Max Reaves continues impressive start with dominant East Series win at Nashville

Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway became a part of the ARCA Menards Series East schedule, no car has been more dominant than the No. 18 Toyota.

Under the banners of Joe Gibbs Racing and Kyle Busch Motorsports, the No. 18 has led 606 out of 755 possible laps in Nashville's four East Series events. In three of these races, the No. 18 ended up in Victory Lane, with the 2023 race being the only exception.

Max Reaves faced minimal challenges in maintaining the lead for the No. 18 at Nashville on a cloudy Sunday afternoon. Apart from the restarts, no competitor could rival Reaves, who surged forward to secure his second consecutive East Series victory in just his second career start.

Reaves entered the Music City 150 having previously raced at Nashville in a Legends car. Expectations were high for Reaves to not only secure another win for Gibbs at Nashville but also to build on the momentum from his season-opening victory at Five Flags Speedway.

With guidance from NASCAR Hall-of-Famer Bobby Labonte and the expertise of crew chief Matt Ross, Reaves quickly adapted to Nashville in a full-bodied stock car. The inclement weather on Saturday gave Reaves a crucial advantage, as he inherited the pole position based on last year’s owner points.

Everything that followed was routine for Gibbs at Nashville, with Reaves delivering a textbook performance by leading most of the Music City 150.

The only challenges Reaves encountered during the day occurred on restarts, the first of which briefly saw him lose the lead to Tyler Reif. Reaves quickly corrected this by overtaking Reif a few laps later and kept him behind during two subsequent restarts, where Reif was unable to match Reaves’ speed..

Reif successfully maintained second place until the checkered flag, marking a strong comeback for the young talent after a mechanical issue prematurely ended his race at Rockingham Speedway. With momentum now in his favor, Reif aims to replicate his impressive Nashville performance in the upcoming East Series race at Flat Rock Speedway.

Reaves demonstrated consistency on Sunday, further reinforcing the No. 18 Toyota’s reputation as the most efficient ARCA Menards Series car at Nashville during the 2020s. Luke Fenhaus surpassing William Sawalich in overtime during the 2023 Music City 150 was the only event preventing the car from sweeping all five East Series races held at Nashville so far.

This season, unlike previous ones, the No. 18 will not compete for an East Series driver’s title due to Reaves’ part-time schedule. Nevertheless, East Series victories should be attainable for the No. 18 in 2025 if Reaves maintains the same poise he showed in his first two races.

Local Nashville competitor Hunter Wright outperformed East Series points leader Isaac Kitzmiller in a tough battle to secure a third-place finish. Kitzmiller and Zachary Tinkle were t

he rest of the top five finishers.