Max Reaves goes from worst to first at Elko Speedway for his second consecutive victory

www.arcaracing.com June 27, 2026

ELKO, Minn. – Sometimes a little bit of luck can go a long way.

Look no further for an example than Saturday’s Shore Lunch 250 presented by Dutch Boy at Elko Speedway and race winner Max Reaves, who was running second when leader Landon S. Huffman fell out of the race due to a mechanical failure.

Reaves inherited the lead on Lap 153 and led the rest of the way to earn his second ARCA Menards Series victory of the season and the fifth of his career.

The day did not start off well for the 16-year-old Reaves, who missed qualifying for the 250-lap race after the engine in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota failed at the end of practice.

RELATED: Complete results from Elko Speedway

His crew spent the next few hours replacing the powerplant in the No. 18, and Reaves was forced to start Saturday’s race from the rear of the field.

“I’ve got no doubt in this whole crew and everybody at Gibbs,” Reaves said. “I’ve got to thank all these guys for putting that motor back in this thing.”

It turned out Reaves was up for the challenge. He quickly worked his way through the 20-car starting field and took the lead for the first time on Lap 82 from Huffman, who had led most of the race up to that point.

Max Reaves
Max Reaves celebrates after his victory Saturday night at Elko Speedway. (Photo: Stephen Maturen/ARCA Racing)

Huffman was able to retake the lead from Reaves a few laps later after the two made contact while working through slower traffic. Making his ARCA Menards Series debut, it appeared for a time that Huffman was going get the better of Reaves.

That all came to an end on Lap 152, when smoke began to pour from the rear of Huffman’s No. 28 Pinnacle Racing Group Chevrolet. Reaves moved past Huffman one lap later and held the lead for the rest of the race to earn his second consecutive victory following his ARCA triumph last weekend at Berlin Raceway.

“I knew we were going to be the winning car tonight. I knew were were going to be the one to beat,” Reaves said. “The 28 (Huffman) thought that, too, getting in there and dooring me like that. When he broke, it was karma.

“I’ve just got to thank all of these guys so much and everybody at Gibbs. I’m just so happy. I love Elko. I love that we were able to go back-to-back this year.”

Jake Bollman finished second to pad his ARCA Menards Series championship lead, with teammate and local racer Ty Fredrickson chasing him to the finish in third. Taylor Reimer earned her second top five of the season in fourth while Jason Kitzmiller finished fifth to earn his best result of the year.

Isabella Robusto, Sioux Chief PowerPEX Pole winner Thomas Annunziata, Willie Mullins, Takuma Koga and Austin Vaughn finished sixth through 10th, respectively.

The ARCA Menards Series returns to action Friday, July 3 when the series returns to Chicagoland Speedway for the first time since 2019 for the running of the Ashley Furniture 150. Coverage of the event begins at 8 p.m. ET on FS1.