The ARCA Menards Series East season is about to begin. Drivers will compete at Hickory Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 28, in the first of the eight-race season.
Driving the No. 10 Toyota for Fast Track Racing will be Craig Pellegrini Jr. The 24-year-old from Buena, N.J., will be the lone full-time East driver for longtime owner and 1995 ARCA Menards Series champion, Andy Hillenburg.
Pellegrini will be sponsored by Let’s Be Frank, a canned espresso martini and bloody Mary company.
“Thank you to them,” Pellegrini told Frontstretch. “They’re the real reason that I have the financial funding to go race! All the extracurriculars like wrapping the car and fixing the car are all out of my pocket!”
Ahead of his series debut, Pellegrini spoke to Frontstretch ARCA editor Mark Kristl about his racing background, his goals for the season and his favorite driver growing up.
2026 ARCA East Championship Contenders: Who’s Got The Edge?
Mark Kristl, Frontstretch: Tell us about your racing background, because to my knowledge, all you’ve raced thus far is sprint cars.
Craig Pellegrini Jr: I raced sprint cars for 10 years. I started with my grandfather Al Pellegrini. He helped me and my father purchase my first sprint car when I was 13. Unfortunately, my grandfather passed away before I was able to race for him. So, I ran 305 sprint cars for about seven years. Started in New York because nobody would let a 13-year-old run sprint cars in New Jersey or Pennsylvania. Then, when I started racing in New Jersey, I did so for two years. The Carolina Sprint Tour was hurting for cars at the time. In 2017, I started racing in North Carolina and South Carolina. I won my first IMCA championship in that series in North Carolina in 2018.
From there, I had a lot of mentors who said, “Craig, you have a lot of talent. You should try racing something else.” So, one of them talked me into running USAC. Luckily, they were starting the USAC East Coast Tour. So, I ran that for a handful of years. Got into a nasty wreck my first year so that set me back for a year. But I raced 396 wing and United Racing Club 360 sprint cars. I did not have much funding, so I didn’t fare too badly but I wasn’t great either. Eventually, when COVID-19 hit in 2020 and everybody was hurting for cars, I talked to people involved in the All Star Circuit of Champions and World Racing Group and raced in the Winter Nationals swing.
With my own-built engine and 2009 car, I successfully qualified for the first night of the Winter Nationals. After that swing, I went back to 360 sprint cars for a bit. In 2022, I sold my team ’cause costs were so much and I was doing it all myself.
Afterward, I got a call from a car owner who had a dirt modified that raced at Bridgeport Speedway, so I drove that car for about two years. Then I stepped away from racing for a bit for a number of reasons. I now have a two-car Modified team in the Northeast which I have been racing for about the last three years.
Kristl: How then did you connect with Hillenburg?
Pellegrini: This is a full circle back to my 2018 championship. Andy Stapp, who previously worked at Dale Earnhardt Inc., is a very good friend of Hillenburg. Stapp’s father owned a sprint car that Hillenburg used to race.
I was considering selling all my racing stuff. At age 24, I know I’m not old, but all these kids are starting so young in ARCA nowadays. I unfortunately could not make it happen financially before.
After talking to Stapp, he got a hold of Hillenburg for me. I explained my situation, including bringing along my sponsors and that the crash clauses are coming out of my own pocket, and he made me a deal that I couldn’t refuse. Hopefully, we’ll have a few good finishes and a good points finish.
Kristl: So, what do you do for a living?
Pellegrini: I was a welder/fabricator. I just quit that job on Wednesday, March 25. I am now on a salary, for my title sponsor, to pursue more sponsorship and go full-time racing.
ARCA Hickory Entry List
Kristl: What are your goals for the 2026 ARCA East season?
Pellegrini: With Hillenburg’s team, it’s not impossible to win. Every car and driver is beatable. I always follow the motto “Any given car can win on any given night.” Granted, the stars must align and we must do well.
I want to finish every race. I don’t want to end up with a torn-up racecar because if I persistently do that, I’m not going to make it every far. If I can get a solid top-five points season, I would be thrilled. In Fast Track equipment, that isn’t unreasonable.
I would love to finish inside the top three a couple of times. Of course, I want to win, but I also know I’m racing Joe Gibbs Racing, Nitro Motorsports, and Pinnacle Racing Group. Those teams are on another level. They have more resources and funding. There will be stiff competition throughout the East field, especially this year with regular top-notch cars.
At this point in my career, I have nothing to lose. I’m going to go in with an open mind and I have confidence we can be faster than them, especially at Flat Rock Speedway because it’s such a bullring.
Kristl: You mentioned Flat Rock. Of the eight racetracks, is there one that you are looking forward to going to?
Pellegrini: I’m excited about going to Rockingham Speedway, for sure. We’re going to be competitive there with our program and No. 10 Toyota. My highest expectations are at Flat Rock and Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway. The Fast Track cars have been very consistent there. FTR has a pretty good program. The organization knows what to do well at those two tracks. We’ll fare well at Hickory if we keep the nose clean and stay out of trouble.
Pellegrini has discussed running more of the national races with Fast Track, dependent on funding. “The East deal isn’t 100% covered as of now. We have most of it covered, just not the whole deal. I’m confident that I can find marketing partners and people who want to support an underdog.” He would like to race at Pocono Raceway and Watkins Glen International because of their proximity to his New Jersey home.
Kristl: Who was your favorite driver growing up?
Pellegrini: Jimmy Horton. He’s a New Jersey native who raced in ARCA and the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. He made it happen with minimal funding, all from local sponsors, kind of like me. He made a name for himself, including pulling some stunts such as going over the wall a couple of times. I would prefer not to do that. Watching him at Bridgeport and New Egypt Speedway, every week growing up, he was the sensational one. He’s one of the winningest drivers at Bridgeport. He’s my all-time favorite because he won nearly every week when I was growing up.
Like Horton, it’s a lot of local people that I want to do this for. I want to do it for myself, my grandfather, and the rest of my family.
Now I root for Stewart Friesen. Sometimes I raced against him and he’s doing what I want to do. He’s a dirt racer from the Northeast who has made it happen. He has a sponsor and a successful team. That is my goal, to end up in his shoes.
Pellegrini and his fellow ARCA East drivers will compete at Hickory on Saturday, March 28. The 200-lap race will take place at 7:30 p.m. ET with live coverage on FloRacing and the NASCAR Channel.
