ARCA Menards Series East

The series was founded in 1987 as the NASCAR Busch Grand National North Series, initially concentrating its schedule in the Northeastern United States across states including Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. During its early years, drivers could compete in combination races alongside the Busch Grand National Series at prominent venues such as Daytona International Speedway, Nazareth Speedway, Watkins Glen International, and New Hampshire Motor Speedway. These combination events remained on the calendar until 2001.

Through the late 1990s and into the 2000s the series gradually expanded its geographic footprint southward and westward. For the 2006 season the name was changed to the Busch East Series following the addition of a race at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in South Carolina. Further southern expansion continued in 2007 with events added in South Boston, Virginia, and Nashville, Tennessee, as well as combination races with the East–West counterpart series at Iowa Speedway and Elko Speedway.

In 2012, NASCAR unified the rules of the K&N Pro Series East and the K&N Pro Series West, creating a shared technical platform. The Toyota All-Star Race pre-season invitational was introduced to pit the best drivers from both regional series against each other. For 2015, K&N Engineering became title sponsor and the series was branded the K&N Pro Series East. On December 16, 2019, NASCAR announced Camping World as the incoming title sponsor for both the East and West regional series. In 2020, the series was folded into the ARCA Menards Series banner and officially renamed the ARCA Menards Series East.

The series operates primarily as a standalone series, with most events not running in conjunction with other NASCAR touring series. Oval track lengths span from short tracks of one-third mile up to one-mile ovals, with two road courses of 1.53 and 2.45 miles also part of the schedule.

A defining characteristic of the ARCA Menards Series East is its developmental mission. Competitors include young drivers ascending toward NASCAR's major series alongside veterans who have made the regional level their permanent home. The series has also served as a developmental ground for crew chiefs, pit crew members, and NASCAR officials.

The cars competing in the ARCA Menards Series East are late-model stock cars built to a regulated technical formula. As a result of NASCAR's 2003 unification of the East and West series rules, cars may run either a 105-inch or 110-inch wheelbase. Bodies are composite units supplied by Five Star Race Car Bodies, representing the Gen 6 style introduced for K&N Pro Series competition in 2015. Eligible body styles include the Chevrolet SS, Ford Fusion, Toyota Camry, and the Ford Mustang introduced in 2022.

The engine formula centers on a naturally aspirated, pushrod V8 displacing 358 cubic inches (5.8 liters) at a 12:1 compression ratio. Teams may construct their own engines to NASCAR specifications or opt for a specification engine built from approved components, each piece individually barcoded for verification. Power output is approximately 650 horsepower under unrestricted conditions. Carburetion remains the required fuel delivery method, using a 4-barrel carburetor. Cars run on Sunoco racing fuel, with an E15 blend used during combined events with national-level NASCAR series. General Tire serves as the exclusive tire supplier. The minimum race weight without driver is 3,300 pounds, and a four-speed manual transmission is mandated.

The ARCA Menards Series East has functioned as one of North American short-track racing's most productive developmental pipelines. Numerous drivers who passed through the series went on to compete at the highest levels of NASCAR, including Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr., Ricky Craven, Austin Dillon, Trevor Bayne, and Ryan Truex. Crew chief Greg Zipadelli, who later guided Tony Stewart to multiple NASCAR Cup Series championships, also developed his skills through the series.

In 1994 the series produced one of stock car racing's more unusual statistical records when Dale Shaw claimed the then-Busch Grand National North Series championship without winning a single race during the entire season. This made it the first NASCAR-sanctioned series to crown a winless champion, a distinction the series held alone until 2013, when Austin Dillon replicated the feat in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Matt Crafton would later win the Truck Series title in 2019 without a win, and Andrés Pérez de Lara did the same in the ARCA Menards Series in 2024.

The ARCA Menards Series East operates as a regional counterpart to the ARCA Menards Series West, with both series sitting at the same level within the ARCA and NASCAR developmental structure. Combined East–West events have appeared on schedules historically, and rules have been progressively unified across both series since 2012. The two series together form the Grand National Division of ARCA.