by Ben Schneider / LASTCAR.info Staff Writer

Nate Moeller finished last for the 5th time in his ARCA Menards Series East career in Saturday’s Dutch Boy 150 at Flat Rock Speedway when his No. 0 Peterson Motorsports Ford fell out with mechanical issues after completing 9 of 150 laps.

The finish came in Moeller’s 9th career East Series start.

As the defending LASTCAR ARCA East Drivers’ Champion, Moeller broke a tie with last week’s last-place finisher Presley Sorah to take sole possession of the lead in the 2024 standings. After opening the season with a last-place finish at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Moeller finished 17th at the Nashville Fairgrounds last week before picking up his second last-place finish of the season on Saturday.

In total, 16 cars appeared on the entry list, down slightly from the 18 that ran at Nashville. Missing were the Nos. 95 and 96 owned by Mark Noble, which were driven at Nashville by Hunter Wright and Andrew Patterson respectively. Also not making the trip to Flat Rock were the No. 07 Scofield team, owned by Jeff and driven by his son Tyler, and the part-time No. 42 Cook Racing Technologies entry driven by Tanner Reif. In their place was an extra Fast Track Racing entry - the No. 01 of Blaine Donahue, plus hometown driver Jeffery MacZink from Rockwood, Michigan, in the No. 65 owned by his brother Jarod.

Of the 16 entries, Moeller was the only one who did not set a qualifying time, meaning he would anchor the field on the start. Joining him on the last row of the starting grid was Brad Smith, who also finished in the same position he started as he retired due to mechanical issues after completing 16 laps. Rita Goulet continued the trend by both qualifying and finishing 14th, ultimately finishing the race under power, albeit ten laps behind the leaders. The trend stopped there, however, as Moeller’s teammate Cody Dennison improved three spots from his 13th-place qualifying effort to round out the top ten. Jeffery MacZink and Michael Maples rounded out the Bottom Five, also completing 140 laps and finishing under power.

At the front of the field, series points leader Connor Zilisch dominated the evening, leading all 150 laps from pole position to take his second win of the season. Zilisch maintains a 12-point lead over Sawalich as the series hits the halfway point in the season, though the dynamic of the championship battle is certain to change with all four remaining races being combination events with the national ARCA tour.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

16) #0-Nate Moeller / 9 laps / mechanical

15) #48-Brad Smith / 16 laps / mechanical

14) #31-Rita Goulet / 140 laps / running

13) #65-Jeffery MacZink / 140 laps / running

12) #99-Michael Maples / 140 laps / running

2024 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES EAST OWNERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 4 of 8)

1st) Fast Track Racing, Peterson Motorsports (2)

2024 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES EAST MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 4 of 8)

1st) Toyota, Ford (2)

2nd) Chevrolet (0)

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 EAST DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 4 of 8)