2018 ARCA Racing Series

The 2018 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards was the 66th season of the ARCA Racing Series. The season began on February 10 with the Lucas Oil 200 driven by General Tire at Daytona International Speedway and ended on October 19 with the Kansas ARCA 150. Races were broadcast on FS1, FS2 and MAVTV. Sheldon Creed won the championship, ahead of his MDM Motorsports teammate Zane Smith.

2018 ARCA Racing Series

Previous

2017

Next

2019

Sheldon Creed, the 2018 ARCA champion.

Zane Smith finished second behind Creed in the championship.

Riley Herbst finished third in the championship.

Teams and drivers

Complete schedule

Manufacturer	Team	No.	Driver
Chevrolet	Patriot Motorsports Group 5 Darrell Basham Racing 15	34	Jesse Iwuji 5 [N 1]
			Mike Basham 14
			Darrell Basham 1
	Win-Tron Racing	32	Gus Dean
Ford	Chad Bryant Racing	77	Bo LeMastus 1
			Joe Graf Jr. (R) 19
	James Hylton Motorsports 4 Brad Smith Motorsports 16	48	Brad Smith
	RFMS Racing	27	Travis Braden (R)
Toyota	Joe Gibbs Racing	18	Riley Herbst
	MDM Motorsports	8	Chase Purdy (R)
		28	Sheldon Creed
		41	Zane Smith (R)
	Venturini Motorsports	15	Michael Self 6
			Christian Eckes 13
			Chandler Smith 1
		20	Leilani Munter 8
			Chandler Smith 8
			Eddie Fatscher 1
			Toni Breidinger 1
			Logan Seavey 2
		25	Natalie Decker (R)
Chevrolet 3 Toyota 15 Ford 2	Fast Track Racing	10	Tony Mrakovich 2
			Rick Clifton 3 [N 2]
			Dick Doheny 1
			D. L. Wilson 1
			Tom Berte 3
			Ed Pompa 1
			Tommy Vigh Jr. 3
			Matt Dooley 1
			Darrell Basham 1
			Tyler Hill 3
			C. J. McLaughlin 1
Toyota 6 Chevrolet 4 Ford 10	Hillenburg-Schrader Racing 2 Fast Track Racing 18	11	Brandon Grosso (R) 1
			D. L. Wilson 1
			Matt Dooley 1
			Ed Pompa 3
			Rick Clifton 1 [N 2]
			Will Rodgers 1
			Tony Mrakovich 1
			Morgen Baird 1
			Dick Karth 1
			Dick Doheny 6
			Zach Ralston 2 [N 3]
			Tyler Hill 1
Toyota 1 Dodge 9 Chevrolet 1 Ford 9	Wayne Peterson Racing	06	Chuck Hiers 1 [N 4]
			Con Nicolopoulos 15
			Don Thompson 2
			Buck Stevens 2

