TEMPERANCE, Mich. – The first ARCA Menards Series East race at legendary Hickory Motor Speedway, set for Saturday, March 28, is now less than two weeks away and the excitement level for big-time stock car racing’s return to The Birthplace of NASCAR’s Stars is palpable.
Advance ticket sales for the 200-lap season opener for the ARCA Menards Series East have been strong, and entries continue to be filed at a rapid pace.
NASCAR spotter and former super late model driver Derek Kneeland, who calls the shots from the roof for two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch, has announced he will drive the No. 28 Chevrolet for Pinnacle Racing Group, the team led by former track champion Shane Huffman. Huffman was Hickory’s limited late model champion in 1996 and the track’s 1999 late model stock car champion en route to the NASCAR Blue Ridge Regional Championship. Kneeland will be substituting for the team’s regular driver, Carson Brown, who will be unable to compete due to schedule conflicts.
“It might be the only ARCA Menards Series race I am ever able to run, but it’s definitely a dream come true,” Kneeland said. “I’ll have a car I know can run up front, I hope I can get it there and keep it there.”
Huffman’s son Landon will also make his much-anticipated ARCA Menards Series platform debut at Hickory alongside reigning series champion Isaac Kitzmiller in the CR7 Motorsports stable. The younger Huffman, 19 years of age, finished second in the CARS Tour late model stock car race at North Wilkesboro Speedway last fall.
A pair of highly-touted teenagers will open their championship runs at Hickory, with three-time East winner Max Reaves in a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and Tristan McKee in a second Pinnacle Racing Group Chevrolet. Reaves, the protégé of 2000 NASCAR Cup Series champion Bobby Labonte, won his first three ARCA Menards Series East starts last season and picked up a pair of ARCA Menards Series wins to go along with, while McKee became the second-youngest winner in ARCA Menards Series history at just 15 years, 4 days of age when he won in his debut at Watkins Glen International.
Nitro Motorsports team principal Nick Tucker will return to the driver’s seat for the first time in ARCA Menards Series platform competition since 2013 in his organization’s No. 70 Toyota. Tucker had 14 career ARCA Menards Series starts and 29 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts before stepping out of the cockpit full-time to concentrate on driver development and coaching in karting and road racing.
A sizable field is expected to contend for the 30 available starting positions in the Hickory ARCA Menards East 200. The full entry list will be released the week of the race.
On-track activity is scheduled to begin on Friday, March 27 with an optional pre-race practice from 4 to 6:30 p.m. ET. Official practice for the ARCA Menards Series East is slated for 2 pm on Saturday, March 28, with Sioux Chief PowerPEX Pole Qualifying to follow at 4 p.m. A on-track autograph session is scheduled from 6:30 to 7 p.m., with the Hickory 200 to follow at 7:30 p.m. The race will be streamed live on FloRacing and live timing and scoring data will be available on ARCARacing.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow @ARCA_Racing on X (formerly Twitter).
Tickets for the ARCA Menards Series East Hickory 200 at Hickory Motor Speedway are available at TrackEnterprises.com.
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