The series launched in 1954 with nine races, most held in California in cities including Oakland, San Diego, San Mateo, and Gardena. Lloyd Dane won the inaugural championship in a 1953 Hudson Hornet. The series operated initially on both dirt and paved tracks; the final race on a dirt oval was held in 1979, until dirt racing returned in 2018.
The series went through successive rebrands reflecting both organizational changes and sponsorship arrangements:
Pacific Coast Late Model Division (1954)
Grand National West Series
NASCAR Winston Transcontinental Series
NASCAR Winston West Series
NASCAR AutoZone West Series
NASCAR Camping World West Series (from 2008)
NASCAR K&N Pro Series West (from 2010)
ARCA Menards Series West (from 2020)
In 1988 the series traveled outside the United States for the first time, sanctioning a race in Australia. The series visited Japan in 1996, 1997, and 1998 for exhibition races. In 1999 it became the first NASCAR-sanctioned series to hold a championship points-paying race outside North America when the season finale was staged at Twin Ring Motegi in Japan.
In 2003, NASCAR consolidated the Busch North Series into the West Series, forming the modern iteration of the championship. The 2020 rebrand followed NASCAR's acquisition of ARCA in 2018.
Jack McCoy holds the series record for career wins with 54. Ray Elder is second with 47 victories, and Elder additionally holds the record for championships won with six titles. Bill Schmitt and Roy Smith each won four championships.
A total of 110 different drivers have scored wins across the series' history. Notable competitors who used the West Series as a developmental platform or passed through it include Ryan Blaney, Kevin Harvick, Brendan Gaughan, Derrike Cope, Chad Little, and David Gilliland.
Cars run a 358-cubic-inch (5.8-litre) pushrod V8 producing approximately 650 horsepower, mated to a four-speed manual transmission. Minimum weight is 3,300 lb without driver. Both leaded and unleaded fuel are permitted, though races held in conjunction with a national NASCAR series require unleaded fuel to match Cup, Xfinity, or Truck Series fuel rules.
Teams may build their own engines or run a specification engine using individually barcoded NASCAR-approved components. The series originally used V6 engines of up to 274 cubic inches; these were phased out after 1998 as the V8 became universal. Wheelbase options are 105 or 110 inches; cambered rear ends are not permitted.
Car bodies historically used hand-built steel construction. From 2015, Five Star Race Car Bodies composite panels based on NASCAR Cup Series Gen 6 models — Chevrolet SS, Ford Fusion, Toyota Camry — became eligible alongside steel bodies; no Dodge composite option is offered. General Tire serves as the exclusive tire supplier.