ARCA Menards Series pre-race practice at Daytona: 2025 schedule, entry list, format and more

A long offseason for the ARCA Menards Series ends this week with competitors making the trip to Daytona International Speedway for the annual pre-race practice session ahead of next month’s Daytona ARCA 200.

Every January, the pre-race practice at Daytona provides teams an early opportunity to build chemistry with one another and gather valuable information about their cars. Displaying early speed in both single-car and drafting runs is a pivotal step toward potentially joining a notable group of ARCA Menards Series winners at Daytona.

More than 50 drivers are set to hit the track during the two-day practice period from Jan. 9-10. The list includes several names familiar to the ARCA Menards Series platform, along with a handful of other competitors from different auto racing disciplines.

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

Below is everything to know ahead of the 2025 session.

Pre-race practice at Daytona: 2025 schedule

• Wednesday, Jan. 8

• Thursday, Jan. 9

• Friday, Jan. 10

Saturday, Jan. 11 is reserved as a weather day in the event practice on Thursday or Friday must be rescheduled.

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

Format and rules

The ARCA Menards Series pre-race practice at Daytona International Speedway 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

As has become tradition with the pre-race practice, the entry list for the two-day session at Daytona International Speedway consists of drivers both new and familiar to the ARCA Menards Series platform.

The most notable name making the trip to Daytona is four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves in the No. 82 Chevrolet for Pinnacle Racing Group. Castroneves seeks to gather as much information as possible before he attempts to make his first Daytona 500 appearance with Trackhouse Racing in February, where he will pilot the No. 91 Wendy’s Chevrolet.

Joining Castroneves is another seasoned open-wheel veteran in Katherine Legge, who is teaming up with Sigma Performance Services to drive their No. 23 Chevrolet in next month’s Daytona ARCA 200. Boasting an impressive resume that includes 11 starts in the 24 Hours of Daytona, Legge is set to turn her first laps on the storied facility’s oval layout this week.

Leading the charge for the ARCA Menards Series regulars is defending  runner-up Lavar Scott, back with Rev Racing for another full-time campaign.

Scott has performed admirably at Daytona during his two previous starts, as he finished fourth in 2023 and was on track for another top five last year before getting collected in a last-lap crash.

A primary obstacle standing in the way of both a championship and a potential Daytona victory for Scott will be Venturini Motorsports, which is bringing a healthy armada of cars to the pre-race practice. The team’s roster consists of full-time competitors Isabella Robusto and Lawless Alan along with Jake Finch, who came up short in last year’s Daytona ARCA 200 after leading 65 laps.

Toyota will have plenty of representation in the pre-race practice at Daytona outside of Venturini. Joe Gibbs Racing’s lineup consists of defending ARCA Menards Series East champion William Sawalich, Brent Crews and Gio Ruggiero, while Nitro Motorsports has Thad Moffitt, Amber Balcaen and Gavan Boschele for their first pre-race practice appearance.

Brenden “Butterbean” Queen also looks to kick off his quest for an ARCA Menards Series title in his first on-track appearance with Pinnacle Racing Group. Queen is no stranger to the high banks of Daytona, as he previously attempted the Daytona ARCA 200 back in 2019, when a crash ended his day after 49 laps.

The Road to Daytona program returns with a healthy contingent of short track competitors, all of whom will have the opportunity to turn laps around the historic track in cars prepared by Andy Hillenburg. Headlining this group is NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour regular Austin Beers along with 11-time Bowman Gray Stadium track champion Burt Myers.

Also joining the Road to Daytona program for the pre-race practice is Trevor Huddleston from the ARCA Menards Series West, Zachary Tinkle from the ARCA Menards Series East, Chase Burda from the ASA CRA Super Series, Ty Frederickson from the ASA Midwest Tour and Dustin Smith from the ASA Southern Super Series.

Other notable drivers participating in the two-day pre-race practice include dirt standout Corey Day in a Spire Motorsports car along with social media star and Freedom Factory owner Garrett Mitchell, better known by his stage name ‘Cleetus McFarland’.

The complete entry list for the pre-race practice at Daytona can be viewed here: