DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (February 7, 2011) – – Testing is now complete and ARCA Rookie Maryeve Dufault is ready to put the knowledge gained to use in the ARCA season opener at Daytona International Speedway on February 12. Dufault, who previously competed in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, will attempt to qualify the No. 12 Dodge Charger entry for Tony Marks Racing (TMR), the newest multi-car operation in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards.
“I am really looking forward to the race weekend at Daytona,” said Dufault. “We have done quite a bit of testing over the last few months and after our test at Daytona in January I feel quite prepared for this weekend.” The team ran the three-day open test at Daytona in January and Dufault delivered solid results putting the No. 12 Dodge Charger 28th out of 58 competitors with a fast lap of 49.203 seconds/ 182.916 miles per hour.
“I was pretty happy with our test and how the car felt in the draft,” explained Dufault when asked about Daytona. “I had so much information from the team and other drivers about the draft, and how the car would handle differently so I felt prepared when I actually got in the draft for the first time. The car was very well balanced and stable and I thought it was really exciting. It was actually fun and I really enjoyed the drafting. I know that it will be a little different in the race, but I think with the testing and preparation that we have done that I will be ready.”
Dufault has reams of experience behind her effort with veteran crew chief Larry Moore at the helm of the No. 12 TMR Dodge Charger. Moore was the crew chief for 2008 ARCA Champion Justin Allgaier who qualified 30th at the 2008 Daytona event and finished in second place.
“It will certainly be a challenge since we will be attempting to make the race on qualified time,” explained Moore. “It looks like there will be quite a few cars so we need to be prepared and have the No. 12 ready to go when we arrive. Maryeve has shown real promise in her testing sessions at New Smyrna and Daytona so I feel confident that she’ll get qualified and make the race. Right now our main objective is to get this car qualified on Friday (Feb. 11) and make the race and then finish well on Saturday.”
Dufault, who caught the eye of the Dodge Motorsport representative while racing for the Dodge Quebec Dealers during the 2010 season, will be serving as the Dodge Motorsport development driver for the 2011 ARCA season. “I am very thankful to Dodge and Tony Marks for their support and for giving me this opportunity,” said Dufault. “Dodge has a great history supporting drivers such as Brad Keslowski and Kurt Busch and Tony is putting 110% effort behind this team, so I feel flattered to be in this position. I am really excited to get the season underway and bring home a good result for Dodge and Tony Marks Racing this weekend.”
Dufault and the TMR team will attempt to qualify the No. 12 Dodge Charger on Friday, February 11 at 2 p.m. and then race in the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona on Saturday, February 12, 2011. The race will be televised live on SPEED at 4:30 p.m. ET.
PHOTO CAPTIONS: 1) Maryeve Dufault in 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards drivers uniform. (Photo Credit: Michael Voorhees; High resolution images available upon request).
About Tony Marks Racing (TMR):
Tony Marks Racing was founded in 2009 through the passion for racing of team owner and former driver Tony Marks. Marks is the successful owner of TMT, Inc., a logistics, warehousing and packaging company with over 400 employees whose
customers are mainly comprised of Fortune 100 companies.
Marks began his racing career in 1985 getting behind the wheel of everything from
drag racers, Dirt Late Models, SCCA Formula Fords, USAC F2000 Open Wheel and ARCA cars. Tony personally raced until 2005 amassing numerous wins, championships and track records along the way until he then changed his focus from driver to owner and began building racing programs for his children Jared (16 years old) and Rachel (13 years old). Under the auspices of TMR, Jared began his racing career in 2002 in quarter midgets and now competes in late model, CRA, ASA and ARCA Series events while Rachel continues her development program racing quarter midgets and Bandoleros.
TMR has been at the forefront of charitable giving through its’ “Driving Against Hunger” and “Million Meal Challenge” race programs which have raised over $200,000 for Forgotten Harvest in 2010 at the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series events at Michigan International Speedway.
For the NASCAR events TMR along with TMT, Inc. partnered with Forgotten Harvest for the “Million Meal Challenge For Our Kids” which helps to bridge the hunger gap while schools are out of session and feeds 20,000 children per day in the Detroit metro area. Forgotten Harvest was significantly displayed on the entry of Chase Austin during both the Truck and Nationwide events at Michigan International Speedway along with logos of “Million Meal Challenge” sponsors Walgreen’s, United Race Group, Holyfield’s Choice Alka-Power Water and Vitamin Spice. Evander
Holyfield was also instrumental in the challenge, acting as Grand Marshall for the August race and announcing his “Fight Against Hunger” on behalf of Forgotten Harvest.
As the first race team to “Drive Against Hunger” through their partnership with Forgotten Harvest, TMR plans to continue their alliance with Forgotten Harvest and once again “Drive Against Hunger” during the 2011 season.
For additional information on TMT, Inc. please visit; tmtcompanies.net.
