Zane Smith Welcomes Pennsylvania’s Hometown Musselman’s back to Pocono Raceway
Long Pond, PA (July 27, 2017) – Venturini Motorsports’ rookie Zane Smith will make his second career visit to the ‘Tricky Triangle’ tomorrow afternoon in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards – ModSpace 150 at Pocono Raceway.
Smith, an 18-year native from Huntington Beach, CA and current member of this year’s NASCAR Next group, finished fourth at Pocono during the ARCA series’ first season visit to Pocono last month.
In his quest to tame the intimidating 2.5-mile superspeedway, driver Zane Smith welcomes back Pennsylvania’s very own Musselman’s BIG CUP Apple Sauce to the side of his black No.55 Toyota Camry. Musselman’s, a valued partner of Venturini Motorsports’ ARCA program, has been prominently featured on the team’s fleet of Toyotas throughout the 2017 season.
On Wednesday prior to arriving in the Pocono Mountains, Smith and his Venturini Motorsports team visited Knouse Foods Inc., the grower owned producer, marketer, and distributor of Musselman’s, one of the country’s leading brands of apple sauce.
Located two hours south of Pocono Raceway in Peach Glen, Pennsylvania, Smith took the opportunity to meet with a group of enthusiastic employees while visiting several of the company’s area manufacturing plants.
“It was a huge honor and really cool experience to spend the afternoon touring Musselman’s corporate offices and manufacturing plants,” said Smith. “The tour of the manufacturing plant was super dope! After eating my share of it this season it’s really cool to see how it’s produced.”
“I can’t thank Musselman’s enough. They’ve been such huge supporters of me and this team all season long – It’s really special to take time away from the track and meet with everyone and see their side of the business up close.”
Venturini Motorsports will host a large contingency of Musselman’s corporate family on Friday at Pocono Raceway.
“We had a strong finish here at Pocono back in June. Nothing would make me happier than to grab my first series win with everyone from Musselman’s here at their home track tomorrow night.”
No superspeedway has appeared more on the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule over the years than Pocono Raceway. The upcoming ModSpace 150 marks the 65th ARCA race on the track’s 2.5-mile triangle since the series debuted on the big track in 1983.
Practice for the ModSpace 150 is Friday morning (July 28) from 9 – 10:30 a.m., with General Tire Pole Qualifying at 1:30 p.m. The ModSpace 150 is scheduled to get underway at 4:00 p.m., with the race airing on FS1 same afternoon at 6:00 p.m.
ABOUT MUSSELMAN’S APPLE SAUCE
A family tradition, deeply rooted in quality.
Musselman’s BIG CUP satisfies appetites of teens and adults with active lifestyles, while Musselman’s Squeezables is the healthy snack Mom can provide to her children who are on-the-go.
Musselman’s was founded in Biglerville, PA, in 1907 by Christian and Emma Musselman. The original plants in Biglerville and Gardners, PA, provided much needed canned goods for the servicemen during WWI including corn, tomatoes, and of course apples. They focused on the processing of the abundant local fruit in the area, producing apple sauce, apple juice, and their now-famous Musselman’s Apple Butter.
In 1984 the C. H. Musselman Company was purchased by a cooperative of local fruit growers (Knouse Foods, Inc.). The Musselman’s name, which reflects quality, tradition, and value was preserved and remains a thriving brand today under the ownership of the growers who still tend to their fruit orchards. Knouse Foods, Inc., established as a growers’ co-op in 1949, has a long history of providing outstanding fruit products. They believe making healthy, delicious fruit products is more than just a job; it’s a way of life. And that’s why the growers who have spent their entire lives nurturing their orchards and harvesting their fruit also own the company. That pride and care are the key ingredients that make Knouse fruit products the very best.
For more information visit www.Musselmans.com.
ABOUT VENTURINI MOTORSPORTS:
Venturini Motorsports (VMS), fielding cars for over 30-years in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, is one of the premier NASCAR driver development programs in the country. Multiple team championships and consistent on-track success, VMS has evolved into one of the most recognizable names in motorsports. Since 2007, VMS has assisted in the career development of notable NASCAR drivers such as Joey Logano, Erik Jones, William Byron, Justin Allgaier, Alex Bowman, Christopher Bell, Noah Gragson, Ryan Blaney, Brennan Poole, Daniel Suarez, and Brandon Jones. Over the years the Venturini name has become synonymous with modern-day racing in America. In 2012, the Venturini family was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame (www.NIASHF.org) and now find themselves enshrined with such sports icons as Joe DiMaggio, Mario Andretti, Vince Lombardi, Tommy Lasorda and Rocky Marciano.
Sources: Venturini Motorsports PR