Limited schedule

Manufacturer	Team	No.	Driver	Rounds
Chevrolet	Allgaier Motorsports	16	Kelly Kovski	2
	Bret Holmes Racing	23	Bret Holmes	11
	Wayne Peterson Racing [N 5]		Wayne Peterson	2
		6	Dale Matchett	1
	Bobby Gerhart Racing	5	Bobby Gerhart	7 [N 6]
	Brother-In-Law Racing	57	Bryan Dauzat	5
	Chad Finley Racing	51	Austin Hill	1
			Chad Finley	1
	Grant County Mulch Racing	7	Codie Rohrbaugh	8
	Grynewicz Motorsports	40	Tovia Grynewicz	1
	KBR Development	35	Carson Hocevar	3
	Kimmel-Finney Racing	69	Scott Reeves	1
	Mason Mitchell Motorsports	78	Max Tullman	8
			Ryan Repko	1
			Colby Howard	2
			Grant Enfinger	1
			Blaine Perkins	1
			Quin Houff	1
		98		3
			Blaine Perkins	3
			Mason Mitchell	1
	Norm Hutton Racing	37	Kirk Horton	1
	Our Motorsports	02	Andy Seuss	3
		6	Josh Williams	1
	Patriot Motorsports Group	38	Jerry de Weerdt	1
			Rob Powers	1
			Salvatore Iovino	1
	Spraker Racing Enterprises	63	Dave Mader III	3
	Win-Tron Racing	33	Daniel Sasnett	1
			Cole Glasson	1
	ZR Racing [N 7]	1	Zach Ralston	1
Dodge	Hixson Motorsports	2	Eric Caudell	5
Ford	Chad Bryant Racing	22	Tyler Dippel	2
			Josh Berry	1
			Tom Hessert III	1
	Clubb Racing	03	Alex Clubb	3
	Dale Shearer Racing	73	Dale Shearer	1
			Darrell Basham	1
	Kimmel Racing	68	Baden Stewart	1
			Scott Melton	1
			Kevin Hinckle	1
		69	Will Kimmel	9
			Kevin Hinckle	1
			David Sear	3
			Mike Basham	1
			Darrell Basham	1
			Jonas Fors	1
	Max Force Racing	99	Ronnie Osmer	1
	MBM Motorsports	66	Mark Thompson	1
	Mullins Racing [N 8]	2	Andrew Belmont	1
			Robert Bruce	1
		3	Willie Mullins	2
	Mystic Motorsports	07	Brian Kaltreider	2
	Rette Jones Racing	30	Grant Quinlan	1
	Scott Melton Racing	67	Scott Melton	1
Toyota	DGM Racing	71	L. B. Skaggs	3
	DGR-Crosley	54	Noah Gragson	2
			Bo LeMastus	1
			Todd Gilliland	4
	Fast Track Racing [N 9]	22	Ed Pompa	1
	Hendren Motorsports	24	Ryan Unzicker	2
	J. J. Pack Racing	61	J. J. Pack	2
	Jack Dossey Motorsports	99	Jack Dossey III	2
	Joe Gibbs Racing	19	Drew Herring	1
	MDM Motorsports	12	Harrison Burton	8
			Brandon Jones	2
			Austin Hill	1
		40	Anthony Alfredo	2
			Sam Mayer	2
	Venturini Motorsports	55	Tom Hessert III	1
			Michael Self	4
			Brandon Lynn	2
			Eddie Fatscher	2
			Toni Breidinger	2
Chevrolet 1 Ford 3	Empire Racing	43	Sean Corr	2
			Kaden Honeycutt	2
Ford 5 Chevrolet 2		46	John Ferrier	1
			Thad Moffitt	5
			Sean Corr	1
Ford 3 Chevrolet 2	Hixson Motorsports	3	Joe Cooksey	3
			Steve Fox	2
Ford 12 Toyota 2	Ken Schrader Racing	52	Will Rodgers	5
			Brandon Grosso (R)	5
			Ken Schrader	1
			Bret Holmes	3
Chevrolet 2 Ford 3	Max Force Racing	9	Thomas Praytor	4
			Jesse Iwuji	1
Chevrolet 7 Dodge 4	Wayne Peterson Racing	0	Con Nicolopoulos	3
			Wayne Peterson	3
			Mark Meunier	4
			Don Thompson	1
Ford 2 Chevrolet 1		1	Dale Matchett	1
			Wayne Peterson	2

Notes

1. Iwuji's races were Patriot Motorsports Group entries using Darrell Basham Racing's owner points.
2. Rick Clifton was scheduled to drive the No. 10 Toyota at Berlin Raceway on July 21 and the No. 11 Ford at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis on September 7 for Fast Track Racing but since the races were postponed, he didn't return and Tyler Hill replaced him in both races.
3. Entries were fielded in a collaboration with ZR Racing.
4. It was a Fast Track Racing entry using Wayne Peterson Racing's owner points.
5. Peterson's races were Wayne Peterson Racing entries using Bret Holmes Racing's owner points.
6. Bobby Gerhart was scheduled to run at Berlin Raceway on July 21 but since the race was postponed to August 25, he didn't return and was scored last as did not start in the postponed race.
7. Entry was fielded in a collaboration with Fast Track Racing.
8. All entries were fielded using owner points from Hixson Motorsports.
9. It was a Fast Track Racing entry using Chad Bryant Racing's owner points.

