TOLEDO, Ohio — For the first time since June 2000, the ARCA Menards Series platform will race at the tight, banked quarter-mile Flat Rock Speedway when the ARCA Menards Series East takes to the track on May 20, 2023.
The ARCA Menards Series raced at the track, affectionately known as “The Level Pebble,” 56 times from 1953 through 2000.
The track’s first races were a pair of 250-lap events, run on the same day, both won by Julian Petty — his only two series victories. Other winners at Flat Rock Speedway over the years include Bob Hunter, Bill Lutz, Les Snow, Jim Cushman, Bob Dotter, Bob Keselowski, Tracy Leslie, Harold Fair, Jeremy Mayfield, Joe Ruttman, Tim Steele, Frank Kimmel and Bill Baird. Kimmel won the final race in 2000.
The race will mark the second time the series, formerly the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and rebranded under the ARCA sanction prior to the 2020 season, has raced in the state of Michigan. The series raced at Berlin Raceway in 2017 with former ARCA Menards Series West champion Todd Gilliland taking the victory.
The race is scheduled for 150 laps to be run straight through with no break or competition cautions. Teams will be permitted to pit for adjustments and emergency service on the infield intersection used for the weekly Figure-8 division at the track.
Flat Rock Speedway’s weekly ARCA-sanctioned DTS Drivetrain Specialists Street Stock and the famed “Motor City Mad Men” of the Figure-8 division will also be in action.
The eight race ARCA Menards Series East calendar will start on March 25 at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla., and conclude on Sept. 14 at Bristol Motor Speedway. The entire ARCA Menards Series East schedule, as well as the schedule for the ARCA Menards Series West, will be released in the coming days.