Brenden “Butterbean” Queen Finishes Fourth In NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Debut At North Wilkesboro Speedway
by Hunter Thomas May 19, 2024 1 commentNORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. – Brenden “Butterbean” Queen earned an impressive fourth-place finish at North Wilkesboro Speedway on Sunday in his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut.
Queen, a 28-year-pld from Chesapeake, Va. has been winning on the NASCAR Regional level for years, and this weekend at North Wilkesboro Speedway, he finally got his first start on the NASCAR national series level while piloting the TRICON Garage No. 1 Best Repair Company Toyota.
Surprisingly, Queen kicked off the weekend by pacing the series’ one and only practice session, outpacing his teammates, Corey Heim and Tanner Gray. On Saturday, he rolled off the grid in 26th in the Wright Brand 250. Throughout Stage 1, Queen began to make his way up through the field, but he was unable to crack the top-10 until Stage 2, about 17 laps from the stage restart; however, on Lap 119, he was clocked going too fast on pit road and had to go to the tail end of the field.
“We got that speeding penalty and I thought I was conservative on the lights and it just got us – rookie mistake,” Queen said.
As the laps ticked away, Queen quickly sliced through the field. With 40 laps to go, Queen battled Chistian Eckes, even trading paint on a few occasions. The two drivers drove hard and continued to push their trucks to the limit.
“Just dirty air made it hard on the right front,” Queen said. “But in clean air, I felt like we had one of the fastest trucks, man. Seth (Smith, crew chief) and all these boys right here, they’re the reason I finished here, it ain’t me.”
While the two drivers competed for the fifth position, Sammy Smith entered the fight and placed significant pressure on Queen. With only 22 laps to go, Queen finally cleared Eckes for fifth and a lap later, he passed Jake Garcia for fourth.
In the final laps, Queen set his sights on Layne Riggs, and the two drivers fought for the third position. With two laps to go, Queen edged ahead, but Riggs got the best of him and held on to the third-place finish behind Grant Enfinger and race winner, Corey Heim. Queen crossed the finish line in fourth, earning an impressive top-five finish in his first-ever series race.
“Man, this is what I worked for my whole life and never knew if I’d get this opportunity,” Queen said. “First off, huge thanks to TRICON Garage, everybody at Toyota, TRD, TPC (Toyota Performance Center) for giving me this chance. TRICON Garage brought a fast, fast Best Company Toyota Tundra and I was just lucky to drive it. Got to thank the man above for keeping us all safe. I just never knew if I would get this opportunity. “Butterbean” Nation has stuck with me as you can see. I’m just blessed, man, and I just hope that I can turn this into some more opportunities.”
Queen has visited Victory Lane on five occasions in the CARS Tour. He has two (2020, 2023) Hampton Heat 200 wins at Langley Speedway, a victory in the South Carolina 400 at Florence Motor Speedway (2022) and in the Thanksgiving Classic at Southern National Motorsports Park (2023); however, Sunday’s top-five finish marked one of the most notable efforts of his career.
“I love racing my Late Model, but this is my dream to get to the next level,” Queen said. “I hated to put my team in that box with that penalty and I told them, ‘We’re going to get back to the front one way or another.’ And, they deserve it. Those guys at the shop, they put the hours in and that’s why this truck is fast. I’m just the lucky guy that gets to hold the wheel.”
Queen hopes to compete in more NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race this year, and in his post-race interview with FS1, he mentioned that he’s hoping to compete fulltime in the series in 2025.
Photo Credit: Brandon Zumbach/TheFourthTurn.com
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