Changes

Teams

• Cunningham Motorsports, due to the failing health of owner Briggs Cunningham, was put up for sale after the conclusion of the 2017 season.^[1] On January 9, 2018, the sale of the team was announced to longtime crew chief Chad Bryant. Bryant formed Chad Bryant Racing but kept the same cars, numbers and personnel that had been with the team previously.^[2]
• Mullins Racing cut ties with Basham Racing, whose owner points they had used in past years. Mullins formed a new alliance with Hixson Motorsports, and Mullins used Hixson's No. 3 in some events.^[3]
• Patriot Motorsports Group formed an alliance with Basham Racing to use Basham's No. 34 in select races.^[4]
• DGR-Crosley debuted with Noah Gragson at Daytona.^[4]
• Kimmel Racing entered an alliance with Finney Racing for Finney to use Kimmel's No. 69.^[4]
• Mason Mitchell Motorsports ceased operations on July 30.^[5]
• Following the deaths of James Hylton and his son James Jr., the team's driver, Brad Smith, took over operations of the 48 team, which was rebranded as Brad Smith Motorsports.

Drivers

• Zane Smith drove full-time for MDM Motorsports in 2018. Smith had competed for MDM and Venturini Motorsports in 2017.^[6]
• Natalie Decker drove full-time for Venturini Motorsports in their No. 25 entry. She ran part-time in the No. 25 during the 2017 season.^[7]
• Travis Braden ran full-time in RFMS Racing's No. 27 entry. He ran part-time in the No. 27 last year.^[8]
• Sheldon Creed ran full-time in MDM Motorsports' No. 28 entry. He drove part-time for MDM in multiple cars last year.^[9]
• Chase Purdy full-time in MDM Motorsports' No. 8 entry. He ran part-time for Mason Mitchell Motorsports in 2017.^[10]
• Michael Self raced with Venturini Motorsports for half of the season. He drove part-time for MDM Motorsports and Mason Mitchell Motorsports in 2017.^[11]
• Brandon Grosso took over Ken Schrader Racing's No. 52 car. The entry was previously driven in 2017 by champion Austin Theriault. Grosso began his schedule at Nashville after Will Rodgers piloted the car at Daytona; Grosso was not old enough to compete. Grosso eventually left the team, and the No. 52 team shut down as well.
• Joe Graf Jr. made his first foray into ARCA, teaming with Chad Bryant Racing for all races except Daytona.^[12]
• Four drivers made their debuts at Salem in the spring: Colby Howard with Mason Mitchell Motorsports,^[13] Josh Berry with Chad Bryant Racing,^[14] Jack Dossey III with his family team,^[15] and Matt Dooley with Fast Track Racing.^[16]

