The 2026 ARCA Menards Series East was the 40th season of the ARCA Menards Series East, a regional stock car racing series sanctioned by NASCAR in the United States. The season began on March 28 with the Cook Out 200 at Hickory Motor Speedway and ended on September 17 with the Bush's Best 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Isaac Kitzmiller entered the season as the defending champion.
At the season's end, Tristan McKee, driving for Pinnacle Racing Group, won the drivers championship.
Teams and drivers Complete schedule Manufacturer Team Driver Crew chief Ref Chevrolet ACR Motorsports 79 Isaac Kitzmiller Doug Howe Frank Kimmel Maples Motorsports 99 Michael Maples Chris Vanscoy Pinnacle Racing Group 28 Derek Kneeland Steven Dawson Carson Brown (R) 77 Tristan McKee (R) Kevin Reed Jr. Ford City Garage Motorsports 85 Quinn Davis (R) Ryan Bell ToyotaIntegrity Autosports 13 Brian Weber John Sutton Joe McDonald Brian Weber Rita Goulet Corrie Stott Rita Goulet Joe Gibbs Racing 18 Max Reaves (R) Matt Ross MAN Motorsports 95 Jackson McLerran David Noble Mark Noble John Burns Hunter Wright Hunter Wright WAV Racing 34 Brian Barbarow Brad Elter T. J. Harris Ivis Earley Wayne Peterson Motorsports MAN Motorsports 06 Nate Moeller Nate Moeller ran the full season split between the No. 0/06 cars for Wayne Peterson Racing. Unknown Wayne Peterson Michael Peterson Nate Moeller David Noble Jackson McLerran Jackson McLerran ran the full season split between the No. 06/95/96 cars for MAN Motorsports. Ben Peterson Con Nicolopoulos Toyota TBA Fast Track Racing 10 Craig Pellegrini Jr. (R) Mike Sroufe Ford Toyota 11 Matt Kemp Unknown Andrew Kierman Joseth Carabantes Dick Doheny Mike Basham Chase Buscaglia Blaine Donahue Ford Toyota 12 Dustin Hillenburg Andrew Kierman Joseth Carabantes Takuma Koga Dan Boys Ford Chevrolet Maples Motorsports 19 Austin Vaughn Austin Vaughn ran the full season split between the No. 19/91 cars for Maples Motorsports. Kyle Totman John Szulczewski Kenna Long Brad Perez
Limited schedule Manufacturer Team Driver Crew chief Races Ref Chevrolet Andrew Patterson Racing 40 Andrew Patterson Patrick Torbett Brother-In-Law Racing 57 Hunter Deshautelle Bob Rahilly CCM Racing 7 Kadence Davenport Eric Caudell Cook Racing Technologies 42 Taylor Mayhew Alexis Penninger CR7 Motorsports 9 Landon S. Huffman Frank Kimmel 97 Jason Kitzmiller Jet Daddy Racing 00 Toby Blanton John Kennedy Oceana Tiner KC Motorsports 81 Kevin Campbell Mason Campbell Maples Motorsports 1 Kenna Long Colin Flueckiger Phoenix Racing 1 Jake Finch Johnny Allen Rise Racing with Earnhardt-Shearer Racing 89 Bobby Dale Earnhardt Matthew Wright Jacob Petrowsky Brayton Laster SPS Racing 24 Connor Hall Blake Bainbridge Caden Kvapil Ford Brad Smith Motorsports 48 Brad Smith Terry Strange Brian Pacheco Jeff Smith Dan Walten James Jacobson City Garage Motorsports 5 Michael Clayton Stuart Weiss Clubb Racing Inc. 03 Alex Clubb Jon Clubb Brian Clubb Jeff Maconi 83 Brayton Laster Chris Porter 86 Alex Clubb Brian Clubb Jon Clubb Chris Porter Jeff Maconi Alex Malycke Kimmel Racing 69 Landon Brown Bill Kimmel Mullins Racing 3 Bryce Applegate Bryan Frazier Rette Jones Racing 0 George Siciliano Mark Rette Logan Yiengst 30 Garrett Mitchell Mark Rette Tim Monroe Racing 14 Tim Monroe Tim Monroe Toyota Fast Track Racing 01 Tony Musolino Jeremy Petty MacZink Racing 65 Jeffery MacZink Jarod MacZink MAN Motorsports 96 Jackson McLerran David Noble MCM Racing Development 38 Esteban Rodríguez Max Calles Gabriel Casagrande Nitro Motorsports 15 Ashton Higgins Doug Richert Jade Avedisian 20 Jake Bollman Doug George 25 Gavan Boschele Shane Wilson Wesley Slimp 55 Isabella Robusto Glenn Parker 70 Nick Tucker Shannon