2020 ARCA Menards Series East

2020 ARCA Menards Series East

Previous

2019

Next

2021

Champions  |  Seasons

Sam Mayer won his second consecutive championship in 2020.

Ty Gibbs finished second behind Mayer in the championship by 32 points.

Nick Sanchez finished third in the championship.

The 2020 ARCA Menards Series East was the 34th season of the ARCA Menards Series East, a regional stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR. It began on February 10 at New Smyrna Speedway with the Skip's Western Outfitters 175, and concluded on October 11 at Five Flags Speedway with the Pensacola 200. 2020 marked the first season the series was known as the ARCA Menards Series East, after it was known as the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East for the previous ten years.

Sam Mayer entered the season as the defending champion, and won all but one race to score his second consecutive championship in the series.

When the season was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, drivers from all NASCAR series, including a few ARCA drivers, participated in the inaugural eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series during that time.

Teams and drivers

Complete schedule

Manufacturer	Team	No.	Driver	Crew chief
Chevrolet	GMS Racing	21	Sam Mayer [1]	Mardy Lindley
Ford	DGR-Crosley	17	Tanner Gray [2] 1	Blake Bainbridge
			Taylor Gray (R) [2] 5
Toyota	Cook-Finley Racing	42	Parker Retzlaff [3]	Charles Hoffmeyer 2 Sean Samuels 4
	Joe Gibbs Racing	18	Ty Gibbs (R)	Mark McFarland
	Rev Racing	4	Chase Cabre [4]	Glenn Parker
		6	Nick Sanchez (R) [4]	Steve Plattenberger
	TC Motorsports	91	Justin Carroll	Terry Carroll 1 Jim Long 5
	Venturini Motorsports [5]	20	Corey Heim 3 [6]	Shannon Rursch 2 Billy Venturini 4
			Ryan Repko 1
			Chandler Smith 2
		25	Mason Diaz [7]	Kevin Reed 4 Dave Leiner Jr. 2
Toyota 3 Ford 2 Chevrolet 1	Fast Track Racing	11	Chuck Hiers 1	Mike Sroufe 2 Andy Hillenburg 1
			Mike Basham 1
			Ed Pompa 1
			Rick Clifton 1	Trey Galgon
			Owen Smith 1
			D. L. Wilson 1

Limited schedule

Manufacturer	Team	No.	Driver	Crew chief	Rounds
Chevrolet	Ben Kennedy Racing	43	Daniel Dye [8]	Glenn Garrison	2
	Brad Smith Motorsports	48	Brad Smith	John Ward 1 Jeff Smith 1 Leo Kryger 1 Carlos Leon 1	4
	Bret Holmes Racing [9]	23	Bret Holmes	Shane Huffman	3
	Chad Bryant Racing	12	Kris Wright	Donnie Richeson	1
	Connor Okrzesik Racing	14	Connor Okrzesik	Jeff McClure	1
	Cook-Finley Racing [N 1]	41	Kyle Sieg	Charles Hoffmeyer 1 Amber Slagle 1	2
	CR7 Motorsports	97	Jason Kitzmiller	Todd Myers	2
	Finney Racing Enterprises	80	Brian Finney	Wally Finney	1
	Robert Pawlowski Racing	11	Robert Pawlowski	Aaron Brown 2 Ron Otto 1	3
	Spraker Racing Enterprises	63	Dave Mader III	Jeff Spraker	2
	Wayne Peterson Racing	0	Wayne Peterson	Michael Peterson	1
	Win-Tron Racing	32	Gus Dean	Jamie Jones	1
	Visconti Motorsports	74	Giovanni Bromante (R) [10]	Steven Keller	2
Ford			Joe Graf Jr.		1
	Chad Bryant Racing	22	Derek Griffith (R) [11]	Chad Bryant 1 Paul Andrews 2	3
		77	Grant Enfinger	Chad Bryant	1
	Charles Buchanan Racing	87	Chuck Buchanan Jr.	Craig Wood	1
	DGR-Crosley	4	Hailie Deegan	Seth Smith	2
		54	David Gilliland	Derek Smith	1
	Mullins Racing	3	Willie Mullins	Tony Furr	1
	Rette Jones Racing	30	Tristan Van Wieringen (R) [12]	Mark Rette	1
Toyota	Bill McAnally Racing	16	Gio Scelzi	John Camilleri	1
		19	Jesse Love	Kyle Wolosek	1
		50	Holley Hollan	Henry Nascimento	1
		99	Gracie Trotter	Roger Bracken	1
	Fast Track Racing	12	Mike Basham	Mike Sroufe	1
	Hattori Racing Enterprises	1	Max McLaughlin	Dan Stillman 1 Dave McCarty 3	4
	Jett Motorsports	09	Stephen Nasse	Chris Tater	1
	Venturini Motorsports	15	Drew Dollar	Shannon Rursch	3
			Jesse Love [13]		1
		25	Michael Self	Kevin Reed	2
	Troy Williams Racing	53	Max Gutiérrez	Troy Williams	2
	Wayne Peterson Racing	06	Tim Richmond	Brad Frye	1
			Con Nicolopoulos		1
Chevrolet 3 Ford 1	Fast Track Racing	10	Tommy Vigh Jr.	Dick Doheny	1
			Owen Smith	Tim Monroe	1
			Mike Basham	Mike Sroufe	1
			Richard Garvie		1

