ARCA Menards Series West

American auto racing series

The ARCA Menards Series West, formerly the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, NASCAR AutoZone West Series, NASCAR Winston West Series and NASCAR Camping World West Series, is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) and the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series was first formed in 1954 as a proving ground for drivers from the western United States who could not travel to race in the more traditional stock car racing regions like North Carolina and the rest of the southern United States. In 1954, the series was formed under the name Pacific Coast Late Model circuit, with nine races on the schedule. At first the series sanctioned races on dirt tracks and paved tracks, but as the series developed, more races were held on paved tracks, with the final race on a dirt track being held in 1979 until the series returned to dirt in 2018. In 1988, the series traveled out of the United States for the first time, sanctioning a race in Australia. Eight years later, the series once again traveled outside the United States to Japan. In 1999, the season finale was held at Twin Ring Motegi, making it the first NASCAR championship race held in a different country. Four years later, NASCAR consolidated the Busch North Series into the series. Jack McCoy has the most career wins in the series with 54, followed by Ray Elder with 47. Elder, however, has recorded six championships, the most out of any driver in the series. Other notable drivers who participated in the series include Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick, Brendan Gaughan, Derrike Cope, Chad Little and David Gilliland. The other regional division at the Grand National level of ARCA is the Menards Series East.

The Menards Series West began in 1954 as the Pacific Coast Late Model circuit. Nine races were in held in the first year, many of which were held in California, in cities such as Oakland, San Diego, San Mateo and Gardena. The inaugural series championship was won by Lloyd Dane driving a 1953 Hudson Hornet. Afterward, the series became known as the Grand National West Series, then the Winston Grand National West Series. In the beginning the series also raced on dirt ovals, but as the series developed began to race only on paved tracks, with the last race held on a dirt oval until 2018 being in 1979. Two years later, K&N Engineering, Inc. replaced Camping World as the title sponsor. A total of 110 different drivers have scored wins in the series with Jack McCoy having the most with 54, followed by Ray Elder who has 47 wins. Elder has scored the most championships with six, while Bill Schmitt and Roy Smith each have four. In 2020, the series will become part of the ARCA Menards Series banner and renamed to the ARCA Menards Series West.

As part of NASCAR's unification of the two Camping World Series in 2003, the cars can be either a 105 inch (2,700 mm, which had been used in the former Busch Grand National East) or 110 inch (2,800 mm, which had been used in the former Winston West) wheelbase. Cambered/off set rear ends are not allowed. The car bodies are typically a hand built steel body, however teams may also use a one piece composite body. The composite body is a "common" item that may be run as any manufacturer branded car (i. e. only one style of composite body for all four car manufacturers [Ford, Chevy, Dodge, Toyota]). Teams then "brand" the composite body by the grill opening, quarter window openings and the vehicle decal package (head lights, tail lights, etc.). Due to the introduction of the Car of Tomorrow in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, many of the vehicles on the series are old Sprint Cup cars. Another popular way to get a complete body is to buy a "cut off" body from a Nationwide series team and mount it on a chassis. Teams have an option of building their own engines or they may run a specification engine, similar to what is used in many short tracks. Both engines are V8, pushrod, 12:1 compression motors. "Built" motors are built to team specifications using any configuration of pieces as long as it still meets NASCAR specifications. The spec engine is built using NASCAR Approved pieces that may be purchased from an approved supplier. The engines may be purchased as a kit or pre assembled. All of the spec pieces are individually encrypted with a barcode for verification and tracking purposes and can be checked during the inspection process with an encryption reader. When the series first started, the cars ran a V6 engine with a maximum displacement and no compression limit In the early/mid 1990s the V8 engine with a 9.5:1 compression and maximum displacement was introduced to the series as an alternative to the V6 engines. Due to the decrease in popularity of the V6, it was phased out for the 1999 season. When the East and West series rules were combined, the compression ratio changed to 12:1. Cars may use leaded or unleaded fuel. However, when running in conjunction with one of the three national touring (Truck, Xfinity, Cup) series, unleaded fuel must be used. On November 4, 2014 at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, NASCAR president Mike Helton unveiled a new body style for the K&N Pro Series based on the Sprint Cup Series Gen 6 models. The new body, developed with Five Star Race Car Bodies, is constructed of a composite laminate blend and designed with easily replaceable body panels, expected to shrink the costs of fabrication dramatically. The body style is eligible for use in both Menards Series competition and ARCA Racing Series competition, replacing the old Gen 4 style steel bodies after 2015, and the current one piece composite body after 2016. The Chevrolet SS, Ford Fusion, and Toyota Camry bodies used in Sprint Cup are the basis of the new bodies. No Dodge option is available with this car. Along with all of ARCA and NASCAR's international series, the Menards Series have General Tire as their exclusive tire supplier.

