The 2026 Cook Out 200 was an ARCA Menards Series East race held on Saturday, March 28, 2026, at Hickory Motor Speedway in Hickory, North Carolina. Contested over 200 laps on the 0.363 miles (0.584 km) short track, it was the first race of the 2026 ARCA Menards Series East season, and the inaugural running of the event.
In a chaotic race, Tristan McKee, driving for Pinnacle Racing Group, survived an aggressive battle for the lead in the final laps, and pulled away from Max Reaves on the final restart to earn his first career ARCA Menards Series East win. Reaves had dominated the event by leading a race-high 186 laps from the pole position, before getting shuffled back and finishing second. Isaac Kitzmiller finished third, with Derek Kneeland and Nick Tucker rounding out the top five. Landon S. Huffman, Dystany Spurlock, Jackson McLerran, Craig Pellegrini Jr., and Austin Vaughn rounded out the top ten.
The race also made history as Spurlock became the first African American woman to compete in a NASCAR-sanctioned event, finishing seventh in her debut with MBM Motorsports.
Report Background
Hickory Motor Speedway (formerly known as the Hickory Speedway from 1952 to 1988) is a oval short track in Newton, North Carolina. The track primarily holds NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series season, CARS Tour, SMART Modified Tour, and ARCA Menards Series East races. It also formerly held top-tier NASCAR Cup Series and second-tier NASCAR Busch Series races. Hickory Motor Speedway is owned by Benny Yonnt and led by track promoter Kevin Piercy.
Built in 1952 by Charlie Combs as a dirt track, the facility held its first races in the same year running NASCAR-sanctioned races. The track changed hands in ownership numerous times in its early years. After it was purchased by Bill Edwards and Ed Griffin, the track was paved with asphalt in 1967. After the paving, ownership was again frequently changed until Benny Yount purchased the track in 1986. Under Yount's ownership, periodical renovations to fan amenities and the track itself were made to the facility. In 1999, all NASCAR national touring series left the track following the 1998 season. The track remains for local racing and the NASCAR Weekly Series. Entry list
(R) denotes rookie driver. DriverTeamMake00Toby BlantonJet Daddy RacingChevrolet0George SicilianoRette Jones RacingFord06Nate MoellerWayne Peterson MotorsportsToyota9Landon S. HuffmanCR7 MotorsportsChevrolet10Craig Pellegrini Jr. (R)Fast Track RacingToyota11Matt KempFast Track RacingFord12Dustin HillenburgFast Track RacingFord13Brian WeberIntegrity AutosportsToyota14Tim MonroeTim Monroe RacingFord18Max Reaves (R)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota19Austin VaughnMaples MotorsportsFord24Connor HallSPS RacingChevrolet28Derek KneelandPinnacle Racing GroupChevrolet34Brian BarbarowWAV RacingToyota38Toro RodríguezMCM Racing DevelopmentToyota57Hunter DeshautelleBrother-In-Law RacingChevrolet66Dystany SpurlockMBM MotorsportsChevrolet70Nick TuckerNitro MotorsportsToyota77Tristan McKee (R)Pinnacle Racing GroupChevrolet79Isaac KitzmillerACR MotorsportsChevrolet85Quinn Davis (R)City Garage MotorsportsFord95Jackson McLerranMAN MotorsportsToyota99Michael MaplesMaples MotorsportsChevroletOfficial entry list
Practice The first and only practice session was held on Saturday, March 28, at 2:15 PM EST, and lasted for 45 minutes.
Max Reaves, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 15.065 seconds, and a speed of .
Practice results Pos.DriverTeamMakeTime118Max Reaves (R)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota15.06586.74429Landon S. HuffmanCR7 MotorsportsChevrolet15.34285.178370Nick TuckerNitro MotorsportsToyota15.35785.095Full practice results
Qualifying Qualifying was held on Saturday, March 28, at 4:00 PM EST. The qualifying procedure used was a single-car, two-lap system with one round. Drivers were on track by themselves and had two laps to post a qualifying time, and whoever set the fastest time won the pole.
