Dale Earnhardt Jr. is no stranger to winning NASCAR championships. The CARS Tour, a respected Late Model Stock Car series, has been under the ownership of NASCAR icons Dale Jr., Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, and Justin Marx since 2023. Jr., long celebrated as a two-time Daytona 500 winner and Hall of Famer, brought passion and attention to grassroots racing by becoming part of this ownership group.

One of the standout drivers to emerge from this series is Brenden “Butterbean” Queen, who claimed the 2024 CARS Tour championship. And now, as he transitions to the ARCA Menards Series, Queen has opened up about his close bond with a team owner, an alliance that mirrors the brotherhood ethos his former series represents.

“He’s my biggest cheerleader,” says Brenden Queen about the team owner

Brenden Queen, aka Butterbean, is a motorsport standout whose racing routes trace back to age 6 in the Kid Kart division at Langley Speedway. Over the years, he has captured multiple championships across dirt racing, Arena racing, and INEX Legends Cars before moving into Late Model Stock competition in 2013. Queen went on to clinch Langley Speedway championships in 2020 and 2021 and achieved a remarkable feat in 2022 by simultaneously winning track titles at both Langley and Dixieland Speedway while juggling a job as a full-time longshoreman at the Port of Virginia.

As of December of last year, Brenden was announced as a full-time driver of the No. 28 Chevrolet for Pinnacle Racing Group in the 2025 ARCA Menards Series, marking his major step up after securing the 2024 CARS Tour title. Moreover, Queen couldn’t have done it without Lee Pulliam’s support.

And now on Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, the 2024 champion couldn’t help but remark that the relationship between him and the owner of Lee Pulliam Performance is amazing: “From the outside looking in… was like two brothers.” He elaborated, “But I don’t know, like, Lee and I just clicked as people off the track. And we were more alike than we ever would have known, and we raced against each other. We would have never known it. And he’s my biggest cheerleader in the corner, my biggest critic. Like, when I finish one of these ARCA races, he’s already sent me a text about what I need.”

Butterbean clinched the 2024 zMAX CARS Tour Late Model Stock Championship with a gritty fifth-place finish in the season finale, the ECMD 125 at North Wilkesboro Speedway on October 19 last year. Despite a broken throttle spring early in the race, his team repaired it during the competition caution, and Queen battled through to stay ahead in points over challenger Connor Hall.

All in total, the title was a result of a two-year partnership with Lee Pulliam Performance, since Queen’s first start with them at the 2022 South Carolina 400, the duo notched six CARS Tour wins and key event victories, and finally delivered Pulliam’s first CARS Tour championship. Queen’s 2024 championship was sealed with consistent top-five finishes, even in the closing races where victories eluded him. In his 2025 ARCA debut season, he has already notched key wins, including Daytona, Kansas, and Michigan, demonstrating that his success has carried right into the next tier.

Moving on, Lee Pulliam is a celebrated figure in late model stock car racing, both as a driver and as a team owner. He has earned four NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Division I national championships and claimed the prestigious ValleyStar Credit Union 300 twice. He also dominated the Thunder Road Harley Davidson 200 at South Boston Speedway with a record six consecutive wins from 2011 to 2016 and added another victory as a car owner in 2022. After stepping back from full-time racing in 2018, he founded Lee Pulliam Performance, a team that competes in the CARS Late Model Stock Tour and has become a proven driver development pipeline.

Butterbean continued, “Like, watches every lap. So, it’s a relationship that if we don’t ever race again, like, he’ll be my brother for life. And we’ve gone on family trips together now, and always, always trying to do stuff outside of racing. Like, I won Daytona, and he’s the first person in my house on Sunday. And said, ‘We just wanted to be here to go what— let’s go do something together. Like, we want to celebrate with you.’ And I told him, I told him this weekend at Hickory, I said, it’s kind of funny, like, a lot of drivers come and go, but like, our relationship is just so different. And I’m thankful for it because, in my opinion, I raced against him, and he should have been farther along than I am.”

Pulliam’s partnership with Queen has been pivotal in the 27-year-old’s rise. Queen joined Lee Pulliam Performance in late 2022 and made an immediate impact, securing a major victory in the South Carolina 400 at Florence Motor Speedway in their first start together. Over the next two years, Lee’s team helped Queen become a dominant force, culminating in the 2024 CARS championship and laying the groundwork for his full-time move to ARCA with Pinnacle Racing this year.

And Queen’s talents have not gone unnoticed by NASCAR’s top tiers. He has made four career starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, including a 2024 stint with TRICON Garage, where he was impressive enough to return for the Nashville and Kansas races. In 2025, he joined Spire Motorsports in the No. 7 truck for the IRP event, backed by long-time sponsor Best Repair Company, a nod to his roots working at the Port of Virginia. Moreover, he also revealed why his nickname is Butterbean.

“You don’t forget Butterbean,” Brenden Queen opens up about his unique nickname

NASCAR has long celebrated iconic nicknames, from The Intimidator (Dale Earnhardt) to The King (Richard Petty) and Rowdy (Kyle Busch). In recent years, however, a new contender has joined that list: Butterbean. Brenden Queen, the man behind the moniker, has been making waves in his first full-time ARCA Menards Series campaign. Driving the No. 28 Pinnacle Racing Group Chevrolet, the 27-year-old has already racked up five wins and nine top-10 finishes in just 12 races.

The Butterbean nickname dates back to Queen’s infancy. As he explained on Kevin Harvick‘s Happy Hour, the name originated when his grandfather told his mother to turn on the TV to see Butterbean, the boxer, Eric Esch. He said, “And I looked like him as a baby, just had the same, yeah, baby features, right? So, my whole life, my mom called me Butter or Butterbean, and just half the time, I didn’t even respond to my name; it just always was Butter or something like that. And honestly, it was just kind of between family, and then my friends found out, the teachers found out, the school called me by it.”

Queen’s racing career carried the name into the spotlight. While competing in Legends Cars, Butterbean began appearing on the name rail of his cars, though Queen admits he can’t recall whether it was his idea. By 2016 or 2017, he had a chance to drop the nickname when designing merchandise. Instead, he recognizes the value of having a brand that stands out. Brenden explained, “I want to be different. People hear names all the time, but you don’t forget Butterbean. You might forget Brenden, but you’re not going to forget Butterbean.”

Today, Butterbean is a recognized name in the NASCAR paddock. Queen credits his relatable image not just to the quirky branding, but also to his roots. In an era where many young drivers enter the sport through polished development programs, Queen’s story and his nickname offer something refreshingly authentic.