ARCA Experts Make Their 2026 Predictions

The 2026 ARCA season is here. The ARCA Menards Series will begin its season at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, Feb. 14 at Daytona International Speedway. FOX will broadcast that race at noon ET. The ARCA Menards Series West will begin its season two weeks later on Saturday, Feb. 28. Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway will host the series at 8 p.m. ET with live coverage provided by FloRacing. Then, the ARCA Menards Series East will make its first trip to Hickory Motor Speedway for its season debut. That race will take place on Saturday, March 28, at 7:30 p.m. ET with live coverage provided by FloRacing.

The national division will welcome a new champion, but the East and West could see repeat winners. So, ahead of the 2026 season, the Frontstretch ARCA team made their predictions on owner and driver champions, and more.

Who will win the ARCA driver and owner points championships?

Josh Calloni: The 2026 champion will be Isabella Robusto. She struggled out of the gate in her rookie season last year, but her consistency showed true as the season went on, earning a respectable fourth-place finish in the final standings. This season, the group of full-time drivers is arguably weaker, and she enters with a full year of experience under her belt, something her competitors don’t all necessarily have. If she can eliminate the early-season blues of 2025, expect Robusto to be a weekly threat all season long.

As for the owner’s title, it’ll be hard to look past the Pinnacle Racing Group cars, specifically the No. 28. Carson Brown will take the reins for the bulk of the season, and given the speed the team showed the last few seasons, it’ll be hard to beat for the owners’ championship.

Mark Kristl: Thomas Annunziata will win the driver’s championship. He has a top-notch team, he has experience in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, and he’s already proven he knows how to wheel a racecar at road courses and superspeedways. His crew chief Shannon Rursch has won many races atop the pit box, so the duo will host the championship trophy at season’s end.

While the No. 70 team will be formidable, and PRG’s No. 28 will have Brown for the majority of the season, Joe Gibbs Racing will claim the owner’s championship. Gio Ruggiero is a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series winner who will have the No. 18 Toyota up front at the big racetracks. And on the ones where Max Reaves will be piloting the No. 18, credit crew chief Matt Ross. He knows how to guide the youngsters to victory lane.

Steve Sonderman: Annunziata will win the series driver points. Among full-time drivers, the championship battle should come down to the three Nitro Motorsports entries: Annunziata, Robusto, and Jake Bollman. While all three should have speed on ovals, Annunziata’s road course experience sets him apart. A win at Lime Rock Park or Watkins Glen International could give him the points edge over his Nitro teammates.

For owner points, JGR will return to the top after a one-year hiatus caused by Brenden Queen’s dominance with PRG. With Reaves piloting the No. 18 in most races, the team should be a consistent threat for wins. In races where Reaves is unavailable, Ruggiero will maintain the JGR success.

What is your hot take for 2026?

Sonderman: There will be a steep drop-off in wins by series regulars. Last year, nine of the 20 national series races were won by full-time drivers, with Queen accounting for eight and Lawless Alan earning the other. This season, series regulars will win no more than two races. That may not be a true hot take, given that full-time drivers earned zero wins in 2024. Still, there is optimism around the current group, particularly at Nitro, whose lineup includes Robusto, Annunziata, and Bollman. Robusto returns after nine top-five finishes last season, while Annunziata begins his first full-time campaign following a win at Lime Rock.

In 2024, the series was dominated by part-time drivers Connor Zilisch and William Sawalich. Reaves and Tristan McKee could have a similar impact in 2026.

Kristl: We’ll see at least three series regulars win in the East series, and no one will win more than twice. In 2025, PRG and JGR dominated the East, but no full-time drivers won. This year, Reaves is competing full time in the East along with Brown and McKee out of the PRG stable. Pencil them in for wins. Add in reigning champion Isaac Kitzmiller, who was remarkably consistent. If Kitzmiller improves, his consistency should have him in firm contention for wins and a shot at repeating as champion. The combination races will see additional victors, so winning three out of eight times will be much more difficult this year.

Calloni: The 2026 season is shaping up to be one of the best the series has seen in quite some time, across all three of its divisions. With new teams developing and existing teams expanding, the car counts will be up across the board, which is a good sign for a healthy series. The announced full-time drivers at the national level have a combined one ARCA win, belonging to Annunziata, which should add some parity to the season, with a plethora of first-time winners expected. Add in new tracks like Hickory to the East, and a return of Hailie Deegan and Mason Massey to the West slate for added title competition, and ARCA should be quite exciting across the board this season.

What is one race you’re looking forward to?

Kristl: While it is a bummer to see the season finale leave Toledo Speedway, it is a solid compromise that the racetrack will host a national and East series combination race. The No. 18 team has dominated at Toledo lately, so a larger car count should produce better racing throughout the field. Furthermore, the East field is more competitive this year, which should make the race an exciting one. Under the lights at 7 p.m. ET on May 16 – see you there!

Calloni: It’s certainly the cliche answer, but the season opener at Daytona is always one of the most fun races of the ARCA season. Seeing the cars back on track after the long winter months is always a very warm feeling for any event. Combine that with the larger entry lists the race has seen in recent seasons, as well as the set of drivers competing in the race adds quite a bit of intrigue to the event each season. Of course, it’s hard to look past the standard excitement when it comes to plate racing as well.

Sonderman: Bristol Motor Speedway. That choice may surprise some, given last year’s wire-to-wire victory by Brent Crews. While that dominance may have made the race a snoozefest for some, it had the opposite effect on me. Watching Crews work patiently through traffic highlighted the precision and composure of a driver ready for the next level. His talent did not go unnoticed, as JGR promoted him to run the majority of the NOAPS this year. Now, with so much young talent in the field, I want to see who is next up. Can anyone deliver a performance comparable to what Crews put on last year?

Who will win the East and West driver championships?

Calloni: Massey will win the West title, while Reaves will take home the East title. It’ll be hard to bet against Massey, who carries by far the most upper-level stock car racing among the full-time West competitors, doing so in a very competitive Bill McAnally Racing entry. While this won’t be a one-driver race for the title, Massey’s years of experience at the upper levels of NASCAR will translate well into success at the West level.

As for Reaves on the East Coast, it’s very hard to bet against JGR, as they’ve won four of the last five East drivers’ championships. The one season they didn’t win, 2025, they did not enter a full-time competitor throughout the schedule, taking them out of the running altogether. Add in Reaves’ development as a driver that was seen at the national level last season, there’s no doubting the No. 18 will see its fair share of success this season.

Sonderman: Isaac Kitzmiller was really impressive in the last ARCA East season, especially for being only 16 years old. 2026 will mark back-to-back titles, as his consistency will deliver him the points he needs to come out on top.

For the West Series, with his first full ARCA West season under his belt and claiming his first win at All American Speedway, Robbie Kennealy will finish atop the championship standings.

Kristl: In the East, Brown will narrowly take the title ahead of Reaves. While Reaves brings funding and won all three of his East starts last year, PRG has an impressive East resume. The organization has won at Flat Rock Speedway, Iowa Speedway, Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, and Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway. Queen finished second at Toledo last year, and the organization has two top fives and three top 10s in four Bristol starts.

On the West Coast, Trevor Huddleston will go back-to-back. While Nitro rookies Julian DaCosta and Mia Lovell will be in fast racecars, their inexperience will hinder them. Plus, the other series regulars will be very competitive. Huddleston will lean on his experience and talent to stay atop the West.