ARCA Menards Series East

ARCA Menards Series East

Category	Stock car racing
Country	United States
Manufacturers	Chevrolet  · Ford  · Toyota
Tire suppliers	General Tire
Drivers' champion	William Sawalich
Makes' champion	Toyota
Teams' champion	Joe Gibbs Racing
Official website	ARCA Racing
Current season

The ARCA Menards Series East (formerly known by other names) is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) and the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR).

Races are held at oval tracks ranging from 1⁄3 to 1 mile (0.54–1.61 km) in length and on two road courses, 1.53 and 2.45 miles (2.46 and 3.94 km) in length. Most races are stand-alone events (i.e. not in conjunction with other NASCAR touring series), but there are three race weekends that are in combination with the NASCAR Cup Series.

Many of the ARCA Menards Series East drivers on the series are gaining experience with the hopes of moving up to one of the major NASCAR series, however some of the drivers are right at home in the series and have no plans of moving on. The series is not only developmental for drivers (including Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr., Ricky Craven, Mike McLaughlin, Austin Dillon, Trevor Bayne, Brian Ickler, Ricky Carmichael and Ryan Truex), but for crew members (such as Greg Zipadelli and Marc Puchalski) and officials, as well.

In 1994, it became the first NASCAR-sanctioned series to have a winless season champion when Dale Shaw won the then-Busch Grand National North Series championship without winning a single race all year. The series had the distinction of being the only NASCAR series in which this had happened until 2013, when Austin Dillon won the Nationwide Series championship the same way. ^[1] Matt Crafton would also do this in the Truck Series in 2019.

The other regional division at the Grand National level of ARCA is the Menards Series West.

History

The series' logo from 2007 on back.

The series' logo in 2008 and 2009.

Formed as the NASCAR Busch Grand National North Series in 1987, the series originally raced primarily in the Northeastern United States, including Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. Drivers in the series could compete in "combination" races with then named Busch Grand National Series (now Xfinity Series) that were held at various tracks over the years, including but not limited to Daytona International Speedway, Nazareth Speedway, Watkins Glen International and New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Combination races were on the schedule until 2001. In 2002, a big crash occurred at the Glen that saw many cars spinning through the esses on lap one, along with Troy Williams actually overturning over the guardrail. No one was hurt.

Over the next 18 years, the series extended its reach and added races in Delaware and Virginia. The series name was changed to Busch East for the 2006 season after a race was added in Greenville-Pickens Speedway in South Carolina. Races were added in South Boston, Virginia, and Nashville, Tennessee for 2007 to continue the push South and West, as well as East-West combination races at the Iowa Speedway in Newton, IA and Elko Speedway in Elko, MN.. The 2008 schedule had the series running races in 8 states up and down the East coast. (Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia)

In 2012, NASCAR unified the rules of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series Invitational and North/East Series to a many rules package. A pre -season invitational race known as the Toyota All-Star Race was also added to pit the best drivers from both series head-to-head.

For 2013 NASCAR made several rule changes including giving team the option of using "special" engines and a composite body to reduce the cost of competing in the K&N Series. The "spec" engine has become fairly popular, but the old style steel bodies are still preferred over the composite bodies by most teams. Chase Elliott won the series at 2010, and 2011.

On December 16, 2019, NASCAR announced that Camping World would take over as title sponsor of both series in the Grand National Division. ^[2]

For 2015, the names of both the East and West series were both sponsored by K&N Engineering and the East Series was named the K&N Pro Series East. In 2011, NASCAR lowered the age maximum across each of its regional touring series to 30.

In 2020, the series became part of the ARCA Menards Series banner and was renamed to the ARCA Menards Series East. ^[3]

ARCA Menards Series cars

General

As part of NASCAR's unification of the two Camping World Series in 2003, the cars can be either a 105-inch (2,700 mm, which had been used in the former Busch Grand National East) or 110-inch (2,800 mm, which had been used in the former Winston West) wheelbase. Cambered/off-set rear ends are not allowed.

