For Gary: Robbie Kennealy honors his late father with the West Series Rookie of the Year award

No matter how the 2025 season unfolded for Robbie Kennealy, he knew it would to be a year filled with emotion.

The sudden passing of Kennealy’s father Gary in September of 2024 was a devastating moment for the entire family, and one that left them at a crossroads. Motorsports had long been a part of the Kennealy family’s identity, but they were left to grapple over both the loss of Gary and how to continue their passion.

With his father’s spirit guiding him, Kennealy turned an opportunity to drive for Jan Qualkenbush into a stellar full-time ARCA Menards Series West campaign. By tallying six top-five finishes, including a breakthrough win at All American Speedway, Kennealy secured a third-place points finish and took home West Series Bounty Rookie Challenge honors.

The consistency Kennealy displayed put him within reach of a West Series championship throughout the year. Although a title did not materialize, Kennealy felt certain he gave everything to deliver consistent results for Qualkenbush — and to honor Gary’s memory.

“This year was something I never expected, no doubt,” Kennealy said. “Meeting up with Jan [Qualkenbush] was really the best thing to happen to me in my racing career. From taking a full year off from racing and making start and parks to full-time in ARCA West, [winning] Rookie of the Year and getting my first win [meant] everything to me.”

Prior to his dad’s passing, Kennealy admitted to dealing with plenty of struggles in his quest to find a cadence on the West Series platform.

The first West Series start for Kennealy in 2023 was solid; he climbed from 13^th to place fifth while driving his family-owned car. Misfortune hindered Kennealy over his four remaining West Series appearances that year, but he did manage to procure a top-10 finish inside The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Finally understanding what to expect from the West Series, Kennealy geared up for a busy schedule in 2024. Nearly every member of the Kennealy family was involved in the effort; his mother Francesca and fraternal twin sister Harley acted as team owners while his brother Joey ran a handful of events.

Two withdrawals due to blown engines in the first five events stymied any momentum Kennealy could have developed and forced him to bow out of his planned full-time season. Combined with the grief surrounding Gary’s death later that year, Kennealy briefly considered switching his focus to working on cars instead of racing them.

After driving for Qualkenbush in Irwindale’s final event in December 2024, Kennealy appeared poised to join Jan’s Racing primarily as a crew member. The team’s initial focus centered around Kyle Keller, who ran the first nine races for Kennealy’s program in 2024 and recorded three top-five finishes.

Kennealy’s top five in the season-opener at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway, an event he originally was not supposed to run, altered Qualkenbush’s plans for 2025. He would now contest the entire West Series championship alongside Keller, eager to build upon everything that worked at Kern.

There was a brief adjustment period for Kennealy as he settled into his new surroundings at Jan’s Racing. Stepping outside his comfort zone provided Kennealy the serenity he needed, as he re-discovered all the little intricacies that made racing so enjoyable to him.

“It’s a lot different,” Kennealy said. “Jan’s shop is about four hours from me, so I think I would spend two weeks out of a month up there going back and forth. Jan is a car owner but he doesn’t act like one. He’s in the shop and does all the body work for us. He really cares about kids who don’t have the funding to do this but have the heart to do it.”

Kennealy’s reinvigorated confidence was evident nearly every time he hit the track in a Jan’s Racing car. Across the 12 West Series races in 2025, Kennealy only finished outside the top 10 twice — at the two road courses of Sonoma Raceway and Portland International Raceway.

When Kennealy watched Keller pick up his maiden West Series checkered flag at Tri-City Raceway, he knew it was only a matter of time before he earned his first. Kennealy only had to wait for two more races to experience that moment, as he put together a perfect evening at All American by leading every lap from the pole.

Adding onto the emotion of the milestone; it took place close to the one-year anniversary of Gary’s passing.

Kennealy wanted nothing more than to find his way to Victory Lane in the West Series and celebrate his dad’s memory. Doing so required a coordinated effort from everyone at Jan’s Racing to build chemistry and keep pace with the other established West Series programs.

“This was all new to us,” Kennealy said. “Most of our crew was guys from [different teams], so it was our first time working together. Every single race, we got better and better. The results showed that. We learned as a team. The speed was there, but we just had to put the races together, and that’s what happened at [All American].”

Kennealy sees the 2025 season as the start of something special with Jan’s Racing. With how strong the team was throughout the year, especially at Phoenix Raceway, where he shared the track with ARCA Menards Series national drivers, Kennealy is confident he can dethrone Trevor Huddleston as the series champion next year.

The poor showings on the road courses created a points deficit too large for Kennealy to properly challenge Huddleston during the West Series finale. A full year of experience with Jan’s Racing has Kennealy eager to get back into one of Qualkenbush’s cars and continue making his own mark in the West Series.

“We need to build on what we built on all year,” Kennealy said. “There were a few mistakes that we as a team admit to. Kyle [Keller] ran out of fuel a couple times; I ended up wrecking pretty bad at Sonoma, a racing deal where I couldn’t really go anywhere. We need to execute every race to try and chase that championship.”

Until the new year arrives, Kennealy plans to cherish all his accomplishments from his first full-time West Series season. As he predicted, being a West Series winner and subsequently earning Rookie of the Year was an emotional culmination to an 18-month period that challenged Kennealy physically and mentally.

Gary was a pillar of strength and knowledge Kennealy relied upon early in his career. The synergy between father and son is something Kennealy still misses more than a year after Gary’s passing, but he is finding his own guidance while carrying every piece of advice passed down.

“I started racing with my dad,” Kennealy said. “Since then, it’s all I’ve ever done. To continue this at such a young age without having him in my life is definitely hard and not something I’ll ever say is easy. Continuing that reputation by showing what kind of race car driver I am and the person I am overall means a lot to me.”

The journey to long-term success in racing will continue to be arduous, but Kennealy enters the offseason confident about the future. He also feels comfortable knowing that no matter what transpires, Gary’s passion and influence will be with him every step of the way.