A subsidiary of NASCAR since 2018,[1] the current president of ARCA is Ron Drager, who took over the position in 1996 following the death of Bob Loga.

ARCA contains a mix of both professional racers and hobby racers alike, in addition to younger competitors trying to make a name for themselves, sometimes driving as part of a driver development program for a NASCAR team.

John Marcum founded the Midwest Association for Race Cars (MARC) in 1953 as a regional stock car racing series after working as an official for NASCAR founder Bill France Sr.

[6] Former NASCAR drivers, such as Benny Parsons, Kyle Petty (who won the 1979 Daytona ARCA 200, the first race he ever competed in), Ken Schrader and others, have competed in and advanced through the ARCA series on the way to successful NASCAR careers.

[3] ARCA has been used throughout its history as a stepping stone for hopeful NASCAR drivers.