Rursch Glenn Parker Wesley Slimp Thomas Annunziata 90 Ty Fredrickson George Church Ryan Huff Motorsports 36 Ryan Huff James Huff Shearer Speed Racing 98 Dale Shearer Jeremy Petty Team 36 36 Ty Fredrickson Dan Fredrickson Tim Richmond Racing 27 Tim Richmond Adam Murphy Tinkle Family Racing 53 Zachary Tinkle Adam Murphy Chevrolet Toyota Cook Racing Technologies 17 Cory Roper Sean Samuels Kaden Honeycutt Chevrolet Toyota KLAS Motorsports 71 Andy Jankowiak Mike Dayton Chevrolet Ford Maples Motorsports 91 Ryan Vargas Kyle Totman Kenna Long Originally Vargas was scheduled to drive the No. 91 and Michael Maples was scheduled to drive the No. 99 at IRP (Race 5), however after No. 99 blew the engine in practice, Maples replaced Vargas in No. 91 in the race. Michael Maples Matt Kemp Austin Vaughn Chevrolet Toyota MBM Motorsports 66 Dystany Spurlock Jason Miller Toyota Chevrolet Wayne Peterson Motorsports 0 Brayton Laster Nate Moeller Wayne Peterson Michael Peterson Nate Moeller Notes
Schedule The full schedule was announced on December 9, 2025. Some race dates were announced before then as part of the announcement of the main ARCA Series schedule on October 4.
Note: Races highlighted in gold are combination events with the ARCA Menards Series.
No Race title Track Location Date 1 Cook Out 200 Hickory Motor Speedway Hickory, North Carolina March 28 2 Rockingham ARCA Menards Series East 125 Rockingham Speedway Rockingham, North Carolina April 4 3 Cook Out Music City 150 Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville, Tennessee May 2 4 Owens Corning 200 Toledo Speedway Toledo, Ohio May 16 5 LiUNA! 150* Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park Brownsburg, Indiana July 24 6 Sunbelt Rentals 150 Flat Rock Speedway Ash Township, Michigan August 1 7 JR & CO. 150* Iowa Speedway Newton, Iowa August 7 8 Bush's Best 200* Bristol Motor Speedway Bristol, Tennessee September 17
Schedule changes Hickory Motor Speedway was added to the schedule. Toledo Speedway returns to the schedule for the first time since 2020. Five Flags Speedway and Dover Motor Speedway were removed from the schedule.
Results and standings Race results No. Race Pole position Most laps led Winning driver No. Winning team Report 1 Cook Out 200 Chevrolet 77 Pinnacle Racing Group Report 2 Rockingham ARCA Menards Series East 125 Chevrolet 77 Pinnacle Racing Group Report 3 Cook Out Music City 150 Toyota 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Report 4 Owens Corning 200 Chevrolet 77 Pinnacle Racing Group Report 5 LiUNA! 150 presented by IDEAL Garage Door Toyota 17 Cook Racing Technologies Report 6 Sunbelt Rentals 150 Toyota 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Report 7 JR & CO. 150 Chevrolet 77 Pinnacle Racing Group Report 8 Bush's Best 200 Chevrolet 28 Pinnacle Racing Group ReportReference:
Drivers' championship
Notes: The pole winner also receives one bonus point, similar to the previous ARCA points system used until 2019 and unlike NASCAR. Additionally, after groups of five races of the season, drivers that compete in all five races receive fifty additional points. This points bonus will be given after the race at Indianapolis. Max Reaves, Tristan McKee, Isaac Kitzmiller, Craig Pellegrini Jr., Jackson McLerran, Austin Vaughn, Quinn Davis, Nate Moeller, and Michael Maples received this points bonus for having competed in the first five races of the season (Hickory, Rockingham, Nashville Fairgrounds, Toledo, and Indianapolis). McKee, Reaves, Kitzmiller, Pellegrini, McLerran, Carson Brown, Vaughn, Davis, Moeller, Maples, and Alex Clubb received this points bonus for having competed in the final three races of the season (Flat Rock, Iowa, and Bristol).