Schedule

Field at Madison International Speedway

No.	Race title	Track	Date	Time (EDT)	TV
1	Lucas Oil 200 driven by General Tire	Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach	February 10	4:45 p.m.	FS1
2	Music City 200	Fairgrounds Speedway, Nashville	April 7	9:00 p.m.	MAVTV
3	Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200	Salem Speedway, Salem	April 22	2:15 p.m.	MAVTV
4	General Tire 200	Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln	April 27	6:00 p.m.	FS1
5	Menards 200	Toledo Speedway, Toledo	May 20	2:00 p.m.	MAVTV
6	General Tire 150	Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord	May 24	9:00 p.m.	FS1
7	General Tire#AnywhereIsPossible 200	Pocono Raceway, Long Pond	June 1	5:45 p.m.	FS2
8	Zomongo 200	Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn	June 8	6:00 p.m.	MAVTV
9	Herr's Potato Chips 200	Madison International Speedway, Oregon	June 15	9:00 p.m.	MAVTV
10	PapaNicholas Coffee 150	Gateway Motorsports Park, Madison	June 22	9:00 p.m.	FS2
11	Scott 150	Chicagoland Speedway, Joliet	June 28	8:00 p.m.	FS1
12	Fans with Benefits 150	Iowa Speedway, Newton	July 7	9:00 p.m.	MAVTV*
13	Sioux Chief PowerPEX 250	Elko Speedway, Elko	July 14	9:00 p.m.	MAVTV
14	ModSpace 150	Pocono Raceway, Long Pond	July 27	4:00 p.m.	FS1
15	Allen Crowe 100	Illinois State Fairgrounds Racetrack, Springfield	August 19	2:30 p.m.	MAVTV
16	Primera Plastics 200	Berlin Raceway, Marne	August 25	8:30 p.m.	MAVTV
17	General Tire Grabber 150	DuQuoin State Fairgrounds Racetrack, Du Quoin	September 3	4:00 p.m.	MAVTV
18	Kentuckiana Ford Dealers ARCA Fall Classic	Salem Speedway, Salem	September 15	7:15 p.m.	MAVTV
19	Shore Lunch 200	Lucas Oil Raceway, Brownsburg	October 6	9:00 p.m.	MAVTV
20	Kansas ARCA 150	Kansas Speedway, Kansas City	October 19	8:30 p.m.	FS2
†: The Primera Plastics 200 was originally scheduled on July 21 but was postponed because of persistent rain and rescheduled for August 25. †: The Shore Lunch 200 was originally scheduled on September 7 but was postponed because of Tropical Storm Gordon and rescheduled for October 6.

• *Tape delayed

Changes

Charlotte Motor Speedway, Gateway Motorsports Park, and Berlin Raceway all return to the schedule.^[17] The series had last visited Gateway in 2007 and Charlotte in 2004. The only road course on the 2017 schedule, Road America, was taken out for 2018. The races at Winchester Speedway and Kentucky Speedway were also taken off the schedule.^[18] The races at Elko Speedway and Lucas Oil Raceway shifted significantly.^[19] Elko moved to the middle of July because the first Pocono date was moved to the weekend that Elko had in 2017, and Lucas Oil moved to September because the NASCAR Indianapolis weekend was moved to September.

Results and standings

Races

No.	Race	Pole Position	Most laps led	Winning driver	Manufacturer	No.	Winning team
1	Lucas Oil 200 driven by General Tire	Natalie Decker	Sheldon Creed	Michael Self	Toyota	15	Venturini Motorsports
2	Music City 200	Chandler Smith	Zane Smith	Zane Smith	Toyota	41	MDM Motorsports
3	Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200	Chandler Smith	Chandler Smith	Christian Eckes	Toyota	15	Venturini Motorsports
4	General Tire 200	Michael Self	Sheldon Creed	Zane Smith	Toyota	41	MDM Motorsports
5	Menards 200	Chandler Smith	Chandler Smith	Zane Smith	Toyota	41	MDM Motorsports
6	General Tire 150	Todd Gilliland	Todd Gilliland	Brandon Jones	Toyota	12	MDM Motorsports
7	General Tire#AnywhereIsPossible 200	Noah Gragson	Noah Gragson	Harrison Burton	Toyota	12	MDM Motorsports
8	Zomongo 200	Brandon Jones	Sheldon Creed	Sheldon Creed	Toyota	28	MDM Motorsports
9	Herr's Potato Chips 200	Chandler Smith	Chandler Smith	Chandler Smith	Toyota	15	Venturini Motorsports
10	PapaNicholas Coffee 150	Sheldon Creed	Sheldon Creed	Sheldon Creed	Toyota	28	MDM Motorsports
11	Scott 150	Sheldon Creed	Michael Self	Michael Self	Toyota	15	Venturini Motorsports
12	Fans with Benefits 150	Sheldon Creed	Sheldon Creed	Sheldon Creed	Toyota	28	MDM Motorsports
13	Sioux Chief PowerPEX 250	Christian Eckes	Chandler Smith	Gus Dean	Chevrolet	32	Win-Tron Racing
14	ModSpace 150	Gus Dean	Zane Smith	Zane Smith	Toyota	41	MDM Motorsports
15	Allen Crowe 100	Gus Dean	Christian Eckes	Christian Eckes	Toyota	15	Venturini Motorsports
16	Primera Plastics 200	Carson Hocevar	Sheldon Creed	Joe Graf Jr.	Ford	77	Chad Bryant Racing
17	General Tire Grabber 100	Sheldon Creed	Sheldon Creed	Logan Seavey	Toyota	20	Venturini Motorsports
18	Kentuckiana Ford Dealers ARCA Fall Classic	Zane Smith	Chandler Smith	Chandler Smith	Toyota	20	Venturini Motorsports
19	Shore Lunch 200	Christian Eckes	Christian Eckes	Christian Eckes	Toyota	15	Venturini Motorsports
20	Kansas ARCA 150	Drew Herring	Drew Herring	Sheldon Creed	Toyota	28	MDM Motorsports

