The 2021 ARCA Menards Series East was the 35th season of the ARCA Menards Series East, a regional

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...

series sanctioned by

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...

in the United States. The season began on February 8 at

New Smyrna Speedway New Smyrna Speedway is a 1/2-mile asphalt oval racetrack located near New Smyrna Beach, Florida, that races the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series every Saturday night. It also has a smaller track, known as "Little New Smyrna Speedway" in t ...

with the

Jeep Beach 175 The Race to Stop Suicide 200 presented by Place of Hope was an ARCA Menards Series East stock car race held annually at New Smyrna Speedway in New Smyrna Beach, Florida from 2014 to 2022. The race was always the season opener and took place in Feb ...

and ended on September 16 at

Bristol Motor Speedway Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway, is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961. Bristol is among the m ...

with the

Bush's Beans 200 The Bush's Beans 200 is an annual 200-lap ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series East combination race held at Bristol Motor Speedway. It is held as part of the fall NASCAR weekend at the track. The event was run under the NASCAR K&N Pro S ...

Sammy Smith Samuel Smith (born June 4, 2004) is an American professional stock car racing driver who competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 18 Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing. He also competes in the CARS Tour late model racing ...

and

Joe Gibbs Racing Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is an American professional stock car racing organization owned and operated by former Washington Redskins (today the Washington Commanders) coach Joe Gibbs, which first started racing on the NASCAR circuit in 1991. His s ...

won the series championship. JGR's No. 18 car, driven by Smith and

Ty Gibbs Tyler Randal Gibbs (born October 4, 2002) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 54 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. Gibbs was the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series champi ...

, won all but one race during the season.

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

and 2020 series champion

Sam Mayer Sam A. Mayer (born June 26, 2003) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports, a team in which he is also a development driver for ...

did not go for a three-peat, as he moved up to the

Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

, driving for

JR Motorsports JR Motorsports (pronounced "Junior Motorsports") is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series, CARS Tour, and occasionally in the NASCAR Advance Auto Par ...

after his 18th birthday on June 26.

Teams and drivers

Note: If a driver is listed as their own crew chief for a particular race, that means that their entry in that race was a

start and park Start and park is a term used in auto racing, particularly in NASCAR-sanctioned races, to describe the practice of racing teams starting races but pulling the car off the track after just a few laps in order to collect prize money while avoiding e ...

Complete schedule

Limited schedule

Notes

Changes

Teams

* On November 13, 2020, it was announced that

Lira Motorsports Lira Motorsports is an American professional stock car racing team that competes in the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series East. Owned by Carlos and Amanda Lira, the team made its debut in the ARCA Menards Series in 2015, fielding multi ...

would be fielding a part-time entry for late model and NASCAR Roots driver

Logan Misuraca Logan Misuraca (born June 5, 1999) is an American professional stock car racing driver who competes part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 63 Chevrolet SS for Spraker Racing Enterprises. She has also previously competed in the AR ...

. She and the team also announced that they would run part-time in the Truck Series and the big ARCA Menards Series in 2021. Her East Series schedule was going to begin at the season-opener at New Smyrna, however, Misuraca and the team ended up not attempting that race and any other races during the season. Misuraca revealed in an interview in April that her deal with Lira had fallen through. * On January 19, 2021, Visconti Motorsports announced that

Mason Diaz Mason A. Diaz (born May 16, 2000) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes for Ferrier-McClure Racing, driving their No. 44 Toyota part-time in the ARCA Menards Series East and part-time in the ARCA Menards Series. Racing ...

would drive full-time in their No. 74. In 2020, Diaz drove full-time for

Venturini Motorsports Venturini Motorsports is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East, and ARCA Menards Series West. Founded in 1982 by Bill Venturini Sr., Venturini Motorsports is t ...

, which did not field any East Series cars full-time in 2021. * On May 14, 2021, it was announced that former

late model racing A late model car is a car which has been recently designed or manufactured, often the latest model. (An early model car or classic car is a car old enough to be of historical interest; there is no usual intermediate term.) The precise definition ...

driver Adam Lemke would make his stock car debut in 2021, competing in select main ARCA Series, East Series, and West Series races for Rette Jones Racing. Lemke ended up only running 1 main ARCA Series race for Rette Jones and no East and West Series races. Because Max Gutiérrez drove full-time in the East Series for RJR in the No. 30, Lemke would have driven a second car for the team if he made any East Series starts.

Drivers

* On September 15, 2020, it was announced that two-time consecutive champion

, who drove the No. 21 car for

GMS Racing Petty GMS Motorsports, also known as GMS Racing in the Craftsman Truck Series, is an American professional stock car racing team formed by Richard Petty and Maurice J. Gallagher Jr. and operated by GMS Racing. In the NASCAR Cup Series they field t ...

