The 2021 ARCA Menards Series East was the 35th season of the ARCA Menards Series East, a regional stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. The season began on February 8 at New Smyrna Speedway with the Jeep Beach 175 and ended on September 16 at Bristol Motor Speedway with the Bush's Beans 200. Sammy Smith and Joe Gibbs Racing won the series championship. JGR's No. 18 car, driven by Smith and Ty Gibbs, won all but one race during the season.
2019 and 2020 series champion Sam Mayer did not go for a three-peat, as he moved up to the Xfinity Series in 2021, driving for JR Motorsports after his 18th birthday on June 26. [1]
Note: If a driver is listed as their own crew chief for a particular race, that means that their entry in that race was a start and park.
Manufacturer | Team | No. | Driver | Crew chief |
---|---|---|---|---|
Chevrolet | Rev Racing [2] | 6 | Rajah Caruth (R) | Glenn Parker |
Ford | David Gilliland Racing | 54 | Joey Iest (R) [3] | Derek Smith 5 [4] Seth Smith 3 |
Rette Jones Racing | 30 | Max Gutiérrez (R) [5] | Mark Rette | |
Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 18 | Sammy Smith (R)4 [6] [N 1] | Mark McFarland [7] |
Ty Gibbs 4 [7] | ||||
Visconti Motorsports | 74 | Mason Diaz [8] | Tommy Baldwin Jr. [8] | |
Toyota 6 Chevrolet 2 | Cook-Finley Racing | 42 | Parker Retzlaff 6 | Amber Slagle 7 Sean Samuels 1 |
Conner Jones 2 | ||||
Toyota 6 Ford 1 Chevrolet 1 | Fast Track Racing | 10 | Dick Doheny 3 | Dick Doheny 5 Mike Sroufe 2 Trey Galgon 1 |
Ed Pompa 1 | ||||
Owen Smith 1 | ||||
D. L. Wilson 1 | ||||
Arnout Kok 1 | ||||
Jade Buford 1 | ||||
Ford 6 Chevrolet 1 Toyota 1 | 11 | Richard Garvie 2 | Mike Sroufe 1 Steven Barton 3 Jeff McClure 3 Tony Cosentino 1 | |
Mason Mingus 3 [9] | ||||
Jade Buford 1 | ||||
Bryce Haugeberg 1 | ||||
Tony Cosentino 1 |
New Smyrna, Five Flags, and Dover revealed their race dates ahead of the release of the entire schedule, [40] [41] which ARCA announced on December 18, 2020. [42]
Note: Races highlighted in gold were combination events with the ARCA Menards Series.
No | Race title | Track | Date |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Jeep Beach 175 | New Smyrna Speedway, New Smyrna Beach, Florida | February 8 |
2 | Pensacola 200 | Five Flags Speedway, Pensacola, Florida | February 27 |
3 | Crosley Record Pressing 200 | Fairgrounds Speedway, Nashville, Tennessee | May 8 |
4 | General Tire 125 | Dover International Speedway, Dover, Delaware | May 14 |
5 | Southern National 200 presented by Solid Rock Carriers | Southern National Motorsports Park, Kenly, North Carolina | June 12 |
6 | Shore Lunch 150 | Iowa Speedway, Newton, Iowa | July 24 |
7 | Sprecher 150 | Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wisconsin | August 29 |
8 | Bush's Beans 200 | Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, Tennessee | September 16 |
No. | Race | Pole position | Most laps led | Winning driver | Manufacturer | No. | Winning team |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jeep Beach 175 | Taylor Gray | Sammy Smith | Max Gutiérrez | Ford | 30 | Rette Jones Racing |
2 | Pensacola 200 | Sammy Smith | Sammy Smith | Sammy Smith | Toyota | 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
3 | Crosley Record Pressing 200 | Mason Mingus | Sammy Smith | Sammy Smith | Toyota | 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
4 | General Tire 125 | Ty Gibbs | Ty Gibbs [N 1] | Ty Gibbs | Toyota | 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
5 | Southern National 200 presented by Solid Rock Carriers | Mason Diaz | Mason Diaz | Sammy Smith | Toyota | 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
6 | Shore Lunch 150 | Ty Gibbs | Ty Gibbs | Ty Gibbs | Toyota | 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
7 | Sprecher 150 | Ty Gibbs | Ty Gibbs [N 1] | Ty Gibbs | Toyota | 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
8 | Bush's Beans 200 | Ty Gibbs | Ty Gibbs | Ty Gibbs | Toyota | 18 | Joe Gibbs Racing |
Notes:
(key) Bold – Pole position awarded by time. Italics – Pole position set by final practice results or rainout. * – Most laps led. ** – All laps led.
Sanchez will also have a teammate in the three national/Showdown races, as Rev Racing will field a car full time in the ARCA East Series for a driver that will be announced at a later date.
Veteran owner/driver Brad Smith plans on returning to the ARCA Menards Series full time this season. (...) Although Smith is planning to compete full time, the team needs sponsorship.
19 year-old Nick Sanchez, who competed in the ARCA Menards East Series last year, will run the full ARCA Menards Series national schedule this season for Rev Racing.
I can't wait to get back behind the wheel in my Fast Track Racing #12 Toyota on May 8th at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway!