Carson Brown wins Menards 150; Thomas Annunziata claims ARCA Menards Series championship via tiebreaker

www.arcaracing.com September 25, 2026

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Many things happened during Friday’s ARCA Menards Series season finale at Kansas Speedway, but most of it happened behind Carson Brown.

Driving the No. 28 Chevrolet for Pinnacle Racing Group, Brown powered past Gio Ruggiero on the final lap of the Menards 150 to close the 2026 season with a trip to Victory Lane in his first start on a 1.5-mile oval.

Meanwhile, Thomas Annunziata finished fifth to clinch the 2026 ARCA Menards Series championship via tiebreaker after his Nitro Motorsports teammate Jake Bollman was collected in a crash earlier in the evening.

On a wild evening all around, in the end, it was Brown who was standing in Victory Lane.

RELATED: Full results from the Menards 150

“Very bittersweet to end it on a really high note with Pinnacle Racing Group,” said Brown, who was recently named the driver of the No. 2 Chevrolet in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series for Richard Childress Racing next season. “Really pumped to get this Whelen Chevrolet in Victory Lane for the first time, and hopefully more to come.”

After practice and qualifying were rained out earlier in the day, Brown started second alongside Ruggiero. Brown led the first lap but was quickly overtaken by Ruggiero in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

Ruggiero dominated much of the race, but a late caution for an incident involving Landon S. Huffman allowed Brown to close the gap and set up a dash to the checkered flag.

Coming to the white flag, Brown was able to get to Ruggiero’s outside, a move that allowed him to carry momentum through Turn 1 and take the lead. He pulled clear of Ruggiero and drove to a 0.512-second victory, his fourth of the 2026 ARCA Menards Series season.

Thomas Annunziata
He needed a tiebreaker to do it, but Thomas Annunziata clinched the 2026 ARCA Menards Series title with a fifth-place finish Friday night at Kansas Speedway. (Photo: Ted Malinowski/ARCA Racing)

“It was my first mile and a half, didn’t really know what to expect. They said hold it wide, and I said ‘OK,'” Brown said. “Derek Kneeland on the roof told me to rip the top the last two laps. We did, and I managed to bring it to Victory Lane.”

Annunziata came into Friday’s race as the championship underdog. Trailing his Bollman by 16 points when the race began, Annunziata was involved in two different incidents with his teammate before Bollman was collected in a crash not of his making just before the halfway mark.

With Bollman unable to finish no better than 21st, Annunziata needed to finish at least fifth to win the ARCA Menards Series championship via tiebreaker. A late-race pit stop and a determined drive during the final handful of laps got Annunziata to fifth, just enough to secure the series championship.

“It was crazy. I came into here without any preconceived notions. I knew it was going to be hard,” Annunziata said. “Jake Bollman did a good job, too. He had a great year, just unfortunate he had bad luck there, but we had horrible luck in the beginning, as well.

“We led the championship for one race. That’s really cool.”

After leading most of the race, Ruggiero was forced to settle for second but was able to deliver the ARCA Menards Series owners championship to Joe Gibbs Racing. Gavan Boschele was third ahead of Lanie Buice and Annunziata.

Andy Jankowaik, Jason Kitzmiller, Isabella Robusto, Mike Christopher Jr. and Esteban Rodriguez were sixth through 10th, respectively.

The ARCA Menards Series season may be complete, but that doesn’t mean the ARCA platform is done for the year.

The ARCA Menards Series West season continues Saturday night, Sept. 26 with the running of the Madera 150 from California’s Madera Speedway. Fans unable to attend the race in person can catch it live at 7:15 p.m. PT/10:15 p.m. ET on FloRacing.