ARCA WEST: Josiah Reaume finds positives from road course opportunity at Portland
by Ben Schneider / LASTCAR.info Staff Writer
Josiah Reaume finished last for the 2nd time in his ARCA Menards Series West career in Saturday’s Portland 112 at Portland International Raceway when his No. 72 RBR Engineering Chevrolet fell out with mechanical issues after 3 of 57 laps.
The finish came in Reaume’s third career ARCA West start.
After Reaume’s West Series debut at Shasta, the Strike Mamba Racing driver rebounded to score a top-ten finish in his second race at Tri-City. Veteran driver Sage Karam took over the No. 72 for the first road course race at Sonoma, while Reaume returned to the seat for the following road course at Portland.
While Reaume’s race ended with a last-place result for the second time in three starts this season, the rookie driver again maintained a positive outlook and spoke highly of the opportunity to gain road course experience, which he said “gave [him] a whole new perspective on racing” and “demands a completely different skill set.”
All told, 25 cars appeared on the initial entry list. A 26th entry driven by West Series veteran Bobby Hillis, Jr. was a late addition to the field, and Hillis finished 14th in the race to score his best ARCA West result in over three years. Other updates to the entry list leading up to race day were Reaume filling the “TBA” spot in the No. 72 car, while Dale Quarterley looked set to make his season debut in his own No. 32 Chevrolet before giving up his seat to his son, Alex Quarterley, who went on to finish eighth in his West Series debut.
Ray Bolinger was the next driver to join Reaume in the garage, doubling Reaume’s lap total before he pulled behind the wall after six laps. Todd Souza and Caleb Shrader were the next retirements from the race, both completing 21 laps before falling out with brake and engine issues, respectively. Rounding out the Bottom Five was Ryan Vargas, who had competed in the ARCA/ARCA East combination race at Iowa the night before Portland, where he scored a strong ninth-place result for Maples Motorsports. Vargas described his weekend as a “pretty unconventional double,” the latter half of which unfortunately ended after just 31 laps due to mechanical issues.
The front of the field featured a hotly contested battle for the win between Nitro Motorsports teammates Sam Corry and Ethan Tovo, which culminated in Corry being sent off course and back to a 15th-place finish. Tovo, meanwhile, dropped to fourth, as Bill McAnally Racing’s Mason Massey emerged from the chaos to take his second win of the season. Kyle Steckley placed second in his West Series debut for NDS Motorsports, while BMR’s Hailie Deegan recovered from an early mechanical issue to finish third, her best result since returning to stock car racing this season.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
26) #72-Josiah Reaume / 3 laps / mechanical
25) #38-Ray Bolinger / 6 laps / mechanical
24) #13-Todd Souza / 21 laps / brakes
23) #6-Caleb Shrader / 21 laps / mechanica/engine
22) #77-Ryan Vargas / 31 laps / mechanical/electrical
2026 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES WEST OWNERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 8 of 13)
1st) Strike Mamba Racing (3)
2nd) Rise Racing with Earnhardt-Shearer Racing, Central Coast Racing, Shockwave Motorsports, Performance P-1 Motorsports, Nascimento Motorsports (1)
2026 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES WEST MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 8 of 13)
1st) Toyota, Chevrolet (4)
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 WEST DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 8 of 13)
