Brenden Queen Bio
Brenden Michael Queen, born November 21, 1997, is an American professional stock car racing driver known across the motorsports world by the nickname “Butterbean.” He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 11 Ram 1500 for Kaulig Racing, and currently ranks among the most promising short-track graduates in the modern NASCAR ladder. Queen is the 2025 ARCA Menards Series champion and the 2024 CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour champion, a rare combination of titles that reflects his versatility on asphalt tracks of every shape and size. He began racing at six years old and has since built a résumé that bridges grassroots Late Model racing and the upper levels of NASCAR national competition.
Early Life and Background
Brenden Michael Queen was born on November 21, 1997, in Chesapeake, Virginia, and raised in the same Hampton Roads region that has produced a long line of short-track talent. His father, Mike Queen, was also a racing driver, which gave Brenden an early seat in the family racing conversation long before he ever climbed into a competitive car. Queen began racing at six years old in the Legend division at Langley Speedway, the historic short track in Hampton, Virginia, that he still calls his home track.
The Butterbean nickname has a colorful origin. Queen earned the moniker as an infant because he resembled the famous American boxer Eric Esch, who shared the same ring name. The nickname stuck through his childhood and now follows him across pit lanes, victory lanes, and social media feeds. As a young driver, Queen also found a mentor in Phil Warren, a seven-time Langley track champion, who served as his crew chief starting in the mid-2010s and helped shape his early approach to race craft.
Off the track, Queen is currently attending Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, where he is pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering. He has also become famous for a different kind of tradition. After every race win, Queen heads to Waffle House, a ritual that has become a small but beloved part of his public persona among fans and fellow competitors.
Path to NASCAR
Queen’s rise through the short-track ranks began in earnest at Langley Speedway, where he won three consecutive track championships in 2020, 2021, and 2022. Those titles came on the heels of earlier regional success, including the 2016 Late Model Stock track championship at East Carolina Motor Speedway and the 2022 Dirt Late Model track championship at Dixieland Speedway. The collection of hardware showed early that Queen could adapt between paved and dirt surfaces, an unusual strength for a driver his age.
In 2022, Queen joined Lee Pulliam Performance to run the CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour on a full-time basis. He made an immediate impression by winning the 30th Annual Charlie Powell Memorial 400 at Florence Motor Speedway, one of the major post-season Late Model events in the Southeast. The following year, Queen won the CARS Tour race at North Wilkesboro Speedway held on the Wednesday before the track’s NASCAR national-series events, a race that also featured established NASCAR drivers such as Dale Earnhardt Jr. Those performances positioned him for a jump into NASCAR’s national ladder.
Brenden Queen Career
Early Career (2019–2022)
Queen made his ARCA Menards Series debut in 2019 at Daytona International Speedway, driving the No. 35 car for Vizion Motorsports after impressing team owners Jennifer and Teddy Brown during pre-season testing. Although he and the team did not run additional races that year due to the organization’s financial issues, the Daytona start confirmed that Queen had the speed to compete against national-level stock car competition.
He spent the next several years stacking track championships and marquee Late Model victories. In November 2022, he won the South Carolina 400, one of the most prestigious post-season Late Model races in the country. That victory helped set the stage for his full-time CARS Tour campaign in 2023 and his continued rise through the NASCAR development pipeline.
ARCA Menards Series Breakthrough (2024–2025)
On December 4, 2024, it was announced that Queen would return to the ARCA Menards Series full-time in 2025, driving the No. 28 Chevrolet for Pinnacle Racing Group. The move marked his first full national-series schedule and delivered immediate results. Queen scored his first career ARCA Menards Series victory in the 2025 season opener at Daytona International Speedway.
From there, Queen piled up additional wins at Kansas Speedway in May, Michigan International Speedway, Dover Motor Speedway, Iowa Speedway, DuQuoin State Fairgrounds, Salem Speedway, and Kansas Speedway in September. That string of victories was enough to clinch the 2025 ARCA Menards Series championship, making him the latest in a long line of champions in one of NASCAR’s oldest development series. The title also earned him a guaranteed spot on the grid for a NASCAR national-series event, further accelerating his climb up the ladder.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (2024–2025)
Queen made his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut on March 8, 2024, at North Wilkesboro Speedway, driving the No. 1 truck for Tricon Garage. The start was a one-off appearance, but it gave him his first laps in NASCAR’s third national touring series. Later, on July 15, 2025, he was announced for a second Truck Series start at Indianapolis Raceway Park with Spire Motorsports in the No. 07 truck, continuing his careful accumulation of national-series experience.
On October 16, 2025, Queen announced that he would compete full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2026, driving for Kaulig Racing. The deal cements his transition from short-track standout to a full-time NASCAR national-series driver, with the team running a Ram 1500 entry for the Chesapeake native.
