Michael Self Carries Sinclair Oil and ARCA Points Lead Back to Pocono
Series points leader Michael Self (No. 25 Sinclair Oil Toyota) will make his return to the Tricky Triangle when the ARCA Menards Series takes to the track for the General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible200 at Pocono Raceway on Friday, May 31.
Self, determined to bounce back after what can only be described as a heartbreaking fifth-place finish last week in Charlotte will make just his second career start on the ultra-fast and technical 2.5-mile paved triangle-shaped track. The 28-year-old finished third in his only other Pocono appearance in 2017.
“Pocono is such a great track,” said Self. “I really enjoy going there because the area is just beautiful, the weather is usually really pleasant, and the track is just a ton of fun to drive. It’s really difficult, with all three corners being completely different, and it’s a track that really requires patience and discipline. It drives a lot like a road course in a way, which is nice for me because it’s as close as we’ll get to a road course this year, and that’s my favorite style of racing.”
The championship contender returns to action for the eighth time this season. Already a two-time race and General Tire Pole Award winner in 2019, Self leads the series standings by 55 points over drivers Travis Braden and Bret Holmes. Self, with 243-laps led on the season ranks first among all series’ regular drivers.
“It’s great to be leading the points, but I’m kind of putting that out of mind for right now,” Self says. “I want to win some more races. Charlotte was absolutely heartbreaking. There’s nothing worse than dominating the way we did only to end up with a fifth-place finish. I want redemption from that. I want to get the No. 25 Sinclair Oil Toyota back in victory lane. My guys have given me such fast cars every week, we just need to minimize mistakes to close the deal out more often, and that begins with me.”
With 26 career ARCA Series starts to his credit, Self is a five-time tour winner with 16 top-five and 16 top-10 finishes since 2014.
Closing out the month of May in the Pocono Mountains, Self and his Venturini Motorsports/Sinclair Oil team will enter June with four consecutive race weekends back in the Midwest starting at Michigan International Speedway, Madison International Speedway, Gateway Motorsports Park and finally Chicagoland Speedway before their next break in the action.
Prior to Friday’s race, Michael Self will join his VMS teammates Christian Eckes, Harrison Burton and Hailie Deegan at the Fan Stage (2:00-2:30PM EDT) located on the outside of the track behind the grandstand area for an exclusive Pocono Raceway Kids Club appearance.
VMS driver development history at Pocono Raceway. In 2009, Joey Logano became Venturini Motorsports’ first development driver to win at Pocono Raceway. Brennan Poole handed VMS their only other track win in 2012. Poole had four career ARCA poles at Pocono over five starts. Frank Kimmel, ARCA’s all-time race winner with 80-victories, earned his 45th career pole at Pocono driving for VMS in 2015.
Weekend track and broadcast schedule. Practice for the General Tire 150 starts Friday, May 31 at 9 am ET, followed by General Tire Pole Qualifying at 12 noon. The race is scheduled to start at 5:45 pm ET and will be televised live on FOX SPORTS 2 with a same day replay on FOX SPORTS 1 at 8 pm ET.
Sources: Venturini Motorsports PR