NASCAR: ARCA competition framework announcement reaction
By Mark Kristl
NASCAR recently announced the initial competition framework for the 2020 season for the ARCA Racing Series and the two K&N Pro Series.
The top three series of NASCAR are the NASCAR Cup Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the NASCAR Truck Series. NASCAR also owns other series, including the K&N Pro Series East and the K&N Pro Series West. On April 27, 2018, NASCAR bought the ARCA Racing Series.
When the purchase occurred, NASCAR said it would not change the ARCA Racing Series until 2020. On Saturday, October 6, NASCAR announced the initial competition framework for the ARCA Racing Series and both K&N Pro Series.
Here is a breakdown of that announcement along with my thoughts on it all. First of all, here is an image which details the changes to those racing series beginning in the 2020 season.
The ARCA and K&N Series will kinda merge starting in 2020. Names of series and exact tracks still TBD. Details: pic.twitter.com/xtKuK5HwsA
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) October 6, 2018
When I spoke to Autoweek associate motorsports editor Matt Weaver a while back, he said that NASCAR needed to give each series its own identity. I think this announcement is a definite step in that direction. Let me explain how these changes benefit these series.
K&N Pro Series East and K&N Pro Series West
These changes mean the K&N Pro Series East and K&N Pro Series West will feature six to eight races in 2020. The 2018 K&N Pro Series East schedule featured 14 races. Of those 14 races, four took place at tracks that also host Cup Series races. Two of those races took place at road courses. I predict that those six races will not be on the 2020 schedule.