Currently, the series requires the use of a Five Star bodies composite body that started in the 2015 season, currently the 2013 Chevrolet SS, Ford Fusion, or Toyota Camry. Since the 2007 debut of the new chassis at the Cup and 2010 debut at the second-tier level, many ARCA East and West cars are former Cup or Xfinity cars.

Teams have an option of building their own engines or they may run a specification engine, similar to what is used at many short tracks. Both engines are V8, pushrod, 12:1 compression motors. "Built" motors are built to team specifications using any configuration of pieces as long as it still meets NASCAR specifications. The spec engine is built using NASCAR-approved pieces that may be purchased from an approved supplier. The engines may be purchased as a kit or pre-assembled. All of the spec pieces are individually encrypted with a barcode for verification and tracking purposes and can be checked during the inspection process with an encryption reader. NASCAR has a specification supplier for the series-specification engine.

When the series first started, the cars ran a V6 engine with a maximum 274 cu in (4,490 cm³) displacement and no compression limit. In the early/mid 1990s the V8 engine with a 9.5:1 compression and maximum 358 cu in (5,870 cm³) displacement was introduced to the series as an alternative to the V6 engines. Due to the decrease in popularity of the V6, it was phased out for the 1999 season. When the East and West series rules were combined, the compression ratio changed to 12:1.

Menards Series cars use Sunoco racing fuel, NASCAR's specification fuel. For races run with national series, the cars run an E15 blend since the national series uses such fuels. The cars use radial tires. Along with the rest of ARCA and NASCAR's international series, the Menards Series have General Tire as their exclusive tire supplier. ^[4]

On November 4, 2014 at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, NASCAR president Mike Helton unveiled a new body style for the K&N Pro Series based on the NASCAR Cup Series Gen 6 models. The new body, developed with Five Star Race Car Bodies, is constructed of a composite laminate blend and designed with easily replaceable body panels, expected to shrink the costs of fabrication dramatically. The body style is eligible for use in both Menards Series competition and ARCA Racing Series competition, replacing the old Gen 4-style steel bodies after 2015, and the then-current one-piece composite body after 2016. ^[5]

Specifications

^[6]

• Engine displacement: 358 cu in (5.8 L) Pushrod V8.
• Transmission: 4 speed Manual.
• Weight: 3,300 lb (1,497 kg) Minimum (without driver).
• Power output: ~650 hp (485 kW) unrestricted.
• Fuel: Sunoco Leaded or Unleaded gasoline.
• Fuel capacity: 22 U.S. gallons (83.2 L).
• Fuel delivery: Carburetion.
• Compression ratio: 12:1.
• Aspiration: Naturally aspirated.
• Carburetor size: 390 cu ft/min (184 L/s) 4-barrel.
• Wheelbase: 105 in (2667 mm)/ 110 in (2794 mm).
• Steering: Power, recirculating ball.

