Brendan Butterbean Queen – Pinnacle Racing Group Photo
by Derek Jackson
It didn’t take long for the carnage to start after the drop of the green flag today in the ARCA Menard’s Series Ride the Dente’ 200 at Daytona Speedway. A huge wreck on lap five that seemingly took out half the field was an ominous sign for the rest of the race. No sooner than a few laps after the restart did another large wreck happen, and shortly after that it was wreck after wreck after wreck.
Craig Bracken, driving the No. 02 for Young’s Motorsports, was transported to the hospital after suffering a brutal crash in the first half of the race.
The calamity filled race didn’t escape the attention of NASCAR Cup Veteran Denny Hamlin who commented on Twitter, ““Wonder if the casuals at home watching Fox right now are thinking that this is NASCAR. Yikes.”
The wreck filled race ultimately collected half of the starters, leading to criticism of the series running at superspeedway tracks such as Daytona and Talledega, with underfunded teams, young drivers, old drivers, and drivers who honestly shouldn’t be going 180+ MPH in the draft.
The race was full of promise and anticipation though, as legendary IndyCar driver Helio Castroneves and YouTube sensation e-celeb Cleetus McFarland were in the starting line-up. Many will remember McFarland’s heroic efforts immediately following Hurricane Helene where he flew his own private helicopter to offer relief aid to those devastated in the mountains of North Carolina.
Cleetus started the race 27th and was making good laps before dodging a massive wreck in the opening laps of the Ride the ‘Dente 200. Shortly after the ensuing restart, McFarland’s day came to an end after Amber Balcaen got loose and collected him and Kyle Steckly heading out of turn two. After the wreck Cleetus said, “I was having the best day of my life, ripping around Daytona like a bald eagle!”
Today’s drama filled race saw drivers such as Isabella Robusto and Lawless Alan run up front for most of the day, only to be taken out by one of the many wrecks during the race.
Butterbean Queen, the former CARS Tour Champion, took his first win in the Arca Menard’s Series after a late race push from teammate Helio Castroneves.
The ARCA Menard’s series moves to Phoenix Raceway on March 7th.