Toledo, Ohio – October 19, 2018 – For the first time since 1996, the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards will race at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida. The date for the event, which will kick off the eleven-race Sioux Chief Short Track Challenge, is Saturday, March 9, 2019.

The date will fill the gap between the season opener at Daytona International Speedway in February and what had traditionally been the second date on the schedule,which in 2018 was at Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville on April 7.

“Five Flags Speedway is a premier pavement short track facility, and the home of the very successful Snowball Derby,” said ARCA President Ron Drager. “This event is scheduled to fill the gap in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule between our traditional season opener at Daytona Int’l Speedway and our first race in the Midwest, which in 2019 will be Salem Speedway in Indiana on April 14. This is an event we’ve long worked toward bringing back to the series schedule and we feel has great potential.”

The ARCA Racing Series has raced at Five Flags on five previous occasions. Texan Roy Payne won the series first event in 1992, with Livonia, Michigan veteran Harold Fair following in 1993. Chelsea, Alabama driver Gary Bradberry won in 1994, Bob Schacht won in 1995, and ten-time series champion Frank Kimmel won the most recent event in 1996. For each of the first three winners at Five Flags, Payne, Fair, and Bradberry, it was the first win of their ARCA Racing Series career.

The event will be co-promoted by Tim and Pat Bryant of Five Flags Speedway and Bob Sargent of Track Enterprises, which also promotes ARCA events at Gateway, Elko, Springfield, DuQuoin, Nashville, and Lucas Oil Raceway.

“All of us at Track Enterprises are very much looking forward to the ARCA Racing Series event at Five Flags,” said event co-promoter Bob Sargent. Tim (Bryant) and everyone there do such a professional job with everything they do. We really think this ARCA event is another national-level event that will give fans another great opportunity to come and visit the track.”

“We’re excited to host the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards at Five Flags Speedway beginning in 2019,” said track owner and promoted Tim Bryant. “It’s a great organization with fantastic, competitive racing. Their future looks brighter than ever. We believe teaming up with Track Enterprises for this very special event will make for the best March event our track has ever seen.”

For complete ARCA schedule information, visit ARCARacing.com. For complete event information, visit TrackEnterprises.com.