List of champions

Year	Champion	Most Popular Driver	Rookie of the Year
1987	Joey Kourafas	Chuck Bown	(N/A)
1988	Jamie Aube	Dick McCabe
1989	Jamie Aube (2)	Jamie Aube	Ron Lamell
1990	Jamie Aube (3)	Ricky Craven	Ricky Craven
1991	Ricky Craven	Ricky Craven (2)	Tony Hirschman
1992	Dick McCabe	Mike McLaughlin	Curtis Markham
1993	Dick McCabe (2)	Mike McLaughlin (2)	Andy Santerre
1994	Dale Shaw	Andy Santerre	Jerry Marquis
1995	Kelly Moore	Mike Stefanik	Brandon Butler
1996	Dave Dion	Brandon Butler	Brad Leighton
1997	Mike Stefanik	Mike Stefanik (2)	Tracy Gordon
1998	Mike Stefanik (2)	Mike Stefanik (3)	Jeff Taylor
1999	Brad Leighton	Dave Dion	Mike Bruno
2000	Brad Leighton (2)	Brad Leighton	Mike Johnson
2001	Mike Olsen	Mike Olsen	Brian Hoar
2002	Andy Santerre	Andy Santerre	Robbie Harrison
2003	Andy Santerre (2)	Andy Santerre (2)	Ryan Moore
2004	Andy Santerre (3)	Mike Stefanik (4)	Ryan Seaman
2005	Andy Santerre (4)	Andy Santerre (3)	Sean Caisse
2006	Mike Olsen (2)	Matt Kobyluck	Rubén Pardo
2007	Joey Logano	Jeffrey Earnhardt	Joey Logano
2008	Matt Kobyluck	Ricky Carmichael	Austin Dillon
2009	Ryan Truex	Steve Park	Ryan Truex
2010	Ryan Truex (2)	Ryan Truex	Darrell Wallace Jr.
2011	Max Gresham	Chase Elliott	Alex Bowman
2012	Kyle Larson	Chase Elliott (2)	Kyle Larson
2013	Dylan Kwasniewski	Ben Kennedy	Jesse Little
2014	Ben Rhodes	Ben Rhodes [7]	Ben Rhodes
2015	William Byron	Rico Abreu	William Byron
2016	Justin Haley	Austin Theriault	Hunter Baize
2017	Harrison Burton	Not awarded	Chase Purdy
2018	Tyler Ankrum		Tyler Ankrum
2019	Sam Mayer		Sam Mayer
2020	Sam Mayer (2)		Ty Gibbs
2021	Sammy Smith		Sammy Smith
2022	Sammy Smith (2)		Leland Honeyman
2023	William Sawalich		William Sawalich
2024	William Sawalich (2)

• Bold driver indicates that he/she has won at least 1 NASCAR Cup Series championship.
• Italicized driver indicates that he/she has won at least 1 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship.
• Bold and italicized driver indicates he/she has won both a NASCAR Xfinity Series and a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship (at least 1 of each).

Career victories

In 517 races there have been 126 different winners, 73 of which have won multiple races. Does not include Combination races with Busch Series that were won by Busch Series drivers since these victories are already counted in the Busch Series. Updated after: Sprecher 150 (August 28, 2022)

