Remarkably, in four months the 2023 ARCA Menards Series season will begin at Daytona International Speedway. The 2.5-mile tri-oval will host the division on Saturday, Feb. 18 as part of a doubleheader with the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
Just over 10 days since Nick Sanchez won the 2022 ARCA title at Toledo Speedway, the 2023 ARCA schedule has not yet been released. This news isn’t surprising, though as ARCA has often finalized its schedule long after its season finale.
Eleven racetracks are known for the 2023 ARCA schedule, which will likely consist of 20 events. Eight were announced when NASCAR released its national series schedules: Daytona, Phoenix Raceway, Talladega Superspeedway, two events at Kansas Speedway, Michigan International Speedway, Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, Watkins Glen International and the Milwaukee Mile.
Of those racetracks, there are two noteworthy points.
The Milwaukee Mile will host both ARCA and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on Sunday, Aug. 27. Hopefully, some Truck Series competitors will compete in the ARCA race to gain some experience there. If Milwaukee also hosts the ARCA Menards Series East in a combination race with the main series, then the quality and quantity of the field will generate an exciting event.
Although Michigan has hosted ARCA 41 times, the 2022 ARCA event followed the Xfinity Series on the Saturday of a full NASCAR race weekend. The 2023 race weekend will have ARCA move back to Friday (Aug. 4). This change could alleviate racing against darkness Saturday night because MIS does not have lights.
Additionally, ARCA will return to Pocono Raceway in 2023. ARCA Communications Manager Charlie Krall also confirmed to reporter Casey Campbell that both dirt track events at the Illinois State Fairgrounds and the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds would host ARCA, too.
That makes 12 ARCA events in 2023 already known. But are any changes on the horizon?
Yes, it’s a definite possibility. Sources familiar with the matter tell Frontstretch Salem Speedway will likely not be back on the ARCA schedule. The 0.555-mile short track has hosted 108 ARCA events, the most in series history.
However, the facility itself pales in comparison to many other racetracks on the modern schedule. There is no Wi-Fi and the cell service around the track is awful. Nearly a quarter of the way into the 21st century, any track on a NASCAR-owned circuit should have both available.
Why? Teams want to post updates on their social…
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