In one month, the ARCA Menards Series East will crown its champion at Bristol Motor Speedway. Eight days later, the ARCA Menards Series will wrap its season at Kansas Speedway. Then, one month and six days afterward, the ARCA Menards Series West season will conclude at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway.
Yes, there is still a good amount of racing left with close championship battles in at least two of the three divisions.
Still, as NASCAR racetracks have gradually announced their 2027 race dates, so too have some tracks released their ARCA race dates.
Here is what we know so far:
Five racetracks have announced their race dates, with four confirmed by the series.
Daytona International Speedway will begin the 2027 national division season as part of Daytona 500 weekend. The ARCA race will take place the day before The Great American Race, before the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season opener on Saturday, Feb. 20.
The main-series drivers will again race against the West field in a combination race at Phoenix Raceway on Friday, March 12, again likely the only combination race involving the West series.
Talladega Superspeedway will host ARCA on Saturday, April 24, preceding the O’Reilly Series that day.
Iowa Speedway will welcome the series on July 4 weekend with the ARCA race on Friday, July 2. That race has been a combination race featuring the main and East series and probably will be one next year.
Bristol announced its ARCA race will be on Thursday, August 12, the same day as the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race.
That’s five, a quarter of the schedule as the main series will remain at 20 races, ARCA Communications Manager Charles Krall confirmed to Frontstretch.
Watkins Glen International hasn’t released its race date, only revealing that NASCAR will be there in September 2027 as an early race in The Chase. It’s safe to assume ARCA will continue racing there, hopefully as the opening act for that race weekend.
The big surprise, though? ARCA is not expected to return to Pocono Raceway in 2027, sources told Frontstretch.
ARCA has visited The Tricky Triangle 72 times, the third-most amount of racetracks in series history. The top two, Salem Speedway and Toledo Speedway in first and second, respectively, will return. More on Salem later as well.
After a two-year hiatus from Pocono, ARCA returned there this year, only to depart next year. The previous absence was due to lack of an acceptable race date, lack of a race entitlement sponsor, and no lights at the racetrack. While no reasons have been cited for this move, it would not be surprising if those factored in this time, too.
Where ARCA will go instead of Pocono is still unknown. Dover Motor Speedway filled that spot in 2024 and 2025, but the NASCAR Cup and O’Reilly Series are the two announced series to go there next year, with no mention of ARCA.
While ARCA could still go there, the Pocono move allows series officials more leeway in where they could go next year. Pocono is not in Menards territory, so in theory, all racetracks are options. Furthermore, Pocono hosts the NASCAR national series, so it’d be easier for ARCA to join NASCAR in a race weekend.
Where is difficult to pinpoint, though. It is worth noting that ARCA East won’t return to Rockingham Speedway next year, so there is a need for another East race as series officials are currently comfortable with an eight-race season.
A Track Enterprises representative informed Frontstretch that multiple racetracks are under consideration to replace Rockingham.
Salem made news with the announcement that its ’26 race will be broadcast live on FOX. All indications are that it should be a competitive race with a strong field, but Salem will remain a main-series event only, the spokesperson said.
Other than Rockingham, the representative stated that the other company-backed ARCA events should look similar next year. That means Elko Speedway, the two dirt tracks, and Madison International Speedway will all be back next year.
Furthermore, despite an ongoing battle regarding its future, Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway should host the East series in ’27, the representative stated.
Speaking of ARCA East, Hickory Motor Speedway hosted the season opener. It absolutely should do so next year and there is optimism it will indeed do so.
Per a knowledgeable individual, the combo races between the East and main series will remain the same next year, at Bristol, Iowa, Toledo, and Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Likewise, folks are optimistic that Lime Rock Park will be back, especially to the joy of back-to-back winner there, Thomas Annunziata. From a financial standpoint, it makes sense to go to a certain type of racetrack at least twice – two drafting-style racetracks, two dirt tracks, and two road courses. Plus, Lime Rock has delivered two exciting races with good fan attendance and NASCAR is pleased, too.
Out West, other than Phoenix hosting the series twice, there aren’t any more official confirmations. Due to the geographic location, the West teams operate somewhat independently of the national and East ongoings.
Tim Huddleston remains very involved with the West series, like Track Enterprises, so not only will his input be important for the schedule, but it is a smart bet that Kern Raceway will be on the schedule as well, probably twice.
With five tracks already announcing their ARCA races next year, team owners expect the schedule to follow NASCAR’s lead with more tracks individually announcing race dates. The full schedule should be fully released by the main-series season finale at Kansas.
With that said, there’s still ARCA racing left this year. National division drivers will go dirt tracking at the one-mile Illinois State Fairgrounds on Sunday, Aug. 23, at 2 p.m. ET, with TV coverage provided by FOX Sports 1. FS1 will also broadcast the ARCA East season finale, a combo race with the main series, at Bristol on Thursday, Sept. 17, with the green flag set to fly at 5:30 p.m. The West drivers return next at All American Speedway on Saturday, Sept. 5. That race will begin at 10:30 p.m. ET with live coverage on FloRacing.
Mark Kristl joined Frontstretch at the beginning of the 2019 NASCAR season. He is the site's ARCA Menards Series editor. Kristl is also an Eagle Scout and a proud University of Dayton alum.