ARCA: John Clagett and Andy Hillenburg reunite at Berlin after twenty years
by Ben Schneider / LASTCAR.info Staff Writer
John Clagett finished last for the second time in his ARCA Menards Series career in Saturday’s Herr’s Snacks 200 at Berlin Raceway when his No. 10 Universal Technical Institute Toyota fell out with mechanical issues after 6 of 200 laps.
The finish came in Clagett’s second career ARCA start and his first since 2006.
Prior to his ARCA debut 20 years ago, Clagett made three starts in NASCAR’s Sportsman Division in the early 1990s. In the 2006 ARCA race at Springfield’s Illinois State Fairgrounds, the then-49-year-old Clagett ran an unsponsored No. 11 Chevrolet for Andy Hillenburg’s Fast Track Racing, where he pulled off on the opening lap with electrical issues and recorded a 36th-place finish. Since then, Clagett has continued to work with the Fast Track team as a spotter.
On Saturday, nearly 20 years later, Clagett made a surprise return to the driver’s seat, this time getting behind the wheel of Fast Track’s No. 10 Toyota. While this entry was another apparent “start-and-park,” Clagett completed six laps at Berlin before pulling behind the wall, listed with a standard reason out of “mechanical” on Racing-Reference. While the 20-year gap between the two starts and last-place finishes is remarkable, it is still nowhere near the presumed series record. Jeff Smith’s return to ARCA-sanctioned competition at Flat Rock Speedway in 2023 came over 35 years after his lone previous ARCA start in 1987.
In all, 22 cars appeared on the entry list. While Kevin Campbell’s No. 81 KC Motorsports Chevrolet made it to the track, Campbell appeared to withdraw, leaving only 21 cars to start the race. Both Racing-Reference and ARCA’s official website currently credit Campbell with 22nd-place points and a “did not start” status. Clagett qualified 20th of the 20 entries that made a qualifying attempt, running a lap time of 19.904 seconds. While Austin Vaughn’s Maples Motorsports team revealed on Facebook that a car issue prevented him from recording a lap in qualifying, he was able to join the rest of the field on the starting grid, allowing a total of 21 cars to take the green flag.
Vaughn was the only other driver to join Clagett behind the wall. He completed 37 laps before mechanical issues of his own left him stalled on the backstretch, leaving him with a 20th-place finish. Jeff Maconi completed 179 laps as the last of those who finished under power, losing eight laps in the pits fixing the car’s battery after a pit stop miscue. Brad Smith saw the checkered flag in 18th, persevering without fresh tires to complete 183 laps. Rounding out the Bottom Five was Smith’s fellow ARCA veteran, Dale Shearer, whose No. 98 completed one more lap than Smith’s No. 48 to finish 17th.
At the front of the field, Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 Toyota took its fifth national ARCA victory of the season and the first with Max Reaves behind the wheel. Nitro Motorsports teammates Thomas Annuniziata and Jake Bollman placed second and third, while Taylor Reimer and Isabella Robusto rounded out the Top Five.
DID NOT START
22) #81-Kevin Campbell
THE BOTTOM FIVE
21) #10-John Clagett / 6 laps / mechanical
20) #91-Austin Vaughn / 37 laps / mechanical
19) #86-Jeff Maconi / 179 laps / running
18) #48-Brad Smith / 183 laps / running
17) #98-Dale Shearer / 184 laps / running
2026 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES OWNERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 9 of 20)
1st) Maples Motorsports (2)
2nd) Ryan Huff Motorsports, Rise Racing with Earnhardt-Shearer Racing, Costner Motorsports, Brad Smith Motorsports, White Motorsports, MBM Motorsports, Fast Track Racing (1)
2026 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 9 of 20)
1st) Chevrolet (5)
2nd) Ford (3)
3rd) Toyota (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 DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 9 of 20)
