 | |
| Category | Stock cars |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Inaugural season | 1953 |
| Manufacturers | Chevrolet Ford Toyota |
| Engine suppliers | Ilmor |
| Tire suppliers | General Tire |
| Drivers' champion | Andrés Pérez de Lara |
| Makes' champion | Chevrolet |
| Teams' champion | Rev Racing |
| Official website | ARCA Racing |
 Current season | |
TheARCA Menards Series is an Americanstock car series, the premier division of theAutomobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three national touring series ofNASCAR,[1][2] and hosts events at a variety of track types includingsuperspeedways,road courses, anddirt tracks.[3] It also provides hobby drivers a chance to experience racing at large tracks used in the three national touring series in NASCAR. The series has had a longstanding relationship with NASCAR, including using formerNASCAR Cup Series cars, hosting events in the same race weekend such asDaytona Speedweeks, and naming an award afterNASCAR founderBill France, Sr.[3][4][5] However, the series was not officially affiliated with NASCAR until its buyout on April 27, 2018.[6] 2020 was the first season that the series was sanctioned byNASCAR.[7]
The series was known as the ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series from 1986 until 1991, the ARCAHooters SuperCar Series from 1993 until 1995, and as the ARCABondo/Mar-Hyde Series from 1996 to 2000.[8][9] The series was sponsored by real estate companyRE/MAX as theARCA RE/MAX Series from 2001 until 2009.[10] Midwest-based home improvement companyMenards began sponsoring the series in 2010 jointly with RE/MAX, and became the lone presenting sponsor in 2011,[10] and from then until February 2019 the series was known as theARCA Racing Series presented by Menards.
The series was founded inToledo,Ohio in 1953 as theMidwest Association for Race Cars (MARC), a local touring group in theMidwestern United States.[4] The series was founded byJohn Marcum, a friend and former competitor ofBill France, Sr. and formerNASCAR employee, who created MARC as a northern counterpart to the southern-based NASCAR. Early drivers includedIggy Katona andNelson Stacy.[5]
The series became a part ofDaytona Speedweeks in 1964 at the request ofBill France, allowing the series to open its season alongside theDaytona 500.[4][11] That same year, the series name was changed from MARC (Midwest Association for Race Cars) to the current ARCA (Automobile Racing Club of America) as a suggestion from France to give the series more national exposure.[5]
The series races on a variety of tracks from small ovals tosuperspeedways such asDaytona International Speedway. In 2008 the series returned to racing on a road course.[12] The series is currently headed by Marcum's grandson, Ron Drager.[5]
Due to the similarity between the cars and racetracks of the two series, the ARCA Racing Series is frequently used to develop young drivers looking to break into the top three series of NASCAR. The series has spawned such drivers asBenny Parsons,Ken Schrader, andKyle Petty, and helped more recentNASCAR Cup Series driversKyle Busch,Justin Allgaier,Casey Mears, andSam Hornish Jr. get acclimated to stock cars.[1][13] Young drivers will often race in the series opener atDaytona International Speedway to gain NASCAR approval to run at superspeedways in the Truck orXfinity Series.[14] Other drivers, such as 10-time championFrank Kimmel and 9-time race winnerBobby Gerhart remain in the series as opposed to pursuing a full-time career in NASCAR.[8] NASCAR regulars, notably Ken Schrader, are known to frequent the series as well.[13] Other notable drivers, such asBenny Chastain andAndy Jankowiak, race in the series as a hobby.
Drivers as young as 17 may be approved to drive on speedway tracks, and drivers as young as 15 years can be permitted to drive at courses less than one mile in length and road courses. This is one year younger than the minimum age of 16 in theCraftsman Truck Series (also for short tracks and road courses only). Drivers must be 18 to race in either of the two superspeedway events the series hosts atDaytona andTalladega.[15][16] Drivers 16 and 17 may participate in selected portions of the January Daytona test but may not participate in the race weekend.
