Robbie Kennealy ready to take on mentorship role at Jan’s Racing

In the three years he has been a part of the ARCA Menards Series West, Robbie Kennealy has endured an emotional whirlwind.

Kennealy saw the creation and subsequent dissolution of his family-owned team, all while being forced to grapple with the sudden loss of his father Gary. Yet, Kennealy persevered through that adversity to become a championship-caliber West Series competitor with Jan’s Racing Team, earning Rookie of the Year honors and his first victory at All American Speedway last season.

Now Kennealy is set to take on a different role with Jan Qualkenbush’s operation, that of a mentor. Despite being only 19 years old, Kennealy is the most senior member of Qualkenbush’s driver roster, with 15-year-old Cole Denton joining the program for the entire 2026 West Series campaign.

Guiding Denton is one component of Kennealy’s busy 2026 that also includes a planned start in the national ARCA Menards Series at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 14. There won’t be much time for Kennealy to rest, but he is eager to embrace everything the upcoming season is going to offer.

“This is definitely going to be the biggest year of my career no doubt, especially starting off with racing at Daytona,” Kennealy said. “I’m really excited to work with Cole. He’s a good young kid whose raced a few times around California. I’ve watched him and he’s very good. I have all the faith that he’s going to listen very well and take in every little piece of information he can get.”

Despite his young age, Kennealy already has plenty of experiences to reference once he starts working directly with Denton.

When Kennealy was forced to abandon a full-time West Series campaign in 2024 due to two early engine issues, he shifted his focus to being a crew member. That adjustment provided Kennealy a fresh perspective on how to set up a car, information that proved beneficial when he joined Qualkenbush’s team in 2025.

Every race with Qualkenbush boosted Kennealy’s confidence and helped him build chemistry with the team. Kennealy ended the West Series season third in the point standings and has every reason to believe he and Qualkenbush can capitalize on the momentum and earn a championship together.

The hands-on approach Qualkenbush takes with Jan’s Racing Team is why Kennealy feels at home in his shop. Kennealy said the best version of himself emerged by learning directly from Qualkenbush and hopes to see something similar materialize with Denton while he is under the team’s banner.

“I’m just a random kid from central California who really likes to work on race cars and race them,” Kennealy said. “I feel like I’m one of the very few kids who can help build a race car, set up a race car and really put my all into everything. It fuels the fire for me and Jan [Qualkenbush] really cares about the whole team.

“It’s been a pleasure to work with him so far and I’m really excited for what the next year brings.”

Kennealy is convinced Denton will be a great addition to Jan’s Racing Team, especially after watching him race in person for the first time. That event was a Jr. Late Model Series race at Madera Speedway, which happened to be Denton’s debut in the track’s development platform.

Denton impressed Kennealy and everyone else in attendance at Madera that day by taking home the checkered flag.

Originally from Pascagoula, Mississippi, Denton found himself on the West Coast after he and his family got connected with Madera owner Kenny Shepherd. Through the Jr. Late Model Series, Denton quickly got comfortable in a full-bodied stock car, all while he learned how to network and handle media responsibilities.

The efficiency Denton showed at Madera, which also extended into the facility’s Pro Late Model division, caught the attention of Qualkenbush. Shepherd informed Denton and his family that Qualkenbush was interested in the young driver, sparking a series of discussions that led to Denton joining Jan’s Racing Team for the entire 2026 season.

Even though he has not met Qualkenbush in person yet, Denton is thrilled to join his program and the culture being developed there. He expressed the same enthusiasm about having Kennealy as his teammate, who provided Denton a baseline of what to expect in the West Series as a rookie through their offseason phone conversations.

“[Robbie] has told me there’s a lot of competition [in the West Series],” Denton said. “The racing looks really good and he’s told me everything is close and everybody is fast. He said he was going to teach me some things on the track once we get to it in real life. I raced with him on iRacing on years ago, se we [already] knew each other.

“When Mr. Jan called, I was like ‘Robbie will be my teammate if I race for you. I know him from iRacing!’”

Having gone through Madera’s Jr. Late Model Series just like Denton, Kennealy can relate to the growing pains that come with finding a cadence in full-bodied cars. He said that process for Denton will only continue with the West Series cars, which are heavier and more downforce dependent compared to Late Models.

Despite this, Kennealy said the talent Denton possesses is undeniable, along with the etiquette he displays off the track. Based on his initial conversations, Kennealy feels Denton has a natural desire to learn, a quality he knows will benefit Denton as he progresses through the developmental ladder.

“Cole is a very respectful kid,” Kennealy said. “He reminds me a lot of myself just three years ago. He’s very respectful for his age and mature for his age. Not only that, but he takes every piece of information that you got. You can tell he’s listening because he asks a lot of questions and picks up on [things] quick.

“It makes my job a lot easier being a mentor for him and I really can’t wait to see what we both do as a team this year.”

Nothing is going to come easy for either Kennealy or Denton as they navigate what is expected to be a competitive battle for the West Series title. Among those standing in their way is reigning West Series champion Trevor Huddleston along with a Bill McAnally Racing team that has brought in Hailie Deegan and Mason Massey, both of whom have national series starts.

The challenges surrounding Denton’s maiden West Series campaign are not deterring Denton’s optimism in the slightest. It was only a year ago Denton was competing in Legends cars around the Southeast, seeking to fulfill a dream he has sought since he started watching NASCAR races with his dad when he was 2 years old.

Now Denton gets to develop with one of the fastest growing programs in the West Series, Jan’s Racing Team. If he absorbs information and learns from his mistakes, Denton will consider 2026 a success regardless of where he ends up in the point standings.

“I never thought this would happen so quickly,” Denton said. “Me being 15 years old, it’s a dream come true already and I haven’t even run an ARCA race yet. I don’t have any expectations, but I hope I can get some top 10s and learn as much as I can. [Winning] would be amazing and a dream come true, but I’d never expect that my first year.”

Like Denton, Kennealy is tempering expectations for 2026, a philosophy that is keeping his mind composed before the season begins. The foundation Kennealy helped build at Jan’s Racing Team alongside Kyle Keller last year also brings him comfort, as he has all the essentials needed to go chase a West Series title.

Kennealy admitted he finds himself in disbelief over the trajectory his life has taken during the past year, from being a rookie on an upstart team to becoming that same program’s veteran presence. The journey has been arduous at times on every front for Kennealy, but he takes pride knowing Qualkenbush trusts him to help lead Jan’s Racing Team to success.

“There were times when I was telling myself it would be OK if I never won an ARCA race because I had gotten the opportunity to race in it,” Kennealy said. “Now we’re at the point where people are believing in me and I’ve won a race. That’s already a big accomplishment and something I never knew I’d be able to achieve in my lifetime.

“Winning a championship would be the greatest accomplishment of my life and I’m going to put 110 percent into this and for all these people believing in me.”