Wins	Driver	First Win	Last Win
27	Kelly Moore	Jun 12, 1987	Sep 16, 2006
24	Brad Leighton	Jul 12, 1989	Aug 14, 2004
23	Andy Santerre	Jul 12, 1996	Sep 23, 2005
19	Dale Shaw	Jul 18, 1997	Jul 25, 2002
16	Matt Kobyluck	Aug 26, 2001	Aug 16, 2008
14	Bobby Dragon	Jun 11, 1987	Jun 29, 1997
13	Ricky Craven	Aug 19, 1990	Jul 8, 1995
13	Dave Dion	Jun 28, 1992	Aug 27, 2005
12	Tracy Gordon	Sep 5, 1998	Sep 19, 2002
12	Mike Stefanik	Jun 28, 1991	Jul 15, 2005
10	Ted Christopher	Sep 8, 1996	Sep 16, 2005
10	Brett Moffitt	May 30, 2009	Aug 3, 2018
9	Jamie Aube	Jul 12, 1987	Aug 28, 1993
9	Sam Mayer	Apr 6, 2019	Oct 11, 2020
8	Mike Rowe	May 22, 1988	May 19, 1991
8	Dick McCabe	Jul 10, 1988	Jun 12, 1993
8	Robbie Crouch	Aug 20, 1988	Sep 3, 1995
8	Joe Bessey	Aug 26, 1989	Sep 24, 1995
7	Mike McLaughlin	Sep 2, 1990	Jul 10, 1993
7	Jerry Marquis	May 15, 1994	Jul 12, 1997
7	Tom Carey Jr.	May 22, 1998	Jul 12, 2003
7	Mike Johnson	Jul 22, 2000	Jul 17, 2004
7	Sean Caisse	Jun 10, 2006	Sep 21, 2007
7	Eddie MacDonald	Sep 7, 2002	Mar 15, 2015
7	Todd Gilliland	Feb 14, 2016	Apr 14, 2018
7	Sammy Smith	Feb 27, 2021	Aug 28, 2022
6	Dale Quarterley	Sep 9, 2001	Sep 24, 2004
6	Mike Olsen	Jun 10, 2001	Jul 14, 2006
6	Darrell Wallace Jr.	Mar 27, 2010	Mar 31, 2012
6	Dylan Kwasniewski	Mar 16, 2013	Oct 18, 2013
6	Corey LaJoie	Jun 2, 2012	Jul 16, 2016
6	Ty Gibbs	Sep 21, 2019	Sep 16, 2021
5	Bryan Wall	Jun 5, 1999	Aug 10, 2002
5	Martin Truex Jr.	Jul 8, 2000	Jul 19, 2003
5	Joey Logano	Apr 28, 2007	Sep 14, 2007
5	Ryan Truex	Apr 6, 2009	Sep 17, 2010
5	Ben Rhodes	Mar 22, 2014	Jun 21, 2014
5	Sergio Pena	Apr 17, 2011	Aug 29, 2015
5	Austin Hill	Sep 27, 2013	Sep 10, 2015
5	Kyle Benjamin	Apr 18, 2015	Apr 8, 2017
5	Harrison Burton	Apr 22, 2017	Sep 29, 2017
4	Stub Fadden	May 17, 1992	Sep 4, 1994
4	Butch Leitzinger	Jun 5, 1994	Oct 12, 1996
4	Brian Ickler	May 18, 2008	Apr 11, 2009
4	Max Gresham	Apr 3, 2010	Jul 15, 2011
4	William Byron	Apr 4, 2015	Jul 17, 2015
4	Scott Heckert	Aug 8, 2014	Aug 7, 2015
4	Tyler Ankrum	May 12, 2018	July 27, 2018
3	Joey Kourafas	Sep 13, 1987	Aug 13, 1990
3	Steve Park	Jun 2, 1996	Aug 1, 2009
3	Matt DiBenedetto	Apr 25, 2009	Jun 4, 2011
3	Daniel Suárez	Jul 13, 2013	Feb 18, 2015
3	Cole Custer	Aug 2, 2013	Apr 26, 2015
3	Will Rodgers	Aug 4, 2017	Jun 16, 2018
3	Derek Kraus	Aug 24, 2018	May 5, 2019
2	Chuck Bown	May 3, 1987	Oct 12, 1987
2	Pete Silva	May 5, 1988	Jul 2, 1988
2	Billy Clark	Apr 26, 1987	Jun 10, 1989
2	Larry Caron	Jun 25, 1988	Jul 1, 1989
2	Tom Bolles	Sep 8, 1995	May 4, 1997
2	Jimmy Spencer	Aug 1, 1987	Jul 18, 1998
2	Ryan Moore	Jul 9, 2005	Aug 10, 2005
2	Kyle Larson	Jun 9, 2012	Sep 22, 2012
2	Ben Kennedy	Apr 13, 2013	Jun 1, 2013
2	Jesse Little	Jul 11, 2014	Apr 18, 2015
2	Justin Haley	Mar 26, 2016	Jul 2, 2016
2	Austin Cindric	Apr 30, 2016	Aug 5, 2016
2	Noah Gragson	Jun 17, 2016	Sep 17, 2016
2	Tyler Dippel	Mar 12, 2016	Apr 28, 2018
2	Rubén García Jr.	Jun 2, 2018	Oct 6, 2018
2	Chase Cabre	Jun 1, 2019	Jul 20, 2019
2	Spencer Davis	May 30, 2016	Aug 24, 2019
2	Brandon Jones	Aug 1, 2014	Jun 11, 2022
2	Matthew Reid	Aug 27, 1990	Jun 16, 1991
1	Mike Weeden	Jul 1, 1987	N/A
1	Tommy Houston	Jul 14, 1987	N/A
1	Ralph Nason	Aug 28, 1987	N/A
1	Richard Martin	Sep 26, 1987	N/A
1	Ken Bouchard	Sep 8, 1990	N/A
1	Bruce Haley	May 25, 1987	N/A
1	Tony Hirschman	Sep 5, 1992	N/A
1	Brian Ross	May 29, 1993	N/A
1	Ken Schrader	Oct 16, 1993	N/A
1	John Preston	May 28, 1994	N/A
1	Martin Truex Sr.	Jul 9, 1994	N/A
1	Glenn Sullivan	Jul 24, 1994	N/A
1	Keith Lamell	Jul 29, 1994	N/A
1	Tom Rosati	Aug 20, 1994	N/A
1	Jeff Fuller	Sep 22, 1996	N/A
1	Kip Stockwell	Aug 1, 1997	N/A
1	Rick Fuller	Jul 3, 1998	N/A
1	Kim Baker	Aug 8, 1998	N/A
1	Dennis Demers	Jul 23, 1999	N/A
1	Denny Doyle	Oct 26, 2002	N/A
1	Joey McCarthy	Jun 28, 2003	N/A
1	Brian Hoar	Aug 30, 2003	N/A
1	Bryon Chew	Jun 24, 2006	N/A
1	Tim Andrews	Sep 22, 2006	N/A
1	Rubén Pardo	Sep 30, 2006	N/A
1	Rogelio López	Jul 22, 2007	N/A
1	Austin Dillon	Apr 19, 2008	N/A
1	Trevor Bayne	Jul 12, 2008	N/A
1	Aric Almirola	Sep 19, 2008	N/A
1	Peyton Sellers	Oct 12, 2008	N/A
1	Kyle Busch	May 17, 2009	N/A
1	Andrew Ranger	Jul 3, 2010	N/A
1	Ty Dillon	Aug 28, 2010	N/A
1	Nelson Piquet Jr.	Mar 17, 2012	N/A
1	Chase Elliott	May 19, 2012	N/A
1	Cale Conley	Jul 21, 2012	N/A
1	Tyler Reddick	Nov 3, 2012	N/A
1	Brandon Gdovic	Apr 6, 2013	N/A
1	Ryan Gifford	Apr 25, 2013	N/A
1	Rico Abreu	Jul 4, 2015	N/A
1	Dillon Bassett	Aug 15, 2015	N/A
1	Collin Cabre	Oct 3, 2015	N/A
1	Chad Finchum	Apr 16, 2016	N/A
1	Ronnie Bassett Jr.	Feb 19, 2017	N/A
1	Travis Miller	May 6, 2017	N/A
1	Anthony Alfredo	May 12, 2018	N/A
1	Brandon McReynolds	Sep 22, 2018	N/A
1	Tanner Gray	May 4, 2019	N/A
1	Max McLaughlin	Aug 2, 2019	N/A
1	Max Gutiérrez	Feb 8, 2021	N/A
1	Taylor Gray	Apr 29, 2022	N/A

