ARCA EAST: Jake Finch’s early crash leaves him last in a race of high attrition
by Ben Schneider / LASTCAR.info Staff Writer with Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
ALL PHOTOS: Brock Beard
Jake Finch finished last for the 1st time in his ARCA Menards Series East career in Saturday’s Rockingham ARCA 125 at Rockingham Speedway when his No. 20 Phoenix Toyota fell out with crash damage after 2 of 125 laps.
The finish came in Finch’s 13th career ARCA East start.
Finch is the son of former NASCAR Cup Series team owner James Finch - in fact, the younger Finch’s full name is James Finch Jr. While the elder Finch sold off Phoenix Racing’s Cup Series assets in 2013, the team has since made a return to stock car racing in 2022. After a year of racing together in late models, the Phoenix team entered Jake in an ARCA Menards Series East race at Five Flags Speedway, which resulted in an eighth-place finish despite a DNF seven laps short of the finish with a flat tire.
Finch is currently in his fourth season as a part-time driver across both ARCA’s national tour and its East and West divisions. Now a Venturini Motorsports development driver, he has scored two victories for the team - an East Series win at Dover in 2023 and an ARCA national win at Talladega, where he led every lap of the 2024 race. His 2025 season, however, is off to a challenging start. After he only managed 15th due to a late incident at Daytona, Finch’s first East start of the year was also his first last-place finish in ARCA competition. On Lap 2, Finch got loose underneath Austin Green, spinning his car around and collecting Lavar Scott in the process. While Scott was able to continue with minimal damage, the damage to Finch’s car proved terminal, securing him the last-place finish in ARCA’s return to the Rock.
Finch limps around the track after his early accident.
In total, 27 teams appeared on the entry list, of which only 26 started the race. London McKenzie set a practice time of 23.996 seconds, good enough for 16th in the session. However, an accident during practice left his No. 93 CW Motorsports car with heavy damage to the right-front and forced the entry to withdraw. McKenzie was therefore credited with 27th-place points and “did not start” as his “reason out.”
The traffic jam behind Smith’s stalled #48 car on the grid.
The remaining starters lined up single-file, nose-to-tail on the frontstretch. When the pace laps began, Brad Smith’s #48 Gary’s Speed Shop Chevrolet failed to start, causing the trailing cars of Corey Aiken in the #00 Vaughn, Wilcox, & Vaughn Toyota and Nate Moeller in the #06 Peterson Motorsports Toyota to move around him. Also pulling around was Caleb Costner, whose #39 Performance Cleaners Toyota was inexplicably well back of the group at the time. Track workers first tried to get Smith’s car going, but after it shut off again, a wrecker was needed. This, too, failed, to the wrecker pushed Smith’s car out of the way as the leaders came around the first time. Smith’s engine ultimately fired, the result of either an ignition or electrical issue according to the team.
Costner’s No. 39 idling at the garage exit, waiting to return to the race.
After Finch secured the last-place finish, Corey Aiken’s car began smoking due to a valve seal issue, making him the second DNF of the race. Brad Smith and Nate Moeller were both listed as “parked” by The Third Turn. Smith’s team was reportedly limited to a handful of laps due to an extinguisher issue, while Moeller was also instructed to bring his car to the pits early in the race. Smith’s crew made clear they didn’t intend to park the car, and in fact made at least two stops on pit road before the day ended - one after reportedly missing the entrance to pit road, which for ARCA was located on the backstretch. Rounding out the Bottom Five was McKenzie’s teammate, Caleb Costner, who anchored the field in qualifying but made it 21 laps before handling issues forced him behind the wall. Costner spent at least one extended stay in the garage before he returned for a few more laps later in the event.
Brad Smith behind the wheel during his stay in the garage.
Up front, Joe Gibbs Racing continued their East Series dominance with Brent Crews and William Sawalich giving the team a 1-2 finish. Eloy Falcon, driving a Rev Racing-prepared No. 10 car using Fast Track Racing owner points, rounded out the top three in an impressive series debut.
DID NOT START
27) #93-London McKenzie
THE BOTTOM FIVE
26) #20-Jake Finch / 2 laps / accident
25) #00-Corey Aiken / 7 laps / valve seal
24) #48-Brad Smith / 16 laps / parked
23) #06-Nate Moeller / 18 laps / parked
22) #39-Caleb Costner / 21 laps / handling
2025 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES EAST OWNERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 2 of 8)
1st) Brad Smith Motorsports, Venturini Motorsports (1)
2025 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES EAST MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 2 of 8)
1st) Ford, Toyota (1)
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 EAST DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 2 of 8)
