ARCA EAST: Mike Basham finishes last again in his first East Series start of the season
by Ben Schneider / LASTCAR.info Staff Writer
Mike Basham finished last for the 6th time in his ARCA Menards Series East career in Saturday’s Rockingham 125 at Rockingham Speedway when his No. 11 Double H Ranch Ford fell out with mechanical issues after 3 of 125 laps.
The finish came in Basham’s 13th career ARCA East start.
Basham’s last East Series appearance also marked his last appearance on this site - his No. 01 Fast Track Racing Toyota completed just three laps at Bristol in September last year before he pulled behind the wall. Since then, Basham has finished two ARCA national races under power, scoring a 12th-place finish at Salem in Fast Track’s No. 12 Toyota, then finishing 2025 with a 20th-place run at Toledo in the team’s No. 10 Ford.
On Saturday, the game of musical chairs continued for Basham as he took the green flag in a No. 11 Ford for Fast Track. As he did at Bristol last season, Basham only completed three laps before he retired from the race in another apparent “start-and-park.” Of the 19 cars that have run both East Series races to start 2026, the No. 11 ranks lowest in owner points - Matt Kemp finished third-to-last in last week’s season-opening race at Hickory.
All told, 22 cars appeared on the entry list. Basham ranked 20th in practice, running a fast lap timing of 28.251 seconds over four laps. He then picked up nearly four-tenths of a second in qualifying with a time of 27.862, placing him 19th on the grid. Anchoring the starting lineup was Toby Blanton, running a lap of 30.060 seconds.
Following Basham up the running order was Quinn Davis, who qualified in a strong ninth place but faded quickly, picking up damage after running over debris on Lap 2. Davis ultimately completed 13 laps, considered out with accident damage on The Third Turn but listed with “mechanical” as her DNF reason on Racing-Reference. After starting 4th, Gavin Boschele was forced to settle for 20th after hitting the wall after 45 laps. Michael Maples fell out with crash damage of his own after coming together with Connor Hall, leaving the two drivers 19th and 17th respectively. Splitting the pair and running out the Bottom Five was Toby Blanton, who completed 103 laps.
At the front of the field, Tristan McKee led every lap to start the 2026 East Series season two-for-two in Victory Lane. Teammate Carson Brown finished second, while defending ARCA East champion Isaac Kitzmiller finished third.
Despite O’Reilly Struggles, Cleetus McFarland Shines in ARCA East
Finishing fourth was Garrett Mitchell, better known as Cleetus McFarland. While the YouTuber-turned-racer struggled in his NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series debut, he more than held his own in the East Series race a few hours earlier, scoring a lead-lap finish just 5.894 seconds behind McKee. McFarland’s YouTube partner, George Siciliano, also brought his car home in one piece, as the driver better known as both LS George and Squirrel McNutt finished ninth, three laps down to the leader.
On Tuesday, McFarland confirmed he would not be approved to compete in the O’Reilly race at Talladega later this month. According to McFarland, he is approved to run NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races without any restrictions, but is currently only approved for short tracks in the O’Reilly Series.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
22) #11-Dustin Hillenburg / 3 laps / quit/mechanical
21) #85-Matt Kemp / 13 laps / accident/mechanical
20) #25-Gavin Boschele / 45 laps / accident
19) #99-Michael Maples / 99 laps / accident
18) #00-Toby Blanton / 103 laps / mechanical/running
2026 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES EAST OWNERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 2 of 8)
1st) Tim Monroe Racing, Fast Track Racing (1)
2026 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES EAST MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 2 of 8)
1st) Ford (2)
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 2 of 8)
