Bent Metal Doesn’t Stop Annunziata At Lime Rock

LAKEVILLE, Conn. — Thomas Annunziata would have preferred his first ARCA Menards Series start of 2025 to play out in a fashion that was much less eventful than Saturday’s Lime Rock Park 100 at Lime Rock Park.

The mashed-in fenders and tire marks on his No. 70 Nitro Motorsports Toyota told the tale of a wild 68 laps around the 1.53-mile road course.

Then again, anybody who noticed the car’s battle wounds after the race would have been standing in victory lane. Annunziata, the 20-year-old from Colts Neck, New Jersey who’s nicknamed “Hollywood,” was perfectly fine with that result no matter the path.

Annunziata, who qualified on the General Tire Pole with a blazing lap Friday, crossed the finish line first Saturday to score his maiden ARCA Menards Series win in just his fifth start. He did so despite getting spun on the first corner of the race.

“It means a lot, especially after what happened in the (NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series) race,” said Annunziata, who also competed in Saturday’s LiUNA! 150. “We got taken out at the beginning of this race, too. I wasn’t very cool, and (my team) helped me stay calm.

“I can’t thank Toyota, Nitro Motorsports, Venturini enough for taking the chance on me. This is the first time I’m in real winning equipment, and I get to showcase my talent. There was no better way to win that than to go back to last and have to make a comeback.”

Annunziata quickly recovered from his bad luck at the start of the Lime Rock Park 100. Both he and fellow first-lap spinner Brent Crews fought their way through traffic in a swift manner to find themselves in the top five by the time the race’s halfway break arrived.

The leader at the time, Alon Day, failed to turn into pit road with the rest of the field, forcing him to restart from the rear and giving the lead to Lawless Alan. It was one of many chaotic sequences that allowed Annunziata and Crews to climb back to the front.

With 33 laps to go, Annunziata, restarting third, inflicted a little payback on Alan, the driver who booted him from the lead at the beginning of the race. Annunziata made a similar move into Turn 1 and took back the point.

The key moment of the race arrived on the next restart. With 18 laps to go, Annunziata and Crews found themselves battling for the lead, a fight the latter won with a power move in Turns 4-5. However, ARCA officials ruled that Crews jumped the restart. He was forced to pit and give up the lead.

From there, Annunziata faced no pressure as he cruised to victory.

“Obviously a little bit of a mistake on my part,” said Crews, who finished sixth. “The leader was playing games all day and slammed on the brakes. I pretty much did all I could dragging the brake, but he was already behind me. Just gotta put that in my memory bank; just try to do a better job of anticipating that next time.”

Alon Day recovered from his mistake to finish second in his ARCA Menards Series debut. Lawless Alan finished third ahead of Brenden “Butterbean” Queen in fourth and rookie Ryan Gemmell in fifth.

Crews, Lavar Scott, Jeff Anton, Dale Quarterley and Isabella Robusto finished sixth through 10th, respectively.