Drivers' championship

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

Pos	Driver	DAY	NSH	SLM	TAL	TOL	CLT	POC	MCH	MAD	GTW	CHI	IOW	ELK	POC	ISF	BLN	DSF	SLM	IRP	KAN	Points
1	Sheldon Creed	3	2	3	4	18	3	2	1	3	1	2	1	15	2	2	6	10	4	2	1	5140
2	Zane Smith	26	1	2	1	1	5	3	11	2	16	4	4	12	1	17	2	5	18	6	17	4680
3	Riley Herbst	10	13	6	17	19	2	5	2	13	5	6	17	4	5	9	9	3	9	8	4	4595
4	Chase Purdy	21	7	5	25	2	24	9	13	4	2	5	3	14	3	18	8	8	3	4	5	4510
5	Travis Braden	22	15	14	9	8	11	4	12	11	9	7	9	7	9	4	3	15	5	12	20	4445
6	Gus Dean	25	17	7	12	20	14	6	4	5	6	16	20	1	27	7	5	18	2	10	18	4295
7	Natalie Decker	5	11	17	28	7	15	8	15	6	15	12	16	5	15	10	10	12	8	16	6	4220
8	Joe Graf Jr.		16	11	2	3	18	7	5	12	8	13	5	3	26	16	1	11	11	13	21	4000
9	Brad Smith	23	22	Wth	31	16	DNS	20	17	14	17	22	15	17	22	14	16	17	20	22	25	3250
10	Bret Holmes	24	10	13	27	5	7	13	20	7	10	Wth	8	Wth	10	6	12					2865
11	Con Nicolopoulos	18	23	21	14	22	29	30	21	17	24	23	22	Wth	23	Wth	18		22	23	16	2690
12	Christian Eckes		8	1		21		11			4		11	2	13	1	11	4	7	1		2650
13	Mike Basham		26	15		15		28	Wth	16	23	24		11	18	19	14	19	12	24	24	2120
14	Chandler Smith		5	10		4				1			2	6			7		1	3		1995
15	Michael Self	1	4		3		21		3			1	18						16	11	3	1985
16	Harrison Burton		3			9		1			3		6		4				6	21	2	1840
17	Max Tullman	6			6		12	15	7		19	17	12									1380
18	Will Kimmel		24	12		23					13	15				Wth		2	10		13	1310
19	Codie Rohrbaugh	38			24		9	17	10			8			7						12	1285
20	Leilani Münter	8			22		20	22	9			20			20						14	1225
21	Brandon Grosso	Wth	9	9	20	6	17															1120
22	Will Rodgers	30					8	18	6			9			8							985
23	Bobby Gerhart	12			8			16			14				24		DNS			17		975
24	Dick Doheny			22							21		21	16		20	17	21				945
25	Todd Gilliland						4					3			6						22	830
26	Thad Moffitt		14	16		10		25							Wth					15		780
27	Eric Caudell		20								18	21							23	Wth	11	710
28	Blaine Perkins				13			12				11		8								705
29	Tyler Hill																13		14	14	7	680
30	Bryan Dauzat	33			11		27								16	12		Wth				650
31	Carson Hocevar					11											4			5		645
32	Rick Clifton		19			17			16				13									645
33	Jesse Iwuji	36			15		26	24	24			25										630
34	Quin Houff	32					6		8						21							585
35	Darrell Basham									19			14	18				20		Wth		565
36	Ed Pompa	35			29			23							14				17			560
37	Thomas Praytor	14	18	19	21																	560
38	Eddie Fatscher					14				8				9								535
39	L. B. Skaggs							14							11						23	510
40	Tommy Vigh Jr.									15						13		13				495
41	Joe Cooksey		21													11		9				490
42	Toni Breidinger									10	12	18										490
43	Wayne Peterson		Wth						DNS		25	27	23				19		DNS			465
44	Andy Seuss	19			10		16															465
45	Zach Ralston						23					14									9	460
46	Logan Seavey															3		1				455
47	Alex Clubb															15		16	21			430
48	Sean Corr	20			23										12							420
49	David Sear						22		14				19									415
50	Anthony Alfredo										7										15	410
51	Ryan Unzicker															5		6				410
52	Sam Mayer												10							7		400
