Trevor Huddleston dominates for ARCA West Victory at Shasta Speedway on Saturday night in the Bill Schmidt Memorial 173.
ANDERSON, Calif. — Despite leading the ARCA Menards Series West point standings after three events, reigning champion Trevor Huddleston did not find Victory Lane during that stretch.
Trevor Huddleston Victory at Shasta
One perfect race from Huddleston at Shasta Speedway on Saturday evening was all it took for him to break into the win column on the 2026 season. Huddleston only relinquished the lead briefly during the Bill Schmitt Memorial 173 and easily cruised to his tenth career West Series victory.
With Saturday’s race being dedicated to Schmitt, a four-time West Series champion, Huddleston could not help but feel sentimental in Victory Lane. Huddleston cherishes being a part of an elite group of West Series champions like Schmitt and was thrilled to see his impact on West Coast stock car racing get properly recognized.
“What an amazing event,” Huddleston said. “The track promoters did a great job, we had a great crowd [on Saturday]. It was super cool to have the [Bill Schmitt Memorial 173]. I love special things like that, [especially] with the break at lap 73. These wins are super hard to come by, and I can’t thank my entire crew [enough].”
It was only a matter of time before Huddleston added a Shasta victory to his West Series resumé. The two previous trips Huddleston made to Shasta saw him earn a runner-up finish in 2023, which he backed up with a third during the most recent event at the track two years ago.
Just like the 2023 event, Huddleston started the Bill Schmitt Memorial 173 on the pole. His chance for a victory that evening evaporated when he was passed by Sean Hingorani with 39 laps remaining, but Huddleston did not face a similar development on Saturday, as he led nearly every lap.
The Bill Schmitt Memorial 173 Results
Aside from a brief challenge Mason Massey provided during the opening laps, Huddleston’s closest challenge came in the form of Cole Denton, the most recent West Series winner at Tucson Speedway. Denton managed to stay even with Huddleston on a couple of late restarts but ultimately could not do anything to mount a challenge for the victory.
An optimistic Denton found plenty of positive takeaways from his first Shasta West Series start. Despite having no West Series starts to his name before 2026, Denton was thrilled to bring home another strong performance in only his fourth race driving for Jan Qualkenbush.
“It means a lot to put [this car] on the podium two weeks in a row,” Denton said. “Huddleston was second last race, so we just swapped. I’m very happy with a podium and second place is a big deal. The whole [Jan’s Racing] crew did an amazing job, so to get a podium two weeks in a row is just awesome.”
While trailing Huddleston, Denton made sure to carefully study how he was approaching each corner and gaining time. If he wants to make a run for the West Series title, Denton knows he will need to figure out how to gradually usurp Huddleston as the season progresses.
The ARCA West Series Point Standings
Huddleston commended Denton and the rest of the full-time West Series competitors who are continuing to provide a significant challenge to his title defense. The Shasta victory was not easy for Huddleston despite his dominance, but he said those performances will be essential toward becoming a multi-time champion like Schmitt and many others before him.
“There’s a lot of great competition this year,” Huddleston said. “That’s one of the amazing things about ARCA, it’s definitely thriving right now and I’m super lucky to be a part of it. There were a lot of contenders [on Saturday]. One mistake and you never know, but we stayed focused, stayed on our toes and we had to hit our marks.
“Now we get to go have some fun.”
Massey ended the Bill Schmitt Memorial 173 in the third position. Rounding out the top five were Huddleston’s teammate Andrew Chapman and Robbie Kennealy.
Next Up
Colorado National Speedway is the next track up for the ARCA Menards Series West on May 23. The green flag for the Legendary Billy Green 150 presented by NAPA Auto Parts will wave at 8 p.m. MT / 10 p.m. ET that evening, with FloRacing set to provide live coverage.