Notes

1. Entry was fielded in a collaboration with RSS Racing.

Changes

Teams

• Perennial ARCA Menards Series team Venturini Motorsports entered the series in advance of the 2020 season. ^[7]
• Cook-Finley Racing announced an entry with Parker Retzlaff as the driver of the No. 42. ^[3]

Drivers

• On November 20, 2019, it was announced that Nick Sanchez would be driving full-time and for rookie of the year in the East Series for Rev Racing in 2020. ^[4]
• On December 11, 2019, it was announced that Giovanni Bromante would drive full-time for Visconti Motorsports, running for rookie of the year in the No. 74 car. ^[10]
• On December 14, 2019, it was announced that Mason Diaz would drive the Venturini Motorsports car for the full season as part of the team's expansion into the East Series. ^[7]
• On December 16, 2019, it was announced that Tanner Gray would be moving up to the Truck Series full-time with DGR-Crosley, who he had driven for full-time in 2019 in the East Series in their No. 15 car. However, he ran a part-time schedule of races in ARCA East in 2020. ^[14]
• On December 18, 2019, it was announced that Taylor Gray would run full-time and for rookie of the year in the No. 17 for DGR-Crosley in all races after he turned 15 on March 25, 2020. ^[2]
• On January 16, 2020, it was announced that Corey Heim would be driving in three races for Venturini Motorsports. ^[6]
• On January 30, 2020, it was announced that Parker Retzlaff would be driving the No. 42 for Cook-Finley Racing part-time with the possibility of a full season. He drove the No. 74 Visconti Motorsports entry part-time in 2019. ^[3]
• On February 6, 2020, Rette Jones Racing announced that Tristan Van Wieringen would drive the No. 30 full-time and for rookie of the year with the team. ^[12] However, due to the financial impact after COVID-19, the team ran select races instead of full-time. ^[15]
• On February 7, 2020, it was announced that Daniel Dye would be making his series debut in the East Series at New Smyrna Speedway, driving for Ben Kennedy in his No. 43. Dye was also scheduled to run select races in 2020. ^[8]
• On March 10, 2020, it was announced that Derek Griffith would be running the full season and for rookie of the year with Chad Bryant Racing in the team's No. 2 car. ^[16] However, due to the financial impact after COVID-19, the team ran select races instead of full-time, even though Griffith would run a second car, the 22. ^[17]

Manufacturers

• On December 11, 2019, DGR-Crosley announced a switch from Toyota to Ford beginning in 2020. ^[18]

Schedule

On November 6, 2019, NASCAR released the schedule for the 2020 season. ^[19] As part of the unification of the former K&N East and West series with the ARCA Menards Series, the schedule decreased from fourteen races in 2019 to eight races in 2020. The number of races was originally seven, however, an additional race at Fairgrounds Speedway was announced on December 14, 2019. ^[20]

The races at Memphis International Raceway, Iowa Speedway, Watkins Glen International as well as Bristol Motor Speedway's second race were taken and moved from the East Series schedule to the ARCA Menards Series schedule. New Hampshire Motor Speedway, which had two East Series races in 2019, retained only one race in 2020. Five Flags Speedway, Fairgrounds Speedway and Toledo Speedway were added to the East Series schedule, moving over from the ARCA schedule. Berlin Raceway, which hosted an East Series race in 2017, was added back. The races at South Boston Speedway and World Wide Technology Raceway were completely dropped from the schedule.

