The ARCA Menards Series West, formerly the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West, NASCAR AutoZone West Series, NASCAR Winston West Series and NASCAR Camping World West Series, is a regional stock car racing series owned and operated by the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) and the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series was first formed in 1954 as a proving ground for drivers from the western United States who could not travel to race in the more traditional stock car racing regions like North Carolina and the rest of the southern United States.
NASCAR Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick in the then-Winston West Series in 1997.
Jim Inglebright competing in the 2015 Carneros 200 in a Chevrolet SS
A Gen-4 Chevrolet Impala (left) and Gen-6 Chevrolet SS at Sonoma Raceway in 2015.
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately 0.25 to 2.66 miles. It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It originated in the southern United States; its largest governing body is NASCAR. Its NASCAR Cup Series is the premier top-level series of professional stock car racing. Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and the United Kingdom also have forms of stock car racing. Top-level races typically range between 200 and 600 miles in length.
NASCAR vehicles practicing at Daytona International Speedway with Jeff Burton, Elliott Sadler, Ricky Rudd, Dale Jarrett, and Sterling Marlin in 2004
1934 Ford stock car racer with reinforcement in the front
NASCAR Cup Series cars competing
ASA Late Model Series car on an asphalt track
