In a thrilling conclusion to Friday’s General Tire 150 at Phoenix Raceway, Brent Crews captured his first pavement victory in the ARCA Menards Series with a dramatic last-lap pass of Brenden Queen.

What initially appeared to be a strong second-place finish for Crews in his Joe Gibbs Racing debut transformed into victory when a caution flag, caused by Tim Viens spinning on the frontstretch during the final lap of regulation, forced a second attempt at a one-lap shootout.

Crews, who was familiar with Queen from their battles in the CARS Tour last season, executed a perfect restart that kept him within striking distance. As the white flag waved, Crews made his move in Turn 3, muscling past Queen to take the checkered flag.

“I raced Brenden the whole year last year,” Crews said in Victory Lane. “We raced him for CARS Tour wins, and then coming here to the ARCA Menards Series at a track like Phoenix to race for the win was really special. A great job to [Pinnacle Racing Group]. They had a winning car today, so I’m grateful for the caution at the end.”

This victory represents Crews’ third triumph in the ARCA Menards Series but his first on pavement. His previous wins came on dirt tracks at the Illinois State Fairgrounds and DuQuoin State Fairgrounds, where he showcased his dirt-racing expertise.

Queen, who was seeking his second consecutive victory after an emotional win at Daytona International Speedway just three weeks earlier, expressed frustration with the outcome but took partial responsibility.

“The only way they could beat us was to knock us out of the way,” Queen said. “Honestly, I’m going to look at it as ‘I have to do a better job on that restart’. In my defense, I never should have let him get close enough.”

The finish continues a pattern of fierce competition between Joe Gibbs Racing and Pinnacle Racing Group. The two organizations engaged in several late-race battles last season with drivers Connor Zilisch and William Sawalich, while 2023 saw Luke Fenahus claim two victories from Sawalich in overtime while driving for PRG.

For Crews, the win was particularly meaningful. “Winning this race is so special for me,” he said. “It was my mom’s birthday [on Thursday], so I’m dedicating this win to her. I can’t thank Joe Gibbs Racing enough. [There was] no practice, so showing up to the track with a car this fast was pretty cool.”

Treyten Lapcevich rounded out the podium with a strong third-place finish in what is currently his only planned ARCA Menards Series race of 2025. Lawless Alan and Lavar Scott completed the top five.

The ARCA Menards Series will return to action on April 26 at Talladega Superspeedway, while the ARCA Menards Series West will compete next at Tucson Speedway on April 5.