NBCSN carried television coverage of all races on a tape-delay basis. ^[21]

No.	Race title	Track	Date
1	Skip's Western Outfitters 175	New Smyrna Speedway, New Smyrna Beach	February 10
2	Herr's Potato Chips 200 presented by Federated Car Care	Toledo Speedway, Toledo	June 13 [22]
3	General Tire 125	Dover International Speedway, Dover	August 21
4	Royal Truck & Trailer 200 [23]	Toledo Speedway, Toledo	September 12
5	Bush's Beans 200	Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol	September 17
6	Pensacola 200 presented by Inspectra Thermal Solutions	Five Flags Speedway, Pensacola	October 11 [22] [N 1]

1. The Five Flags race was postponed from Saturday, October 10 to Sunday, October 11, due to Hurricane Delta.

• Races highlighted in gold are combination events with the ARCA Menards Series.

Schedule changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic

The event at Five Flags Speedway, originally scheduled for March 14, was postponed to October 10 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ^[22] On August 25, 2020, series officials announced the cancellation of races at Berlin Raceway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway and replaced them with a date at Toledo Speedway, which served as a combination race with the ARCA Menards Series. ^[24] The race at Fairgrounds Speedway was also cancelled.

Results and standings

Races

No.	Race	Pole Position	Most laps led	Winning driver	Manufacturer	No.	Winning team
1	Skip's Western Outfitters 175	Derek Griffith	Derek Griffith	Sam Mayer	Chevrolet	21	GMS Racing
2	Herr's Potato Chips 200 presented by Federated Car Care	Sam Mayer	Ty Gibbs	Ty Gibbs	Toyota	18	Joe Gibbs Racing
3	General Tire 125	Ty Gibbs	Ty Gibbs	Sam Mayer	Chevrolet	21	GMS Racing
4	Royal Truck & Trailer 200	Sam Mayer	Sam Mayer	Sam Mayer	Chevrolet	21	GMS Racing
5	Bush's Beans 200	Ty Gibbs	Sam Mayer	Sam Mayer	Chevrolet	21	GMS Racing
6	Pensacola 200 presented by Inspectra Thermal Solutions	Grant Enfinger	Grant Enfinger	Sam Mayer	Chevrolet	21	GMS Racing

Drivers' championship

Further information: List of NASCAR points scoring systems

Note: The pole-winner also receives 1 bonus point, similar to the previous ARCA points system used until 2019 and unlike NASCAR.

(key) Bold – Pole position awarded by time. Italics – Pole position set by final practice results or rainout. * – Most laps led.

Pos	Driver	NSM	TOL	DOV	TOL	BRI	FIF	Points
1	Sam Mayer	1	2	1	1*	1*	1	332
2	Ty Gibbs (R)	3	1*	12*	3	2	3	300
3	Nick Sanchez (R)	4	5	16	10	11	9	259
4	Parker Retzlaff	8	7	7	8	19	10	255
5	Mason Diaz	17	14	3	9	4	16	251
6	Justin Carroll	21	6	14	11	10	8	244
7	Chase Cabre	9	4	8	16	21	14	242
8	Taylor Gray (R)		8	9	5	7	4	187
9	Max McLaughlin	10	12	4		3		148
10	Bret Holmes		3		4	8		118
11	Corey Heim	7		6			2	117
12	Derek Griffith (R)	2*				9	13	111
13	Brad Smith		15		17	25	18	101
14	Drew Dollar			5	15	18		94
15	Robert Pawlowski	23	10		14			85
16	Mike Basham		13		12	24		83
17	Michael Self				7	5		77
18	Hailie Deegan				6	6		76
19	Giovanni Bromante (R)	5	11					72
20	Jesse Love	12						70
21	Chandler Smith				2	23		64
22	Daniel Dye	19					7	62
23	Max Gutiérrez					14	12	62
24	Kyle Sieg			11		17		60
25	Dave Mader III					20	11	57
26	Owen Smith				18	22		48
27	David Gilliland			2				42
28	Grant Enfinger						5*	42
29	Stephen Nasse	6						38
30	Ryan Repko		9					35
31	Chuck Buchanan Jr.			10				34
32	Jason Kitzmiller			DNS		13		34
33	Tristan Van Wieringen (R)	11						33
34	Gus Dean					12		32
35	Gio Scelzi	13						31
36	Ed Pompa			13				31
37	Tim Richmond				13			31
38	Brian Finney	14						30
39	Holley Hollan	15						29
40	Tommy Vigh Jr.			15				29
41	Kris Wright					15		29
42	Richard Garvie						15	29
43	Gracie Trotter	16						28
44	Con Nicolopoulos					16		28
45	Joe Graf Jr.			17				27
46	Connor Okrzesik						17	27
47	Tanner Gray	18						26
48	Rick Clifton				19			25
49	D. L. Wilson						19	25
50	Willie Mullins	20						24
51	Chuck Hiers	22						22
52	Wayne Peterson					26		18

