TOLEDO, Ohio — The ARCA Racing Series has approved the use of the 105-inch wheelbase chassis that is currently used in the NASCAR Nationwide and NASCAR Camping World Series East and West for ARCA competition in 2010.
The 105-inch wheelbase chassis will be approved for ARCA competition at all tracks except the restrictor-plate events at Daytona Int’l Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, meaning it will see action in 19 of the 21 scheduled events next year.
All cars will bear the same sheet metal configuration as they did in 2009, including the Chevrolet Monte Carlo and Impala SS, Dodge Charger, Ford Fusion and Toyota Camry body styles. The ARCA base rules package of 3,400 pound, steel-bodied stock cars with corresponding auto manufacturer engine and body configuration will remain in place.
The timing of the approval coincides with the gradual exit of the present-day 105-inch wheelbase chassis from the Nationwide Series. NASCAR has announced the introduction of the Car of Tomorrow into the Nationwide Series in 2010, beginning with the July race at Daytona Int’l Speedway. The series will fully transition to the new CoT by the start of the 2011 season.
“Since the inception of our series in 1953, we’ve kept an open line of communication with NASCAR and others to monitor industry trends,” said ARCA President Ron Drager. “At the time of the evolution of the NASCAR Sprint Cup CoT technology, ARCA team owners represented a market for NASCAR team owners to sell the race cars they were cycling out of inventory. We’re positioned to accommodate a similar situation with the NASCAR Nationwide team owners. We’ve invested a great deal of research and interaction into this move with several groups, in particular our ARCA team owners, and we feel this is the right step with the proper timing for everyone involved.”
Currently, the only chassis approved for use in ARCA is the 110-inch wheelbase car, which the series has campaigned exclusively since 1985. ARCA will introduce a rules package designed to create parity between the 105- and 110-inch cars next season.
ARCA experienced an influx of race cars as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series transitioned to the CoT technology in 2007.