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15 Year old Max Reaves Wins ARCA 150

15-Year-Old Reaves Recovers to Claim ARCA Pensacola 150; Tatman Wins VCTS Feature

By Chuck Corder
5flagsspeedway.com reporter

Max Reaves wasn’t giving up.
Laps ticked past the century mark of the ARCA Menards Series East Pensacola 150 on Saturday night at Five Flags Speedway.
While Kole Raz padded his lead, Reaves gave chase while his No. 18 struggled with its handling. But the 15-year-old, who led the opening 66 laps, was determined to not leave Pensacola’s high banks without a checkered flag.

Reaves split lapped traffic, going right down the middle of them and navigating his way around Raz on Lap 125. Reaves reclaimed the lead and never relinquished it over the final 25 laps to capture the Pensacola 150 against the biggest ARCA field in Five Flags history.
The ASA STARS National Tour and the Sunshine State 200 wraps up the track’s tripleheader kickoff weekend to open 2025 on Sunday afternoon.
“I’m speechless right now,” said Reaves, one of 10 rookies entered in the Pensacola 150. “I felt like Superman when I passed (Raz). This car is awesome, and this feeling is awesome.
“I just wanted to drive my heart out. Driving is all I do.”
Raz and Tyler Reif finished second and third, respectively.
Raz, familiar with Five Flags thanks to past trips for Snowball Derby week, chased Reaves around the famed half-mile asphalt oval early on.
When Reaves failed to go on a restart, Raz pounced on his opportunity. He took over P1 on Lap 67 and was masterful across the next 50+ cycles.
But when Raz washed up the track in Turn No. 4 trying to avoid lapped traffic, Reaves ducked low and began looking for his shot to get back out front on Lap 124.
“We struggled with lapped traffic,” the 22-year-old Raz said. “It was some of the worst lapped traffic I’ve dealt with it at this point, but we’re all in the same boat. It’s something for me to work on.
“Overall, it was a strong effort from us. We have a lotta opportunities this year. This is only our third race, so we’re still learning.”

Vore’s Compact Touring Series
An exhausted Aaron Tatman needed a minute to catch his breath.
He was finally able to exhale in Victory Lane on Saturday afternoon at Five Flags Speedway. Tatman claimed the Pest Doctor Bash at the Beach for the four-cylinder Vore’s Compact Touring Series on the second day of a tripleheader weekend at the famed half-mile asphalt oval.
He held off runner-up Karter Stark and Trent Gossar in third. Tom Gossar and Josh Richardson rounded out the top-fve.
“That was not a gimme,” said Tatman, who was also fastest in qualifying. “That was one I had to work for. That Stark boy, he has something there. He raced me clean. I couldn’t be happier.”
Stark led for most of the race until Tatman began to challenge him following a restart with 16 laps completed. The pair raced side-by-side for several laps until Tatman was able to clear Stark for good on Lap 19.
It marked Tatman’s fourth victory in the VCTS.

Finish Order

1 18 Max Reaves, Trinity, NC
2 76 Kole Raz, Lake Oswego, OR
3 23 Tyler Reif, Henderson, NV
4 28 Connor Mosack,
5 79 Isaac Kitzmiller, Petersburg, WV
6 4 Carson Brown, New London, NC
7 56 Timmy Hill
8 93 London McKenzie, Asheboro, NC
9 95 Hunter Wright, Lebanon, TN
10 11 Zachary Tinkle, Speedway, IN
11 12 Takuma Koga, Nagoya, Japan
12 39 D. L. Wilson, Mart, TX
13 10 Mike Basham, Henryville, IN
14 85 Becca Monopoli, Lakeland, FL
15 34 Austin Vaughn, Burnsville, MS
16 6 Nate Moeller,
17 9 Cody Dennison, Hokes Bluff, AL
18 1 E. J. Tamayo, Miami, FL
19 0 Corey Aiken, Rockledge, FL
20 31 Rita Goulet, McCalla, AL
21 48 Brad Smith, Shelby Twnshp, MI

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