Max Reaves, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, qualified on pole position with a lap of 15.036 seconds, and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos.DriverTeamMakeTime118Max Reaves (R)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota15.03686.911228Derek KneelandPinnacle Racing GroupChevrolet15.10986.491370Nick TuckerNitro MotorsportsToyota15.18186.081424Connor HallSPS RacingChevrolet15.22885.81659Landon S. HuffmanCR7 MotorsportsChevrolet15.25185.686679Isaac KitzmillerACR MotorsportsChevrolet15.29385.451777Tristan McKee (R)Pinnacle Racing GroupChevrolet15.40484.835866Dystany SpurlockMBM MotorsportsChevrolet15.52984.15290George SicilianoRette Jones RacingFord15.56783.9471085Quinn Davis (R)City Garage MotorsportsFord15.56983.9361138Toro RodríguezMCM Racing DevelopmentToyota15.67983.3471219Austin VaughnMaples MotorsportsFord15.85782.4121395Jackson McLerranMAN MotorsportsToyota15.91282.1271410Craig Pellegrini Jr. (R)Fast Track RacingToyota16.03581.4971511Matt KempFast Track RacingFord16.10181.1631657Hunter DeshautelleBrother-In-Law RacingChevrolet16.21280.6071713Brian WeberIntegrity AutosportsToyota16.75078.0181899Michael MaplesMaples MotorsportsChevrolet16.79477.8141900Toby BlantonJet Daddy RacingChevrolet16.90377.3122012Dustin HillenburgFast Track RacingFord17.00676.8432106Nate MoellerWayne Peterson MotorsportsToyota17.11776.3452234Brian BarbarowWAV RacingToyota17.72473.7312314Tim MonroeTim Monroe RacingFord——Official qualifying results
Race
Race results Laps: 200 FinStDriverTeamMakeLapsLedStatusPts1777Tristan McKee (R)Pinnacle Racing GroupChevrolet20013Running472118Max Reaves (R)Joe Gibbs RacingToyota200186Running453679Isaac KitzmillerACR MotorsportsChevrolet2000Running414228Derek KneelandPinnacle Racing GroupChevrolet2000Running405370Nick TuckerNitro MotorsportsToyota2000Running39659Landon S. HuffmanCR7 MotorsportsChevrolet2001Running397866Dystany SpurlockMBM MotorsportsChevrolet2000Running3781395Jackson McLerranMAN MotorsportsToyota2000Running3691410Craig Pellegrini Jr. (R)Fast Track RacingToyota1980Running35101219Austin VaughnMaples MotorsportsFord1970Running34111138Toro RodríguezMCM Racing DevelopmentToyota1960Running33121657Hunter DeshautelleBrother-In-Law RacingChevrolet1950Running321390George SicilianoRette Jones RacingFord1930Running31142106Nate MoellerWayne Peterson MotorsportsToyota1850Running3015424Connor HallSPS RacingChevrolet1820Mechanical29161085Quinn Davis (R)City Garage MotorsportsFord1650Running28171899Michael MaplesMaples MotorsportsChevrolet1620Running27182234Brian BarbarowWAV RacingToyota1610Handling26191900Toby BlantonJet Daddy RacingChevrolet1460Running25201713Brian WeberIntegrity AutosportsToyota1290Mechanical24211511Matt KempFast Track RacingFord190Mechanical23222012Dustin HillenburgFast Track RacingFord140Mechanical22232314Tim MonroeTim Monroe RacingFord10Mechanical21Official race results
Race statistics
Lead changes: 3 among 3 different drivers Cautions/Laps: 9 for 56 laps Red flags: 0 Time of race: 1 hour, 17 minutes and 5 seconds Average speed:
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Tristan McKee 47 2 Max Reaves 45 (–2) 3 Isaac Kitzmiller 41 (–6) 4 Derek Kneeland 40 (–7) 5 Nick Tucker 39 (–8) 6 Landon S. Huffman 39 (–8) 7 Dystany Spurlock 37 (–10) 8 Jackson McLerran 36 (–11) 9 Craig Pellegrini Jr. 35 (–12) 10 Austin Vaughn 34 (–13)
Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.
References