2026 ARCA Menards Series East
The 2026 ARCA Menards Series East will be the 40th season of the ARCA Menards Series East, a regional stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. The season will begin on March 28 at Hickory Motor Speedway and will end on September 17 with the Bush's Beans 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Isaac Kitzmiller entered as the defending champion.[1]
Teams and drivers
Complete schedule
| Manufacturer | Team | No. | Driver | Crew chief | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chevrolet | ACR Motorsports[N 1] | 79 | Isaac Kitzmiller | TBA | [2] |
| Pinnacle Racing Group | 28 | Carson Brown (R) | TBA | [3] | |
| 77 | Tristan McKee (R) | TBA | |||
| Ford | City Garage Motorsports | 5 | Quinn Davis (R) | TBA | [4][5][6] |
| 85 | Becca Monopoli | TBA | |||
| Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing | 18 | Max Reaves (R) | TBA | [2] |
| TBA | Fast Track Racing | TBA | Craig Pellegrini Jr. (R) | TBA | [7] |
All other teams that ran full-time in the ARCA Menards Series East in 2025 have yet to announce their 2026 plans.
Limited schedule
| Manufacturer | Team | No. | Driver | Crew chief | Races | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chevrolet | CR7 Motorsports | 97 | Jason Kitzmiller | Frank Kimmel | 4 | [2] |
| Maples Motorsports | 99 | Michael Maples | TBA | 4 | [2] | |
| Rise Racing with Earnhardt-Shearer Racing |
89 | Bobby Dale Earnhardt | TBA | 4 | [8][9] | |
| Ford | Clubb Racing Inc. | 03 | Alex Clubb | TBA | 4 | [10] |
| 86 | Brian Clubb | TBA | 1 | |||
| Direct Driver Development | 50 | Ryan Pawloski | TBA | 2 | ||
| SPS Racing | 24 | TBA | TBA | 4 | [11][12] | |
| Rette Jones Racing | 30 | George Siciliano | TBA | 1 | ||
| Toyota | Fast Track Racing | 12 | Takuma Koga | TBA | 4 | [13] |
| Nitro Motorsports | 15 | TBA | TBA | 4 | [14] | |
| 20 | Jake Bollman | Doug George | 4 | [2][15] | ||
| 25 | Gavan Boschele | Shane Wilson | 4 | [2][15] | ||
| 55 | Isabella Robusto | Glenn Parker | 4 | [16][15] | ||
| 70 | Thomas Annunziata | Shannon Rursch | 4 | [17][18][19] | ||
| TBA | Gavan Boschele | TBA | 1 | [15] | ||
| TBA | Wesley Slimp | TBA | 1 | [15] | ||
| Tim Richmond Racing | 27 | Tim Richmond | Adam Murphy | 2 | [20] | |
| TBA | Brad Smith Motorsports | 48 | Brad Smith | TBA | 7 | [21] |
| TBA | Maples Motorsports | 1 | Tony Cosentino | TBA | 4 | [22] |
| TBA | MBM Motorsports | TBA | Dystany Spurlock | TBA | 1 | [23] |
Notes
- ^ Entries are fielded in a collaboration with CR7 Motorsports.
Schedule
The full schedule was announced on December 9, 2025.[24] Some race dates were announced before then as part of the announcement of the main ARCA Series schedule on October 4.[25]
Note: Races highlighted in gold are combination events with the ARCA Menards Series.
| No | Race title | Track | Location | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TBA | Hickory Motor Speedway | Hickory, North Carolina | March 28 |
| 2 | Rockingham ARCA 125 | Rockingham Speedway | Rockingham, North Carolina | April 4 |
| 3 | Music City 150 | Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway | Nashville, Tennessee | May 2 |
| 4 | TBA | Toledo Speedway | Toledo, Ohio | May 16 |
| 5 | LiUNA! 150 | Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park | Brownsburg, Indiana | July 24 |
| 6 | Dutch Boy 150 | Flat Rock Speedway | Ash Township, Michigan | August 1 |
| 7 | Atlas 150 | Iowa Speedway | Newton, Iowa | August 7 |
| 8 | Bush's Beans 200 | Bristol Motor Speedway | Bristol, Tennessee | September 17 |
Schedule changes
- Hickory Motor Speedway was added to the schedule.[26]
- Toledo Speedway returns to the schedule for the first time since 2020.
