ARCA series old, varied

RE/MAX racing jump-started many professional careers

The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) was founded in 1953 in Toledo Ohio as a Midwest-based stock car auto racing sanctioning body. ARCA’s founder, John Marcum, had raced against and worked as an official for Bill France Sr., who founded the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) in 1949.

Now in its sixth decade and hundreds of thousands of racing miles later, ARCA is recognized among the leading sanctioning bodies in the country. ARCA administrates more than 100 race events each season in three professional touring series and local events on a weekly basis.

Schedule

Date Track Location Size/surface
Feb. 10 Daytona Int’l Speedway Daytona Beach, FL 2.5 paved
March 9 Atlanta Motor Speedway Hampton, GA 1.54 paved
April 12 Nashville Superspeedway Nashville, TN 1.33 concrete
April 28 Salem Speedway Salem, IN .555 paved
May 11 Kentucky Speedway Sparta, KY 1.5 paved
May 18 Lowe’s Motor Speedway Concord, NC 1.5 paved
June 1 Kansas Speedway Kansas City, KS 1.5 paved
June 8 Pocono Raceway Long Pond, PA 2.5 paved
June 15 Michigan Int’l Speedway Brooklyn, MI 2 paved
June 23 Toledo Speedway Toledo, OH .5 paved
July 3 South Boston Speedway South Boston, VA .4 paved
July 12 Kentucky Speedway Sparta, KY 1.5 paved
July 20 Berlin Raceway Marne, MI .5 paved
July 27 Pocono Raceway Long Pond, PA 2.5 paved
Aug. 9 Nashville Superspeedway Nashville, TN 1.33 concrete
Aug. 18 Illinois State Fairgrounds Springfield, IL 1 clay
Aug. 31 Winchester Speedway Winchester, IN .5 paved
Sept. 2 DuQuoin State Fairgrounds DuQuoin, IL 1 clay
Sept. 7 Chicagoland Speedway Joliet, IL 1.5 paved
Sept. 15 Salem Speedway Salem, IN .555 paved
Oct. 5 Talladega Superspeedway Talladega, AL 2.66 paved
Oct. 10 Lowe’s Motor Speedway Concord, NC 1.5 paved

Points leaders

1 Kimmel, Frank 1555
2 Blount, Chad 1480
Lusk, Damon 1480
Jarrett, Jason 1265
5 Belmont, Andy 1185
6 Howard, Shelby 1175
Montgomery, Chase 1175
8 Gibson, Mark 1135
9 Vergers, Michael 1105
10 Buckley, Mike 1080
11 Bowsher, Todd 1055
12 Venturini, Billy 1045
13 Benning, Norm 1020
Cox, Ron 1020
15 Weber, Chuck 940
16 Belmont, Kevin 930
17 Basham, Darrell 830
18 Burroughs, Robert 755
19 Sarff, Greg 680
20 Martin, Eric 625
21 Smith, Brad 600
22 Mitchell, Tim 515
23 Glanville, Jerry 485
24 Sherman, Brent 465
25 Hayden, John 415
26 Rudd, Jason 405
27 Mitchell, Richard 400
28 Murt, Keith 395
29 Williamson, Dicky 390
30 Senerchia, Steve 375
31 Labonte, Justin 355
32 Gordon, Tina 345
33 Caudell, Jeff 340
Hillenburg, Andy 340
35 Fowler, Wally 320
Thoennes, Rick 320
37 Metcalf, John 300
38 Strader, Cam 285
39 Shaver, Dan 280
40 Benton, Robby 270
Henriksen, A.J. 270
42 McClelland, Neil 260
VanZant, Randy 260
44 Gerhart, Bobby 240
Ragan, Sammy 240
46 Fultz, Jeff 235
47 Carelli, Rick 220
48 Turner, Tim 210
49 Hagans, Matt 205
50 Ashburn, Justin 190
Monteith, Nate 190
Slagh, Vern 90
Zazula, Michael 190

More than 400 race drivers are licensed by ARCA to compete for more than $3 million in prize money each season.

The division of ARCA racing which is best known and which receives unquestionably the greatest amount of media exposure is the ARCA RE/MAX Series. This series has crowned an ARCA national champion each season since the inaugural season in 1953, and has toured more than 200 racetracks in 26 states since its inception. The ARCA RE/MAX Series is unique in that it tests the abilities of drivers and race teams on the most diverse schedule of stock car racing events in the world. The series annually takes teams to tracks ranging in size from one-half mile to 2.66 miles in length, on both paved and dirt surfaces as well as left- and right-hand-turn street and road courses. The race cars are 3,400-pound, full steel-bodied stock cars which closely resemble American manufacturer production stock vehicles rolling off the assembly line.

The ARCA RE/MAX Series brings together a most interesting group of race drivers. Many hope to eventually compete in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, generally regarded as the most lucrative circuit in the world. Others are drivers searching for a series in which to compete to take a step up from weekly competition at one of the some 800 local short tracks now active in the U.S. Still others race strictly as a hobby, and seek a professional series in which to participate.

Drivers on the ARCA RE/MAX Series range from doctors and lawyers to auto mechanics and accountants. A typical field of entrants will include drivers from 15 states and Canada.

Notable drivers who have raced on the ARCA RE/MAX Series and some of their accomplishments follow: Iggy Katona is the only six-time series champion and holds the all-time record of 79 career victories. Jack Bowsher is the only individual to win the ARCA RE/MAX Series championship first as a driver (in 1963-64-65), then as a car owner for his son Bobby (1992 & 1994).

The Bowsher’s are the only father-son driving champions in the 40-year history of the ARCA RE/MAX Series.

Among the drivers who won their first superspeedway race in the ARCA Series are Benny Parsons, Kenny Irwin, Kerry Earnhardt, Adam Petty, Kyle Petty, Mark Martin, Tim Richmond, Michael Waltrip, Tracy Leslie, Joe Ruttman, Ryan Newman, Davey Allison, Ernie Irvan, Rick Wilson, Jeff Purvis and Mike Wallace.

Others who drove in ARCA RE/MAX Series events as an experience toward future professional racing successes include Jeremy Mayfield, Danny Sullivan, Phil Parsons, Lake Speed, Brett Bodine, Alan Kulwicki, Charlie Glotzbach, Darrell Waltrip, Jimmy Spencer, Ken Schrader, Sterling Marlin, Clifford Allison, Ted Musgrave, Jim Sauter, Ron Hornaday and Dick Trickle.

So many drivers in NASCAR Winston Cup racing today competed in ARCA RE/MAX Series events early in their careers that usually two-thirds to three-quarters of the starting field at any given Winston Cup event have ARCA experience.

Well recognized as one of the longest running and most versatile racing series in existence, the ARCA RE/MAX Series sanctions 20-26 events each season.

Among the annual stops are such facilities as Daytona International Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, Pocono International Raceway, Michigan International Speedway, Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Gateway International Raceway, Kentucky Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, Nashville Superspeedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway.