 | |
| 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.
- ^ 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.