ARCA: Matt Kemp takes last at Toledo finale, Brad Smith enjoys best his run of the season
by Ben Schneider / LASTCAR.info Staff Writer
PHOTO: Zachary Tinkle, via Timecard100 / X
Matt Kemp finished last for the 1st time in his ARCA Menards Series career in Saturday’s Owens Corning 200 at Toledo Speedway when his No. 01 ELHDetailing.com / Fast Track Racing Ford fell out with mechanical issues after 7 of 200 laps.
The finish came in Kemp’s 5th career series start.
Originally from Sawyer, Michigan, Kemp grew up racing locally in the Midwest. His first appearance in the ARCA platform came in 2023 for Fast Track Racing, finishing 13th at Berlin before an issue with the car’s rear end ended his race after 17 laps. Two more starts for Kemp at Iowa and Kansas yielded results of 19th and 20th, respectively.
The first race of Kemp’s 2024 season was a standalone ARCA Menards Series East event at Flat Rock Speedway, a race that currently stands as Kemp’s career-best. In a field of 16 cars, Kemp qualified on the third row of the grid and maintained his starting spot to earn a sixth-place finish. A return to Berlin resulted in a 17th-place run for Kemp, marking his only ARCA national start before Saturday’s season finale at Toledo. After Kemp pulled behind the wall and parked his car in the infield, the driver sent out a tweet with his phone set up on the dashboard of his car as he streamed the FS1 broadcast of the remainder of the race.
Kemp enjoys the race from, in his words, "the second best view in the house." (PHOTO: @KempRacing5)
While Kemp was the first driver out of the race, he was far from the slowest in qualifying as he set a lap time of 17.938 seconds, good enough for 16th on the starting grid. Brad Smith anchored the field at 20.349 seconds, giving him the 21st and final spot in the starting lineup.
Following Kemp up the race results sheet was Con Nicolopoulous, whose third start of the season ended after 23 laps. Alex Clubb placed 19th after pulling off the track two laps later - the team’s Facebook page indicates “a wheel bearing going bad on the left front” as the reason for his DNF. On a more positive note, Clubb did manage to finish a career-best ninth in the championship standings as he ran the full schedule for the first time in his ARCA career. Rounding out the Bottom Five were Dale Shearer and Presley Sorah, whose entries completed 41 and 93 laps, respectively.
While Brian Clubb’s absence guaranteed Smith this 2024 LASTCAR ARCA Menards Series Drivers’ Championship, Smith did manage to pick up the best result of his 2024 season, finishing 12th and completing 184 of 200 laps. It was his first race running at the finish since race five at Kansas, breaking a remarkable streak of 14 consecutive races where “mechanical” was listed as his “reason out.” While Smith and his team admit 2024 was a challenging year, the team also appears committed to coming back stronger in 2025, continuing to embody the “never give up” attitude Smith has embraced his entire career.
Despite clinching the 2024 LASTCAR ARCA championship, Brad Smith's 12th-place finish at Toledo was by far his best result of the season. (PHOTO: @DriverBradSmith)
At the front of the field, William Sawalich capped off his 2024 ARCA season with a series-leading ninth victory in the national tour. Meanwhile, the championship went to Andres Perez, who finished sixth and became the first foreign-born champion in ARCA Menards Series history. Perez also became the first driver since Bob Dotter in 1980 to win the ARCA championship despite not winning a race throughout the season.
THE BOTTOM FIVE
21) #01-Matt Kemp / 7 laps / mechanical
20) #0-Con Nicolopoulous / 23 laps / mechanical
19) #03-Alex Clubb / 25 laps / mechanical
18) #98-Dale Shearer / 41 laps / mechanical
17) #31-Presley Sorah / 93 laps / mechanical
2024 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES OWNERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 20 of 20)
1st) Clubb Racing Inc. (5)
2nd) Fast Track Racing (4)
3rd) Brad Smith Motorsports (3)
4th) Peterson Motorsports, Venturini Motorsports (2)
5th) Kennealy Keller Motorsports, Rise Motorsports, Shearer Speed Racing, Hettinger Racing (1)
2024 LASTCAR ARCA MENARDS SERIES MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP (After Race 20 of 20)
1st) Ford (11)
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 20 of 20)