An Indiana-basedindie game developer createdARCA Sim Racing '08 to simulate the RE/MAX championship.[17]
From 1995 until 2016, theHoosier Racing Tire company was the series tire supplier, with the tires being branded in 2016 by their business partnerContinental AG'sGeneral Tire. Continental acquired Hoosier in October 2016.[18]
On April 27, 2018, it was announced that the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) had bought out the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA), though 2018 and 2019 seasons continued as planned.[6] The ARCA Menards Series retained its name for the 2020 season, while theNASCAR K&N Pro Series East andWest rebranded as the ARCA Menards Series East and West respectively. On October 2, 2019, NASCAR and ARCA announced the creation of a ten-race short track and road course slate called the ARCA Racing Series Showdown, with drivers from all three series eligible to compete.[19]
In January 2019, ARCA announced that every race for the 2019 season would be broadcast live on television. Eight races were broadcast betweenFS1 andFS2, while the remaining 12 races ran onMAVTV. This was the first time in series history that every race in a season was broadcast live.[20] Starting in 2023, all races will be broadcast on FS1 or FS2[21] and in 2024, ARCA signed a multi year contract withFS1 andFS2 under ARCA's new TV deal that will take place until 2028.[22]
The series was known for using veteran steel-bodied Generation 4 cars from theNASCAR Cup Series, running cars until they are several years old and even after a model's discontinuation in the Cup Series. For example,Bobby Gerhart's winningDaytona car in 1999 used a chassis built byHendrick Motorsports in 1989 and said car would be used until 2004 atTalladega byBoston Reid. Following the transition of the Cup andXfinity Series to theCar of Tomorrow in 2007 and 2010 respectively, the ARCA Series continued to use the 2007-style models of theChevrolet Monte Carlo SS (re-branded as theImpala),Ford Fusion,Toyota Camry, andDodge Charger. ThecarburetedV8 engines used by the series are also built under similar specifications to their NASCAR counterparts, and occasionally purchased from NASCAR teams.[2][3][5][23] In spite of the similarities, ARCA racing is much more affordable than its more popular counterpart, with car owner Larry Clement estimating the required budget to run an ARCA car as "10 percent of what a NASCAR Cup Series budget is."[13]
On August 1, 2014, ARCA president Ron Drager announced a new engine package option for the 2015 season, in addition to the current open motor rules package. The package is called the ARCA Ilmor 396 engine, alternately known as the ARCA Control Engine (ACE). Developed byIlmor, which has also developed engines for theIndyCar Series, the engine is a "purpose-built powerplant" usingHolleyelectronic fuel injection and based on theChevrolet LS engine family that is able to deliver 700 brake horsepower (520 kW) and 500 pound force-feet (680 N⋅m) of torque. The engine costs $35,000 to build and $15,000 to be re-built, and allows teams to use the same engine at all track types for up to 1,500 miles (2,400 km) between re-builds.[2][24][25][26]
The Ilmor engine debuted during testing atDaytona International Speedway in December 2014, with Sean Corr's Ilmor-powered #48Ford topping the speed charts at an average of 188.478 miles per hour (303.326 km/h) in a time of 47.743 seconds.[2][27] The new engine has generated controversy, with some teams that use the former engine package believing that their motors will become obsolete and converting to the new package will be too costly. Teams and outside engine builders also cannot perform maintenance on the engines, and minimal tuning is allowed (including a specification lubricant, currently supplied byValvoline). The spec engine also reduces manufacturer identity for teams, with construction based on theChevrolet engine package and branded as an Ilmor. Non-Ilmor engines, meanwhile, are subject to intake andRPM restrictions to maintain performance limits relative to the new package.[2][15][16][26]
On November 4, 2014, at theSEMA Show inLas Vegas,NASCAR presidentMike Helton unveiled a new body style for theK&N Pro Series East andWest that would also be eligible for use in ARCA competition, based on theSprint Cup SeriesGen 6 models of theChevrolet SS,Ford Fusion, andToyota Camry (no Dodge option was offered due to a lack of factory support). The new body, developed with Five Star Race Car Bodies, is constructed of a composite laminate blend and designed with easily replaceable body panels, to reduce the costs of fabrication, and to eliminate on-track debris after accidents. The composite body is also significantly lighter than traditional steel bodies.[28][29] The composite body debuted at preseason testing atDaytona, with the intent of approving it for tracks over a mile in length.[30]
The body style was made eligible in the 2015 ARCA season only on tracks one mile or shorter in length, with the traditional steel bodies running alongside.[28][31] The composite bodies made their superspeedway debut atPocono Raceway on June 3, 2016.[29][32] In 2018, ARCA began to phase out the Steel bodies, mandating all composite bodies at Daytona and Talladega. They were then mandated for all tracks over3⁄4 mile (1.2 km) in 2019, and all tracks in 2020.[33] The Gen-4 style bodies were allowed to compete in one final race at the2020 General Tire 100 at the Daytona Road Course. In 2022, the Ford Fusion was replaced by theFord Mustang, but was not widely adopted by Ford teams until 2023.[34] The Ford Fusion body is still legal under ARCA rules as of 2024, however only smaller teams compete with them.
Below is the list of all-time ARCA Racing Series champions, along with the Rookie of the Year and Bill France Four Crown award winners.
The Rookie of the Year award – currently sponsored byScott Paper Company – is given to the rookie that scores the most points at the end of the season. Winners have included futureNASCAR driversBenny Parsons,Davey Allison,Jeremy Mayfield,Michael McDowell, andParker Kligerman.
The Bill France Four Crown award, inaugurated in 1984, is a prize given to the driver with the most points at four specific events, combining dirt ovals, short ovals, superspeedways and road courses. The award was known as the Bill France Triple Crown prior to 2009, when the road course component was added to the competition. FutureWinston Cup Series starDavey Allison won the first Four Crown.Frank Kimmel is the top Bill France Four Crown winner with seven titles.[3][36][37][38]
Other awards include the Superspeedway Challenge (Owners only), the Short Track Challenge (Drivers only), the Pole Award (most poles), the Marcum Award, the ARCA Motorsports Media Award, theBob Loga Memorial Scholarship, the Spirit Award, Most Popular Driver Award, Most Improved Driver, and Engine Mechanic of the Year.[39][9]
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