What Racetracks Could Be Added to the ARCA Schedule?

With the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series West seasons underway, most recently with the combination race at Phoenix Raceway, the ARCA Menards Series East is the lone division yet to begin.

Its season will begin at the famed Hickory Motor Speedway. The 0.363-mile North Carolina short track will host ARCA for the first time on March 28.

Of the main series, East and West, all three series schedules feature a variety of different types of racetracks. The East races solely at short tracks whereas the West goes to short tracks and road courses. As for the national division, those drivers race at superspeedways, intermediates, short tracks, road courses and dirt tracks.

Nevertheless, Hickory’s addition to the schedule for this season raises the question: which other racetracks around the country could ARCA travel to next? Keep in mind these are all hypothetical options, but the ARCA platform provides a perfect place for NASCAR to expand its roots without needing the larger capacities to fit its larger series crowds and race weekend functions.

Oswego Speedway

Tucked away, not all that far from Lake Ontario in upstate New York, Oswego Speedway is no stranger to NASCAR-sanctioned events. The 0.625-mile short track has been a staple on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Series tour since the 1980s and has also hosted a plethora of USAC national events.

ARCA has never seen the track, but the track has quirks that fit the series’ repertoire. Somewhat similar to Berlin Raceway, the track has very wide, sweeping entries to each turn off each straightaway, and has no infield grass area as the inside and outside of the track are blocked off by concrete walls.

A trip to Oswego would send ARCA drivers to an oval in the Northeast, a variance from the two racetracks in the area the series ventures to, road courses Lime Rock Park and Watkins Glen International. Oswego is also a highly-regarded track among racers from New England, and adding it to ARCA could bring opportunities for fans to see drivers who hope to make it to the upper levels of NASCAR.

Magic Valley Speedway

ARCA West does a fairly good job going to most of the states in the region, including Washington, Arizona, Oregon and California. One of the few exceptions is Idaho. As such, bringing the West to the state, and specifically Magic Valley Speedway, would be very lucrative for everyone involved.

The quarter-mile paved oval in Twin Falls has a similar profile to Elko Speedway and even features an airport off its back straightaway. It is about two hours from Boise, so it’s not an outrageous trek for folks who would fly into a bigger market.

Magic Valley has not seen a NASCAR-sanctioned event since the early 2000s, when the defunct Northwest Series made a handful of trips there.

The track is certainly further north than most tracks on the 2026 West schedule, but adding new markets to the sport is always important. It’s worth noting that fellow Idaho short track Blue Valor Motorplex was rumored to join the 2024 West schedule, though nothing came to fruition.

Magic Valley is a NASCAR Local Racing Series track, so adding a West race there wouldn’t be out of the question. Of the 13 races on the schedule, the series visits 11 different circuits. The little oval tucked away in southern Idaho seems like a perfect spot to do just that.

South Boston Speedway

South Boston Speedway is one of the more historic short tracks in stock car racing. NASCAR veterans like Jeff Burton and Ward Burton, Elliott Sadler, and the Bodine family got their starts racing at South Boston in weekly local divisions.

The top three NASCAR touring series have each made stops at the track, but not in the last two decades. The East Series made a few trips to the track in the 2010s before becoming a part of the ARCA umbrella, and ARCA itself ran there in 2003 and 2004. South Boston also hosted SRX in 2023, so the track has seen its share of big-time racing. Also, the SMART Modified Tour begins the 2026 South Boston race season.

Late model stock cars are prominent at South Boston, and the racetrack hosts the opener for the Virginia Triple Crown. To end the 2026 South Boston season, the CARS Tour, both the late model stocks and pro late models, will wrap up their seasons with championship night on Oct. 17.

However, with its proximity to the Carolinas and its illustrious history with racing, it’s surprising South Boston hasn’t recently been on an ARCA series schedule. A trip to the fast 0.4-mile track would pair nicely with the yearly CARS Tour race and almost certainly generate interest from drivers who have graduated out of the ARCA ranks.

Street Course

If NASCAR wants to continue racing at street courses, why isn’t ARCA racing at a street course? Adding a track like this to the development ladder becomes much more important for young drivers. Coupled with the fact that ARCA is typically a one-day show, the idea doesn’t seem too outlandish. ARCA, based in the Midwest, could be another opportunity to bring racing to a newer market, such as Columbus, Evansville, Louisville, or Cincinnati.

Obviously, more goes into planning a street course race, and the chaos that typically follows that might not be a good fit for ARCA and its teams. However, as the sport evolves in that direction, it’s an idea that could be beneficial for the series, its drivers and any city that may be willing to give up its streets for a few days to accommodate it.

Furthermore, the NTT IndyCar Series competes at the Streets of St. Petersburg, Arlington, Long Beach, Detroit, Markham in Canada and newly-added Washington D.C. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series joined the field at St. Petersburg.

Could the West Series join IndyCar at Long Beach? West drivers already make left- and right-hand turns at Sonoma Raceway and Portland International Raceway. The Portland race weekend is in conjunction with IndyCar.

Although the West drivers will be at Tucson Speedway the week before IndyCar is at Long Beach, could series officials make the 2027 schedule so that teams would have sufficient time off before and after the Long Beach date?

Here’s an idea: add a monetary bonus to incentivize IndyCar drivers to participate in the West event. If someone wins both, they would earn the top financial prize. If no one wins the double, then the money could be split among the top two or three drivers with the best average finish.