Changes are coming in 2020 for three of NASCAR’s development series: ARCA, K&N Pro East and K&N Pro West.
NASCAR’s purchase of ARCA, completed earlier this year will change the division into the ARCA Racing Elite Series. The division will consist of 20 races, half of which will be at tracks measuring a mile or more in length. The minimum age to enter will be 18 years old (compared with 15 in K&N). The series will transition into a merged system with NASCAR’s K&N feeder series as drivers can compete for up to four championships.
All ARCA drivers will be eligible to run in K&N Pro Series East and West. Those divisions will feature between six to eight events, all on short tracks. This means races held at Dover (East) and Sonoma (West) will no longer be on the schedule.
A fourth series of all short tracks will comprise the other ten ARCA Racing Elite Series races. These races will also feature drivers from K&N East and K&N West who have already competed in a certain amount of races in their respective series. This “Stock Car Invitational” division will feature a points champion, further highlighting these drivers.
So essentially, all of ARCA’s short track races now will also feature K&N Pro drivers. These races will also be its own separate championship. 15 years old is the minimum age to race in K&N Pro and the “Stock Car Invitational” but the other 10 ARCA events at speedways will have a minimum age restriction of 18 and up.
Chassis and car bodies will be “roughly the same,” according to NASCAR across all major series. But ARCA will keep its own engines while K&N Pro will use their current specs across all three series.
All three divisions will keep their current formats next season.
Michael has watched NASCAR for 20 years and regularly covered the sport from 2013-2021, and also formerly covered the SRX series from 2021-2023. He now covers the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and road course events in the NASCAR Cup Series.