53	Tom Hessert III	4																		9		395
54	Kelly Kovski															8		7				385
55	Willie Mullins	2												13								385
56	Noah Gragson	7						10														385
57	Dave Mader III	28			16				18													380
58	Tom Berte						19					19			25							375
59	Tony Mrakovich	29				13		21														375
60	Colby Howard			8						9												375
61	Brandon Jones						1		22													370
62	Brandon Lynn				7		10															350
63	Austin Hill						13					10										345
64	Mark Meunier			24					25		22	26										310
65	Tyler Dippel		6				25															310
66	Kaden Honeycutt																		19	18		300
67	Jack Dossey III			18															15			295
68	Kevin Hinckle				30																19	275
69	Don Thompson						28	27							29							270
70	Steve Fox							19							19							270
71	D. L. Wilson		25		19															Wth		265
72	Brian Kaltreider							26							17							245
73	Matt Dooley			23							20											245
74	Josh Berry			4																		215
75	Drew Herring																				8	205
76	Josh Williams				5																	205
77	Mason Mitchell												7									195
78	Buck Stevens															Wth		14				185
79	Andrew Belmont	9																				185
80	Cole Glasson																				10	180
81	Scott Melton																15			25		180
82	Dale Matchett							29							28							175
83	Ken Schrader										11											175
84	Bo LeMastus	31			26																	175
85	Jerry de Weerdt	11																				175
86	Ryan Repko		12																			170
87	Grant Enfinger					12																170
88	Baden Stewart																		13			165
89	Kirk Horton	13																				165
90	C. J. McLaughlin																			20		155
91	Robert Bruce													10								155
92	Chuck Hiers	16																				155
93	John Ferrier	15																				155
94	Scott Reeves	17																				145
95	Dick Karth									18												140
96	Rob Powers				18																	140
97	Morgen Baird								19													140
98	Jonas Fors																			19		135
99	Dale Shearer			20												Wth						130
100	Chad Finley								23													115
101	Mark Thompson	27																				95
102	Daniel Sasnett	34																				60
103	Grant Quinlan	37																				45
104	Ronnie Osmer	39																				35
105	Tovia Grynewicz		Wth																			25
	Salvatore Iovino						Wth															0
	J. J. Pack														Wth						Wth	0
	Kevin Campbell																	Wth				0
	Brennan Poole							QL														0

See also

• 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
• 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series
• 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
• 2018 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East
• 2018 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West
• 2018 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour
• 2018 NASCAR Pinty's Series
• 2018 NASCAR PEAK Mexico Series
• 2018 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series