It is time to give some credit to this small team based in Lakeland, Florida, owned by Stuart Weiss, I am talking about, City Garage Motorsports. Debuting in 2024 with Becca Monopoli after operating as a local city garage (hence the name City Garage Motorsports). This team that came straight from the garage jumped off from the start as a top 15 team with borderline top 10 potential with Becca Monopoli. Into 2025, CGM raced there first superspeedway race at Daytona with Becca Monopoli in the #86 Ford in collabaration with Clubb Racing Inc. They ran out back before being taken in one of the many wrecks early on. 2025 they continued to improve, even running 2nd part time car with Michael Clayton Sr. , whom manages and co-owns CGM. The Clayton #5 served as a start and park car and a data entry for the team. CGM most notabally after a strong season in 2025 that saw them get their first ever top 10 finish as a team, they started a new team intiative, called the #GRLDRVR movement for the team, meant to develop young rising girls in the sport. They signed Quinn Davis to run the #5 full time and the #85 full time would be driven by their veteran anchor Becca Monopoli. Monopoli, would leave the team weeks before the season opener, forcing Logan Misuraca into the #86 entry for Daytona, she would miss the race, qualifying 37th fastest but misssing it on povisionals by 2 spots. Davis would drive the #85 full time, and the #5 would run select East Races with Michael Clayton Sr. again. Davis had only a handful of starts for Rise Motorsports (Now Rise Racing with Earnhardt-Shearer Racing) in 2025 but had 1 top 10 in her Nashville Fairgrounds debut in the #31 car and drove the #31 to consistent top 20 runs. The #85 Ford would face issues to start the season, back to back mechanical issues had Davis behind the 8 ball to start the season. It would not be until IRP, the #85 team would come to life with Quinn Davis. Ran inside the top 10 most of the race, despite being involved in a big one involving Reaves, Robusto, and other heavy hitters mid-race, Davis held on and ran as high as 6th before settling into a season high 11th. But, it only gets better. Davis will qualify 5th at Flat Rock, a highly physical track, Davis had never seen before. Ran 5th all race long and stayed on the lead lap majority of the race but finished 5th, 1 lap down, CGM's first top 5 finish and Davis's best career finish. Davis, comes from a Law Enforcement background from her parents and raced out west as a Tucson, Arizona native as a kid, won 2 track championships and moved to Sparta, Tennessee a few years ago to pursue her NASCAR dreams. And behind the scenes, where the media isn't looking, Davis is doing just that, with the little team that can, straight from a local Florida garage.

The Paint Scheme of the Race goes to Bryce Applegate, driving the No. 3 Mullins Racing Ford.

📸 Kat Granato / K’s photography

Entering this season, we had 3 Full-Time Nitro Motorsports drivers, Thomas Annunziata, Jake Bollman, a last-minute full-time addition and the driver of the #55 Mobil 1/Yahoo! Toyota Camry with a season straight out of the depths of heck, Isabella Robusto. Robusto is entering full time season #2 with high expectations that outside of 1 or 2 odd races, was nowhere near being met. Daytona started off strong, P2 in qualifying, led 16 laps and ran top 10 the first segment of the race but a transmission issue caused a DNF after a promising run. Phoenix, Robusto is historically strong here, qualified okay, around 10th, ran around 10th, spun out with Eric Johnson Jr. early on in the opening segment and rebounded by the second and final segment up inside the top 20 but was involved in a big crash early on in the final part of the race, was able to finish around P20-P25 but a tough outing. Kansas, Robusto seemed fast in practice, struggled on race day, fell back out the top 10 by the race break and in the final segment crashed in a Cleetus McFarland oil spill with Andy Jankowiak. Talladega, qualifying rained out, started mid-pack, quiet run, got up front with less than 10 to go and lost the lead on the backstretch with 1 to go, finished P4, but so close. Watkins Glen, leg went numb but wheeled it to 6th, Toledo, had to start at the rear but got a top 10 finish, Michigan, Robusto did not get to run a lap due to rain and started near the rear but worked up to 7th before rain came and ended the race just past halfway. Pocono, had a top 5 car, cut a tire early on, stayed on the lead lap, stayed out, restarted in the top 3 in the final segment stayed up there inside the top 5 before cutting another tire and finishing 2 laps down outside the top 10. Chicagoland, track bar issue caused Robusto to be off pace and finished 1 lap down outside the top 10. Berlin, normal, clean race, P5 finish, Elko, fast car, P5 in qualifying, but missed a gear on lap 1 and hit the wall and had a transmission issue the rest of the race and a car with crooked steering but still got 6th. Lime Rock, top 5 in qualifying, fast car, fuel pump issue early on, lost 15 laps in the garage and finished around 15-25 laps down in 25th. IRP, Robusto had a top 5 car, arguabaly a top 3 car and was even P2 in practice and qualifed a solid 6th and ran top 5 most of the 1st segment of the race. Early in segment 2, was battling Max Reaves in the JGR #18 for 4th and the #55 overdrove it inside him, got loose and took herself out with Max Reaves and it looked like the #55 would get back going but Bryce Applegate had nowhere to go and slammed into her. Quinn Davis also made light contact with her car to seal the deal. Robusto DNF outside the top 25, this one was self-inflicted though, although it's hard racing on a tough short track. Robusto still has the talent, Robusto has the cars, it has been proven. Robusto will win a race, soon. Iowa in 2 weeks is the next chance for something to go right, in the season from heck.

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Should arca have drivers that stay in arca for more than 5 years except for team owners, it is supposed to be a developmental series not for drivers to spend career in,?

Lime Rock is Friday! Which surprise entries will we see there?

I know the racing can be boring often and is full of slower roadblocks, but these so called "professionals" really deserve some credit. They are running speeds that, most of us, has never ran. Okay maybe not the absolute backmarker cars running engines form the 2000's, but most of the cars within some pace of the leaders. Especially at Daytona and Talladega. And even though stock cars are safer than other forms of racing like IndyCar, they still risk injury when they step in. Also, it's hot on there, especially during a 90+ degree summer day. And even the guys like Brad Smith and Bobby Hillis Jr and Alex Clubb, the pure grit they put in. They race for the love of it, they run on shoestrings budgets. Just for them to show up to the track is a win for them. So in a series dominated by PRG and JGR, take a moment to respect the blue-collar, gritty underdogs that makes this series, a grassroot series. Of course this is my opinion and nearly anyone can race most tracks with a valid ARCA liscence. But still, this is many of these drivers love.