The 2026 ARCA Series title came down to the wire at Kansas Speedway as teammates Jake Bollman and Thomas Annunziata put on a show for the fans. Bollman, who has been winless this season, entered the race with a 16-point buffer over Annunziata, but by the end of the race, that advantage disappeared, and Annunziata won the title on a tiebreaker, in a dramatic fashion. However, his teammate Bollman was furious after the race, especially with the run-ins the two drivers had on the racetrack.

“I won’t ever talk to him again, I’ll tell you that. I think that is just a disrespectful kid, right? I just apologized on the radio, like I just got loose man, the lap car didn’t give me the room. We’re battling for the championship here, but to flat-out dump me, come on. That’s just unsportsmanlike, and I wouldn’t do that to him,” Bollman said after the race.

The two teammates tussled with each other right from the get-go. Early in the race, the two drivers were racing for ‌the third spot and they got tangled. On lap 16, Bollman’s No. 20 car made a sharp move, hugging the bottom, while Annunziata’s No. 70 opted for the high lane. Both of them split the lap car and entered the corner, making contact. Annunziata spun, but this wasn’t the end of this tussle.

Just a few laps later, on lap 24, Annunziata returned the favor to his teammate, sending him for a spin. And yet somehow, this wasn’t the crash that decided the championship. After lap 40, Will Kimmel spun ahead of Bollman and collected the No. 20. Bollman had no time to react and crashed hard into Kimmel, then was hit again by the oncoming car of Austin Vaughn. This wasn’t the end for Bollman yet, as he could get back on track and keep managing the points gap.

With about 20 laps to go, Bollman somehow managed to get back on track after extensive repairs. A caution with 13 laps to go forced Annunziata to pit stop, but on the restart, he climbed back to fifth place, and he was tied with Bollman for the crown. After the checkered flag dropped, it was Annunziata celebrating his first ARCA Series title, thanks to the tiebreaker.

Both drivers finished the season with 947 points, but thanks to the sole win by Annunziata at Lime Rock Park, he was able to bag the title from his teammate. “We made contact there in the beginning, and I misjudged it on the straightaway there, but I mean, it was an eye for an eye. I mean, we were racing hard, and he’s gotten into me a few times, so it was just hard racing there again, so I’m proud of my guys. We led one championship for one race. That was really cool,” Annunziata said after the race.

Lady luck didn’t favor Jake Bollman, but it was his personal decision to not get back on track with the sole motive to have a payback against his teammate. “I could’ve went out on those last few laps and wrecked him, I could’ve, to win the championship, right? But I wasn’t raised that way. Sorry, I just wasn’t. I’m fine with moving people around, but there’s no reason for someone to get hurt.”

Nitro Motorsports needs to sort out this issue as the two drivers are not on talking terms. Anunziata was unfazed by Bollman’s frustrations: “I watched the whole thing and it’s unfortunate, but if he doesn’t want to talk to me. That’s fine. But I think that’s a bit silly because I’m not the reason why he lost the championship tonight.”

It will be interesting to see how Nitro Motorsports sorts out this situation, and whether or not the team equation will be the same next year.