Toledo Speedway

Pre-race at the Owens Corning 200 was a scurry of activity under a warm day in Toledo.

The Toledo Mud Hens and Toledo Walleye both brought representation to the speedway on Saturday. Scott Thurston, Mike Hessman, Doug Bochtler, Bryce Hietpas, and Gabe Alvarez represented Toledo’s baseball team on-site as a part of the handshake line.

Pre-race, Mud Hens mascot Muddy and Walleye mascot Spike entertained in the garage area, meeting drivers and hanging out at the facility.

Virginia’s Brenden “Butterbean” Queen came out in driver introductions dressed in a grey Mud Hens jersey, much to the approval of the great crowd in attendance. Butterbean turned out a fan favorite on Saturday, bringing the crowd to its feet during intros, during the race, and during his post-race celebration.

Venturini Motorsports participated in their final ARCA Menards Series national tour event on Saturday, and with Bill and Cathy Venturini on-hand at the facility, track owner and ARCA president Ron Drager presented the two owners with a Lifetime ARCA Gold Card membership.

The Valley Truck Centers Outlaw Super Late Models feature ran 50-laps of tight racing between some of the biggest local stars in ARCA racing competition. Nick Bailey started up front and ran as the leader for the first 27 laps, holding stalwart as the leader ahead of challenges from fast qualifier Scott Hantz, 2024 feature winner Conner Zbozien, and 2025 Flat Rock Speedway Outlaw Super Late Models division champion Paul Pelletier.

The lone caution of the day came after a spin from Howard Kelley Jr., who gathered up the car after looping in turn 4.

On the restart, Zbozien would pull out in front of Bailey on the outside of turn 2, and maintain a strong race lead. Zbozien would lead for the rest of the race and come home a winner for the second October in a row.

Nick Bailey would come home a strong second place, while Paul Pelletier put up a strong run to finish third. Indiana's Scott Hantz would finish fourth after his blinding qualifying lap of 15.237 seconds, and Bob Mikolajczyk would round out the top five with a strong run in the #06 machine.

On a day when Pinnacle Racing Group secured both the ARCA Menards Series driver and owner’s title with Brenden ‘Butterbean’ Queen, Max Reaves and Joe Gibbs Racing provided a minor spoiler to their celebration.

As has been a theme with Reaves in his limited ARCA Menards Series starts this year, he was infallible after earning the General Tire Pole for Saturday’s Owens Corning 200 at Toledo Speedway. Reaves successfully pulled away from Queen in the closing laps to earn his third national victory of 2025 and his sixth overall on the platform.

RELATED: Complete results from the Owens Corning 200

The result did not come without mild contact between the two frontrunners, as Reaves and Queen exchanged bumps with the former ultimately moving the champion out of the groove in Turn 1. Reaves expressed remorse over the aggressive racing but was more than happy to end his first national ARCA Menards Series campaign with a win.

“I’ve got to apologize to for getting into him like that,” Reaves said. “I didn’t mean to do that. I misjudged it. I’ve got to thank all my guys [at Gibbs], my mom, my dad and the good Lord above for getting me here.”

Reaves had no issues carrying on the efficiency of his predecessors in Gibbs’ No. 18 Toyota that includes current NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers William Sawalich and Sammy Smith.

The three ARCA Menards Series East events Reaves won this year saw him lead a combined total of 383 out of 450 possible laps, which helped Gibbs secure the East Series owner’s title. In Reaves’ two prior national ARCA Menards Series triumphs at Elko Speedway and Madison International Speedway, he tallied 283 total laps led.

Toledo was another display of Reaves’ burgeoning chemistry with Gibbs’ storied ARCA Menards Series program while under the mentorship of 2000 NASCAR Cup Series champion Bobby Labonte. He methodically navigated his way through slower traffic to maintain a comfortable advantage for most of the afternoon.

Queen’s determination to cap off his championship season with a victory was the only obstacle standing in Reaves way. The seasoned short track competitor tracked down Reaves during the final green flag run, but Queen ended up settling for a runner-up showing after Reaves’ bump-and-run.

The method in which Queen felt Reaves raced him was a sour point on an otherwise cathartic outing at Toledo. Despite this, Queen took pride in being able to deliver PRG one more accomplishment in 2025, an owner’s title over Gibbs.

“I passed clean, and he drives like a young kid that doesn’t know how to pass,” Queen said. “We won the war. I did everything I could to pass him clean, but that’s alright. He’ll learn one day.”

Queen ended his stellar 2025 with eight victories, four poles and 17 top five finishes. That consistency earned Queen the honor of joining names like Frank Kimmel, Iggy Katona, Benny Parsons and others as an ARCA Menards Series champion, a milestone he intends to cherish for the rest of his life along with PRG’s first owner’s championship.

“It’s real special,” Queen said. “I’m more excited to bring the owner’s [title] home for these guys. They are the ones that make me look good. This is the first time Pinnacle has won both [a driver’s and owner’s title] on the national deal. What a dream season and I couldn’t have done it without the Pinnacle Racing Group.”

For Reaves, his accomplishments throughout the year helped Gibbs accumulate six national ARCA Menards Series wins in total, with the other three being scored by Brent Crews. Reaves knew what the expectations were when he agreed to drive the No. 18 Toyota in 2025 and was eager to visit Victory Lane as many times as possible.

Although he came up short of delivering Gibbs a second owner’s championship, Reaves enters the offseason with plenty of momentum and confidence on his side.

“I knew the car could [win],” Crews said. “It just [came down to] if could depend on me to do it. I’m proud of all my guys and I’m thankful to be here.”

Tristan McKee finished third in the second PRG Chevrolet to wrap up the season. In Venturini Motorsports’ final national ARCA Menards Series race, Isabella Robusto led the historic operation with a fourth-place showing, where she was followed in the top five by Tyler Reif.

The rest of the top 10 consisted of Taylor Reimer, Willie Mullins, Julian DaCosta, Jason Kitzmiller and Becca Monpoli.

Although the 2025 ARCA Menards Series is now over, two events remain for the ARCA Menards Series West. The next race up for the West Series is on Friday at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which will be broadcasted on FloRacing starting at 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET.