Note: If a driver is listed as their own crew chief for a particular race, that means that their entry in that race was a
start and park.
Complete schedule Limited schedule Notes Changes Teams • On November 13, 2020, it was announced that
Lira Motorsports would be returning to the series for the first time since
2017, fielding a part-time entry for late model and
NASCAR Roots driver Logan Misuraca. She and the team also announced that they would run part-time in the Truck Series in 2021. They started the season at ARCA's preseason test session at Daytona in January where Misuraca was initially on the entry list in a No. 33 car for Lira, which was later withdrawn. Misuraca revealed in an interview in April that her deal with Lira had fallen through. • On December 8, 2020,
Ken Schrader confirmed that he would be closing down his longtime ARCA team,
Ken Schrader Racing, which would only keep its dirt racing operations in 2021. This will be the first season since 1990 where KSR has not competed in the series. Schrader's iconic No. 52 car only competed part-time from 2018 to 2020 due to lack of sponsorship.
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour driver
Andy Jankowiak bought some of the assets of Schrader's team to form his own team, Jankowiak Motorsports, and make his debut in the series. They entered the No. 73 car for Jankowiak at Daytona, Talladega, Charlotte, Pocono, Watkins Glen and Bristol. However, Sanchez instead ended up using the No. 2. • On January 14, 2021, it was announced that
Win-Tron Racing would merge into
AM Racing, a Truck Series team that they have had an alliance with for multiple years and that they have shared a race shop with beginning in 2020.
Howie DiSavino III will continue to drive part-time in the team's No. 32 car.
Drivers • On September 15, 2020, it was announced that
Sam Mayer, who drove the No. 21 car for
GMS Racing part-time in the ARCA Menards Series along with the full season in the East Series (where he won the championship), would move up to the Xfinity Series in June 2021, driving the
JR Motorsports No. 8 car, in the second half of the season after he turns 18 and is eligible to race in the series. On November 2, 2020, GMS announced that
Jack Wood will drive for them full-time in the East Series and in all of the Showdown races in the main ARCA Menards Series, replacing Mayer in the No. 21. Wood previously drove part-time in the
ARCA Menards Series West, fielding his own team, Velocity Racing. Venturini replaced Self in the No. 25 with multiple drivers.
Gracie Trotter,
Derek Griffith,
Parker Chase,
Brandon Jones,
Chandler Smith,
Jesse Love, and
Toni Breidinger all drove the car during the season. • On December 18, 2020,
David Gilliland Racing announced that
Joey Iest would join the team to drive in six or more East Series races for the team. Because the 2021 East Series schedule features 8 races, and 3 of them being combination races with the big ARCA Menards Series, at least one of Iest's six races will be in a combination race. On July 6, David Gilliland Racing announced that he had recovered and would return to complete the remainder of his scheduled starts, beginning with
the race at
Elko. • On July 28, 2021, it was announced that
Toni Breidinger would be leaving
Young's Motorsports to re-join
Venturini Motorsports, the team she drove for part-time in the series in 2018. The races that she ran for them in her part-time schedule are Winchester, Springfield and DuQuoin in the No. 25, and Kansas in the No. 55. Lindley had originally been announced to return to GMS Racing in 2021 to crew chief Jack Wood, Mayer's replacement.
Manufacturers • On December 22, 2020, Willie Mullins announced that his No. 3 car would be a Chevy at Daytona. He bought the car from the closed KBR Development team, which was the same one that
David Gravel and
Brandon McReynolds drove in the 2020 and 2019 Daytona races, respectively, and that
Sheldon Creed drove at Daytona in 2018 for MDM Motorsports. As a result, the Ford that Mullins previously drove in this race was announced to still be used at Daytona and become a new second car for the team with a driver had yet-to-be determined. However, the second car did not end up being fielded at Daytona due to lack of sponsorship. ==Schedule==