, would move up to the Xfinity Series in June 2021 after he turns 18 and is eligible to race in the series. He will drive the

No. 8 car in the second half of the season. On November 2, 2020, GMS announced that Mayer's replacement in the No. 21 would be Jack Wood, who will drive for them full-time in the East Series as well as all of the ARCA Menards Series Showdown races. Wood previously drove part-time in the

ARCA Menards Series West 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 Raci ...

, fielding his own team, Velocity Racing. The team ended up changing those plans, as Wood instead began driving in the main ARCA Menards Series full-time instead of the East Series, and those plans would later fall through as well because in May, Wood was promoted to drive team's No. 24 in the Truck Series. On May 1, it was announced that Conner Jones would make his East Series debut in the GMS No. 21 at the Nashville Fairgrounds. * On December 18, 2020,

DGR-Crosley TRICON Garage, formally known as David Gilliland Racing and Team DGR, is an American professional stock car racing team that competes in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, the ARCA Menards Series, the ARCA Menards Series East, the ARCA Menards S ...

announced that Joey Iest would join the team to drive in six or more races for the team in the East Series, in addition to continuing to drive for Naake-Klauer Motorsports in the West Series. Iest ended up running the full season for the renamed David Gilliland Racing team in their No. 54 car. * On January 8, 2021, ThePitLane revealed that

Nick Sanchez Nicholas A. Sanchez (born June 10, 2001) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 2 Chevrolet Silverado for Rev Racing. He is the 2022 ARCA Menards Series cham ...

would continue to compete full-time for

Rev Racing Rev or Rév may refer to: Abbreviations Rev. * Rev., an abbreviation for revolution, as in Revolutions per minute * Rev., an abbreviation for the religious style The Reverend * Rev., the abbreviation for Runtime Revolution, a development environ ...

in 2021, but would move from the East Series to the main ARCA Menards Series. The official announcement of this came on January 15. Rookie driver

Rajah Caruth Rajah Kirby Caruth (born June 11, 2002) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet Silverado for GMS Racing. Caruth is one of the five African-A ...

, who started his career on ''

iRacing ''iRacing'' is a subscription-based online racing simulation video game developed and published by iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations in 2008. All in-game sessions are hosted on the publisher's servers. The game simulates real world cars, tr ...

'' and then began racing real cars in 2019 and 2020 with Rev Racing in the

NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series The NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series (formerly the Whelen All-American Series, Winston Racing Series and the Dodge Weekly Series) is a points championship for NASCAR sanctioned local short track motor racing around the United States and Ca ...

, would replace Sanchez in the No. 6. * On February 3, 2021, it was announced that

Kyle Busch Motorsports Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. They formerly competed in the CARS Tour, ARCA/CRA Super Series, Southern Super Series, and the ARCA Mena ...

late model racing driver

would move up to the East Series in 2021 and would run the first six races of the series (all of the non-combination races) in the No. 18 for

, replacing

, who moved over to the main ARCA Series full-time in 2021 after turning 18. When Ty Gibbs returned to the East Series to compete in the race at Dover, JGR put him in the No. 18 and fielded a second car for Smith, the No. 81. Smith ended up running the full season for JGR as he also drove the No. 81 in the three combination races. * On February 5, 2021, Rette Jones Racing announced that

NASCAR Mexico Series The NASCAR Mexico Series (formerly NASCAR Corona Series and other names) is a NASCAR series in Mexico. It is the most prestigious stock car racing series in the country. Origins (Desafío Corona) The Desafío Corona was established in 2004 by ...

driver Max Gutiérrez would drive their No. 30 full-time in the East Series in 2021. He made his ARCA debut in 2020, running the races at Bristol and Five Flags in the No. 53 for Troy Williams Racing. *

CARS Tour The CARS Solid Rock Carriers Tour (formerly known as the USARacing Pro Cup Series, USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series, CARS Pro Cup Series, Rev-Oil Pro Cup Series, CARS X1-R Pro Cup Series) is a stock car auto racing series in the United States. It is s ...

driver Carson Kvapil, the son of former NASCAR driver

Travis Kvapil Travis Wade Kvapil ( ; born March 1, 1976) is an American professional stock car driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series, driving the No. 1 Chevrolet Silverado for Beaver Motorsports. He was the 2003 NASCAR ...

, made his ARCA debut in the East Series season-opener at New Smyrna in the No. 41 for

Cook-Finley Racing Cook Racing Technologies (formerly Cook-Finley Racing, and Chad Finley Racing) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, fielding the No. 84 Toyota Tundra part-time for Clay ...

