One mullet lost its ride so another could have its debut. Brenden “Butterbean” Queen is making his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut. He will take the No. 11 Kaulig Racing Chevy, which was Josh Williams’ ride, to Bristol Motor Speedway next week.
Butterbean Queen has exploded onto the NASCAR scene in the last few years. Much in the same vein as Josh Berry, Queen has cut his teeth on short tracks. He is a three-time champion at Langley Speedway, a CARS Tour Late Model Stock champion, and this season, he has six ARCA Menards Series wins to his name.
Kaulig Racing is giving Butterbean his next big opportunity, an Xfinity Series ride. He will be on a short track, albeit the fastest half-mile of his life, and maybe he can find his groove on the high banks.
“I can’t put into words how excited I am to be making my [NASCAR Xfinity Series] debut with [Kaulig Racing] next week at [Bristol],” Butterbean Queen posted on social media. “Can’t thank [Matt Kaulig] and [Chris Rice] [enough] for making it happen!”
Bean Nation is going to be roaring at Bristol in about eight days. A massive move for Queen in his career and perhaps one that signals where he could end up in 2026?
Butterbean Queen is going to turn 28 after this NASCAR season is over. So, there’s really not a lot of reason to slow-roll him once he gets through this ARCA season. With his CARS Tour experience, I see no reason why he can’t fit into a team next year and compete in the Xfinity Series.
We’ve seen drivers like Carson Kvapil and Layne Riggs come over from the CARS Tour and find early success in NASCAR. The only thing keeping Butterbean from Kaulig full-time in 2026 is the Truck Series program. Let’s not forget that Kaulig is downsizing its Xfinity program to jumpstart the Ram Trucks team. So, there are issues there.
Then again, there could be one or two JR Motorsports seats open in 2026. Would Butterbean Queen fit in at JRM? Does he end up in the Truck Series instead? Part of me could see Queen jumping to that Dodge Truck Series team with Kaulig and doing well. However, that depends on whether he wants to make another manufacturer change having just swapped from Toyota to Chevy.
Whatever next year holds, Butterbean is making his Xfinity debut in a matter of days. So, Bean Nation, are you ready?
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