17-Year-Old Racer Has Eyes Set on Second Straight ARCA Victory
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (April 2, 2026) – Carson Brown’s racing arc in the ARCA Menards Series is stout. Sixth in his debut last March at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida, second in his second career start in November at Phoenix Raceway, and first in his third and most recent ARCA start March 5 at Phoenix.
This Saturday at Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway, the 17-year-old from New London, North Carolina, aims to maintain his impressive level of performance in just his fourth career ARCA start.
“At just under a mile, Rockingham will be one of the biggest tracks I’ve run,” said Brown, whose first taste of a mile oval came at Phoenix. “With the banking Rockingham has, it will be a lot faster than Phoenix. It’ll help me get used to driving with more downforce in a race that will be more aero involved.
“I really look forward to these opportunities to get on bigger racetracks. It’s good experience to learn the aero part of ARCA cars and NASCAR-style racing in general.”
Brown is a development driver for Richard Childress Racing. His time in ARCA is preparation for when he gets the eventual nod to make select starts in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, the two stepping-stone divisions to the elite NASCAR Cup Series.
That preparation also involves a lot of work outside the racecar. Brown is a regular inside the 130,000-square-foot GM Tech Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he is embedded with Wise Optimization, the driver training program founded by 2005 USAC National Midget Series champion Josh Wise and former Formula 1 driver Scott Speed.
“The guys at Chevy and Wise Optimization have helped me prepare like I’ve never prepared before,” Brown said. “I work out through the week at the GM Tech Center, and then I sim pretty much every day. That simulator time is very important. It helps a lot when I arrive at the track to have gotten many reps in during the week.
“Josh and Scott are absolutely invaluable to my learning process. Their combined experience and knowledge is something that is hard to replicate. They’re definitely accelerating my learning curve. Even little details, like just going through historical notes, looking at previous races, and helping me read and understand the data. They’re really showing me what to look for and where I need to focus my attention. I cannot thank them enough for their support.”
Also helping is that Brown comes to Rockingham with the same team he’s been racing with since November – Pinnacle Racing Group (PRG), the reigning ARCA champions.
“The guys over at PRG bring me a proven, championship-winning car,” Brown said. “It gives me peace of mind knowing that we’ll be showing up with a good, consistent racecar, with the same crew guys working on it who I worked with at Phoenix.
“Working with the same guys and being able to develop those relationships makes the communication so much smoother. Everybody’s on the same page. That makes the car better and it makes me better. It also helps make our mid-race adjustments that much easier. It allows me to just go out there and execute and do my job.”
Brown’s job is full-time. Even though it’s been a month since his last ARCA start, the driver of the No. 28 Distributor Wire & Cable Chevrolet has kept busy. In addition to running 15 ARCA races this year, Brown is competing for dual championships on the ASA Stars National Tour and the zMAX CARS Tour. In fact, he already has two Super Late Model wins this year. He won the Clyde Hart Memorial Feb. 10 at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway, which served as the season opener for the ASA Stars National Tour, and the Sunshine State 200 March 14 at Five Flags Speedway.
“I started running Late Model Stocks on the CARS Tour this year just to get more used to the stock car feel. The brakes, the heaviness of the car, the power, it’s a lot different than what I’m used to in a Super Late Model,” Brown said. “I wanted to develop as much as possible before transitioning to that next step in my career, and the Late Model racing has definitely helped my learning curve.
“Lee Pulliam has done a great job on the Late Model Stock side. We’ve run really well. Just raced Wake County last weekend and was running fourth when I had a mechanical problem with eight laps to go, so that was a little unfortunate. On the Super Late Model side with Anthony Campi Racing, we’ve had some great races. We’re two-for-two with the ASA Stars National Tour. All of this Late Model racing every weekend definitely helps my development, even though it is on shorter racetracks.”
Brown is scheduled for more than 50 pavement races in 2026 across ARCA, the ASA Stars National Tour, and the CARS Tour.
“I feel like I’m the most sharp when I’m constantly racing,” Brown said. “I used to do close to 100 races a year, including dirt, and this year we’ve actually toned it down to somewhere in the 50s.
“I want to be in the seat as much as possible. When I used to run dirt, that was my weekday filler, and it just kept me in the seat every week, almost every other day between testing, practice and racing. But now it’s a different kind of prep with all of the sim work and development I’m doing with the guys at Chevrolet and Wise Optimization outside of the racecar.”
Brown’s dirt-track background remains beneficial. Before he takes the green flag for Saturday’s ARCA race, he will have only 50 minutes of practice before a 20-minute qualifying session.
“The dirt racing background definitely comes in handy when it comes to ARCA racing,” Brown said. “In fact, the further I move up, it feels like you get less and less practice. In dirt racing, I’m used to having just three hot laps and then going straight into qualifying. So, 50 minutes is a luxury for me.”
That 50-minute ARCA practice begins Saturday at 9 a.m. EDT with qualifying at 10:05 a.m. The 125-lap race around Rockingham’s .94-mile layout goes green at 11:30 a.m. Livestreaming of the event will be carried by FloRacing with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio providing audio coverage.
