Venturini Motorsports Daytona Int’l Speedway Pre-Race Fast Facts
CONCORD, NC | February 3, 2020
Series: ARCA Menards Series
Track: Daytona International Speedway
Race: Lucas Oil 200 Driven by General Tire
Duration: 80 laps / 200 miles
Date / TV: Saturday, February 8, 2020 – 4:45PM ET FS1
-STATS: To date, Venturini Motorsports (VMS) has three (3) ARCA Menards Series (ARCA) victories at Daytona:
o 02/16/2013 – No. 15 John Wes Townley
o 02/10/2018 – No. 15 Michael Self
o 02/09/2019 – No. 20 Harrison Burton
-MEET THE DRIVERS: ARCA Menards Series officials will hold an “all-access” fan walk through the garage area Saturday from 1:30-2:30 PM ET, where fans can meet all three VMS Drivers.
-CREW CHIEFS: VMS will once again utilize Shannon Rursch (No. 15), Billy Venturini (No. 20) and Kevin Reed (No. 25) as their crew chiefs for the 2020 ARCA season.
-DINO’S BACK: Sinclair Oil Corporation enters their fourth year of sponsoring Self and looks to bring more exposure to their iconic mascot, DINO, as they will return as the primary sponsor in 18 races of the 2020 season.
–FIRST DAYTONA TRIP: While both Drew Dollar (No. 15) and Ryan Repko (No. 20) competed at the ARCA open-test session, Saturday’s race will mark their first start at the World Center of Speed. Dollar will be piloting the No. 15 Toyota Camry in a full-time ARCA effort while Repko will be helping the No. 20 team to earn a second consecutive Owners Championship with a five-race schedule.
–POWERING CHAMPIONS: After winning the 2019 ARCA championship, Champion Power Equipment announced that keeping with their slogan #PoweringChampions they would become a major associate partner for the VMS team, starting at Daytona.
–SOCIAL: Fans can interact with VMS and their drivers on social media utilizing the different outlets:
o Facebook: VenturiniMotorsports
o Twitter: @VenturiniMotor
o Instagram: VenturiniMotorsports
o Hashtags: #FlyTheV #TeamToyota #DINOracing #PoweringChampions
QUOTES:
Drew Dollar – No. 15 Lynx Capital, Dollar Concrete Construction Company Toyota Camry
Regarding the Daytona Test
“I was really happy with how our test went in Daytona. I felt like our Toyota Camry was definitely one of the best on single-car speed. I really enjoyed working with Shannon (Rursch) and the entire No. 15 team.”
Regarding the Daytona Race
“It’s really exciting to be heading back down to Daytona this weekend to compete in my first ARCA race there. I have a lot of confidence built up that our No. 15 Lynx Capital Toyota Camry team will have a solid car and I am looking forward to working with my teammates throughout the race.”
Ryan Repko – No. 20 Craftsman Toyota Camry
Regarding the Daytona Test
“I feel like overall the Daytona test went very well. I feel like as a team all of our cars have great speed. Venturini Motorsports and I seem to be a great fit and I really enjoyed working with Billy (Venturini) and the entire No. 20 Toyota Camry team.”
Regarding the Daytona Race
“All of the Venturini (Motorsports) guys have put a lot of effort into bringing out every ounce of speed these Toyota Camry’s have to offer. I am pleased with where we ended the test and know the crew hasn’t stopped working on our cars since. It’s really exciting to be heading back to Daytona to compete in my first race there and I am looking forward to working with Billy (Venturini) and my teammates to bring home a solid finish for the VMS team.”
Michael Self – No. 25 Sinclair Oil Toyota Camry
Regarding the Daytona Test
“I was really pleased with our test overall. We were able to find some speed and make gains over the two days, and the biggest things from my standpoint was that our car was very stable in the draft. That’s really important at the Superspeedway races.”
Regarding the Daytona Race
“Last time Kevin (Reed) and I worked together at Daytona, we brought home the trophy, using the same car we’re bringing this year. While it’d be amazing to do that again, we need to stay clean until the end to have another shot at victory lane. We’ll be paying a lot of attention to who we’re racing around and come up with a strategy as we go and hopefully, we will have a solid day for the No. 25 Sinclair Oil Toyota Camry.”
ABOUT VENTURINI MOTORSPORTS
With over 65 victories, the 2019 ARCA Menards Series champions, Venturini Motorsports, are an official Toyota Racing Development team, and have been a permanent fixture in the ARCA Menards Series since 1983 and are considered one of the early pioneers in NASCAR driver development programs.
Since Joey Logano, the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup champion, raced for the team in 2007, VMS has gone onto assist many of the sports’ top driver prospects in pursuit of making it to the highest levels of stock car racing.
The growing list of drivers racing today in one of NASCAR’s top-three touring series include current Toyota drivers Erik Jones, Christopher Bell, Harrison Burton, Christian Eckes, Chandler Smith, Brandon Jones, Todd Gilliland, Brennan Poole, Ryan Reed and Natalie Decker. VMS Alumni also include Joey Logano, William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Daniel Suarez, Bubba Wallace, Matt Tifft, Noah Gragson, Justin Allgaier and Justin Haley.
Sources: Venturini Motorsports PR