ARCA Menards Series East at Hickory Motor Speedway: Cook Out 200
THE RACE: Cook Out 200
THE PLACE: Hickory Motor Speedway
THE DATE: Saturday, March 28, 2026
THE TIME: 7:30 pm ET
TV: FloRacing & The NASCAR Channel, Live
- The ARCA Menards Series East will open its 40th season with the Cook Out 200 at Hickory Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 28. It will be the first time the ARCA Menards Series platform will compete at the 0.363-mile oval, and the highest level NASCAR-sanctioned touring series race at the track since what is now the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series raced there in April, 1998.
- There have been 35 NASCAR Cup Series races and 42 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series races held at Hickory Motor Speedway. NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Junior Johnson leads the way with seven Cup Series wins, while Jack Ingram and Tommy Houston each won eight O’Reilly Auto Parts Series races.
- Reigning series champion Isaac Kitzmiller (No. 79 A.L.L. Construction / Carter CAT Chevrolet) will initiate his title defense in the Cook Out 200. The sixteen-year-old Kitzmiller will be in search of his first career series victory; his best finish last season on his way to the championship was fourth at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway and Dover Motor Speedway; he finished seventh in the ARCA Menards Series race at Phoenix Raceway earlier this month.
- Joe Gibbs Racing will launch its defense of the ARCA Menards East owner’s championship with 16-year-old Max Reaves (No. 18 Cook Out Toyota) scheduled to run all eight series races. Reaves, the protégé of 2000 NASCAR Cup Series champion Bobby Labonte, won his first three East Series starts in 2025.
- NASCAR Cup Series spotter Derek Kneeland (No. 28 A&D Welding / Kryptoquiet Marine Bearings Chevrolet), who calls the shots from the roof for two-time champion Kyle Busch, will make his ARCA Menards East debut driving the potent Pinnacle Racing Group Chevrolet. The PRG team won the 2025 ARCA Menards Series championship with Brenden “Butterbean” Queen at the wheel and is led by former Hickory Motor Speedway track champion Shane Huffman. Kneeland will be joined by PRG teammate Tristan McKee (No. 77 Tibbetts Lumber Company Chevrolet), who will compete for the ARCA Menards East championship in 2026. McKee is the second-youngest ARCA Menards Series winner, winning at Watkins Glen International last year at 15 years, 4 days of age, behind only Todd Gilliland who won at Toledo Speedway in 2015 at 15 years, 1 day of age.
- Huffman’s son Landon S. Huffman (No. 9 Hoosier Daddy/Hoosier Momma Car Care Products Chevrolet) will make his ARCA Menards East debut in a second CR7 Motorsports entry, a teammate to reigning series champion Isaac Kitzmiller. The younger Huffman is a karting standout and recently made the transition to full-bodied stock car racing; he finished second in the CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car race at North Wilkesboro Speedway last fall.
Two-time NASCAR Local Racing national champion Connor Hall (No. 24 Sigma Performance Services Chevrolet) will make his first East start since he finished tenth in the 2019 season opener at New Smyrna Speedway. Hall finished second at the ARCA Menards West race at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last fall, his first race with the Joe Farre-owned Sigma Performance Services team. Hall won the NASCAR weekly national championship in 2023 and 2024.- George Siciliano (No. 0 Heat Wave Visual Ford), known to his fans on Cleetus McFarland’s YouTube channel as “Squirrel McNutt”, will make his professional stock car debut in the Cook Out 200.
- Dystany Spurlock (No. 66 Foxtecca Ford) will also be making her ARCA Menards platform debut as she makes the transition from straight-line motorcycle racing to stock cars. When she takes the green flag on Saturday, Spurlock will become the first Black female to compete in an ARCA Menards Series East race.
- Nitro Motorsports team principal Nick Tucker (No. 70 Nitro Motorsports Toyota) will make his return to the cockpit for the first time since 2013 on Saturday. Tucker made 14 career ARCA Menards Series starts and 29 career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts before transitioning to team management and driver coaching. He’ll have former East Series championship-winning crew chief Shannon Rursch calling the shots from pit road.
- Reigning ARCA Menards East Bounty Rookie of the Year Austin Vaughn (No. 19 Maples Motorsports Ford) makes the move to the Michael Maples Motorsports team, while Brian Barbarow (No. 34 Parked It Alliance Ford) will take over the Dee Vaughn-owned ride.
- The Cook Out 200 will be run with the break pit stop format; there will be a five-minute break at or near lap 100. Teams will be able to change tires, add fuel, and make adjustments during the break without losing position on the track.
- The Cook Out 200 at Hickory Motor Speedway is set for 7:30 pm ET on Saturday, March 28. The race will be streamed live on FloRacing; live timing & scoring data and live race audio will be available on ARCARacing.com; for up-to-the-minute updates please follow @ARCA_Racing on X (formerly known as Twitter).
