All hail Butterbean: Brenden Queen crowned 2025 ARCA Menards Series champion

Three years ago, Brenden “Butterbean” Queen was following in his family’s footsteps, working as a longshoreman at the Port of Virginia while doing everything possible to sustain his dream of being a successful racer.

Now he’s an ARCA Menards Series champion.

Entering Saturday’s finale at Toledo Speedway, Queen’s stellar debut ARCA season consisted of eight victories, four poles and 16 top fives, numbers that enabled the 27-year-old to pull away from other full-time competitors in the standings. Simply practicing his No. 28 Best Repair Company Chevrolet at Toledo ahead of the finale was all Queen needed to lock up the title.

Queen’s journey toward this moment was arduous, but he was determined to take advantage of the opportunity provided by Pinnacle Racing Group. Queen takes immense pride in seeing that hard work translate to a championship, especially given the notable alumni of the ARCA platform.

“It’s pretty special for me,” Queen said. “My last six years, I’ve won three Langley [Speedway] championships, a CARS Tour championship and now an ARCA championship. It’s really special to add my name to that list of drivers that have done it. A lot of them are in Cup or Xfinity, so it gives me a lot of hope and optimism about the future.”

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If not for a pivotal moment at his home track in 2022, Queen probably would still be a longshoreman today, nowhere near a race track.

Queen was in the middle of his third Langley Speedway championship season when he entered the June CARS Tour race at the track. Despite his familiarity with the 4/10-mile oval, Queen was an underdog in his own equipment with just one CARS Tour appearance to his name at that point. He started third and kept leader Carson Kvapil within his sights all night. Running second coming to the white flag, Queen nudged Kvapil out of the groove and pulled off the upset victory, much to the delight of the local crowd.

That triumph set into motion a chain of events that resulted in Queen signing a deal to drive a Late Model Stock Car for Lee Pulliam on a full-time basis. Although he found satisfaction and stability as a longshoreman, Queen quit his job in October of 2022 so he could commit to Pulliam’s program.

The massive gamble ended up paying dividends. Queen’s first start with Pulliam in the South Carolina 400 at Florence Motor Speedway ended with a trip to Victory Lane, and they followed that win with several more, plus a CARS Tour championship in 2024.

Queen, armed with his accolades in Late Model Stocks, was ready to take the next step but was unsure of how to proceed. He decided a full year in the ARCA Menards Series was the most feasible option and joined PRG with backing from long-time sponsor Best Repair Company.

Calling the shots for Queen atop his pit box in 2025 would be Steven ‘Steve-O’ Dawson, who had worked for PRG since its inception but never as a crew chief. Dawson had to acclimate himself to his new role before the season-opener, and perhaps more important, he had to get to know the driver.

“When I first met [Queen], I didn’t know anything about him,” Dawson said. “I don’t watch a whole lot of racing, and I’m more work-oriented. I focus on what I got, but I asked the guys around the shop a little bit [about Queen], and they said he was a heck of a wheelman. He fit in with the whole group.

“It was nice to have someone with experience [as a driver], especially being my rookie year crew chiefing.”

Dawson needed just one race to understand Queen’s talent.

After avoiding several crashes in the 2025 opener at Daytona International Speedway, Queen worked with his teammate in four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves to drive to the lead with 10 laps remaining. Queen then fended off a late charge from William Sawalich to prevail in only his second ARCA Menards Series start.

Queen never imagined his first ARCA victory would come so early, let alone at Daytona. He still finds himself in disbelief over that triumph and plans to cherish the accomplishment for the rest of his life.

“[Daytona] has to be one of my biggest wins because of the stage,” Queen said. “Everybody dreams as a kid to win at Daytona. There’s not a lot of people who can say they’ve won at Daytona, so to join that list honestly changed my life. I’ll forever be a Daytona winner, and those guys on the 28 team will always be Daytona winners.

“I could go there a lot more times and never win again, but I’ve done it.”

Daytona set a tone for Queen, Dawson and PRG that followed for the rest of 2025. The group earned victories at nearly every track type on the diverse schedule, including intermediates, short tracks and the dirt oval at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds in Illinois.

For as efficient as the was, Queen admitted he was somewhat surprised he didn’t earn more short-track victories. He obtained checkered flags at smaller tracks like Iowa Speedway and Dover Motor Speedway, but it took until the 18^th race of the year at Salem Speedway for Queen to prevail at a traditional half mile.

Queen wishes his short-track consistency was better during his championship campaign, but he’s proud of everything he and his team accomplished. The accolades are only part of the reason Queen enjoyed his time with PRG so much in 2025.

 He intends to cherish all the little moments shared with Dawson and his crew on and off the track.

“The work ethic is what I’m going to carry over, along with the memories of the time I had with Pinnacle Racing Group,” Queen said. “Mark and Jerri Webb [gave] me this opportunity, [but it was also great] to have those moments with Steve-O and all the 28 guys. We’ve had a lot of waffles this year at the Waffle House.

“There’s memories you can’t get back, and I’m glad I was there to experience them.”

Dawson is grateful for the chemistry he built with Queen and how it made everything easier as he adapted to being a crew chief. With Queen moving on from PRG after this year, Dawson is disappointed to lose their professional relationship. But he knows his friend is going to thrive regardless of where he races next year.

“I’ve had a lot of people throughout my career tell me I need to crew chief and that I would be really good at it,” Dawson said. “I kind of doubted myself, but after the conclusion of this year, it definitely gives me a boost of confidence moving forward. I want to see [Queen] win races at any level he goes to.

“He’s got the talent, and given the right opportunity, he will succeed.”

The dominance Queen displayed throughout 2025 is something he credits not only to the great culture at PRG, but also the Late Model Stock environment that defined him as a competitor.

Going up against many talented competitors at Langley and on a touring level taught Queen several key fundamentals on how to be successful in motorsports. He learned that respect is earned, and that strenuous effort is imperative to having a fast car.

Those qualities, combined with the brand he’s built, carried “Butterbean” to the top of the ARCA Menards Series pedestal, a milestone that is just as much surprising as it is rewarding.

“I thought Late Model Stocks would be it,” Queen said. “I didn’t think I’d ever find the funding to move out of late models, and I was OK with that. The Late Model Stock drivers are the best in the nation, and I was content trying to be a Lee Pulliam or a Philip Morris.

“I’m very grateful for the opportunity, but I don’t forget where I come from.”

Queen comes from a family of hard workers, willing to put in extra effort whether in the race shop or at the Port of Virginia. He plans to keep representing that work ethic at the top levels of NASCAR by building on all the knowledge acquired from the short tracks of Virginia all the way through the ARCA Menards Series.