Bolding indicates driver has won at least 1 NASCAR Cup Series Championship

Most wins at each track

All-time wins under Menards Series East banner. Does not include the combination races with Busch Series because the drivers who won those races are computed as Busch Series winners. Also does not include the combination races with Menards Series West that were won by Menards Series West drivers because the drivers who won those races are computed as Menards Series West winners.

Current tracks

Track	Driver	Wins	Race Name
Bristol Motor Speedway	Sam Mayer	2	Spring: Zombie Auto 150 Fall: Bush's Beans 150
Dover International Speedway	Brett Moffitt & Austin Hill	2	General Tire 125
Iowa Speedway	Multiple Drivers	1	Casey's General Stores 150
Memphis International Raceway	Multiple Drivers	1	Memphis 150
New Hampshire Motor Speedway	Brad Leighton	8	Summer: United Site Services 70 Fall: Apple Barrel 125
New Smyrna Speedway	Todd Gilliland	2	New Smyrna 175
South Boston Speedway	Multiple Drivers	1	Who's Your Driver Twin 100s
Watkins Glen International	Andy Santerre, Bryan Wall, Ted Christopher & Scott Heckert	2	Great Outdoors RV Superstore 100
World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway	Multiple Drivers	1	Monaco Cocktails Gateway Classic 125

