retired with crash damage of his own after 19 laps. The early retirements shook up the Bottom Five - according to ARCA News Central, Austin Vaughn pulled behind the wall right as Matt Kemp returned from the garage, while Vaughn later briefly returned to the track as well. Both drivers likely did so to pass Alan, who finished 20th behind Vaughn in 19th and Kemp in 18th. Rounding out the Bottom Five was Kemp’s Fast Track Racing teammate, Trevor Ward, who joined Vaughn and Kemp as a standard “mechanical” DNF.
Up front, Brent Crews won his third ARCA race on dirt in four career starts and also became the third driver to win in Nitro Motorsports’ No. 70 Toyota this season. Lavar Scott matched his career-best of second, while ARCA dirt regular Kelly Kovski placed third. Several underdog drivers and teams also scored strong finishes: Brayton Laster placed seventh, marking a career-best of his own, Wayne Peterson Racing’s first lead-lap finish since 2018, and the team’s best finish since 1984. Alex Clubb continued to show resilience following his team’s hauler accident, also tying his career-best (2021 Toledo, 2024 Daytona). Finally, Brad Smith had one of the best runs of his ARCA career, joining Scott and Clubb in tying an ARCA national career-best with a ninth-place finish. The finish marked Smith’s second top-ten in ARCA competition this season, as the Michigan native scored an all-time ARCA career-best by finishing eighth in the East Series race at Flat Rock in May.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
21) #55-Isabella Robusto / 10 laps / accident
20) #20-Lawless Alan / 19 laps / accident
19) #67-Austin Vaughn / 20 laps / mechanical
18) #12-Matt Kemp / 21 laps / mechanical
17) #9-Trevor Ward / 23 laps / mechanical
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 14 of 20)
1st) Fast Track Racing, Brad Smith Motorsports (4)
2nd) 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 14 of 20)
1st) Ford (9)
2nd) Toyota (5)
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 14 of 20)
