by Ben Schneider / LASTCAR.info Staff Writer

Isabella Robusto finished last for the 1st time in her ARCA Menards Series career in Friday’s Reese’s 150 at Kansas Speedway when her No. 55 Mobil 1 Toyota fell out with crash damage after 1 of 100 laps.

The finish came in Robusto’s 4th career series start.

With a series of strong runs this season, Robusto has already made a name for herself in her young ARCA Menards Series career. In a perfect world, however, the 19-year-old driver from Fort Mill, South Carolina, would be in her second season of ARCA racing rather than her first. In January of 2023, Venturini Motorsports announced that Robusto would take the next logical step up the Toyota Racing Development ladder and run a partial schedule with the team in both the national ARCA tour and the ARCA Menards Series East. These plans, however, were put on hold when Robusto suffered a concussion in a last-lap accident at Hickory Motor Speedway just a week before her planned ARCA debut. Gio Ruggiero would step into her ARCA car at Nashville, and Robusto’s recovery timeline proved extensive enough that she remained sidelined from stock car racing until November, forcing her to wait until the 2024 season to make her first appearance in the ARCA platform.

When Robusto finally got that opportunity in the ARCA/ARCA West combination event at Phoenix earlier this season, she made the most of it, both qualifying and finishing in sixth while running as high as third in the race. Her second ARCA opportunity came in the East Series at Nashville, finishing second in the race where she had intended on making her debut a year earlier. Robusto has also run a partial West Series schedule this season - during the Irwindale doubleheader, she picked up another second-place finish in the first race and was likely on her way to winning the second before a flat tire ended her evening with just under 30 laps to go.

On Friday, Robusto got her first chance to compete in an ARCA race on an intermediate track. Just as she’s done all season, she showed captivating speed, taking pole position with a lap time of 30.896 seconds. Her race, however, ended in heartbreak on just the second lap. After losing momentum in Turns 3 and 4 and falling several positions as a result, Robusto attempted to block Andres Perez going into Turn 1, putting herself into the wall and leading to terminal crash damage. Robusto later admitted that she believed she was clear, a rookie mistake that the young Toyota driver will look to avoid in the future.

The race featured a solid entry list of 28 cars in total. While Robusto sat on pole position, three other members of the Bottom Five anchored the starting grid. Alex Clubb qualified 28th, shaking down a No. 03 entry that he intended to start-and-park with a lap time of 38.629 seconds. While Brad Smith’s qualifying time was over two seconds faster, his lap of 36.390 was only good enough for the inside starting spot on the last row of the grid. Kevin Hinckle, meanwhile, qualified 26th as he broke into the 35-second range with a 35.842.

Following Robusto up the running order were Clubb and Hinckle, who pulled behind the wall after 9 and 10 laps completed respectively. LASTCAR championship leader Smith placed 25th as the next to pull behind the wall. Team volunteer Colby Evans cited “ongoing motor issues” as the reason for the early retirement. Rounding out the Bottom Five was Chris Tate, who scored a top-ten finish at Iowa in his series debut earlier this year. Tate’s second start, however, forced him to the garage early, as his car’s water temperature spiked over 300 degrees.

At the front of the field, Tanner Gray survived a chaotic finish and contact with Amber Balcaen on the final restart to score his second win of the year. The victory, Joe Gibbs Racing’s tenth of the season, came just in time for Gray as his left rear tire went flat just seconds after taking the checkered flag. Perez, meanwhile, never recovered from the early setback with Robusto. The ARCA points leader’s damaged car could only salvage a 21st-place finish with 47 laps completed. Despite this, Perez maintains a large enough points lead over Lavar Scott that he will likely only need to take the green flag at Toledo in order to clinch the series championship.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

28) #55-Isabella Robusto / 1 lap / crash

27) #03-Alex Clubb / 9 laps / mechanical

26) #06-Kevin Hinckle / 10 laps / mechanical

25) #48-Brad Smith / 12 laps / mechanical

24) #10-Chris Tate / 20 laps / mechanical

2024 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES OWNERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 19 of 20)

1st) Clubb Racing Inc. (5)

2nd) Fast Track Racing, Brad Smith Motorsports (3)

3rd) Peterson Motorsports, Venturini Motorsports (2)

4th) Kennealy Keller Motorsports, Rise Motorsports, Shearer Speed Racing, Hettinger Racing (1)

2024 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 19 of 20)

1st) Ford (10)

2nd) Toyota (5)

3rd) Chevrolet (4)

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Click HERE throughout the 2024 ARCA season to view the full drivers’ standings for both the ARCA Menards Series and its East and West divisions. You can also find the manufacturers’ and owners’ standings for all three series HERE.

2024 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 19 of 20)