Bold indicates a combined race with the ARCA Menards Series West

Former tracks

Track	Driver	Wins	Race Names
Adirondack International Speedway	Matt Kobyluck	3	Edge Hotel 150 Pres. by Casella Waste Systems
Beech Ridge Motor Speedway	Dale Shaw	4	Summer: Beech Ridge 150 Pres. by Forest City Chevy Beech_Ridge_Motor_Speedbowl Fall: Irving Oil 150
Berlin Raceway	Todd Gilliland	1	Stars & Stripes 150
Columbus Motor Speedway	Multiple Drivers	1	NAPA 150
Darlington Raceway	Harry Gant	2	Spring 1987-1988: Country Squire Homes 200* Fall 1987-1988: Gatorade 200*
Daytona International Speedway	Daniel Suárez	1	UNOH Battle at the Beach
Dominion Raceway	Spencer Davis	1	ComServe Wireless 150
Greenville-Pickens Speedway	Darrell Wallace Jr. & Kyle Benjamin	2	Kevin Whitaker Chevrolet 150
Holland NASCAR Motorsports Complex	Dave Dion	3	Fuccillo Auto Park HUGE 150
Jennerstown Speedway	Kelly Moore	3	Burnham Boilers/Carquest Auto Parts 150
Lake Erie Speedway	Andy Santerre	2	Local Dodge Dealers 150 by Hamot & Highmark
Langley Speedway	Multiple Drivers	1	Visit Hampton VA 150
Lee USA Speedway	Brad Leighton	4	NASCAR K&N Pro Series 125
Lime Rock Park	Butch Leitzinger & Matt Kobyluck	3	K&N 100
Mobile International Speedway	Tyler Dippel	1	Mobile 150
Nazareth Speedway	Multiple Drivers	1	1988-2000 Goulds Pumps/ITT Industries 200 2001-2002 Burnham Boilers 100
New Jersey Motorsports Park	Will Rodgers	2	JustDrive.com 125
New London-Waterford Speedbowl	Kelly Moore, Mike Johnson & Matt Kobyluck	2	Big Y World Class Market 150
Oxford Plains Speedway	Mike Rowe	7	Fisher Snow Plows 150
Richmond International Raceway	Multiple Drivers	1	1988-1992 Hardee's 200 2011-2015 UNOH 100
Riverside Park Speedway	Bobby Dragon & Tom Carey Jr.	2	New England Ford Dealers 150
Seekonk Speedway	Kelly Moore	2	Budweiser 150
Stafford Motor Speedway	Kelly Moore & Mike Johnson	3	Stafford 150
Star Speedway	Robbie Crouch & Kelly Moore	3	Star 150
Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park	Ricky Craven & Mike Stefanik	3	King Cadillac GMC Throwback 100

Races in Bold were combination events with the then NASCAR Busch Grand National Series

References

1. Jeff Olson, Special for USA TODAY Sports (November 16, 2013). "Austin Dillon wins Nationwide title in celebrated No. 3". USA TODAY. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
2. "NASCAR : NASCAR Drivers, Race Standings & News — NASCAR.com". nascar.com. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
3. Bonkowski, Jerry (October 2, 2019). "NASCAR, ARCA announce new format for 2020; ARCA to take over K&N Series". NBC Sports . Retrieved October 2, 2019.
4. "General Tire to Serve as Exclusive Tire Supplier For NASCAR's K&N Pro Series, Pinty's Series and PEAK Mexico Series". NASCAR Home Tracks . February 5, 2019. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
5. Media Release (November 4, 2014). "NASCAR unveils new K&N Pro Series car at 2014 SEMA show". Fox Sports . Retrieved November 15, 2014.
6. "NASCAR K&N Pro Series & Whelen Modified Tour Rulebook" (PDF). speedbowlct.com . NASCAR. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 23, 2016.
7. Cunningham, Jason (November 19, 2014). "Touring Series Most Popular Drivers Revealed: Champions Rhodes, Seuss Lead 2014 Honorees". hometracks.nascar.com . Daytona Beach, Florida: NASCAR. Archived from the original on September 12, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2015.

• 2008 NASCAR Camping World Series Rule Book
• The Official NASCAR 2008 Preview and Press Guide
• 1996 NASCAR Busch North Series Rule Book

External links

• Sports portal

• Official website
• EastSeries.com Series – News & Coverage