By ARCA Staff Report
Ethan Nascimento scores the first win in a thrilling ARCA West Series photo finish at All-American Speedway in Saturday night’s NAPA Auto Parts 150.
When this week began, Ethan Nascimento wasn’t going to compete in Saturday’s ARCA Menards Series West event. Pan American Expressway.
Ethan Nascimento. Victory for all of America!
That changed Wednesday. Nascimento was celebrating his first win in the Western Series since winning the NAPA Auto Parts 150 on Saturday night.
Nothing about Nascimento’s breakthrough victory came easy. After starting at the back of the 19-car field, Nascimento had to pass Reigning ARCA Menards Series West champion Trevor Huddleston to beat the waning moments.
Nascimento was undaunted in the final sprint, trading paint with the West Series veteran before taking the win out of the final corner.
“I’m sorry I had to do this with Trevor, but this is my first win,” Nascimento said. “I haven’t been in an ARCA car for about two years, so it’s good to be back. I was dead last time with a problem with the clutch part, but we drove it forward. We knew we were fast.”
The Closing Laps:
The talent Nascimento displayed Saturday was dominant in his final at-bat in the 2024 West Series. Nascimento ran three of the final four races in his family program, earning a then-career-best third-place finish at Madera Speedway.
Any rust that Nascimento had should be removed quickly given his uncertain starting position. However, Nascimento gradually chipped away at his fellow rivals before settling in behind race leader Huddleston with 35 laps to go.
Ian Wood’s late-race spin gave Nascimento what he needed; opportunity.
Nascimento made up for a poor restart with five laps to go by knocking Huddleston off the bottom groove in the first turn, allowing him to pull by. Despite the favored groove, Huddleston’s car had tremendous grip on the top line, allowing him to gradually pull away from Nascimento as the final lap approached.
Huddleston’s decision to stick to the top groove worked in Nascimento’s favor as he knocked him down the track in the second lap approaching the checkered flag. In control of the bottom lane, Nascimento needed only to eliminate Huddleston’s favored groove to bring home the first win in his return to the West Series.
Trevor Huddleston is disappointed with the ending
The way Huddleston was raced by Nascimento in the closing laps left him a little disappointed, but he was pleased the contact didn’t spoil a solid evening in the end.
“It was an epic race,” Huddleston said. “We had a good long car and it clearly showed. You can’t win them all. It’s a big picture for us. I think we scored a lot of points, which is the main thing. Congratulations Ethan! I know he’s been working on it for a long time. Once or twice, “hey you, duck!” The fourth time is when I got a little upset.”
Family team and victory
Nascimento’s father, Eric, and his older brother, Eric Jr., both raced in the Western Series, and all work tirelessly to match their equipment to perennial rivals. That hard work showed on Saturday in Nascimento, a 19-year-old prospect who was fearless on the track.
Despite the short notice and adverse circumstances, Nascimento never lost confidence in his car’s ability to excel at All American Speedway. Now he and his family are winning the West Series for the first time.
“I want to thank my dad, my mom, my uncle Roger Brackett, everyone who works at the store,” Nascimento said. “We got the call on Wednesday to get this car out and we knew we were going to be quick. We busted our butt and brought a really fast race car.”
Haley Deegan almost benefited from the battle between Nascimento and Huddleston, but she settled for her second consecutive third place finish. The most recent All-American winner, Robbie Kenney, finished fourth, and Will Robinson rounded out the top five.
Trevor Huddleston extended his series lead to 35 points over second-place Mason Massey. Robbie Kennelly is 37 points behind in third place. Cole Denton (-41) and Eric Johnson Jr. (-48) round out the top five.
Next
The next time the ARCA Menards Series West hits the track will be at Madera Speedway near the end of September, kicking off a blistering campaign to complete the 2026 season. The Madera 150 presented by the West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame will take the green flag at 7:20 PM PT/10:20 PM ET with FloRacing providing live coverage.
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