. He would also run the next two races at Five Flags and the Nashville Fairgrounds. * After testing for

Fast Track Racing Notes Fast Track Racing (also known as Fast Track High Performance Racing or Fast Track Racing Enterprises) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes full time in the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series E ...

in ARCA's preseason test session at Daytona, Stephanie Moyer made her East Series debut with Fast Track at Five Flags in their No. 12 car. On March 9, 2021, Moyer tweeted that she would also drive at the Nashville Fairgrounds in the same car. She would also end up competing in the races at

Southern National Motorsports Park Southern National Motorsports Park (formerly Southern National Speedway and Southern National Raceway Park) is a 4/10-mile auto racing track in Lucama, North Carolina. History Southern National Motorsports Park hosted 4 NASCAR Southeast Series ...

and

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

in the No. 12,

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

in the No. 01, and

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

in the No. 44 for Ferrier McClure Racing in a partnership with Fast Track. * On April 8, 2021,

Taylor Gray Taylor Arthur Gray (born September 7, 1993) is an American actor, best known for playing Ezra Bridger on the animated television series ''Star Wars Rebels'', and Bucket in the Nickelodeon series ''Bucket & Skinner's Epic Adventures''. He also ...

, who was scheduled to run another full season in the East Series, suffered a fractured L4 vertebra, left foot, and ankle in a single-car accident in Statesville, NC. On July 6, David Gilliland Racing announced that he had recovered and would return to complete the remainder of his scheduled starts, beginning with the main ARCA Series

race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...

at Elko. * On May 6, 2021, it was announced that

Mason Mingus Mason Mingus (born November 28, 1994) is an American professional stock car racing driver who competes part-time in the ARCA Menards Series East, driving the No. 11 for Fast Track Racing, as well as part-time in the ARCA/CRA Super Series, driving ...

would drive the No. 11 for Fast Track Racing at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, his home track. This is his first start in the series since

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

. Mingus competed full-time in the main ARCA Series with

Win-Tron Racing Win-Tron Racing (formerly known as Country Joe Racing) was an American professional stock car racing team that competed in both the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the ARCA Menards Series. The team merged into Truck Series team AM Racing b ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, finishing 2nd in the standings, and full-time in the Truck Series in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

and

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

with Win-Tron and later

Billy Boat Motorsports Billy Boat Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing team that last competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the Camping World Truck Series. The team was owned by former IndyCar Series driver Billy Boat. Founded in 2014 and bas ...

. He would also return to the team and drive the same car in the races at SNMP and Bristol. * On May 10, 2021,

Young's Motorsports Young's Motorsports is an American professional stock car racing team that competes in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the ARCA Menards Series. In the Truck Series, they field three full-time Chevrolet Silverados: the No. 02 for Jesse Li ...

announced that Connor Mosack, a late model driver for JR Motorsports, would make his stock car debut in their No. 02 at Dover, and would also compete in the combination race at Milwaukee. * On June 7, 2021,

announced that

Daniel Dye Daniel Dye (born December 4, 2003) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 43 Chevrolet Silverado for GMS Racing. Racing career ARCA Menards Series East 2 ...

would join the team in their No. 21 car to compete part-time in the main ARCA Menards Series and would also move over from his full-time ride with Ben Kennedy Racing to GMS to run the rest of the East Series schedule.

Crew chiefs

* On December 9, 2020, it was announced that defending championship-winning crew chief Mardy Lindley would be joining

in the Truck Series to crew chief their No. 51. Lindley was previously the crew chief of the GMS Racing No. 21 driven by Sam Mayer, and won back-to-back championships in the series with him in 2019 and 2020. He also won two other East Series championships in 2013 and 2017. This announcement came after it had been announced that Lindley would return to GMS Racing to crew chief their new driver Jack Wood this season.

Manufacturers

* After 10 years with

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

as their manufacturer,

switched back to Chevy in 2021, which was their manufacturer in 2010, the team's first season. * Visconti Motorsports switched from Chevy to Toyota in 2021.

Schedule

New Smyrna, Five Flags, and Dover revealed their race dates ahead of the release of the entire schedule, which ARCA announced on December 18, 2020. Note: Races highlighted in gold were combination events with the

ARCA Menards Series The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three national ...

Results and standings

Race results

Drivers' championship

Notes:
* The pole winner also receives 1 bonus point, similar to the previous ARCA points system used until 2019 and unlike NASCAR. * Additionally, after groups of 5 races of the season, drivers that compete in all 5 races receive 50 additional points. ** After the fifth race of the season at Southern National Motorsports Park,

, Joey Iest, Max Gutiérrez, Daniel Dye,

Parker Retzlaff Parker Retzlaff (born May 21, 2003) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 31 Chevrolet Camaro for Jordan Anderson Racing. He also competes full-time in the eNASCAR ...

, and

received this points bonus for having competed in the first 5 races of the season (New Smyrna, Five Flags, Nashville Fairgrounds, Dover, and SNMP). (

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) Bold – Pole position awarded by time. ''Italics'' – Pole position set by final practice results or rainout. * – Most laps led. ** – All laps led.

References

{{2021 ARCA Menards East ARCA Menards Series ARCA Menards Series East ARCA Menards Series East