The ARCA Menards Series heads to Daytona International Speedway on January 9-10 for its annual preseason test.

Seventy-nine drivers will complete laps at Daytona. Not all drivers will contest the season opener at Daytona, nor are drivers and teams required to attend this test to compete in that Daytona race.

ARCA Daytona Test Entry List

The test session will not be broadcast and the grandstands are not open to the public. Frontstretch ARCA editor Mark Kristl will be there, and he names 10 drivers to watch for in this test.

Garrett Mitchell

It’s year two of the ‘Cleetus McFarland’ experiment. Garrett Mitchell, better known as McFarland, returns to ARCA competition after a four-race foray in 2025.

Mitchell finished 10th at Talladega Superspeedway and ninth at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He was respectable, sans a bad restart at Charlotte, in those four starts.

This will be Mitchell’s first time visiting a racetrack for the second time in his ARCA career. That’s where the experiment portion comes into play.

Yes, Mitchell boosted ARCA ratings, gave us plenty of laughs, and was respectable racing. However, he made four starts, and he did not run any other late model races in 2025. So, does Mitchell want to succeed as a racecar driver or just have fun? Both can be accomplished, and we will get a glimpse during this test.

Mitch Stapleton

Mitchell is not the only famous YouTube content creator who is testing at Daytona.

Mitch Stapleton goes by Stapleton42 on YouTube and is testing for Mullins Racing. He visited Mullins’ shop and the genesis of his testing with the team was born.

Stapleton has run nine Grand National Super Series races in 2025, accruing two top fives and nine top 10s, so he has some stock car experience.

Mullins has plenty of superspeedway experience. Moreover, Stapleton is using this test to hopefully run some short track races. Willie Mullins ran four short track races in ’25 and nabbed a top 10 in all. So, Stapleton is piloting solid equipment. While he might not have the publicity of McFarland, his presence ought to be a boost to ARCA as well.

Gavan Boschele

Get used to hearing the name Gavan Boschele. He is slated to run 15 ARCA races this season for Nitro Motorsports after a lone start at Berlin Raceway in 2024 – he finished eighth.

Boschele ran a variety of super late model races in 2025, including full time in the ASA Stars National Tour, where he captured one victory.

A win for Boschele in this test is to show his growth throughout the two-day test. Listen, learn, be a good teammate, be respectful of other competitors, and be fast on track.

Max Reaves

Max Reaves can compete in the test, but he is underage to run the season opener. So why should we care about his performance?

Is he as good as advertised?

Reaves swept his three ARCA Menards Series East starts in 2025. In the main series, Reaves accumulated three wins, four top fives, six top 10s and led nearly half of his laps on track.

Driving around Daytona is different, though. Reaves has full-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Gio Ruggiero as his teammate in this test. How will Reaves’ lap times compare to Ruggiero’s? Ruggiero won the Truck race at Talladega; what will Reaves learn from him?

Reaves cannot compete at the bigger racetracks this year. Still, how he handles racing in the draft and how his lap times fare compared to Ruggiero and the rest of the field will be another indicator of Reaves’ talent level.

Bobby Dale Earnhardt

Bobby Dale Earnhardt likely will not win an ARCA race. His team Rise Racing has struggled overall. In 49 starts, the organization has four top 10s with only one lead-lap result.

So why pay attention to Bobby Dale Earnhardt?

Because his last name is still Earnhardt. Akin to the Cleetus effect for ARCA last year, an Earnhardt racing is still good for the sport.

Bobby Dale Earnhardt should use this test to maximize speed in his No. 89, because a respectable performance throughout the season will garner him more attention, something Rise needs.

Also, Rise finished 19th in owner points last year. Depending on the number of entries for Daytona, Earnhardt could be in danger of missing the field. Speed and improvement throughout the test are the two goals for Earnhardt in his rookie ARCA season.

Thomas Annunziata

Meet arguably your ARCA championship favorite, Thomas Annunziata. Annunziata will pilot the No. 70 Toyota with championship-winning crew chief Shannon Rursch atop the pit box.

Annunziata has been impressive in his ARCA tenure. In 10 platform starts, he has one win, eight top fives and nine top 10s. He debuted with a runner-up result at Daytona in 2024.

Annunziata also has 18 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts. Therefore, he has experience racing on different circuits, with dirt tracks the lone outlier.

Running well at Daytona and obviously ending up in a victory lane would certainly be an immediate boost to Annunziata’s championship hopes. Whether he can be atop the leaderboard in this test will give his team a good idea where they stand ahead of Daytona and Talladega, two of the first four tracks on the ARCA schedule.

Mini Tyrrell

After 88 starts in the CARS Late Model Stock Tour, Mini Tyrrell is taking his talents to Daytona, as he will run the test and race for Cook Racing Technologies.

Tyrrell is connected to the open ride in the Kaulig Racing Truck program. While nothing has been announced, Tyrrell would use this test and the subsequent race to gain approval to compete at the big tracks on the Truck Series schedule.

To do so, he must race cleanly, pay attention to the officials, his team and show he is ready to move up the racing ranks.

Cole Butcher

Cole Butcher won the ASA Stars championship in 2025. He made two Truck starts. Yet now he’s running a Ford for Rette Jones Racing after previously driving Toyotas.

What is Butcher up to? Nothing has been announced about his future, but he’s driving as a teammate to Cleetus McFarland. While McFarland will likely grab headlines, Butcher had excellent results in 2025, claiming three late model series crowns and many triumphs.

Turning 30 years old on August 31, if Butcher wants to climb the NASCAR ladder, he must succeed in his opportunities. He also needs to move up now. As such, here’s hoping his success in the test earns him a shot in ARCA. He deserves it.

Carson Brown

Carson Brown bookended the ARCA series season by competing in the ARCA East season opener and West season finale. He finished sixth in the East race and second in the West one.

This year, he’ll run full time in the East, seeking to give Pinnacle Racing Group another ARCA division crown. Brown will not run the Daytona race, though, as he will turn 18 on July 13.

PRG won Daytona last year with Brenden Queen, and the team won a pair of East races. Brown has high expectations, too, as he signed a development deal with Richard Childress Racing.

Suffice it to say, Brown must meet expectations. He finished second in the ASA Stars points last year. He has a pair of top 10s in two ARCA series starts. Odds are he will shine in this test.

Ryan Vargas

Ryan Vargas has raced in several different series. In 2026, he will be the anchor driver for Maples Motorsports’ No. 91 as well as the team operations manager.

Vargas brings experience to MMS, in its second year of operation. He has 78 combined NASCAR national series starts and 19 under the ARCA umbrella.

Reportedly, Maples bought the lion’s share of Rev Racing equipment. It’s undeniably excellent equipment – the team won two driver’s championships within the past five years.

As such, how fast can MMS close the gap to the frontrunners? Last year, its No. 99 finished 11th in owner points and the No. 67 in 14th. Combined, the two entries managed four top 10s.

Forget about where Vargas lands on the leaderboard. How does his time compare to the frontrunners? If Vargas runs well, MMS could be the team to watch for with significant improvement in 2026.

Follow Frontstretch, the Frontstretch Grassroots YouTube page, and Mark Kristl on X on January 9-10 for test updates from Daytona.