ARCA WEST: David Smith anchors a DNF-free West Series season finale
by Ben Schneider / LASTCAR.info Staff Writer with Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief
ALL PHOTOS: Brock Beard
David Smith finished last for the 3rd time in his ARCA Menards Series West career in Saturday’s Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 100 at Phoenix Raceway as his No. 05 Shockwave Marine Suspension Seating Toyota completed 91 of 100 laps.
The finish came in Smith’s 40th career West Series start.
Readers of this site may very well be familiar with Smith’s story. After experiencing a serious health scare in the 2010s, the now-75-year-old Canadian made history as one of the series’ oldest rookies in its history, finishing 10th in the 2023 ARCA West championship standings. While Smith’s age and equipment may look like disadvantages to some, he has reliably been able to finish races under power and has just one DNF in his last 24 ARCA West starts.
Because of Smith’s consistency, his only other two last-place results - a pair of 15ths at Tri-City and Roseville in 2024 - came in races with low attrition, and Saturday’s Phoenix race was no different. Eric Johnson, Jr.’s spin in Turn 2 on Lap 88 marked the event’s only non-race break caution, and Johnson ultimately went on to finish 20th, one spot ahead of the Bottom Five. Smith, meanwhile, completed 91 laps, leaving him with a 25th-place result.
The open 23rd spot on the grid where Maples’ No. 99 was supposed to line up on Saturday.
In total, 26 cars appeared on the entry list. An engine issue for Michael Maples after qualifying meant his No. 99 International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Chevrolet would be missing from the grid. He’d qualified 23rd, which would have lined him up to the inside of Smith, but the stall was left open. The car was already in the garage on jack stands, where a technician from Ilmor was working along with a few crew members. A laptop was hooked up to the car’s engine. The team declined to comment on if they’d return to the race, but by Lap 70, the car was off the jack stands, its hood lowered, and crew absent. Maples, who was briefly seen on pit road before the start, would be credited with a “did not start.”
Crews attempting repairs to Maples’ No. 99 during the race itself.
One notable driver on the entry list included 2019 West Series champion Derek Kraus, who made his return to the series in a second entry for Smith’s Shockwave Motorsports team, finishing 14th in the No. 09 Toyota. There were also four female drivers in the field. Taylor Reimer finished 12th in the No. 25 Toyota, now a full Nitro Motorsports entry following Venturini Motorsports’ final race at the Las Vegas Bullring. One spot ahead of Reimer was another Venturini alum, Isabella Robusto, finishing 11th in the debut race for Kevin Conway’s new RAFA Racing Team effort. After making her debut at Sonoma in July, Kaylee Bryson made her return to the West Series for the Phoenix finale, finishing 18th for Cook Racing Technologies, though her effort was again limited by mechanical issues as she nursed a broken left-front shock for much of the afternoon. Finally, Jade Avedisian, signed by Todd Souza’s Central Coast Racing as a late replacement for Tanner Reif, qualified an impressive sixth, but made decent contact with the wall on the opening lap and faded to a 19th-place finish, one spot behind Bryson.
Shane Backes before the start.
Following Smith up the running order was Shane Backes, who was able to take the green flag in the second Maples Motorsports entry, but only completed 94 laps. Chase Howard made it one lap further, finishing 23rd with 95 laps. Rounding out the Bottom Five were Cody Dennison and Andrew Chapman, each completing 97 laps. Dennison had dropped to the tail end before the start of the race, but Backes fell to 25th by the end of Lap 1. On Lap 4, Backes caught and passed Smith’s #05 into Turn 3, moving under him to drop Smith to the last spot on track. Smith was then lapped on the 7th go-round heading down the backstretch. Backes, now racing Chase Howard in the No. 31 Rise Motorsports Toyota, was lapped along with Howard on Lap 8. By then, the trailing trio of Backes, Howard, and Smith were about nine seconds back of Dennison, who climbed to 22nd. After the race, Howard’s car was loaded on an open-topped trailer pulled by a pickup truck.
The No. 31 of Chase Howard on its open-topped trailer after the race.
At the front of the field, Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 18 once again led every lap of the race, as Brent Crews backed up his performance in March by completing the season sweep of ARCA West races at Phoenix. Carson Brown finished his ARCA West debut in second place in Pinnacle Racing Group’s No. 28, while Thomas Annunziata finished third in Nitro Motorsports’ No. 70. Trevor Huddleston, who clinched the series championship at the start of practice, placed 10th in the season finale.
DID NOT START
26) #99-Michael Maples
THE BOTTOM FIVE
25) #05-David Smith / 91 laps / running
24) #67-Shane Backes / 94 laps / running
23) #31-Chase Howard / 95 laps / running
22) #72-Cody Dennison / 97 laps / running
21) #55-Andrew Chapman / 97 laps / running
2025 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES WEST OWNERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 12 of 12)
1st) Strike Mamba Racing (3)
2nd) Performance P-1 Motorsports (2)
3rd) Cook Racing Technologies, Brad Smith Motorsports, Rise Motorsports, Jerry Pitts Racing, Fierce Creature Racing, Bill McAnally Racing, Shockwave Motorsports (1)
2025 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES WEST MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 12 of 12)
1st) Chevrolet (6)
2nd) Toyota (5)
3rd) Ford (1)
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 WEST DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 12 of 12)