See also

• 2020 NASCAR Cup Series
• 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series
• 2020 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series
• 2020 ARCA Menards Series
• 2020 ARCA Menards Series West
• 2020 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour
• 2020 NASCAR Pinty's Series
• 2020 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series
• 2020 eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series
• 2020 EuroNASCAR Esports Series

References

1. "GMS Racing sets 2020 Gander Trucks lineup". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. October 25, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
2. Tomlinson, Joy (December 18, 2019). "Taylor Gray Running Full ARCA Schedule for DGR-Crosley". Frontstretch.
3. Christley, Jason (January 30, 2020). "Opportunity Knocks For Parker Retzlaff". ARCARacing.com. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
4. "NASCAR, Rev Racing Announce 2020 Drive for Diversity Driver Development Team". Motor Racing Network. November 20, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
5. "Venturini Motorsports looks to expand to NASCAR K&N Pro Series competition in 2020 season". Catchfence. September 5, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
6. Krall, Charles (January 16, 2020). "Corey Heim Joins Venturini Motorsports for Seven-race ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East/West Run". ARCARacing.com.
7. Fenwick, Adam (December 14, 2019). "Mason Diaz Joins Venturini For ARCA East Schedule". Speed Sport.
8. "Florida Young Gun Making Five ARCA Starts in 2020". Speed 51. February 7, 2020. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
9. "Bret Holmes Racing Announces 2020 Plans". ARCARacing.com. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
10. Krall, Charles (December 11, 2019). "Late Model Hot Shoe Giovanni Bromante Signs with Visconti Motorsports for ARCA Menards Series East Rookie Run in 2020". ARCARacing.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
11. Owens, Chris (March 11, 2020). "Derek Griffith looking to put a 'licking' on the ARCA Menards Series East competition". Chad Bryant Racing . ChrisOwens62. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
12. "Van Wieringen's Double Down With Rette Jones Racing". Speed Sport. February 6, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
13. Seelman, Jacob (October 6, 2020). "Love Back With Venturini For ARCA East Finale". Speed Sport.
14. Page, Scott (December 16, 2019). "Gray set to run full Truck series schedule in 2020". Jayski's Silly Season Site . NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
15. "Rette Jones Racing adjusts ARCA Menards Series East plans". Rettejonesracing.com. Rette Jones Racing. June 11, 2020.
16. Sullivan, Connor (March 11, 2020). "Griffith Gets Backing to Run Full ARCA East Season". Speed51. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
17. "Chad Bryant Racing adjusts ARCA Menards Series East plans". Chadbryantracing.com. Chad Bryant Racing. June 11, 2020.
18. "DGR-Crosley, Ford Performance announce partnership". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. December 11, 2019. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
19. Coburn, Wesley. "2020 ARCA Menards Series". Frontstretch. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
20. McFadin, Daniel (December 14, 2019). "Sioux Chief to sponsor ARCA Showdown, East Series to race at Nashville Fairgrounds". NASCAR on NBC. NBC Sports. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
21. "NASCAR, ARCA announce framework for four championship series in 2020". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media Group, LLC. October 2, 2019. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
22. "ARCA Menards East Races At Toledo, Five Flags Rescheduled". ARCARacing.com. May 23, 2020. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
23. "Toledo, Winchester Announce Race Sponsors". ARCARacing.com. September 10, 2020. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
24. "ARCA Adds Toledo Date For Two Series Amid Adjustments". ARCA Menards Series. Retrieved August 26, 2020.