Brent Crews takes ARCA Win At IRP

Brent Crews assisted Joe Gibbs Racing in achieving another milestone in the ARCA Menards Series on Friday evening at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Before the LiUNA! 150 presented by Dutch Boy, Gibbs' ARCA Menards Series team had not secured a victory at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. Outstanding adjustments in the second half by crew chief Matt Ross allowed Crews to surpass Brenden Queen and distance himself for his second national win in the ARCA Menards Series this year and his third overall.

Crews has now won half of the ARCA Menards Series races he has participated in during 2025. He recognized that adjustments were necessary to surpass Queen’s impressive pace, but praised Ross for refining his car in the final 75 laps.

“I was exhausted,” Crews said. “This JGR team did an absolutely fantastic job during the break. [Queen] was really strong in the first half, and I was giving it my all to keep up with him. I knew Matt [Ross] and the crew had something planned to give me that extra edge at the halfway point, and that’s exactly what he did.”

A trip to Victory Lane for Crews was a stark contrast compared to how his most recent ARCA Menards Series appearance at Dover Motor Speedway ended.

Crews was biding his time behind Queen during the opening stint when he blew a right-front tire off Turn 4 and made contact with the outside wall. The 21st place finish Crews sustained that day was the first time Gibbs’ team had placed outside the top 10 in an ARCA Menards Series event since William Sawalich crashed out at Dover the previous year.

Eager to re-establish Gibbs’ efficient status quo, Crews implemented the same strategy from Dover, stay patient and wait until the halfway break to adjust. Despite early contact with Queen, Crews made it to the competition yellow with an intact car, giving Ross the opportunity to prime his driver for the second half.

As Queen lost the balance on his car, Crews applied pressure to his rear bumper. The pass for the lead occurred with 58 laps left when Queen’s car got loose coming off Turn 2, allowing Crews to dive underneath him in the next set of corners and successfully grab the lead.