The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and his son, Jim France, has been the CEO since August 2018. The company is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida. Each year, NASCAR sanctions over 1,500 races at over 100 tracks in 48 US states as well as in Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Europe.
South Boston Speedway, or "SoBo", is a short track located just outside South Boston, Virginia. SoBo is located approximately 60 miles (97 km) east of another area familiar to most NASCAR fans, Martinsville. It is owned by Mattco, Inc., the Mattioli family trust that owns Pocono Raceway, with general manager Chase Brashears operating the track, replacing Cathy Rice who retired in 2021 after serving in that role for 21 years. NASCAR's three national series have raced at the track, though the Cup Series has not done so since 1971, while the Busch Series last raced here in 2000. After the Busch Series left the schedule, the Craftsman Truck Series competed at SoBo for a few years between 2001 and 2003. The SRX Series visited the track in 2022.
Richard Allen Bickle Jr. is an American professional stock car racing driver. Now retired from NASCAR racing, Bickle, who never completed a full season in the NASCAR Cup Series, had a long history in short track racing. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel described him in 2012 as a "stud on the short tracks in the late 1980s and early '90s and a journeyman who rarely caught a break in NASCAR." He won three NASCAR truck races and had a career-best fourth-place finish in the Cup Series in 218 career NASCAR starts.
The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is an auto racing sanctioning body in the United States, founded in 1953 by John Marcum. The current president of ARCA is Ron Drager, who took over the position in 1996 following the death of Bob Loga. The ARCA Menards Series races stock cars similar to those seen in past years in the NASCAR Cup Series, and indeed most cars used in the Menards Series were previously used in NASCAR. ARCA's competitors contain a mix of both professional racers and hobby racers alike, in addition to younger competitors trying to make a name for themselves, sometimes driving as part of a driver development program for a NASCAR team. ARCA Menards Series races are broadcast on Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2 or MAVTV, and they have been previously broadcast on ESPN, ESPN2, USA Network, TNN, Prime Network, CBS Sports Network, NBCSN, TBS and TNT.
Mark M. McFarland is a former NASCAR driver who works for Kyle Busch Motorsports as the crew chief for their No. 18 car in the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series East. In 2021, he won championships in both series with Ty Gibbs and Sammy Smith, respectively. In 2022, he and Smith won their second consecutive East Series championship. Mark now lives in Harrisonburg VA with his wife and 4 sons. He and his wife opened a bakery named "Nothing Bundt Cakes."
Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway is a motorsport racetrack located at the Nashville Fairgrounds near downtown Nashville, Tennessee. The track is the second-oldest continually operating track in the United States. The track held NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup races from 1958 to 1984.
The ARCA Menards Series East 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).
The ARCA Menards Series West, formerly the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, NASCAR AutoZone West Series, NASCAR Winston West Series and NASCAR Camping World West Series, 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). The series was first formed in 1954 as a proving ground for drivers from the western United States who could not travel to race in the more traditional stock car racing regions like North Carolina and the rest of the southern United States.
David George Mader III is an American professional stock car racing driver who competes part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 63 Chevrolet SS for Spraker Racing Enterprises. He is a former competitor in all three of NASCAR's national touring series and is also the winner of the 1978 Snowball Derby.
The NASCAR Grand National East Series was a short-lived racing series created by NASCAR in 1972 to provide a second-tier series, below the Winston Cup Series, to provide races at tracks that had been removed from the former Grand National Series' schedule upon Winston's assumption of the series sponsorship in 1971. The series only lasted for two seasons.
David Ray Boggs is an American stock car racing driver. Now retired, he is a former competitor in the NASCAR Grand American Series, the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, and the ARCA Racing Series.
The NASCAR K&N Pro Series refers to former names of two regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), both now operated under the ARCA Menards Series banner after NASCAR's purchase of Automobile Racing Club of America in 2018:
Dale Allen Quarterley is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 46 Toyota Tundra for G2G Racing. He also competes for his own team, 1/4 Ley Racing, part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 4 Chevrolet SS, and part-time in the ARCA Menards Series West, driving the No. 32 Chevrolet SS. He has also competed in the AMA Superbike Series and is the only driver to have won multiple championships in the series.
Andrew J. Dollar is an American professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 18 Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing and part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 18 Toyota Camry for Kyle Busch Motorsports. He has raced in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, ARCA Menards Series East and the ARCA Menards Series West.
Corey D. Heim is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 11 Toyota Tundra for Tricon Garage, and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 24 Toyota Supra for Sam Hunt Racing. He has previously competed ARCA Menards Series East and West Series.
William Venturini, nicknamed "Big Bill", is a retired American professional stock car racing driver. He is the founder and co-owner of Venturini Motorsports, a team that competes in the ARCA Menards Series. As a driver, he primarily competed in the same series from 1982 through 1996. Venturini has won two ARCA championships, which came in 1987 and 1991.
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.
Jackson Ryan Wood is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 51 Chevrolet Silverado for Kyle Busch Motorsports and part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 6 Chevrolet SS for Rev Racing. He has previously raced in the ARCA Menards Series, and also in the ARCA Menards Series East and West.
The Generation 4 car was the NASCAR vehicle generation used from 1992 to 2007 full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, in the Busch/Nationwide Series until 2010, and in the ARCA Racing Series until 2017. The generation has been described as the generation that removed all "stock" aspects from stock car racing and is as aerodynamically sensitive as a Le Mans Prototype.
