ARCA: Presley Sorah’s early exit hands Brad Smith back-to-back titles
by Ben Schneider / LASTCAR.info Staff Writer
Presley Sorah finished last for the 1st time in his ARCA Menards Series career in Saturday’s Owens Corning 200 at Toledo Speedway when his No. 31 Racing Toward a Dream Toyota fell out with rear end mechanical issues after 2 of 200 laps.
The finish came in Sorah’s sixth career ARCA start.
While Sorah had never finished last in a national ARCA race before, his story was previously featured on this site in 2024 following an ARCA East race at the Nashville Fairgrounds. Over the last two seasons, Sorah has driven for several owners of small teams at the ARCA level, including Alex Clubb, Andy Hillenburg, Michael Maples, and Tim Goulet.
On Saturday, Sorah planned to make his second start for Goulet’s Rise Motorsports team - his first came exactly one year ago when he finished 17th in 2024’s season finale at Toledo. However, what Sorah described in a tweet as “a plethora of disasters” prevented him from running more than just two laps, after which he pulled behind the wall as the race’s first DNF. According to The Third Turn, “rear end” was listed as Sorah’s reason out, perhaps indicating a welding issue on Sorah’s Toyota.
In total, 25 cars appeared on the entry list - due to Shane Backes’ car’s inability to leave pit road without assistance, only 24 were recorded as starting the race. Sorah’s similar issues at the drop of the green flag nearly created a dramatic scenario for the LASTCAR ARCA Menards Series Drivers’ Championship. Had Sorah also been recorded as a “did not start” entry on The Third Turn, the last-place finish would have gone to Matt Kemp, who had kept his title hopes alive the previous week at Kansas. Brad Smith, meanwhile, ultimately avoided a Bottom Five finish - his 18th-place result would have still only been sixth-to-last had just 23 cars started the race - meaning Kemp would have taken the title on countback through the Bottom Five tiebreaker. Ironically, that exact scenario did occur at last season’s Toledo finale, with Kemp taking the last-place finish on a day where Smith scored a season-best 12th-place result. However, since Sorah ultimately recorded two laps, the title remained in Smith’s hands for the second year in a row.
After Sorah and Kemp pulled behind the wall, Lavar Scott became the next DNF from the race after crash damage from a spin while racing against Isabella Robusto. In a race with little attrition, Jeff Maconi and Mike Basham rounded out the Bottom Five, completing 171 and 176 laps respectively.
At the front of the field, Max Reaves picked up his third national ARCA win for Joe Gibbs Racing, while Brenden “Butterbean” Queen finished second in yet another 1-2 finish for Gibbs and Pinnacle Racing Group. While all Queen needed to clinch the championship was to start practice and claim the season’s final 50-point bonus, Scott’s DNF would have ensured the eight-time ARCA winner’s championship status.
DID NOT START
25) Shane Backes
THE BOTTOM FIVE
24) #31-Presley Sorah / 2 laps / rear end (mechanical)
23) #9-Matt Kemp / 8 laps / quit (mechanical)
22) #6-Lavar Scott / 83 laps / crash
21) #03-Jeff Maconi / 171 laps / running
20) #10-Mike Basham / 176 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 20 of 20)
1st) Fast Track Racing (8)
2nd) Brad Smith Motorsports (4)
3rd) Clubb Racing Inc. (2)
4th) CCM Racing, Wayne Peterson Racing, Kimmel Racing, City Garage Motorsports, Venturini Motorsports, Rise Motorsports (1)
2025 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 20 of 20)
1st) Ford (11)
2nd) Toyota (9)
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 20 of 20)
