ARCA: Trevor Ward gives Fast Track another last-place finish, teammate Tim Monroe rounds out the Top Five
by Ben Schneider / LASTCAR.info Staff Writer
Trevor Ward finished last for the 2nd time in his ARCA Menards Series career in Sunday’s Southern Illinois 100 at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds when his No. 9 Fast Track Racing Toyota fell out with mechanical issues after 4 of 104 laps.
The finish came in Ward’s eighth career national ARCA start.
Much like last week’s last-place finisher Matt Kemp, Ward has firmly settled into a role as a “start-and-park” driver for Fast Track Racing. In fact, Ward and Kemp were the only two drivers who appeared to complete the practice at Madison, though Ward was able to avoid the last-place finish by running 11 laps to Kemp’s five. Through his first eight career starts, Ward has been listed as out with “mechanical” issues in all eight of them - his and Kemp’s totals of eight Bottom Five appearances each trail only Brad Smith, whose nine remain a season-high among ARCA drivers in 2025.
Following Ward up the running order was Josh White, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran making only his second start in the ARCA Menards Series since 2015. White anchored both practice and qualifying, but was able to avoid the last-place finish as his Clubb Racing Inc. entry attempted to go the distance despite a tumultuous last several weeks for the team. Unfortunately for White, his No. 86 entry lost the engine on Lap 12, forcing him behind the wall. Fan favorite Ryan Vargas suffered a similar misfortune, making it 16 laps before overheating issues ended his stock car dirt track debut.
The next driver to fall out of the race was Jade Avedisian, best known for advancing to the A-Main at the 2023 Chili Bowl and winning a CARS Pro Late Model Tour race earlier this year. Avedisian ran in or around the Top Five for much of the evening before a flat tire forced her to make an unscheduled pit stop under green. While she was able to rejoin the race, a subsequent spin left her with terminal crash damage, ending a promising ARCA debut after 67 laps. Rounding out the Bottom Five was Brad Smith, who remains the 2025 LASTCAR ARCA championship leader. Smith made it five laps further than Avedisian before parking with overheating issues of his own.
Up front, Brent Crews’ attempt at pulling off the ‘Dirt Double’ started strong as the Nitro Motorsports driver led 54 laps from Laps 21 to 74. However, an accident with less than ten to go forced him to settle for 15th, just one spot outside of the Bottom Five. Championship points leader Brenden Queen picked up the victory instead, with polesitter Lawless Alan in second and Kelly Kovski equaling his Springfield finish with another third-place result.
Tim Monroe finished a career-best fifth on Sunday, a welcome change of pace for Andy Hillenburg’s team. (PHOTO: Fast Track Racing, @FastTrack_11)
While Fast Track’s “field filler” entries continue to score headlines on this site, three of their entries ran the full race on Sunday. Ed Pompa completed all but four laps to finish 12th, while Tony Cosentino was the second-to-last car on the lead lap in eighth. Tim Monroe scored the best finish for the team, however, placing a career-best fifth and besting his 2021 result at DuQuoin by one position. The finish is the first Top Five of Monroe’s ARCA career.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
20) #9-Trevor Ward / 4 laps / quit (mechanical)
19) #86-Josh White / 12 laps / engine
18) #67-Ryan Vargas / 16 laps / overheating
17) #25-Jade Avedisian / 67 laps / accident
16) #48-Brad Smith / 72 laps / overheating
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 16 of 20)
1st) Fast Track Racing (6)
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 16 of 20)
1st) Ford (10)
2nd) Toyota (6)
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 16 of 20)
