LONG POND, Pennsylvania (June 9, 2011) – – On the heels of their first career top-10 finish together in only their sixth ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards event last Saturday night at Chicagoland Speedway, Rookie of the Year candidate Maryeve Dufault and her Tony Marks Racing (TMR) are hoping to carry the momentum to Pocono (Pa.) Raceway for Saturday’s running of the Pocono ARCA 200 in the No. 12 VR-12 / Dodge Motorsports Dodge Charger.
The recent finish also moved the Sorel, Quebec Canada native inside the top-10 in the championship standings and the freshman team is motivated to keep the climb going in the seventh race of the season.
Dufault has never raced at the tricky 2.5-mile triangle but that doesn’t faze the full-time female ARCA competitor as she’s leaning on the experience of her TMR team to guide her through the first of two races there this season.
“Chicagoland was such a great experience and we want to keep it going this weekend at Pocono,” said Dufault, driver of the No. 12 VR-12 / Dodge Motorsports Dodge Charger. “I’ve never been to Pocono Raceway but there are several members of my team that have. I’m relying on their experience plus what I take in during practice on Friday to help us produce a good run on Saturday.”
The goal remains the same this weekend at Pocono, finish the race.
“We went into Chicagoland with the same goals and expectations that we have for this weekend at Pocono and we left their with a top-10 run. We know we still have a lot to learn, myself included. Whatever we don’t achieve, we’ll look to capitalize on it when we return to Pocono in August.”
She added, “After practice, I’ll talk with some of my other competitors and see if they can help me with any struggles I may be having. What is so great about the ARCA Racing Series is that the veteran drivers are willing and able to help. It’s definitely been appreciated.”
With the halfway mark of the 2011 season on the horizon, Dufault is quick to praise her team for their efforts thus far and looks forward to building a platform with them as the year soldiers on.
“We’ve experienced some ups and downs, but we expected that,” Dufault sounded. “As a team though we kept each other confident, brought fast cars to the race track each and every week and have made strides along the way. We have excellent sponsors in VR-12 and Dodge. As long as continue to make gains and produce finishes we’re all happy with that it will be a season that we’re all proud of.”
As for car owner Tony Marks, he is optimistic about Saturday’s Pocono ARCA 200 but is confident in the ability of his team and driver. “It’s another new track, so I know we’re going to have a little bit of a learning curve,” said Marks. “Maryeve did a great job last weekend at Chicagoland. We just have to go to Pocono this weekend and do the same thing that we did last weekend and (hopefully) the finishes will be what we’re looking for.”
The Pocono ARCA 200 (80 laps / 200 miles) is the seventh of 19 events on the 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule. The 52nd ARCA race at Pocono Raceway is a two-day show. Practice begins Friday, June 10 with a one hour and fifty minute practice session planned from 10:00 a.m. – 11:50 a.m. Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying is slated to begin later in the day at 2:05 p.m. The field will take the green flag shortly after 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 11. The event will be televised same-day delayed on SPEED beginning at 8:00 p.m. EST. Live timing and scoring throughout the 1,319th race for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards since it was formed in 1953 will be available through the ARCA Racing Network (ARN) online at arcaracing.com presented by ARCANation.com. All times are local.
For additional information on TMT, Inc. please visit; tmtcompanies.net.
For more on Maryeve Dufault, please log onto Maryeveracing.com.
To learn more about Tony Marks Racing, please click over to Tmr-racing.com.
See the buzz that VR-12 is creating by clicking over to their website at VR-12.com.
Quench yourself with Victory Water, see how at Victoryh20.com.
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.
