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Brenden 'Butterbean' Queen earns statement ARCA win at Kansas in overtime

JHby: Jonathan Howard05/10/25Jondean25
Butterbean Queen ARCA NASCAR
Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

He would not be denied! Brenden “Butterbean” Queen dominates the ARCA Menards Series race at Kansas and wins in overtime. Who would have thought Queen’s first wins would come at Daytona and Kansas, a superspeedway and intermediate track?

Clear out the Waffle House in Kansas City, folks! Bean Nation is taking over tonight! Butterbean Queen had to earn it tonight the hard way after leading the most laps tonight.

This is a statement win for the short track racer from Virginia. I think that Queen is the favorite to win the ARCA championship this season.

Butterbean Queen didn’t just win this race, he was fantastic. This is his first time ever racing this track, and he figured it out, made his adjustments, and then dominated. On every restart he was flawless, and despite a caution flag on the white flag lap causing an overtime restart, Queen held on.

The Pinnacle Racing Group driver took down William Sawalich. Sawalich is a Joe Gibbs Racing driver and full-time in the Xfinity Series this season. His season of woes and shortcomings continues. It has not been a fun 2025 for the 18-year-old.

Lawless Alan fought hard after starting on the pole. But he didn’t have enough to challenge Butterbean and wasn’t able to hold Sawalich off for more than a lap at most.

It was surprising to see Isabella Robusto struggle so much. She has been very impressive in most of her ARCA starts. Unfortunately, she was the cause of the final caution, sending this race into overtime. On the other hand, Lanie Buice has to be given credit for a very solid first trip to Kansas.

Butterbean Queen is just getting started

If Butterbean Queen is able to win at intermediate tracks on the schedule, just wait until we get to the short tracks. A traditional short track is where Butterbean will feel most comfortable.

When the ARCA schedule gets to Berlin, Elko, Dover, IRP, Madison, Salem, and others on the schedule, Queen very well may dominate every single one. His skills on those short tracks are going to be superior to start with, and his familiarity with that style of racing will only help.

This season began with an interesting field of full-time ARCA drivers on the national series schedule. It was not clear who was going to be the dominant driver. After tonight, and after his performances at Daytona and Phoenix, I’m sure that Queen is that driver this season.

Who knows, he could struggle at Charlotte and Michigan in the coming weeks. It wouldn’t be the most shocking result in the world. However, after watching Butterbean Queen dominate at Kansas, I can’t imagine he would struggle. He may not win, but he’s going to be in the conversation every single week this season.