Brenden Queen makes his feelings known after defeating NASCAR star to clinch another ARCA victory

Brenden Queen held off NASCAR Truck Series driver Corey Heim to win the most recent ARCA race at Michigan International Speedway. That one was his third victory in six races this season.

But it wasn’t easy. Late in the race, Queen had not one but two fellow drivers trying to take him down. Besides Heim, it was another Truck Series full-timer, Guy Ruggiero, who went toe-to-toe with Butterbean. He led over 30 laps, but towards the end, his car brushed against Queen’s, ending up fourth.

Speaking of his encounter with Gio, he told reporter Kaitlyn Vincie,

“So much respect for him and Gio (Ruggiero). First off, apologize (for) what happened with me and Gio going into three. I'm not sure if I turned in earlier, he was holding me up; I have to watch replay, but it was my fault, sorry. Just racing for the win there. I didn't do a good job, I missed a shift there that kinda allowed him to stay with us.”

Heim, on the other hand, was driving the No. 25 Toyota as a replacement for Jake Finch, who sat out due to health issues. Lawless Alan, Gio Ruggiero, and Lavar Scott rounded out the top five. Named the Henry Ford Health 200, the race saw just two cautions, with Brenden Queen bagging the most points (49).

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Brenden Queen reflects on his stellar start to the 2025 season

2025 is going well for Brenden Queen. He started the season by winning the Ride the ‘Dente 200 at Daytona International Speedway. A week later, he backed it up with another win at Kansas Speedway.

Now his dominance has been proved in Michigan as well. Reflecting on his season so far, the Virginia native said in a statement (as quoted by Frontstretch),

“Everything is just so different from what I’ve ever known. I’ve been Late Model racing since 2013 and making this next step was a dream of mine and being able to go out and perform is another childhood dream.”

“We all dream of doing it, but actually going out and winning, knowing no matter what happens the rest of my career, I’ve won Daytona and a mile-and-a-half now. They can’t take it away,” Brenden Queen added.

That being said, the ARCA Series will stay in the state of Michigan for another week. The next stop for the series is going to be at Berlin Raceway. Set for Saturday, June 14, the race will be televised on FS1 (7 pm ET onwards) with exclusive updates on ARCARacing.com and the Fox Sports app.

Another event under the banner of ARCA Series West is also scheduled for the same day at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway. However, the exact start time has yet to be announced. After that, the series will move on to Elko Speedway for its June 21 race.