INTERVIEW: Isabella Robusto and Kevin Conway discuss the RAFA Racing Club’s 11th-place ARCA debut

by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief

From left to right: Kevin Conway, Isabella Robusto, and Rafael Martinez discuss their 11th-place debut in Phoenix. (ALL PHOTOS: Brock Beard)

Last Saturday’s ARCA Menards Series West race at the Phoenix Raceway marked the series debut of the RAFA Racing Club. RAFA, which stands for “Race As Family Always,” has grown exponentially since it entered the sports car scene. The team is co-owned by Rafael Martinez and a face familiar to longtime stock car fans in Kevin Conway, the 2010 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year. Absent from NASCAR since 2011, Conway was excited to discuss this new venture:

What’s your involvement with this team?

“So, I’m the team principal, and Rafael (Martinez) and I own the team, and we do a lot on the on the IMSA and SRO side of things in the sports car world, and this is an opportunity to start kind of getting our toe in the water and get back to my roots a little bit in the NASCAR garage. So we’re excited about what's to come with our partnership with Toyota and continuing in the ARCA Menards Series.”

And while you’ve been out of NASCAR, you’ve competed in sports cars as well, correct?

“Yeah. So, I’ve been racing in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Series, been running in GT4, GT3, all over the world, throughout Europe, Asia, and North America. And then I started a team in 2021 and started running a lot of the Toyota development drivers, some of the TD2 kids in the Toyota GR Supra, and that's gone really well. I partnered up with Rafa to create what is now Rafa Racing, and had a lot of success on that side, with over 70 podiums and almost 30 wins so far this year. So, it’s been a great year. Won IMSA championships this year, and heading straight from here to Italy for the Lamborghini Super Trofeo finals this week, chasing a few more championships. So, it was exciting to kind of get our feet on the ground a little bit here in the ARCA Menards Series, before we prepare to run more races next season.”

Does your sports car career predate your NASCAR career?

“It does not at all. In fact, when I had the opportunity to go into sports car racing, it was something that was a whole new world to me. I always joked it was like ‘Talladega Nights’ in reverse. It was like the redneck going to Italy. So no - I was always Sprint Car, Midget, Silver Crown guy, late model guy, and coming up through the stock car ranks. And never really imagined I’d be involved on the sports car side. But it turned into kind of a second career, if you will, and I’ve had a lot of fun to be able to win some World Championships, win IMSA championships, win SRO GT4 championships. And now we’re able to kind of take that knowledge and that successful base and help the next generation of drivers and upcoming Toyota drivers develop. And we’ll see how where those drivers end up. But where it’s exciting to be a part of that and to help develop these drivers along the way.”

What would you say is the biggest change in NASCAR from your driving career to now?

“The cars have changed a little bit - good thing about the ARCA Menards Series is the cars are more like the sixth gen Cup cars and the old XFINITY cars that I raced a lot of. So there’s a lot that still translates. Obviously, with the NextGen car, things are completely different on the Cup side now, but it’s fun to see where the sport has grown to and we’re excited to be a part of this for many years to come.”

The RAFA team’s pit box on the backstretch.

Furthering the team’s driver development efforts, RAFA fielded the #2 AMSYS Toyota for 20-year-old Isabella Robusto, who just this year completed her first full season in the ARCA Menards Series. As one of the drivers for Venturini Motorsports’ final season, Robusto finished a strong 4th in points, 188 points behind champion Brenden Queen. Last year, in only her third series start, she earned a career-best 2nd to current XFINTIY Series driver William Sawalich on the Illinois State Fairgrounds dirt track. On Saturday, Robusto bounced back from a 31st-place finish in the spring race at Phoenix with an 11th, after which I asked about her run:

So, I understand this is a new team. Is that correct?

“Yeah, it’s a new team for NASCAR. They run an IMSA and SRO right now for sports cars, but making their way into NASCAR.”

Is that where your background is? Did you like race with them in sports cars as well?

“I have raced with them on the sports car side, and I’ve been in NASCAR for most of my racing. But when I did go to the sports car side, it was with them, and it was super cool to have the opportunity to be their driver when they came into the NASCAR world.”

You don’t often see a new team spring up at the last race of the year. Was that a challenge for you?

“It was a bit of a challenge for everyone, just trying to kind of teach everyone the world of NASCAR. It’s very different from kind of what they’ve all been used to and run this year. And so it was definitely a challenge, but I think we all learned a lot, kind of going into future races.”

The RAFA team makes final preparations before the start.

And how was the race today for you?

“It was okay. We struggled with the handling of the car a bit, and we kind of out-adjusted ourselves in practice. And with being an impound after qualifying, there’s not much you can do adjustment-wise with the car. So, we made the most of our day. I think we had a top-10 car, and I ended up 11th, but I think we raced right where we probably should have.”

How had things progressed through the weekend?

“Yeah, I think everyone, they definitely got better and better every time we were out on track. And yeah, it's, it’s like anything new. We’re all gonna have our growing pains. But I’m super thankful for all the guys, everyone put in their hardest work this weekend and upset that we missed out on the Top 10 by one spot, but yeah, still, I think a successful weekend for being our debut.”

According to Robusto, her plans for 2026 – and whether or not they will be with the RAFA team – are expected to come in a couple weeks.

Robusto’s car after Saturday’s race.