The annual ARCA Menards Series pre-race practice at Daytona International Speedway will occur on Thursday and Friday (Jan. 9 and 10). Before you ask, no, it is not televised. Live timing and scoring will be available on the ARCA website.
Seventy-seven drivers are entered. Not everyone will contest the season opener at Daytona as some racecars will have multiple drivers at this practice. Additionally, it is not a requirement for drivers and teams to complete the test to receive their license to compete in the Daytona race.
Nevertheless, armed with a Menards entitlement sponsor renewal, TV contract renewal of both FOX Sports and FloRacing, and a list of drivers that includes Dancing with the Stars winner Helio Castroneves, Richard Petty’s grandson Thad Moffitt, the father-son duo of Dale and Alex Quarterley, among others, who are 10 drivers you ought to keep your eyes on during this practice?
Brenden Queen
Brenden Queen enters 2025 with momentum on his side. He won the 2024 zMAX CARS Late Model Stock Car championship on the strength of two wins, he impressed in a three-race NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series foray and he is an instant title contender.
Pinnacle Racing Group showcased Connor Zilisch’s talent in 2024 and is fielding a driver, Queen, full time for the national series title for the first time.
Queen has competed in an ARCA car at Daytona before, in fact his only series start. He crashed out to a 29th-place DNF in the 2019 season opener.
Butterbean has shown he’s talented. PRG has proven it has race-winning equipment, Chevrolet support and Shane Huffman heading its program. It’s a match made with championship dreams.
The championship will not be won or lost at Daytona. Still, if Butterbean posts fast lap times at Daytona, the rest of the series regulars will have their work cut out for them to keep pace with his No. 28 Chevrolet.
Ty Fredrickson
Less than a month before my 33rd birthday, Ty Fredrickson makes me feel old. I’ve seen his father Dan Fredrickson compete at short tracks in Wisconsin. Now 15-year-old Ty will pilot an ARCA racecar. He’ll wheel the No. 46 Toyota for Nitro Motorsports, a new ARCA organization.
Sans his participation in the 2024 World Series of Asphalt at New Smyrna Speedway, Fredrickson does not have much experience on a national level. He earned his Road to Daytona entry by winning the ASA Midwest Tour Rookie of the Year Award. He also boasts the 2024 Kulwicki Driver…
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