ARCA: Matt Kemp beats Fast Track Racing teammate Trevor Ward back to the garage at Madison
by Ben Schneider / LASTCAR.info Staff Writer
PHOTO: TF56 Designs/@Truexfan561, X/Twitter
Matt Kemp finished last for the 3rd time in his ARCA Menards Series career in Friday’s Badger 200 at Madison International Speedway when his No. 12 Double H Ranch Ford fell out with mechanical issues after 5 of 200 laps.
The finish came in Kemp’s 15th career national ARCA start.
Since his most recent appearance on this site at Dover last month, Kemp has continued in his role of one of Fast Track Racing’s “start-and-park” drivers, placing 32nd of 34 drivers at Indianapolis Raceway Park and 18th out of 21 drivers at Springfield last week. Of his 15 career ARCA national starts, a ninth-place run at Berlin this season remains the only race in which he’s been running at the finish - his “reason out” on Racing-Reference.info is simply listed as “mechanical” for 12 of the other 14.
On Friday, Fast Track entered four cars. Kemp and Elko last-place finisher Trevor Ward carried out their “start-and-park” runs, with both scored as out with mechanical issues after five and 11 laps, respectively. Tony Cosentino, meanwhile, ran the full race for Fast Track, finishing ninth after spending much of the night in a battle for eighth with Kaylee Bryson. Rounding out Fast Track’s lineup was Dustin Hillenburg, the son of team owner Andy Hillenburg, who spent time in the pits just before Lap 50 but ultimately finished under power, placing 16th in his ARCA debut.
In total, 22 cars appeared on the entry list for the first ARCA race at Madison since 2019. Clubb Racing Inc.’s Jeff Maconi anchored the field in both practice and qualifying, setting a best lap time of 23.894 seconds in practice but improving to a 22.547-second lap during the qualifying session. Maconi later revealed that his No. 86 Ford had a rear shock failure, severely limiting his speed on Friday night. Following Kemp and Ward up the running order was Maconi, who was able to run 73 laps before pulling off track due to the rear shock issue. Brad Smith was the fourth and final retirement from the race as he was forced behind the wall after 127 laps, his second-highest laps completed total in an ARCA national race this season. Rounding out the Bottom Five was Lawless Alan, who sustained significant crash damage after running into Shane Backes on Lap 36. Alan returned to the track following repairs and limped to an 18th-place finish, 36 laps behind the leaders.
Up front, Max Reaves led all but one lap to take his second career ARCA win on the national tour. Lavar Scott equaled his career-best with a second-place finish, although championship leader Brenden Queen kept most of his points lead by following right behind in third.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
22) #12-Matt Kemp / 5 laps / mechanical
21) #9-Trevor Ward / 11 laps / mechanical
20) #86-Jeff Maconi / 73 laps / rear shocks
19) #48-Brad Smith / 127 laps / too slow
18) #20-Lawless Alan / 164 laps / running
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 15 of 20)
1st) Fast Track Racing (5)
2nd) Brad Smith Motorsports (4)
3rd) 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 15 of 20)
1st) Ford (10)
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 15 of 20)
