NASCAR Winter Heat Series

NASCAR K&N Winter Heat Series	NASCAR K&N Winter Heat Series
 	
Category 	Stock cars
Country 	United States
Inaugural season 	2019
Manufacturers 	Chevrolet
·Ford·Toyota
Tire suppliers 	General Tire
Drivers' champion 	
Teams' champion 	
Makes' champion 	
Current season 	2022-23
The NASCAR K&N Winter Heat Series, also known simply as the NASCAR Winter Heat Series, is a late model stock car racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. The series was first formed in 1994 as the Winter Heat Series and ran through the 1998-1999 winter. The series returned in 2019 before taking a year off in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since 2019, the series has been a combination series for drivers from the ARCA Menards Series, its East & West regional tours, and the NASCAR Little Caesars Touring Series.
History
Originally formed in 1994, the program aired during the winter months between November and January (during NASCAR's offseason). The program began during the 1994–1995 winter and ran through the 1998–1999 winter. The races were held at the 3/8 mile Tucson Raceway Park in Tucson, Arizona.TNN originally broadcast the races before ESPN took over. Broadcasters for TNN were Mike Joy, Buddy Baker, Glenn Jarrett and Ralph Sheheen. ESPN's broadcasts included Benny Parsons, Bob Jenkins, and Bill Weber. During the 1998 broadcast, Larry Rice, Rick DeBruhl and Ray Dunlap served as fill-ins for Parsons and Weber.
There were six to eight races per winter. The first season of Winter Heat featured the then-brand new SuperTruck Series (which ran various exhibition races during the 1994–95 seasons), the Winston West Series and the NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour. In later years when ESPN covered the events, there generally were three late model races (called the Winston Triple Crown), and a race or two from the NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour and Winston West Series. Ron Hornaday Jr. won the first ever Southwest Winter Heat race while Garrett Evans won the second. 
NASCAR announced the program would return as a full series following the 2019 NASCAR seasons with drivers from the ARCA Menards Series, the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East & West and the NASCAR Touring Series. 
Category:NASCAR Touring Series
Category:Stock car racing series