Eight months later, Crews led all 100 laps of the ARCA Menards Series West race and had the best car throughout. This is Crews’ eighth win across the various ARCA Menards Series across three years.

“I knew our short run speed was really strong,” Crews said. “We were fastest in practice and had a super fast car all day.”

Longtime ARCA West driver Trevor Huddleston secured the West championship by starting the race. He has been in the series since 2016. 

“To get to do a burnout at Phoenix for the championship is a dream come true for all of us, but especially for him,” Huddleston said. “We still have people from his high school auto shop team working with us today so it's kind of special for everybody.”

Huddleston drives for his family’s team after starting his career at the now-closed Sunrise For Racing. Throughout his career, he finished third, fourth and sixth, twice. 

Huddleston ran all 12 races on a single engine. 

“They (Roush Yates Engines) knew the product that they provided and we believed in them,” Huddleston said.  “Even though in the back of our head I was stressing out a little bit, I believed in them because they were there every single race and just checking on it.”

Carson Brown finished second in his second ARCA series start, his best career finish. Thomas Annunziata, Tristan McKee and Leland Honeyman Jr. rounded out the top five. Robbie Kennealy was the top West regular driver with a sixth-place finish.

Crews has yet to announce his plans for 2026. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver will likely drive a Toyota in some form next year. 

Crews has leaned on good friends and Xfinity drivers Jesse Love and Connor Zilisch as they have raced together for a long time. Those drivers will compete later for the championship.

“Jesse, I lean on more for advice and tips,” Crews said. “He's been very helpful with the development of my craft and not just speed, but just in racecraft in general.”