The ARCA Menards Series West is a regional stock car racing division sanctioned by ARCA.
The West Series was first formed in 1954 as a proving ground for drivers from the West who could not travel to race in the more traditional stock car racing regions like North Carolina and the rest of the South. Drivers who have raced in the West Series include Kevin Harvick, Brendan Gaughan and Derrike Cope.
In 2003, NASCAR unified the rules for the Busch North and the West Series, forming the Grand National Division for cars in both series, concluding with the Toyota All Star Showdown in Irwindale, CA, for the Grand National championship.
The series ran two seasons without a sponsor before AutoZone took over sponsorship of the West series, following NASCAR's announcement to discontinue the AutoZone Elite Division after 2006, due to declining support in all four Elite Divisions.
For 2007, NASCAR made several rule changes including a "spec" engine and a composite body to reduce the cost of competing in both the Busch East Series and the AutoZone West Series.
The other regional division at the Grand National level of ARCA is the ARCA Menards Series East.
List of Champions:[]
- 1954: Lloyd Dane
- 1955: Danny Letner
- 1956: Lloyd Dane
- 1957: Lloyd Dane
- 1958: Eddie Gray
- 1959: Bob Ross
- 1960: Marvin Porter
- 1961: Eddie Gray
- 1962: Eddie Gray
- 1963: Ron Hornaday
- 1964: Ron Hornaday
- 1965: Bill Amick
- 1966: Jack McCoy
- 1967: Scotty Cain
- 1968: Scotty Cain
- 1969: Ray Elder
- 1970: Ray Elder
- 1971: Ray Elder
- 1972: Ray Elder
- 1973: Jack McCoy
- 1974: Ray Elder
- 1975: Ray Elder
- 1976: Chuck Bown
- 1977: Bill Schmitt
- 1978: Jimmy Insolo
- 1979: Bill Schmitt
- 1980: Roy Smith
- 1981: Roy Smith
- 1982: Roy Smith
- 1983: Jim Robinson
- 1984: Jim Robinson
- 1985: Jim Robinson
- 1986: Hershel McGriff
- 1987: Chad Little
- 1988: Roy Smith
- 1989: Bill Schmitt
- 1990: Bill Schmitt
- 1991: Bill Sedgwick
- 1992: Bill Sedgwick
- 1993: Rick Carelli
- 1994: Mike Chase
- 1995: Doug George
- 1996: Lance Hooper
- 1997: Butch Gilliland
- 1998: Kevin Harvick
- 1999: Sean Woodside
- 2000: Brendan Gaughan
- 2001: Brendan Gaughan
- 2002: Eric Norris
- 2003: Scott Lynch
- 2004: Mike Duncan
- 2005: Mike Duncan
- 2006: Eric Holmes
- 2007: Mike David
- 2008: Eric Holmes
- 2009: Jason Bowles
- 2010: Eric Holmes
- 2011: Greg Pursley
- 2012: Dylan Kwasniewski
- 2013: Derek Thorn
- 2014: Greg Pursley
- 2015: Chris Eggleston
- 2016: Todd Gilliland
- 2017: Todd Gilliland
- 2018: Derek Thorn
- 2019: Derek Kraus
- 2020: Jesse Love
- 2021: Jesse Love
- 2022: Jake Drew
- 2023: Sean Hingorani
References[]
- NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2008 Media Guide. Daytona Beach, FL: NASCAR PR, 2008.
- "Winning the West" by Scott Keyes, Stock Car Racing, retrieved June 21, 2006
- Nascar Grand National Division West Series Website
- Stats, News and History