The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is an

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

sanctioning body in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, founded in 1953 by John Marcum. A subsidiary of

NASCAR 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. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

since 2018, 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 The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car racing, stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into ...

races stock cars similar to those seen in past years in the

NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

, and indeed most cars used in the Menards Series were previously used in NASCAR. ARCA contains 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 ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%). ESPN2 was initially ...

USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...

, TNN, Prime Network,

CBS Sports Network CBS Sports Network (a.k.a. CBSSN) is an American digital cable and satellite television network owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. When it launched in 2002 as the National College Sports Network (later College Sports ...

, NBCSN, TBS, TNT, SpeedVision/Speed and Fox Sports Net. ARCA owns both the Toledo Speedway and Flat Rock Speedway. ARCA formerly sanctioned the ARCA Midget Series from 1988 until 2002 and a truck-racing series called the ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series from 1999 to 2016.

History

John Marcum founded the Midwest Association for Race Cars (MARC) in 1953 as a regional

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of Auto racing, automobile racing run on oval track racing, oval tracks and road courses. It originally used Production vehicle, production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifical ...

series after working as an official for NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. In 1964, the name was changed to the "Automobile Racing Club of America" when the series became national by racing on superspeedways.ARCA at 50
; '' Stock Car Racing magazine'', accessed 2008-02-26. This ARCA is not to be confused with the organization founded in 1933 with the same name. ARCA started racing at

Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, Daytona Beach, Florida, United States, about north of Orlando, Florida, Orlando. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race ...

in 1964, during the Daytona Speedweeks, at the request of Bill France Sr., who had raced against Marcum in the 1940s. The ARCA/NASCAR relationship continues today. The series frequently schedule events at the same track on the same weekend. The ARCA event is frequently the Saturday support race to the Sunday NASCAR Cup event. For several decades, ARCA used older NASCAR Cup race cars at their events, and with the advent of the Car of Tomorrow, teams were able to sell off their older cars to ARCA teams; current NASCAR Cup driver

Joey Logano Joseph Thomas Logano (born May 24, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No.22 Ford Mustang (seventh generation), Ford Mustang Dark Horse for NASCAR operations of Tea ...

drove in ARCA in 2008, driving veteran NASCAR Cup cars after the Cup move to the COT. On April 27, 2018, NASCAR acquired ARCA. In 2019, it was announced that the NASCAR K&N Series East and West would be moved under the ARCA banner as the

ARCA Menards Series East 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 h ...

and

ARCA Menards Series West The ARCA Menards Series West, formerly the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, NASCAR AutoZone West Series, NASCAR Winston West Series, NASCAR Winston Transcontinental Series and NASCAR Camping World West Series, is a regional stock car racing series ow ...

for 2020. Former NASCAR drivers, such as Benny Parsons,

Kyle Petty Kyle Eugene Petty (born June 2, 1960) is an American former stock car racing driver and current racing commentator. He is the son of racer Richard Petty, grandson of racer Lee Petty, and father of racer Adam Petty, who was killed in a crash duri ...

(who won the 1979 Daytona ARCA 200, the first race he ever competed in), Ken Schrader and others, have competed in and advanced through the ARCA series on the way to successful NASCAR careers. ARCA has been used throughout its history as a stepping stone for hopeful NASCAR drivers.

Points scoring system

ARCA uses a relatively simple point system to determine champions. Note: * Every finishing position between 1st and 40th is separated by five points, with the winning driver receiving 200 points and the 40th place driver receiving five points. Any driver who finishes behind 40th will receive five points. * Points are also awarded for qualifying, with: 15 points awarded to the

pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...

, 10 points for the second fastest qualifier, and five for the third fastest qualifier. * Any driver who leads an official lap will receive five bonus points. * The driver who leads the most official laps will receive an additional five points. * All drivers who pre-enter and compete in a race will receive an additional 25 points. * Any driver who enters and competes in each pre-designated five race leg of the overall schedule will receive an additional 100 points.
"ARCA RE/MAX Series Point System Explanation" Retrieved February 8, 2009

Series

* ARCA Late Model Gold Cup Series * ARCA OK Tire Sportsman Series

Former series

* ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series * ASA/CRA Super Series * ASA Midwest Tour

Gallery

Image:FrankKimmel2006_ARCA.jpg, 10-time ARCA Racing Series Champion Frank Kimmel racing in 2006. Image:Frank-kimmel-JennerstownPA2007.jpg, Kimmel drives the number 46 through the corners of Salem Speedway in Indiana, USA. File:Frank Kimmel 44 2013 Scott 160 ARCA race at Road America.jpg, Kimmel in his Menards Toyota in 2013. File:Bobby Gerhart and Dawayne Bryan racing Kentucky Speedway 2006.jpg, Series veteran Bobby Gerhart (5) racing at Kentucky Speedway. File:Chris Buescher 99 at 2013 Scott 160 ARCA race at Road America.jpg, Roush Fenway Racing driver Chris Buescher was the first driver ever to compete every lap in a season in his 2012 championship year. File:Milka Duno 35 2013 Scott 160 ARCA race at Road America.jpg, Venturini Motorsports is one of the larger ARCA operations, fielding cars for aspiring stock car racers (such as Milka Duno here in 2013).

References

External links

Official ARCA WebsiteARCA RE/MAX Series Sim RacingThe Pit Lane - ARCA Racing NewsThe ARCA Results Archive