Brayton Laster Brings Drillbrush to Watkins Glen | Our Day at a NASCAR Race!

For the second year in a row, Drillbrush has donned a car at our hometrack of Watkins Glen International for the annual ARCA Menards Series race at the track. Drillbrush Racing driver and friend of the company, Brayton Laster, invited us out to the track to watch him race, so I made the drive out to the Finger Lakes region for the event.

Here’s how the race went down, the sights and sounds of the track, and the full NASCAR experience at Watkins Glen.

Arriving At the Track

The NASCAR Experience on the Watkins Glen fan fairway.

It is a two and a half hour drive from Drillbrush headquarters to Watkins Glen, so after gathering my things and recording some content for the Drillbrush Tiktok account, I headed out to the Finger Lakes region for race day.

The scenic drive sends you through the town of Geneva and down the entire length of Seneca Lake, the second longest of the lakes. Past vineyards, marinas, and lakeside farmlands, I arrived at the southern tip of the lake where Watkins Glen sits.

The town was abuzz for the NASCAR weekend. Tents selling merchandise lined every parking lot. The shops, restaurants, and bars were bustling with activity. Checkered flags adorned the street lamps and even all the crosswalks in town were painted like finish lines.

I pulled into the NASCAR credentials station, got my hardcard, and parked in the infield ARCA lot before finding my way over to the team.

Brayton Laster’s car lined up on pit road pre-race.

The Watkins Glen fairway was packed. With the Truck Series returning to the raceway and also running today, there was even more incentive for race fans to be here on Friday for the action. Show cars and stalls lined the central road, with two of the largest displays being the large Toyota pavilion and the Go Bowling tent, complete with its bowling pin-shaped hot rod and wacky waving inflatable arm tube men out front.

Cup and Xfinity teams were going through inspection as I worked my way to pit road. The pits were alive with activity. Driver interviews, checking tires, signing autographs, taking pictures.

Nestled in a corner near the start of pit road was Brayton Laster and the Wayne Peterson crew. While the team patriarch was not in attendance, the rest of the Peterson family, as well as Brayton’s family and crew sat beneath the tent with a table of snacks, sandwiches, and homemade food that was graciously offered to me.

After chatting with driver and team, Laster’s spotters got into position and Brayton hoped in his race car. Due to the ARCA race’s earlier start time compared to last year, I missed Practice and Qualifying, but I was ready to get footage of the main event!

Pre-Race Storylines

Drillbrush products perched on the pit wall in front of Thad Moffitt (#70) and Andy Jankowiak (#73)

Brayton Laster started 22nd in a field of 27 for the 2025 General Tire at The Glen. The field was a mix of star-studded favorites, road course ringers, and some hyped newcomers.

Brendan “Butterbean” Queen entered the weekend as the points leader and current favorite to win the 2025 ARCA Series championship, having just come off his fifth victory of the year the previous weekend at Iowa. However, road courses are not the short track proficient Queen’s wheelhouse, which allows Lawless Alan, Talladega winner and runner-up in points, an opportunity to close up the points gap. Meanwhile, Mr. Consistency Lavar Scott has finished no worse than 11th this year, keeping him in the running despite no victories to his credit.

Road racing means road race specialists have turned up to tackle the track. Whelen Euro Series champ Alon Day entered the race, along with young hotshot Brent Crews, NASCAR Historic Series regular Ryan Gemmell, and Busch North veteran racer Dale Quarterley.

Also in the field is Tristian McKee, who turned the minimum fifteen years of age just days prior to the event, and Alex Clubb, a former Drillbrush Racing representative who following a trailer incident earlier the week, was able to raise funds to get both his and teammate Casey Carden’s cars to the track.

The General Tire 150 at the Glen

Brayton Laster speeding down the frontstretch.

Polesitter Brent Crews led the field to the green and pulled out to an early lead. Trouble struck early for Brendan Queen, as the points leader could not get up to speed with a stuck gear on lap 1. He would spend half the race in the garage area, eventually finishing 21st 19 laps down.

Two other favorites; teammates Lawless Alan and Alon Day, had mechanical issues as well. Both would get trapped a lap down and finish just outside the Top 10.

Shane Backes in a second Maples Motorsports entry would have two spins on track; one that left him backwards in the Bus Stop complex, and another exiting Turn 5 that would trigger a caution on lap 18 after he made substantial contact with the inside wall.

Brayton Laster started off strong, much like his 2024 effort, hovering around the 20th position in competition with drivers like Alex Clubb. Unfortunately, similar to last year as well, his #06 started developing brake issues early, resulting in a lengthy multi-lap pit stop. He would return to the track, but shortly after halfway, would retire the car as the brake issue worsened. He would ultimately finish 23rd after completing 15 of the 41 laps.

Brayton Laster and crew standing by their retired machine.

The race continued to be troublesome for the points leaders. Teammates Day and Alan would see more strife on track, colliding with each other in Turn 5. Lavar Scott would see a tire go down in the early parts of the track, meaning he’d have to limp it all the way around to get it repaired. He would end up scoring 10th a lap down to the leaders. Shortly after, Jason Kitzmiller, fourth in points, would wreck exiting Turn 2, bringing out a late caution with just six to go.

At the front, Brent Crews, who had led every lap with little competition, would have a power issue under caution, stalling on track.

15-year-old Tristan McKee would inherit the lead with three to go and not look back. In his first ARCA start, Tristan McKee won in his Spire Motorsports #77. Second was 18-year-old Tyler Reif followed by Kris Wright, rebounding after losing his Xfinity Series ride weeks earlier, in third. The rest of the top 5 consisted of a surprise 4th place run for Glen Reen and 64-year-old Dale Quarterley in his first top 5 at the track since 2023.

After the Race

Brayton Laster signs autographs for fans.

After the race, deconstruction of the pit area commenced for the Peterson Team. I assisted in bringing all of the coolers and travel bags back to their trailer on the other side of the track. After a final word with Laster and team, they headed out for the weekend. Considering my pit pass allowed me to stay for the Truck series race at 5pm, I naturally stuck around for the action.

Corey Heim was the favorite for the Truck race, which makes sense considering five times this year have been “Heim Time,” including the last Truck Series road course outing at Lime Rock Park (an event I also attended.)

I watched the race under the shade of some trees on the exit oft he final corner, sharing the space with some photographers and a local who generously offered me half a funnel cake.

Heim started on pole and led half the race, trading it with outside polesitter Christopher Bell, who was subbing for an injured Stewart Friesen; a well-known name in central New York motorsports.

The Wayne Peterson Racing #06 is loaded up onto the trailer.

Much like the ARCA race, mechanical issues plagued many top contenders, including Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain, and Rajah Caruth. The Yellow flag also got a work out, with many trucks taking some degree of body damage. Nine total caution flew, with the race going into double overtime, resulting in the 72 lap race being extended nearly ten laps and ending just minutes before sundown.

Corey Heim was able to outlast Christopher Bell on fuel strategy and took home his sixth win of the year. Martinsville winner Daniel Hemric finished second, followed by Giovanni Ruggiero who matched his third place finish at Lime Rock. Christopher Bell recovered for fourth with Tyler Ankrum rounding out the top five.

With the sun setting, I made the long walk back across the infield to my vehicle and drove home for some much needed rest.

A Fun Day at the Track

We want to thank Brayton Laster and the Wayne Peterson Racing team for inviting us out to the track! They are a pleasure to work with and we can’t wait to see them again!

While the end result was not what the team hoped for, we’re happy we got to be along for the ride and wish them the best for the rest of their 2025 season. Their next race is Sunday August 17th at the Springfield Mile.