In March 2025, Katherine Legge’s NASCAR Cup Series debut at Phoenix Raceway ignited a debate about NASCAR’s driver approval process. After a spin that collected top-10 runner Daniel Suarez, he stated in a post-race interview, “They cannot allow somebody with no experience to run in NASCAR. Plain and simple.”
Nearly a year later, that debate resurfaced following Garrett “Cleetus McFarland” Mitchell’s early incident in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series opener at Daytona International Speedway.
On his podcast Door Bumper Clear, Freddie Kraft admitted there is no easy solution but suggested additional starts in the ARCA Menards Series as part of the development path.
If ARCA is part of the solution, which tracks are best for preparing drivers for NASCAR competition?
No series on NASCAR’s development ladder offers a track lineup as diverse as ARCA. A natural progression for driver certification is to start on short tracks, move to intermediates, and once adequately experienced, tackle a superspeedway. The following tracks should play a key role in this process.
Short Tracks
Salem Speedway is a great place for drivers to get their start. Getting a run at Salem gives drivers a chance to experience ARCA history, as it has hosted races since the 1950s. The half-mile asphalt oval features 33% banking, giving drivers a chance to learn how to handle banked turns.
The track can provide challenges, but the last couple of races have played out as a one-groove speedway, with limited passing and leaders remaining out front. These features give inexperienced drivers at the back of the field a chance to practice a very important rookie skill: knowing when and how to get out of the way. Last year’s race featured only 21 entries, leaving extra space on the track. Since Salem comes at the end of the season, drivers looking to get on track earlier could find a similar experience at Toledo Speedway in May.
There are few short tracks that test drivers like Bristol Motor Speedway. The ARCA race there last year had 34 cars entered, leaving less space on the track. The difference in speed between top drivers and backmarkers was significant, causing congestion and making it necessary to weave through traffic or avoid the several cars that were doing the weaving. It would be beneficial to have some prior short-track experience before coming to Bristol.
Intermediate Tracks
One track that could serve as a good starting point, despite Legge’s troubles in her Cup debut, is Phoenix. The track provides drivers with multiple lines they can run and typically features lower qualifying speeds than other intermediate tracks.
With the national series race being the second of the year, competing when the ARCA Menards Series West returns in October may give approval-seeking drivers additional time to prepare. It would also likely provide a smaller field.
A challenging choice for a more experienced driver would be the ARCA race at Michigan International Speedway. Top speeds at Michigan are higher than other intermediate tracks. Drivers must time their runs in a way similar to superspeedway racing. Competing at Michigan could serve as excellent preparation for the Daytona ARCA race the following year.
Superspeedways
Both superspeedways on the ARCA schedule present significant challenges for inexperienced drivers. The timing of these races also is difficult, as they are both early in the season. This gives drivers little time to prepare. A single ARCA start at Daytona without prior experience is not enough to advance to another series the following year.
Since Daytona is the first race of the year, it can get messy. Drivers who expect to log laps and gain experience could instead finish with a quick DNF.
Road Courses & Dirt Tracks
The discourse around road course approval has not generated as much controversy. Drivers seeking approval for road courses typically already have significant experience on these tracks.
Dirt tracks add variety to the ARCA circuit, but they no longer reflect the tracks in higher series. Making an ARCA dirt race a prerequisite in the certification process would give drivers a perfect back-in-my-day argument. I can already hear it: “Back in my day, if you wanted to run at Daytona, you had to start in the dirt!”
Whether NASCAR makes changes to its driver approval process remains to be seen, but the ARCA series offers a diverse lineup of tracks that allow drivers to gain experience in a lower-pressure environment. Ultimately, it is up to NASCAR to decide whether drivers are truly ready before taking the next step. ARCA can serve as an excellent tool in this process.
I hate to be an Equal Simon and Simon, but, I hope iRacing gets to Salem and Other Independent Short Tracks to NASCAR 26. I’d bark to no end on why there is not more Natural Dirt than Springfield and DuQuion in ARCA, or at least do a Knoxville Nationals on Just Big Cars.
33 PERCENT banking? Shouldn’t that be “degrees?” Drivers have to learn somewhere since NASCAR has eliminated practice mostly (makes no sense…fans still pay more for tickets with cars on track, less). We’ve never had an issue with new drivers learning for the prior 65 years, why should there be one now?