Mayhew Tops Kennealy In ARCA West Vegas Photo Finish

Taylor Mayhew celebrates winning at The Bullring at Las Vegas Friday night. (Lucas Peltier/ARCA Racing photo)

LAS VEGAS (Oct. 2, 2026) – It took two overtime attempts to get there, but Taylor Mayhew pulled off an improbable victory in Friday night’s ARCA Menards Series West Kyle Busch Classic 151 at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Mayhew started at the tail of the field in the No. 17 MMI Services Toyota, after a clutch issue following practice necessitated an engine change that prevented him from making a qualifying attempt. He worked his way through the field and lined up third for the second, one-lap overtime attempt.

Mayhew then nudged his way past Robbie Kennealy’s No. 1 Jan’s Towing/Jan’s Racing Ford to win by inches at the finish line.

The victory came in just Mayhew’s fourth series start. He led only the final lap – which is the first, and so far only – lap he’s led in his ARCA Menards Series West career.

Mayhew’s victory marks the fourth consecutive ARCA Menards Series West race decided by a last-lap pass.

Kennealy held on for second in a three-wide finish, just behind Mayhew and just ahead of his Jan’s Racing teammate Cole Denton in the No. 71 Jan’s Towing/Jan’s Racing Ford. Kennealy was racing in memory of his father Gary, who passed away two years ago this week.

Denton finished third, rebounding from a 21st-place result at Madera Speedway last week.

Vito Cancilla and the No. 20 Home Smiles/Impact Transportation Chevrolet finished fourth in his ARCA Menards West debut, a day after he turned 15 and became eligible to compete within the ARCA Menards Series platform.

Cancilla’s great-grandfather Cos Cancilla was a past championship winning car owner in the Pacific Coast Late Model division, the series that is now known as the ARCA Menards Series West.

ARCA Menards West championship points leader Trevor Huddleston led coming to the white flag, but instead of seeing the signal he was about to begin his final lap the caution was displayed for an incident in turn two involving Madera winner Hailie Deegan’s No. 16 Monster Chevrolet.

Huddleston led when the white flag was displayed the first time, but he was taken three wide into turn three coming to the checkered with Kennealy on the bottom and Mason Massey’s No. 19 NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet in the middle.

Contact was made between Massey and Kennealy, which sent Massey up the track and into Huddleston, with both drivers spinning to bring out the caution. Huddleston recovered to finish fifth, with Massey one spot back in sixth.

Tyler Tomassi scored a career-best seventh-place finish. It was Tomassi’s third top-10 finish of the season and first since he finished ninth at Tri-City Raceway in June.

Eric Johnson, Jr. rebounded from involvement in the Huddleston and Massey spin to finish eighth, his sixth top-10 finish of the season.

Eric Rhead and the No. 66 Champ Transport/Turnkey Leasing Ford team had a stellar run, avoiding at least two incidents, including a narrow miss when Gavin Ray and Andrew Champman came together on turn four on lap 120.

Rhead finished ninth, Chapman was 10th, and Ray came home 11th. It was Rhead’s third top-10 finish in four starts in 2026.

Helio Meza earned the Sioux Chief PowerPEX Pole Award in his ARCA Menards Series West debut, but made an unscheduled pit stop for a flat left rear tire on his No. 28 Allesandros/Heraldo Media Chevrolet early in the race that left him at one point as many as 10 laps behind the leader.

Meza recovered three of those lost laps and finished 18th.

There were six caution flags for a total of 52 laps. The race was extended by 16 laps by two overtime attempts.

Mayhew’s margin of victory was .045 seconds. His winning average speed was 56.788 miles per hour.

Huddleston led 153 laps, Kennealy led nine, Meza led four, and Mayhew led only the final lap. There were six lead changes among four drivers.

The next race for the ARCA Menards Series West is the Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 100 at Phoenix Raceway on Saturday, Oct. 17. The race, set to begin at 10 p.m. ET, will be streamed live on FloRacing.

ARTICLE CREDIT: ARCA Communications