06/07/2026
Love Wins Michigan Thriller, Lewis Claims Championship as NSRLA ARCA Spring Season Comes to a Dramatic Close
Brooklyn, MI – iRacing World
The 2026 Spring NSRLA ARCA season came to an unforgettable conclusion Saturday night at Michigan Motor Speedway, delivering everything fans could have hoped for: championship drama, a photo-finish victory, comeback drives, heartbreak, controversy, and a title battle that remained undecided until the final laps.
When the dust settled, Tristan Love drove the No. 18 Liquid Death Toyota Camry to victory by a microscopic 0.002-second margin over Charles Roberson, while Dustin Lewis overcame significant adversity to secure the Season One ARCA Championship in the No. 33 Satilla Feed and Outdoors Chevrolet.
The championship battle appeared destined to come down to Lewis and Love throughout the evening. Love entered Michigan facing a points deficit and knew he would need a near-perfect race to have any chance at stealing the title. The No. 18 team delivered exactly that, running inside the top three all night, collecting valuable stage points, and ultimately winning in a thrilling drag race to the checkered flag.
“I knew what I had to do to give myself a shot at it,” Love said after the race.
While Love executed nearly flawlessly, Lewis found himself battling adversity for much of the evening. The eventual champion suffered damage multiple times throughout the race and was forced to endure over 11 minutes of repairs after being hooked exiting Turn 4. Through determination, strategy, and a little late-race fortune, Lewis fought back to finish seventh and narrowly secure the championship.
Despite the title-clinching result, Lewis remained characteristically humble.
“Well, it’s unofficial right now; I’m not gonna celebrate just yet,” Lewis said afterward.
The strong season by Love earned him more than just a race victory. Following the conclusion of the championship battle, Love was officially named NSRLA ARCA Rookie of the Year after finishing second in the final standings and winning the season finale.
Behind the championship contenders, Casey Bristow delivered one of his strongest performances of the season. The driver of the No. 11 GR Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota Camry spent nearly the entire race among the leaders and brought home a third-place finish after battling alongside Love and Roberson throughout the evening.
Jordan Bridges returned to competition after time away from the series and quietly put together one of the smartest races of the night. Utilizing patience and avoiding the chaos around him, Bridges guided the No. 45 Montgomery Wraps Toyota Camry to a fourth-place finish.
Pole-sitter Jerry Salitis rounded out the top five after overcoming early damage. The No. 63 From Hells Racing Toyota showed tremendous speed throughout the race and recovered from adversity to salvage a strong finish.
Just behind him, Shawn Worob completed one of the most resilient drives of the evening. The No. 20 Bojangles Chevrolet suffered nearly ten minutes of cumulative damage after separate incidents but still fought back to finish sixth. His post-race comments would become one of the biggest storylines of the evening as he publicly criticized fellow competitor Gino Villanti and called for league officials to review his conduct.
Villanti responded with criticism of his own, disputing responsibility for their early-race contact and setting off what became the most heated post-race exchange of the night.
Elsewhere throughout the field, Scott Craig authored perhaps the race’s most impressive strategic drive. After starting 20th, the No. 16 WLT2 Motorsports Chevrolet climbed into contention through tire conservation and a bold fuel-only pit strategy that briefly vaulted him into the lead. A final-lap incident ultimately relegated Craig to 12th despite having a car capable of winning.
Glenn Grimm impressed in his NSRLA debut with an eighth-place finish, while Sam Bridges, Cedric Hipkins, and Andy Berry all left Michigan feeling their results failed to reflect the speed they displayed throughout the race.
Several drivers suffered particularly difficult endings to promising evenings. Caleb Jones spent much of the race inside the top five before a handling issue sent him into the wall and into Jerry Salitis. Andrew Nagy’s top-ten run ended when contact triggered a suspension-breaking impact with the wall. Don Bridges showed impressive speed in his first league start despite only having three weeks of iRacing experience before a self-spin ended his night.
Meanwhile, Mark Cofield’s race lasted only three laps before he became an innocent victim of Joshua Thornton’s accident exiting Turn 4.
As dramatic as the finale proved to be, the offseason will be brief.
In just two weeks, the NSRLA ARCA Series returns for its Fall Season opener at Kentucky Speedway on June 20. Several drivers have already indicated they plan to return stronger, while others pointed toward upcoming rulebook changes that could significantly impact the competitive landscape.
The championship may belong to Dustin Lewis, but momentum arguably belongs to Tristan Love after ending the season with a victory and Rookie of the Year honors. Bristow, Salitis, Craig, Bridges, Berry, Worob, and several others also showed race-winning speed at Michigan and will enter Kentucky with something to prove.
If the Michigan finale was any indication, the Fall Season promises to be even more competitive than the Spring.
One championship has been decided.
The next battle begins with the Fall Season at Kentucky on June 20th…….See you there!
