MVRL ARCA SERIES S1 R8 Recap

19 May 2025
Maximum Velocity Racing League | Season 1 | Round 8
ARCA Series | Iowa Speedway

Monday, May 19th, the Maximum Velocity Racing League’s ARCA Series brought the action to Iowa Speedway for Round 8, and for the first time in weeks, we saw long green flag runs that let tire wear and race strategy shine.

Scott Patten started on the pole with a 22.857 and dominated the early stages, holding off Heath Smith to win the stage at lap 37 and snag 10 critical bonus points. After pit stops under the stage break, new challengers like Charlie Widner and Michael Milfelt stepped up, but no one could crack Patten’s control of the race—until disaster struck.

Under a lap 58 caution, while slowing for the pace car, Patten was rear-ended hard, taking significant damage that ended his night early in a shocking turn of events.

That opened the door for Rob Haynes, but a missed shift on the restart dropped him out of contention as Milfelt and then Widner took turns at the front. Widner used a quick crossover move to grab the lead on lap 69 and wouldn’t give it up without a fight.

Meanwhile, Justin Michael, who had started deep in the field and suffered a late speeding penalty, made a furious charge back through traffic, slicing his way forward in the final 20 laps.

In a green-white-checkered finish, Michael got to Widner’s bumper and tried to dive under him multiple times, but Widner defended perfectly and held on to take the win at Iowa—his 2nd of the season and a big one in the championship fight.

The MVRL ARCA Series heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway next Monday, May 26th, with the action going live at 9:30PM ET, only on the Virtual Grip Network.