The ARCA Menards Series Is on the Rise

One million people watched the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at EchoPark Speedway on Saturday, July 11. It was the most-watched second race at Atlanta since 2021. That’s good, right?

Yes, TV ratings are important … but did you see the on-track product? Thirteen cautions with nearly half of the event [76 of the 172 laps] run under the yellow flag, and 17 of the 38 drivers wound up with a DNF. Can we all agree that was a poor amount of race craft?

Granted, it was one time, but it wasn’t good. Have you seen how much flak the race took on social media? Comparatively, there was a whole social media post criticizing the ARCA Menards Series for its lack of full-time winners. Ironically, Thomas Annunziata won at Lime Rock Park, becoming the first full timer to go to victory lane.

Furthermore, with 12 of the 20 races complete, ARCA is more or less at its midseason point, especially with an off week for the platform as NASCAR goes to North Wilkesboro Speedway.

Admittedly, ARCA isn’t perfect, but there are steady improvements throughout the series in 2026.

Car counts and level of competitiveness are something that ARCA has been strongly scrutinized for in the last decade or so. Truthfully, around 2020, it was warranted. Between the switch to composite bodies, the COVID-19 pandemic, and new ownership under NASCAR, car counts and car quality were definitely down. 

From 2019 to 2021, getting 20-car fields was an issue for the series, and not many entries that raced for wins were entered frequently. Specifically during the pandemic, races with just a handful of cars on the lead lap were not only common, but typically the norm.

Fast forward to the present day in 2026, and the outlook for the series could not be more different. Things started to pick up in 2024, with healthier car counts and more competitive races. The average number of cars per race has been over 20 ever since, and the series has not raced with fewer than 20 starters since the 2023 season finale. Trends continued to point upward in 2025, and now in 2026, the series has enjoyed over 25 cars in all but three races and no fewer than 21 starters in any event all season.

There are a lot of factors that contribute to this, at least from the outside looking in. A new TV deal with FOX Sports allows all of the races to be aired live on network television. That includes one race every year, typically the season opener, that is aired on the big FOX network, allowing almost anyone with a TV to tune in. This allows owners and drivers alike to market their racecars to a national audience, and potential sponsors to have their brand in front of a completely untapped market. It’s undoubtedly huge for the series.

Since 2024, the season opener at Daytona International Speedway has sent drivers home after failing to qualify. The 2023 race also had a full field.

Speaking of entries, ARCA has seen its fair share of fresh faces and new teams added to the lineup in the last few seasons. Pinnacle Racing Group, led by Mark Webb, has taken the series by storm since its entrance in 2023. The team has won 32 races and a championship with Brenden Queen in three years of competition. It’s also been huge for Chevrolet’s development program, seeing Queen and Connor Zilisch come through and paving the way for current drivers Tristan McKee and Carson Brown.

Smaller teams have also come in and expanded quickly in recent years, including Maples Motorsports and CR7 Motorsports, fielding multiple entries per organization in most events. Numerous other part-time organizations have been developed in the last few years as well, with teams like Sigma Performance Services and City Garage Motorsports expanding with multiple entries on a part-time basis and doing so competitively.

It’d be irresponsible not to point out some of the personalities behind the wheel that have come through the series over the last few years as well. The most notable, of course, being Cleetus McFarland. McFarland brought nearly 5 million YouTube subscribers to the series when he debuted in 2025, and those are eyes that return to the series each time he does. Getting those extra eyes on ARCA is so valuable to everyone involved, and it is reflected in the TV ratings. This year’s season opener at Daytona pulled in over 1.1 million views, well over 300,000 more than previous seasons. 

It’s not just McFarland, though. Drivers like Brayton Laster, Alex Clubb, Ryan Vargas and Annunziata have established sizable social media followings and compete regularly in the series.

Isabella Robusto, Lanie Buice, Dystany Spurlock, Jade Avedisian and Taylor Reimer currently lead a promising group of young female drivers in the series, paving their way into the sport and inspiring young women in the process. Two of them have scored runner-up results this year and did so on back-to-back weekends. Mia Lovell finished second in the ARCA Menards Series West race at Sonoma Raceway followed by Buice in the main series race at Chicagoland Speedway.

There’s also a sense of parity beginning to be established in the series. Through 12 races this season, four new winners have emerged, and eight different drivers have found victory lane. Those winners come from five different organizations, with Nitro Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, KLAS Motorsports, Cook Racing Technologies and PRG all taking home at least one checkered flag so far in 2026. JGR’s No. 18 in particular has been dominant with six national division and one in the East, leading the national division owner point standings, though trailing PRG’s No. 77 in the East.

ARCA is starting to be mass-produced in NASCAR-authenticated merchandise. McFarland has t-shirts and hats for sale at the Richard Childress Racing merchandise hauler, and is a driver who is fairly common to see fans representing on any given race week. Lionel Racing currently has pre-orders out on seven separate ARCA schemes for diecast fans as well. Previously, the only offered diecast was the eventual champion’s car each year, and even that was never a guarantee.

For a series that seemed to lack an identity for many years, it seems like it’s found its footing once again. The series still acts as a developmental step ladder for young drivers, but also gives lifelong grinders like Clubb, Brad Smith, Andy Hillenburg and Wayne Peterson a place to compete with their own teams. There’s a special charm in that, and something you don’t see very often at the higher levels of the sport in modern times. 

The uniqueness of the schedule also offers its own charm, visiting grassroots short tracks, dirt ovals, road courses and some of the most famous tracks on the NASCAR schedule every year, all in the same season. This paves the way for more opportunities for drivers, allowing dirt and road ringers to appear in a nationally broadcast series, as well as younger drivers in the top three levels looking for more track time on companion weekends. 

ARCA is no stranger to being at the forefront of social media discourse, and that likely won’t change. Of course, the series is not perfect, but then again, nothing ever truly is, and that could certainly be said for any racing series. There have been clear strides toward a strong, competitive racing environment, and that’s on display at most events. Whether it’s a short track, a road course or on dirt, it’s time to start putting a little more respect on ARCA’s name and buying into what the series has become in recent years.