ARCA Hoosier Pro Late Model Division, Southwest Series

ARCA Hoosier Southwest Series	ARCA Hoosier Southwest Series
 	
Category 	Late models
Country 	United States
Inaugural season 	2014
Manufacturers 	Chevrolet · Ford · Toyota
Tire suppliers 	Hoosier
Drivers' champion 	Derek Thorn (6th title)
Current season 	2022
The ARCA Hoosier Pro Late Model Division, Southwest Series, also known simply as the ARCA Hoosier Southwest Series, is a pavement late model racing series sanctioned by the Automobile Racing Club of America. The series was originally formed in 2001 as a continuation of the Tri-Track Challenge run in California between 1997 and 2000. The series was acquired by ARCA in October 2021 and will debut under the ARCA Hoosier Pro Late Model Division banner in February 2022.
The series, along with the Northwest Series, make up the ARCA Hoosier Pro Late Model Division, West Tour who combine for seven races annually.
History
The ARCA Hoosier Southwest Series was first formed in 1997 as the Tri-Track Challenge, a collaboration between Madera Speedway, Stockton 99 Speedway and Altamont Motorsports Park. The 1999 season was won by Burney Lamar, despite only winning a single race at Stockton. Terpstra, Fensler, Holmes and Tucker completed the top five. After the 2000 season, won by Jim Pettit, II, the series was disbanded. The main reason being Stockton 99 Speedway not wanting to continue to support the series In January 2001 the promoters of Altamont and Madera tried to found a series the same rules as the existing NASCAR Elite Division. Davey Hamilton and Rick Gerhardt, promoting a California-based supermodified racing division under the Supermodified Racing League sanctioning body offered to sanction the new late model series under their umbrella. The SRL Wild West Shootout Late Model Series was founded for the 2001 season with Altamont and Madera running six races each. Stockton returned on the calendar for the 2002 season. Gerhardt sold his interest in the series at the beginning of 2004 to Steve Fensler. For 2005 the supermodified division was sold to form the Western States Supermodified Racing League. The late model series continued under the management of Fensler. For 2006 the SRL Southwest Tour was formed in affiliation with the ASA. After the announcement that the NASCAR Elite Division would be disbanded after the 2006 season the NASCAR organization encouraged the Elite Division teams to join the SRL series. A pre-season non-championship race, the SRL Winter Showdown, was introduced in 2015. The race at Kern County Raceway Park invited many non-SRL racers to compete for the crown. New to the SRL series were Dustin Ash, Preston Peltier, Dalton Sargeant among others. South-eastern based short track specialist Bubba Pollard won the first two editions of the race. For 2022, the event will be moved to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and be ran as a points-paying combination race with the Northwest Series.
The series was sold to the Automobile Racing Club of America in October 2021 and will debut under the ARCA Hoosier Pro Late Model Division banner in February 2022. Select races will air on tape delay on ESPN SpeedWorld on ESPN+.List of champions
Season 	Champion
Tri-Track Challenge 	Tri-Track Challenge
1997 	Dave Byrd
1998 	Mike David
1999 	Burney Lamar
2000 	Jim Pettit, II
SRL Wild West Shootout 	SRL Wild West Shootout
2001 	Nathan Tucker
2002 	Jeff Anthony
2003 	Ron Strmiska, Jr.
2004 	Steve Belletto
2005 	Jason Fensler
SRL Southwest Tour 	SRL Southwest Tour
2006 	Eric Schmidt
2007 	Dave Byrd
2008 	Jim Pettit, II
2009 	M.K. Kanke
2010 	Jonathan Gomez
2011 	Jim Pettit, II
2012 	Derek Thorn
2013 	Jim Pettit, II
2014 	Derek Thorn
2015 	Jacob Gomes
2016 	Derek Thorn
2017 	Derek Thorn
2018 	Jeremy Doss
2019 	Cole Moore
2020 	Derek Thorn
2021 	Derek Thorn
ARCA Hoosier Southwest Series	ARCA Hoosier Southwest Series
2022 	
===Most championships===
Championships	Driver
6 	Derek Thorn (2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2021)
4 	Jim Pettit, II (2000, 2008, 2011, 2013)
2 	Dave Byrd (1997, 2007)
1 	Mike David (1998)
1 	Burney Lamar (1999)
1 	Nathan Tucker (2001)
1 	Jeff Anthony (2002)
1 	Ron Strmiska, Jr. (2003)
1 	Steve Belletto (2004)
1 	Jason Fensler (2005)
1 	Eric Schmidt (2006)
1 	M.K. Kanke (2009)
1 	Jonathan Gomez (2010)
1 	Jacob Gomes (2015)
1 	Jeremy Doss (2018)
1 	Cole Moore (2019)