Five Flags Speedway Hosting ARCA Menards East, ASA STARS Doubleheader Weekend

The ASA STARS National Tour and ARCA Menards Series East will team up for a huge doubleheader weekend at Five Flags Speedway on Saturday-Sunday, March 23-24, 2024.

It all starts off on Saturday, March 23 with the ARCA Menards Series East opener in the Pensacola ARCA 200, while the ASA STARS National Tour will have open practice in addition to local division racing. The Super Late Models will then take center stage on Sunday afternoon, March 24 for a 200-lap ASA STARS National Tour race.

2024 will be the sixth-straight year the ARCA sanctioning body will compete at the Pensacola, FL half-mile. The 2019 Pensacola ARCA 200 was run as an ARCA Menards Series national race, won by Michael Self. For the past four years, the Pensacola 200 has been contested as an ARCA Menards Series East race.

Current NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers Sammy Smith and Sam Mayer are both former ARCA winners at Five Flags Speedway, with Mayer winning the race in 2020 and his soon-to-be JR Motorsports teammate Sammy Smith winning in 2021 and 2022. Reigning ARCA Menards Series East champion William Sawalich won last year’s Pensacola ARCA 200 to open the season.

Meanwhile, it will be the second appearance for the ASA STARS National Tour at Five Flags Speedway. The nationally touring Super Late Model series held its inaugural race in March 2023 at the half-mile, ushering in a new era of Super Late Model racing. Casey Roderick won the Sunshine State 200 over Jeremy Doss and eventual ASA STARS champion Ty Majeski. The race featured ten lead changes among seven drivers.

Donnie Wilson Motorsports Team Manager Bond Suss stated, “I think it's a great opportunity where our younger drivers can compete in both events at the same racetrack. I definitely could see some of our driver development drivers being able to be at the same track and run both events that weekend.”

Sunday’s ASA STARS National Tour race will be co-sanctioned with the ASA Southern Super Series as the opener for the Deep South Cranes Blizzard Series. Jeremy Doss won his first Blizzard Series title in 2023, while Gio Ruggiero was crowned both the ASA Southern Super Series champion and Rookie of the Year.

More information on the doubleheader weekend, including additional local classes, times, and ticket info will be released soon.

Go to 5flagsspeedway.com or follow Five Flags Speedway on Facebook, @5FlagsSpeedway on X and 5flagsspeedway on Instagram, for more information on Five Flags Speedway.

For more info on the ARCA Menards Series, go to their website at arcaracing.com or find them on Facebook at ARCA RACING SERIES, on X at @ARCA_Racing, and on Instagram at arca_racing

For more information on the ASA STARS National Tour, please visit the series website at starsnationaltour.com, or be sure to follow the series on social media (Facebook: ASA STARS National Tour | X: @racewithstars | IG: @starsnational).

ASA STARS National Tour
The ASA STARS National Tour debuted in March 2023 for Super Late Model racing in America. Announced in October 2022, many of the best drivers in America competed in the ten-race national tour with a minimum $100,000 point fund. The championship team earned $25,000.

The ASA STARS National Tour is made up of three races from each of the regional pavement Super Late Model Series under the Track Enterprises banner – the ASA/CRA Super Series, the ASA Midwest Tour and the ASA Southern Super Series.

The Team Construction Winner’s Circle program was announced as a part of the ASA STARS National Tour for licensed drivers/teams with perfect attendance. The program provides additional financial incentives to those teams who support the series.

Track Enterprises, a racing promotions company based in Illinois, operates the ASA STARS National Tour. It announced the acquisition of Champion Racing Association (CRA) in January 2022 and followed that up with the purchase of the Midwest Tour in July. In October, Track Enterprises President Bob Sargent announced a partnership with the Southern Super Series, which set the table for the formation of the ASA STARS National Tour.

-ASA STARS National Tour Release
-Photo credit: Will Bellamy/Racing America