(key) Bold – Pole position awarded by time. Italics – Pole position set by final practice results or rainout. * – Most laps led.
Pos Driver HCY CAR NSV TOL IRP FRS IOW BRI Points 1 Tristan McKee (R) 1 1** 3 1* 32 2 1* 2 431 2 Max Reaves (R) 2* 8 1** 11 9 1* 4 4 428 3 Isaac Kitzmiller 3 3 5 13 5 3 5 5 411 4 Craig Pellegrini Jr. (R) 9 10 6 10 17 9 14 17 360 5 Jackson McLerran 8 6 8 25 15 8 28 16 338 6 Carson Brown (R) 2 9 3 3* 18 2 1** 332 7 Austin Vaughn 10 14 14 24 14 7 19 18 332 8 Quinn Davis (R) 16 21 16 12 11 5 15 25 331 9 Nate Moeller 14 16 12 16 25 14 30 35 290 10 Michael Maples 17 19 18 26 29 21 20 26 226 11 Alex Clubb 22 14 20 13 22 21 202 12 Thomas Annunziata 2 2 7 9 156 13 Jake Bollman 4 7 3 6 156 14 Esteban Rodríguez 11 7 6 13 139 15 Gavan Boschele 20 4 6 13 133 16 Jason Kitzmiller 7 16 25 11 117 17 Jeff Maconi 19 18 21 24 23 115 18 Isabella Robusto 6 30 11 20 109 19 Brian Weber 20 11 17 19 109 20 Brian Barbarow 18 19 11 21 107 21 Toby Blanton 19 18 15 17 107 22 Rita Goulet 13 22 22 15 104 23 Dystany Spurlock 7 12 13 100 24 Chase Buscaglia 11 23 23 22 97 25 Andy Jankowiak 21 8 8 95 26 Kaden Honeycutt 1 3 88 27 Takuma Koga 20 19 27 24 86 28 Hunter Wright 4 12 32 84 29 Landon S. Huffman 6 2 81 30 Matt Kemp 21 27 4 80 31 Wesley Slimp 5 8 75 32 Dustin Hillenburg 22 15 20 75 33 Brad Smith Wth Wth 17 24 Wth 29 31 75 34 Ryan Vargas 9 PR 9 73 35 Jade Avedisian 10 7 71 36 Andrew Patterson 6 12 70 37Bobby Dale Earnhardt 15 16 33 68 38 Ivis Earley 10 28 27 67 39 George Siciliano 13 9 66 40 Ty Fredrickson 12 14 62 41 Connor Hall 15 17 56 42 Landon Brown 17 18 53 43 Brayton Laster 21 27 31 53 44 Zachary Tinkle 10 30 48 45 Derek Kneeland 4 40 46 Garrett Mitchell 4 40 47 Nick Tucker 5 39 48 Caden Kvapil 5 39 49 Dale Shearer 23 26 39 50 Cory Roper 7 37 51 Ashton Higgins 8 36 52 Michael Clayton 33 20 35 53 Blaine Donahue 10 34 54 Taylor Mayhew 10 34 55 Hunter Deshautelle 12 32 56 Jeffery MacZink 12 32 57 T. J. Harris 13 31 58 Gabriel Casagrande 15 29 59 Alex Malycke 16 28 60 Tony Musolino 18 26 61 Dan Boys 19 25 62 Mike Basham 22 22 63 Tim Monroe 23 21 64 Ben Peterson 26 18 65 Kenna Long 28 16 66 Jake Finch 28 16 67 Con Nicolopoulos 29 15 68 Kevin Campbell Wth 34 32 15 69 Bryce Applegate 31 13 70 Kadence Davenport 33 11 71 Brad Perez 34 10 Ryan Huff Wth Brian Clubb Wth Marty McLendon Wth Reference:
See also 2026 NASCAR Cup Series 2026 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series 2026 ARCA Menards Series 2026 ARCA Menards Series West 2026 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour 2026 NASCAR Euro Series 2026 NASCAR Canada Series 2026 NASCAR Brasil Series 2026 CARS Tour 2026 SMART Modified Tour 2026 ASA STARS National Tour
References