ARCA Menards Series will encompass Four Championship Series

Yesterday the anticipation ended for fans of NASCAR and ARCA on the new format for the 2020 season that will see three historic regional championship races and the coronation of a new fourth champion, all under the banner of the ARCA Menards Series.

Over the years the series has brought together young aspiring drivers looking to develop their careers for advancement to NASCAR’s national top-three levels, along with attracting highly competitive professional short-track veterans.

Historically, ARCA has run three of the longest-running high-level regional stock car series in the United States and they will continue along with a new fourth championship series including…

• ARCA Menards Series East and ARCA Menards Series West will continue traditions that began with the Busch North Series (founded in 1987) and Pacific Coast Late Model Series/Winston West (1954) and now competes as the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West. The series will feature a yearly schedule of six to eight races ending their seasons with the crowning of separate regional champions.
• ARCA Menards Series with Midwestern roots was founded in 1953 and will continue a 20-race schedule with a mix of national-series combination events at tracks including Daytona International Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway along with short-tracks like Madison International Speedway in Wisconsin and in Illinois at the dirt tracks of Illinois and DuQuoin State Fairgrounds.
• New in 2020 is the ARCA Racing Series Showdown with ten races within the larger ARCA Menards Series championship, featuring the best of three series coming together to crown a Showdown champion.

 “We cannot be more excited about 2020,” said Brandon Thompson, Managing Director, NASCAR Touring Series. “Both NASCAR and ARCA have worked extremely hard over the last year to provide a rules package and schedule that will serve as the foundation for the preeminent series for racing at this level. It was important for us to move the series forward while creating an environment inclusive for both the current long-term owners and drivers in the series as well as aspiring competitors.”
 
“What first started as a friendship between Bill France Sr. and John Marcum nearly 70 years ago took a momentous step forward today,” said ARCA President Ron Drager. “The amount of history and tradition these series are bringing together to form four elite championships for drivers is an amazing testament to the strength of this sport.
 
“We are proud and honored to be able to bring the ARCA sanction to the East and West Series; and we are looking forward to working with the race teams, tracks, media partners, fans, and sponsors that have helped those series achieve their long term success.”

As part of their announcement, NASCAR is opening the door for any East, West or current ARCA Menards Series car owner with a car that meets the 2019 rulebook, by putting together a 2020 rules package that will allow them to compete.

“We’re pleased that we’re able to extend our racing sponsorships to include the ARCA Menards Series East and ARCA Menards Series West,” said Menards President & CEO John Menard.  “We hope that race fans throughout the country will further enjoy great racing action while also becoming familiar with the Menards brand by shopping at our home improvement stores located in the Midwest or at Menards.com”.

ARCA and MAVTV are also extending their telecast rights agreement for select ARCA Menards Series races. This important partnership along with races covered by FOX Sports ensures that all 20 events are available live to race fans, including the ten-race Showdown. NBCSN will also continue carrying the ARCA Menards Series East and West as part of their extensive NASCAR coverage.

The 2020 ARCA Menards Series officially starts on Saturday, February 8th at Daytona with the Lucas Oil 200 Driven by General Tire, marking the 57th annual ARCA race at Daytona. In addition, their schedule will include Talladega Superspeedway, Michigan International Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, and Pocono Raceway, finishing the season with the championship race at Dover International Speedway.

The Showdown is taking their green flag with ARCA’s inaugural race at ISM Raceway on March 6th as part of the national series event weekend in Phoenix, while the West will kick off the Las Vegas weekend with a return to the Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“We’re thrilled to add two ARCA Menards Series events to our schedule next year,” says Julie Giese, President, ISM Raceway. “The 2020 season will be a historic year for ISM Raceway with the NASCAR Championship Weekend coming to the Valley of the Sun, and the opportunity to host the West Series championship in November as part of four championship races in three days is sure to create an unforgettable experience for everyone.”

West evens include traditional tracks at Irwindale Speedway, Sonoma Raceway and All American Speedway in Roseville, CA and will crown their champion at ISM Raceway in November. The East will race at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, FL, along with Toledo Speedway, Watkins Glen International and New Hampshire Motor Speedway’s Full Throttle Fall Weekend. The East season ends with their championship race at Dover International Speedway.

The Showdown ten-race schedule features Salem Speedway, Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis, Minnesota’s Elko Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Iowa Speedway, and World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, and will crown their first Showdown champion at Memphis Motorsports Park on September 26th.

“We and our race fans in the Mid-South are appreciative for the opportunity to host the Inaugural ARCA Racing Series Showdown championship weekend at Memphis International Raceway,” says Justin Kamm, Memphis International Raceway General Manager “It will be an exciting conclusion to the ten-race showdown as we all see who will be crowned as champion Saturday, September 26, 2020.”

Watch for the announcement of the complete schedules for all four championships shortly.

For young drivers along with veterans of racing across the country, the NASCAR and ARCA Menards Series merger gives them the flexibility to focus on their regional championships along with the chance to expand their racing schedule to span the country in pursuit of bigger prizes.