Queen On ARCA Chance: ‘I’m Fighting For My Career’

Brenden Queen (Scotte Sprinkle/Race Face Digital photo)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Looking solely by the calendar, Brenden ‘Butterbean’ Queen might be considered a bit late to the national stock car party, but he’s still aiming to make a splash with his newest opportunity.

Queen, who won the CARS Late Model Stock Tour championship last year with Lee Pulliam Performance, has advanced into the ARCA Menards Series for 2025 in a full season deal with Pinnacle Racing Group.

The 27-year-old product of Chesapeake, Va., takes the reins of the No. 28 Chevrolet, which visited victory lane six times last year between Connor Zilisch and Connor Mosack.

It’s the most potent opportunity of Queen’s career at the highest level he’s been able to race at thus far.

In short, “it’s a big deal,” he told Motorsports Hotspot Thursday afternoon at Daytona Int’l Speedway.

“People don’t understand what this means to a short-track guy like me, when I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get to this point,” Queen added. “I’ve got so many people to thank and so many folks I want to make proud this year because without them, this isn’t even a thought in my mind that we could do what we’re about to do this year.”

Though short track fans have known about Queen for years, he didn’t pop up on the national scale until making a splash at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway last May with a fourth-place finish

Queen drops into the ARCA driver pool as an immediate championship threat, alongside the likes of Venturini Motorsports’ Isabella Robusto and Lawless Alan, Rev Racing’s Lavar Scott, and Nitro Motorsports’ Thad Moffitt.

While he doesn’t want to overload the pressure on his shoulders, Queen acknowledged that contending for the ARCA title isn’t just a goal, it’s an expectation for him.

“I’m having to fight for my career right now,” Queen said. “We’ve got this deal for this year, but nothing’s ever completely certain in this sport down the line and you can’t bank on having a second chance before the first one gets going. We know this team is capable of going out and performing at a high level every week, and that’s exactly what we intend to do. We don’t want to have any excuses at the end of the day.

“With Steve (crew chief Steven Dawson) on top of the box, I’m confident in what we’ll have as a team and really looking forward to going out and having a lot of fun along the way.”

Queen’s title quest begins Saturday at the World Center of Racing, and the small irony of the moment is that he’s actually raced an ARCA car previously at Daytona, even though he’s never run a full season for points.

“People forget that I actually raced here in 2019 (for Vizion Motorsports) because we got crashed out before the end and finished 29th,” Queen recalled. “But coming back here … knowing this is the first race of 20 and that we have a shot to go win a championship, it’s something special.

“No matter what happens this year, it’s an opportunity I’m going to cherish.”

That same sentiment could be applied to Queen’s time with Lee Pulliam, a four-time NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division I national champion and the late model stock car owner with whom he won the CARS Tour title last fall.

Queen’s journey alongside Pulliam began in late 2022 with a win in the historic South Carolina 400 at Florence Motor Speedway and culminated in championship fashion. Though the former is now moving on to new driving pastures, he remains grateful for the mentor and veteran that pushed his career forward.

“Man, what Lee and I did together … I’ll remember those moments for the rest of my life,” Queen said. “We won some amazing races together, won a championship … you don’t always get those chances with just anyone. And Lee was one of the first to encourage me and wish me luck for this ARCA chance, too. He knows how hard it is to make it in this sport, and he’s supported me even though I won’t be hopping in his race cars every week anymore.

“I can’t say enough about Lee and what he does to help build up other drivers, and short track racing is better for having him in it. I know I wouldn’t be where I am without him.”

Looking ahead, the short-track ace in Queen is eager to get to places like Michigan’s Berlin Raceway, Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, and Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, but he knows the first step is surviving the draft at Daytona and making an early mark on the ARCA Menards Series as a whole.

It won’t be easy, and Queen knows it, but as he put it, “Nothing in racing ever is.”

A good team goes a long way to easing that learning curve, however, and Queen believes that he’s found his fit with Mark Webb and the Pinnacle group.

“I know a lot of people thought I’d be Truck racing this year; I think I even thought that … but things ultimately led us here and this is a great group of guys,” Queen said. “They believe in me, and I believe in what they bring to the table, and that belief goes a long way toward success when you put the effort in.

“We’re all excited to go after this championship. It’s just about taking it a race at a time and putting all the pieces together.”

Queen begins his pursuit of the ARCA Menards Series championship in Saturday’s Chili’s Ride the ‘Dente 200 at Daytona Int’l Speedway, with broadcast coverage airing at noon ET on FOX and select affiliates of the Motor Racing Network.