ARCA Menards Series pre-race practice at Daytona: 2024 schedule, entry list, format and more

The ARCA Menards Series wastes no time once the calendar turns to a new year. Per tradition, ARCA cars will be on track at Daytona International Speedway on Jan. 12-13 as teams partake in a pre-race practice session ahead of the season-opening Daytona ARCA 200 next month.

The annual pre-race practice at Daytona marks the first chance for teams to shake down their cars in preparation for the season. More than 40 drivers are expected to drive those cars on the 2.5-mile superspeedway and provide their teams vital feedback through the two-day event.

For some, especially those selected to practice as part of ARCA’s Road to Daytona program, this will be their first time piloting a race car on the famed Daytona oval.

For others, this will be the first step in what they hope will be successful returns to the ARCA Menards Series in 2024.

PHOTOS: Scenes from last year’s pre-race practice at Daytona

Live timing and scoring during the ARCA Menards Series pre-race practice at Daytona will be available on ARCARacing.com.

Below is everything to know about the 2024 session.

ARCA Menards Series pre-race practice at Daytona: 2024 schedule

• Thursday, Jan. 11

• Friday, Jan. 12

• Saturday, Jan. 13

Sunday, Jan. 14 is reserved as a weather day in the event practice on Friday or Saturday must be rescheduled.

Should a test session get bumped to Sunday, the schedule would mirror that of Saturday.

Format and rules

The ARCA Menards Series pre-race practice at Daytona is an open session, meaning teams can send cars to the track whenever they want during the duration of the session each day. Limited pack drafting is allowed.

As a general guideline, teams must limit the number of laps to 10 each time a car is on the track before returning to the garage.

Below are a few more rules for the pre-race practice.

• All cars to be ARCA legal (all heights, springs, restrictor plate, etc.) for on-track activity.
• If the use of non-compliant parts is found at any time, the offending crew chief will be held responsible, and the car owner will be fined at minimum $1,000 and have equipment confiscated and time disallowed.
• Teams must have a functioning race safe system and a spotter in the spotter stand with two way radio communication whenever its race car is on track.

Entry list

More than 70 drivers are expected to test their teams’ cars on the 2.5-mile oval on Jan. 12-13.

Many of those drivers have already announced plans to compete on the ARCA Menards Series platform in 2024.

Rev Racing confirmed at the end of 2023 that both Andres Perez and Lavar Scott will compete full-time in the ARCA Menards Series this season.

Perez returns to Rev Racing for his second full ARCA Menards Series season after a runner-up finish in the championship in 2023. Despite missing the first race of the year at Daytona International Speedway due to age restrictions, Pérez was impressive throughout the season.

Scott will make the move to the ARCA Menards Series in 2024 after competing full-time for Rev Racing in the ARCA Menards Series East in 2023. In eight races, Scott earned five top-five and seven top-10 finishes with a best finish of second at Michigan’s Flat Rock Speedway.

In November, Venturini Motorsports announced Kris Wright will join the team for the complete 2024 ARCA Menards Series season. The 29-year-old will pilot the No. 15 F.N.B. Corporation Toyota Camry after making two starts with the organization in the ARCA Menards Series and one start in the ARCA Menards Series West during the 2023 season.

Venturini also recently announced Gio Ruggiero, who spent the 2023 season competing in Super Late Models, will contest 16 races for the team in 2024. That schedule includes a full campaign in the ARCA Menards Series East along with sporadic appearances in the main ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series West.

Before Shane van Gisbergen embarks on a busy 2024 NASCAR schedule, he will make a brief stop in the ARCA Menards Series. The driver will participate in the ARCA season-opener at Daytona on Feb. 17, a required step for him to gain approval for the succeeding NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the track.

Joe Gibbs Racing is running it back with its ARCA platform champion in 2024. The organization announced in December that William Sawalich, the 17-year-old who won the 2023 ARCA Menards Series East championship driving JGR’s No. 18 Toyota Camry, will be its primary ARCA driver again in 2024.

Sawalich will race for JGR in all but six ARCA Menards Series (national) races in 2024, as he is not yet old enough to run the full schedule. The team has tabbed NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Tanner Gray to compete in the six races Sawalich can’t run.

McAnally-Hilgemann Racing (MHR) announced in December that the organization has tabbed Jack Wood for a double-duty season in 2024. The 23-year-old from Loomis, California will pursue the ARCA Menards Series West championship piloting the Bill McAnally Racing No. 16 NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet SS based in Roseville, California. Wood will also tackle a 14-race slate in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series behind the wheel of the No. 91 Chevrolet Silverado RST.

Sixteen-year-old Danica Dart of Ephrata, Washington, will join female-owned Kennealy Keller Motorsports for a full-time rookie season in the ARCA Menards Series West in 2024. She will carry the No. 11 in the series and join Madera’s Robbie Kennealy and Las Vegas’ Kyle Keller in the KKM stable in the upcoming season.

Below is the complete entry list for the 2024 ARCA Menards Series pre-race practice at Daytona.