tucson az to mena ar.

If you do not mind back roads take I-10 to US 70 in Las Cruces, NM. Then take US 70 to US 71 in Ark. US 70 in NM goes over one pass around Ruidoso, NM but it is not steep up or down and, unless a storm passes through, is a good 4 lane most of the way.

There are other routes to avoid cities like US 62 out of El Paso to US 380 in Brownfield, TX which would have no passes worse than Texas Canyon near Benson, AZ on I-10

If it were me I wouldn't be confirming a route until I checked the weather right before leaving. Two years ago we were coming from San Antonio to Tucson in latter November and an eastbound ice storm screwed everything up on the 10 in west Texas. Who knows, all routes may be clear as a bell when you're ready to leave.

This is just an additional note if you wish to take I-10, I-20 across New Mexico and Texas and I-30 from Dallas to Texarkana:

At Texarkana you would take US 71 North to Mena. You probably already know that.

I-20 around south of Fort Worth and Dallas is usually no problem, traffic flows at full speed limits. There is only a short section of I-635 east of Dallas to join I-30.

It looks like this would be about 75 miles further than an I-40 route. Of course, I'm biased in favor of driving through East Texas rather than through Oklahoma, but not everyone would share that bias.

taking I 40 is a bit iffy this time of year. north tx and oklahoma usually get some snow when a big norther blows down. it won't snow you in for days, but it could stop you for a night.