Michael Self Eyes Rebound at Michigan
During a season in which we’ve seen the top spot in the driver championship standings change week-to-week, Michael Self (No. 25 Sinclair Oil Toyota) carries the lead for the third consecutive race heading into Friday’s ARCA Menards Series event at Michigan International Speedway.
This will be Self’s 28th overall ARCA start and just his second at Michigan’s ultra-fast 2-mile D-shaped track. Self qualified and finished third in last year’s race behind the wheel of his green and white Sinclair Oil backed Toyota
“I think it’s pretty apparent that I love racing on the bigger tracks, and Michigan is no exception to that” Self says. “Last year we were fast through practice, had a decent qualifying run, and I was able to take the lead on the first lap and actually stretch out a big gap, but then we had a mechanical issue which threw the balance of our car way off from about lap-30 on, so settling for third was a bit disappointing. I’m excited to go back and apply some things that I think I learned last year, and feel a little more comfortable with now.”
Looking to better his 11th place Pocono finish which was fueled by bad luck, the 28-year-old driver from Utah is looking to showcase his talent and capitalize on the strength of his speedway experience.
Self, a five-time ARCA tour winner, has been to victory lane three-times on tracks larger than 1-mile; winning at Kansas Speedway, Daytona International Speedway, and Chicagoland Speedway. Nearly half (259) of his 524-overall laps led in ARCA series competition have come on intermediate or superspeedways.
Self, a two-time winner on tour this season, ironically both on short tracks, enters this weekend’s event with a 30-point advantage over driver Bret Holmes in the series’ point standings.
Self will join VMS teammates’ Christian Eckes and Myatt Snider in search of finding victory lane at Michigan. All three drivers will appear at the track’s General Tire Fan Walk display on Friday afternoon between 4:15PM-4:45PM to sign autographs.
VMS has recorded three victories at Michigan since 2010 – Mikey Kile (’10), Brennan Poole (’13) and Austin Theriault (’14). Team co-owner, Bill Venturini, made his first of seven Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Michigan in 1989.
Practice at Michigan International Speedway is slated for 8AM ET on Friday, June 7, followed by General Tire Pole Qualifying at 12PM, with the 100-lap, 200-mile race going green at 6PM. The race will be televised LIVE on FOX SPORTS 1.
Sources: Venturini Motorsports