- Five Flags Speedway and Dover Motor Speedway were removed from the schedule.
See also
- 2026 NASCAR Cup Series
- 2026 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series
- 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
- 2026 ARCA Menards Series
- 2026 ARCA Menards Series West
- 2026 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour
- 2026 NASCAR Canada Series
- 2026 CARS Tour
- 2026 SMART Modified Tour
References
- ^ "Isaac Kitzmiller's clean, methodical rookie season translates to an East Series championship". ARCA Racing.com. September 11, 2025. Retrieved September 11, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f "What We Know About the 2026 ARCA Silly Season". Frontstretch. September 26, 2025. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
- ^ "PRG Reveals Lineups for ARCA, East Schedules". Frontstretch. December 17, 2025. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
- ^ "City Garage Motorsports names Becca Monopoli, Quinn Davis as drivers for 2026 East Series season". ARCA Racing. September 19, 2025.
- ^ "Becca Monopoli, Quinn Davis Contesting Full ARCA East Season for CGM". Frontstretch. September 19, 2025. Retrieved September 19, 2025.
- ^ "Logan Misuraca joins City Garage Motorsports for ARCA opener at Daytona". ARCA Racing. December 8, 2025.
- ^ "Fast Track Racing adds Craig Pellegrini Jr. for full ARCA Menards Series East schedule". ARCA Racing. February 11, 2026.
- ^ "Bobby Dale Earnhardt Running Full ARCA Season With Rise". Frontstretch. November 19, 2025. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
- ^ "Bobby Earnhardt and Rise Motorsports unite for 2026 ARCA Menards Series campaign". ARCA Racing. November 19, 2025.
- ^ "Jeff Maconi returns to Clubb Racing Inc. for 15 ARCA events". ARCA Racing. January 30, 2026.
- ^ Kristl, Mark (October 9, 2025). "Tyler Reif Leaving SPS After 2025". Frontstretch. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
- ^ Rutherford, Kevin (November 24, 2025). "Sigma Acquires AM, Will Field O'Reilly, ARCA Teams". Frontstretch. Retrieved November 24, 2025.
- ^ Kristl, Mark (December 10, 2025). "Takuma Koga Running ARCA Full Time with Fast Track". Frontstretch. Retrieved December 10, 2025.
- ^ "Leland Honeyman Lowers ARCA Slate to Part-Time Status". Frontstretch. January 26, 2026. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
- ^ a b c d e "Nick Tucker Expects Nitro to Win Races, Championships in 2026". Frontstretch. January 28, 2026. Retrieved January 28, 2026.
- ^ "Isabella Robusto joins Nitro Motorsports for sophomore ARCA Menards Series season". ARCA Racing. December 10, 2025.
- ^ "Thomas Annunziata Running ARCA Full Time for Nitro". Frontstretch. November 1, 2025. Retrieved November 1, 2025.
- ^ "Thomas Annunziata to chase ARCA Menards Series title with Nitro Motorsports". ARCA Racing. December 22, 2025.
- ^ "10 Drivers to Watch for in the ARCA Daytona Test". Frontstretch. January 7, 2026. Retrieved January 8, 2026.
- ^ "Tim Richmond Running Up to 4 ARCA Races". Frontstretch. February 13, 2026. Retrieved February 13, 2026.
- ^ "ARCA 2026 Schedule". Brad Smith Motorsports. Retrieved January 27, 2026.
- ^ "Tony Cosentino Running ARCA Full Time for Maples". Frontstretch. January 12, 2025. Retrieved January 12, 2026.
- ^ Release, Press (February 3, 2026). "Motorcycle Drag Racer Dystany Spurlock Aims for Historic NASCAR-Owned ARCA Menards Series Bid". catchfence.com.
- ^ "2026 ARCA Menards Series East schedule announced". ARCARacing.com. December 9, 2025. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
- ^ "ARCA Menards Series schedule for 2026 announced". ARCARacing.com. October 4, 2025. Retrieved October 4, 2025.
- ^ "Hickory Motor Speedway to welcome ARCA Menards Series East for first time on March 28, 2026". ARCARacing.com. December 9, 2025. Retrieved December 9, 2025.