Engine displacement: 358 cu in (5.8 L) Pushrod V8. Transmission: 4 speed Manual. Weight: 3,300 lb (1,497 kg) Minimum (without driver). Power output: ~650 hp (485 kW) unrestricted. Fuel: Sunoco Leaded or Unleaded gasoline. Fuel capacity: 22 U. S. gallons (83.2 L). Fuel delivery: Carburetion. Compression ratio: 12:1. Aspiration: Naturally aspirated. Carburetor size: 390 cu ft/min (184 L/s) 4 barrel. Wheelbase: 105 in (2667 mm)/ 110 in (2794 mm). Steering: Power, recirculating ball.

Year Champion Most Popular Driver Rookie of the Year1954 Lloyd Dane1955 Danny Letner1956 Lloyd Dane (2)1957 Lloyd Dane (3)1958 Eddie Gray1959 Bob Ross1960 Marvin Porter1961 Eddie Gray (2)1962 Eddie Gray (3)1963 Ron Hornaday Sr.1964 Ron Hornaday Sr. (2)1965 Bill Amick Ray Elder1966 Jack McCoy Ray Elder (2)1967 Scotty Cain Marshall Sargent1968 Scotty Cain (2) Ray Elder (3)1969 Ray Elder Ray Elder (4)1970 Ray Elder (2) Ray Elder (5)1971 Ray Elder (3) Ray Elder (6) Dick Kranzler1972 Ray Elder (4) Ray Elder (7) Carl Adams1973 Jack McCoy (2) Ray Elder (8) Richard White1974 Ray Elder (5) Ray Elder (9) Markey James1975 Ray Elder (6) Ray Elder (10) Don Puskarich1976 Chuck Bown Jimmy Insolo Gary Johnson1977 Bill Schmitt Chuck Bown Pat Mintey1978 Jimmy Insolo Jimmy Insolo (2) Rick McCray1979 Bill Schmitt (2) Jimmy Insolo (3) Tim Williamson1980 Roy Smith David Pearson Don Waterman1981 Roy Smith (2) Hershel McGriff Jim Bown1982 Roy Smith (3) Hershel McGriff (2) Jim Reich1983 Jim Robinson Hershel McGriff (3) Ron Esau1984 Jim Robinson (2) Hershel McGriff (4) Derrike Cope1985 Jim Robinson (3) Hershel McGriff (5) Glen Steurer1986 Hershel McGriff Hershel McGriff (6) Chad Little1987 Chad Little Hershel McGriff (7) Roman Calczynski1988 Roy Smith (4) Hershel McGriff (8) Bob Howard1989 Bill Schmitt (3) Hershel McGriff (9) Bill Sedgwick1990 Bill Schmitt (4) Hershel McGriff (10) Mike Chase1991 Bill Sedgwick Hershel McGriff (11) Billy Jac Shaw1992 Bill Sedgwick (2) Hershel McGriff (12) Rick Carelli1993 Rick Carelli Rick Carelli Dirk Stephens1994 Mike Chase Ron Hornaday Jr. Doug George1995 Doug George Ernie Cope Ernie Cope1996 Lance Hooper Larry Gunselman Lance Hooper1997 Butch Gilliland Butch Gilliland Gary Smith1998 Kevin Harvick Scott Gaylord Austin Cameron1999 Sean Woodside Butch Gilliland (2) Jason Small2000 Brendan Gaughan Bobby Dotter Mike Duncan2001 Brendan Gaughan (2) Brendan Gaughan Mark Reed2002 Eric Norris Scott Gaylord Mike David2003 Scott Lynch Austin Cameron Scott Lynch2004 Mike Duncan Austin Cameron (2) David Gilliland2005 Mike Duncan (2) Sarah Fisher Andrew Lewis2006 Eric Holmes Austin Cameron Peyton Sellers2007 Mike David Mike Duncan Jason Bowles2008 Eric Holmes (2) Moses Smith Jeff Barkshire2009 Jason Bowles Moses Smith (2) Paulie Harraka2010 Eric Holmes (3) Moses Smith (3) Luis Martinez Jr.2011 Greg Pursley Moses Smith (4) Dylan Kwasniewski2012 Dylan Kwasniewski Cassie Gannis Austin Dyne2013 Derek Thorn Cameron Hayley Dylan Lupton2014 Greg Pursley (2) Brandon McReynolds James Bickford2015 Chris Eggleston Nicole Behar Noah Gragson2016 Todd Gilliland Salvatore Iovino Todd Gilliland2017 Todd Gilliland (2) Not awarded Derek Kraus2018 Derek Thorn (2) Hailie Deegan2019 Derek Kraus Jagger Jones2020 Jesse LoveJesse Love2021 Jesse Love (2)Jake Drew2022Jake DrewTanner Reif2023Sean HingoraniSean Hingorani

Bold and italicized driver indicates he/she has won at least 1 of both NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series championships.