Taylor Mayhew takes his first ARCA West Series photo win at the Las Vegas Bull Ring during the Kyle Busch Classic.
LAS VEGAS – Taylor Mayhew didn’t get a chance to qualify for Friday’s Kyle Busch Classic. Bullring at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but that didn’t stop him from earning his first ARCA Menards Series West win.
Taylor Mayhew. The first victory
Mayhew’s patient, methodical push saw him gradually work his way through the field before he found himself behind leader Robbie Keneally for a one-lap shootout. Mayhew collided with Kenley entering turn three, which pushed Kenley out of the groove enough for Mayhew to dominate the photo finish.
A furious charge on the field was only part of the story for Mayhew. Without his crew at Cook Racing Technologies, Mayhew might not have even crossed the starting grid.
“It wasn’t me, it was all my guys behind me that worked hard to get me out of here,” Mayhew said. “We had a super fast car all weekend. We had some problems before qualifying so we couldn’t do it. We picked them one by one. I gave Robbie a little bumper. He would do the same thing, he said.
It took Mayhew just four starts to join his father, David Mayhew, as West Series winners. The elder Mayhew didn’t get his first win until he was 25 years oldth started at Iowa Speedway, where he was credited with the West Series win as part of a joint event with the ARCA Menards Series East.
Improbability
The circumstances that led the younger Mayhew to Victory Lane were improbable in ways that went beyond the clutch issue that kept him out of qualifying. Mayhew was about to settle for Trevor Huddleston’s second place finish when Hayley Deegan’s Wounded Car caution forced an extra time restart.
Mayhew was just a spectator as Huddleston and Mason Massey spun on turns three and four in what would be the final lap as they raced for the win. The contact appeared to open the door for Keneally to secure his first Western Series victory in 2026, but the caution flag waved seconds before he crossed the start-finish line.
That meant another restart and another chance for Mayhew to find a way to the lead. He did just that, beating Kenley by 0.045 seconds to the finish line. Friday’s race marked the fourth straight West Series race to feature a last-lap pass for victory, and Mayhew became the seventh different West Series winner in the last seven events.
Kenley racing for an emotional reason
Only a few feet kept Kenley from winning on Friday. He did his best to hold off Mayhew in the one-lap shootout, but couldn’t generate the momentum he needed to edge him on the line following last-lap contact.
Kenny was determined to win at The Bullring to honor both Kyle Busch and his late father Gary. While he didn’t blame Mayhey for the maneuver, Kenny was still excited about how close he came to taking home the checkered flag.
“I can’t really be mad at that point because I probably would have done the same thing,” Kenny said. “This race is a bit emotional for me. Two years ago, two days ago was the memorial of my father’s death. I really wanted to win this race because it was the Kyle Busch Memorial. We fought really hard all day, and not having anything to hang our heads on.”
For Mayhew, who has completed every lap in his four West Series starts so far, he was still in disbelief as he pulled off his breakthrough victory. Just a few hours earlier, his No. 17 MMI Chevrolet sat in the pit lane during qualifying while his crew worked desperately to repair a broken clutch.
Mayhew still has a lot to learn in the West Series, but he plans to cherish how his first victory came together, especially in an event dedicated to a NASCAR legend like Busch.
“I’m very proud of my whole team and I can’t believe I’m here,” Mayhew said. “My dad knew Kyle (Bush) well, so it will be great to have that trophy on the shelf.”
Cole Denton, Keneally’s teammate at Jan’s Racing Team, finished third. Vito Cancilla finished fourth on his debut, with Huddleston recovering from a spin to complete the top five.
Massey, Tyler Thomassey, Eric Johnson Jr., Eric Rhead and Andrew Chapman were sixth through tenth, respectively.
While Trevor Huddleston continues to lead the series points with 40 points, Robbie Kenny is now in second place. Former runner-up Mason Massey (-43) is third. Cole Denton (-63) and Haley Deegan (-66) round out the top five.
Next
With two races remaining on the 2026 ARCA Menards Series West calendar, the next series heads to Phoenix Raceway on October 17th. The green flag for the Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 100 will fly at 8:00 PM MST/10:00 PM ET, with FloRacing providing live, flag-to-flag coverage.