NASCAR Xfinity Series (2025)
On September 5, 2025, it was announced that Queen would make his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Bristol Motor Speedway, driving the No. 11 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing. He finished twentieth in his first Xfinity start, a clean debut on one of the most demanding short tracks in the country. He was then invited back for the race at Kansas Speedway, where he led his first career Xfinity laps and finished ninth. Kaulig Racing later announced that Queen would run the remainder of the 2025 Xfinity Series season starting at Talladega Superspeedway, expanding his role with the organization across two national series.
Kaulig Racing Era (2025–Present)
Queen’s relationship with Kaulig Racing began with his Xfinity Series debut in 2025 and quickly grew into a multi-series partnership. The team fielded his No. 11 Chevrolet in the Xfinity Series and later confirmed that he would pilot its Ram 1500 entry full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series beginning in 2026. The arrangement gives Queen a stable technical alliance and a clear development path with a team that fields competitive cars in all three of NASCAR’s national series.
Inside the car, Queen has shown a smooth, calculated style that translates well to both short tracks and intermediate speedways. The mechanical engineering studies he is pursuing at Old Dominion University also give him an unusual understanding of car setup language, a trait that has helped him communicate effectively with his Kaulig Racing crew chiefs and engineers during his rookie national-series campaigns.
Notable Races and Milestones
Queen’s signature moments include his 2022 Charlie Powell Memorial 400 win at Florence Motor Speedway, his 2023 CARS Tour win at North Wilkesboro alongside Dale Earnhardt Jr., his South Carolina 400 victory in 2022, and his 2025 ARCA Menards Series championship run that featured eight wins. Each result added a new layer to a résumé that is quickly becoming one of the deepest among young American short-track graduates.
Brenden Queen Career Wins
Brenden Queen has built a versatile win sheet that spans regional Late Model events, national touring series, and post-season crown jewels. His most recent and most significant titles are the 2024 CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour championship and the 2025 ARCA Menards Series championship, both earned in back-to-back seasons.
ARCA Menards Series Highlights
Queen is the 2025 ARCA Menards Series champion. His first career win in the series came in the 2025 season opener at Daytona International Speedway, and he went on to collect additional victories at Kansas, Michigan, Dover, Iowa, DuQuoin, Salem, and Kansas in September. The championship run made him one of the most decorated rookies in recent ARCA history.
Other Wins and Performances
Queen won the 2024 CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour championship and captured several marquee Late Model events, including the 2022 South Carolina 400 and the 2022 Charlie Powell Memorial 400 at Florence Motor Speedway. He also won three consecutive Langley Speedway track championships from 2020 through 2022, along with the 2016 East Carolina Motor Speedway Late Model track title and the 2022 Dixieland Speedway dirt Late Model track championship.
Brenden Queen Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Brenden Michael Queen was raised in Chesapeake, Virginia, in a household where racing was part of daily life. His father, Mike Queen, was a racing driver, and Phil Warren, a seven-time Langley Speedway track champion, became a long-time mentor and crew chief from the mid-2010s onward. That family and grassroots support structure has been a defining part of his development as a driver.
Personal Life
Queen resides in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia and continues to consider Langley Speedway his home track. He is pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering at Old Dominion University, balancing a full national-series racing schedule with his college studies. The Butterbean nickname, given to him as an infant because of his resemblance to boxer Eric Esch, has followed him through every step of his career.
2025 Season Performance
The 2025 season has been the breakthrough year of Brenden Queen’s stock car career. He opened the year by winning the ARCA Menards Series race at Daytona International Speedway and then methodically built one of the most dominant rookie campaigns in series history. Wins at Kansas, Michigan, Dover, Iowa, DuQuoin, Salem, and a second Kansas victory in September locked down the 2025 ARCA Menards Series championship and confirmed that his Late Model success could translate directly to national-series competition.
Alongside his ARCA title run, Queen expanded his footprint in NASCAR’s national series. He made his Truck Series return at Indianapolis Raceway Park with Spire Motorsports and his Xfinity Series debut at Bristol Motor Speedway with Kaulig Racing, where he finished twentieth. A ninth-place run at Kansas, where he also led his first Xfinity laps, showed rapid improvement. The October 16, 2025, announcement that he would race full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for Kaulig Racing in 2026 capped a season that moved him from regional star to full-time national-series driver in a single calendar year.
Looking ahead, Queen will close the 2025 Xfinity Series schedule with Kaulig Racing before transitioning into a full-time Craftsman Truck Series campaign in 2026 behind the wheel of a Ram 1500. The combination of a national-series championship, a multi-year team commitment, and a mechanical engineering education at Old Dominion University gives him both the foundation and the runway to keep climbing through NASCAR’s national ranks.