ARCA EAST: Friday fire leads to Saturday “start-and-park” for Tim Monroe
by Ben Schneider / LASTCAR.info Staff Writer
PHOTO: Christian Koelle, @KoelleChristian
Tim Monroe finished last for the 2nd time in his ARCA Menards Series East career in Saturday’s Cook Out 200 at Hickory Speedway when his No. 14 Catawba First Insurance Associates Ford fell out with engine issues after 1 of 200 laps.
The finish came in Monroe’s 14th career ARCA East start.
The 2026 ARCA season marks Monroe’s seventh in the series. Known for his starts as a part-time competitor for Andy Hillenburg’s Fast Track Racing team, he achieved a new career best at last season’s second dirt track race, finishing fifth at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds. While he has often been forced to “start-and-park” outside of the series’ two dirt tracks, Monroe has gone the full distance on occasion in the ARCA Menards Series East, with his two best East Series finishes coming in the 2023 season with a ninth at Nashville and seventh at Flat Rock.
While Monroe is scheduled to return to Fast Track for both Springfield and DuQuoin, Saturday’s race marked the beginning of a new chapter in his ARCA career as an owner-driver. Unfortunately, the team’s ARCA East debut got off to a rough start when Monroe’s No. 14 entry blew an oil line, catching fire in Friday’s practice session. With limited resources, the team elected to run just one lap before pulling behind the wall to avoid risking further damage to the car’s engine.
In total, 23 cars appeared on the entry list. Due to the oil line failure and subsequent fire, Monroe was unable to run a qualifying lap, leaving him to start 23rd on the grid. Anchoring the drivers who were able to register a lap time was Brian Barbarow, who clocked in at 17.724 seconds. Barbarow was able to persevere through multiple spins to avoid a Bottom Five finish, but eventually pulled behind the wall after completing 161 laps to secure an 18th-place finish. (The Third Turn lists Barbarow as “parked” following his fourth spin on Lap 180, though Racing-Reference lists “handling” as his reason out.)
Following Monroe up the running order were Fast Track’s Dustin Hillenburg and Matt Kemp, completing 14 and 19 laps respectively in apparent start-and-park runs of their own. Brian Weber pulled behind the wall after 129 laps due to a clutch issue stemming from a transmission fluid leak. Rounding out the Bottom Five was Toby Blanton, who recovered from contact with the wall early in the race to return to the track and finish under power with 146 laps completed.
The front of the field saw Tristan McKee take his first career win in the ARCA Menards Series East and second ARCA win overall after last season’s triumph at Watkins Glen. McKee battled Max Reaves and Landon S. Huffman in a thrilling three-way battle before Huffman spun out. Reaves finished second after leading 186 laps, while Huffman faded to sixth in the final results.
Dystany Spurlock shines in debut with MBM Motorsports
PHOTO: MBM Motorsports/Facebook
Just behind Huffman in seventh was Dystany Spurlock, an NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle Racer who became the first Black woman to compete in an ARCA race with her East Series debut on Saturday. Spurlock’s entry was fielded by Carl Long’s MBM Motorsports, which also marked the team’s first-ever East Series start and second overall ARCA start of the season. (Derek White finished 39th at Daytona in February.) Spurlock’s result also caught the eye of O’Reilly Auto Parts Series driver Brad Perez, who noted her ability to finish on the lead lap in a field of drivers with significantly more stock car and oval racing experience. Spurlock will return to the series this weekend at Rockingham and plans to make her national ARCA Menards Series debut at Kansas.
Joining Spurlock as a second female driver on the grid was City Garage Motorsports’ Quinn Davis, who intends to run the full East Series season in 2026. Davis qualified 10th and was fighting to stay on the lead lap when her track bar mount broke, forcing the team to spend time behind the wall making repairs to the car. Davis ultimately returned to the track and completed 165 laps to finish 16th.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
23) #14-Tim Monroe / 1 lap / engine
22) #12-Dustin Hillenburg / 14 laps / quit/mechanical
21) #11-Matt Kemp / 19 laps / handling
20) #13-Brian Weber / 129 laps / clutch
19) #00-Toby Blanton / 146 laps / running
2026 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES EAST OWNERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 1 of 8)
1st) Tim Monroe Racing (1)
2026 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES EAST MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 1 of 8)
1st) Ford (1)
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Click HERE throughout the 2026 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.
2026 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES EAST DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 1 of 8)
