Concord, NC (June 11, 2013) – Mixing his team’s recent results at Michigan International Speedway with his own increased confidence from three straight top-10 finishes, Justin Boston can easily be considered a contender for Friday’s Michigan ARCA 200.
Boston (No. 25 ZLOOP™ Computer & Electronic Recycling Centers Toyota) has never visited Michigan’s two-mile oval, and ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards teams did not test in the Irish Hills this spring, an opportunity that was readily available to Venturini Motorsports and others in previous years.
However, Boston has previously tested at another speedway that he believes will prepare him for his first trip to Brooklyn, Mich.
“I’ve tested before at Kentucky, and I know it’s a half-mile shorter than Michigan, but getting used to it should be pretty easy,” Boston said. “The Venturinis have really good cars and we’ll be fast off the truck. It’s the same deal of getting me comfortable each and every week at tracks I haven’t been to. As long as we do that, we’ll keep having strong runs.”
In the past three races, Boston has achieved his career-high finish of fourth twice, at short tracks Toledo and Elko Speedways. He finished ninth Saturday at Pocono Raceway.
Still, those top-fives leave Boston unsatisfied and searching for better results. Since returning from Pocono Saturday night, Boston has spent time at the Venturini shop in Concord studying film and trends of previous Michigan races, along with working on a simulator.
“We didn’t have the best run we could have at Elko – I felt we could have won that race – but we were trying to back up what Brennan (Poole) did there last year (a win),” he said. “I’m trying to get a little more prepared this week than I was at Pocono. I had a couple of issues with my brakes there, so this week we’re trying to get a really strong run for us and contend for the win.”
One person joining Boston on the Venturini roster Friday is last year’s driver of the No. 25 car, Poole himself, who led 59 laps at Michigan before blowing out a tire while leading the race finished 11th last June. Still, that result was Poole’s lowest in ARCA’s seven speedway races, and his impressive work helped him win the Hoosier Tire Superspeedway Challenge at season’s end.
It’s important, then, that Boston and Poole have become such good friends in recent months and will have the chance to work together this week as Poole makes his first ARCA start of the year.
“Brennan has really helped me from day one, and it’s an added bonus that we’re pretty much the same guy,” Boston said. “We share a lot of common interests and have grown as good buddies the last couple of months. It’s pretty cool to have someone you can hang out with off the track, and then as soon as you get to the track, be professional with to help each other out. It’ll be a cool story if we’re contending for the win.”
In addition to Poole, other recent drivers of Venturini’s No. 25 car have succeeded at Michigan. In 2010, Mikey Kile led 26 laps and won; the following year, Max Gresham led only four but finished second. In the last three years, no team has led as many laps at Michigan as Venturini’s No. 25 entry.
Laps Led and Wins at Michigan Since 2010:
Venturini Motorsports, No. 25 – 89 laps led, one win (2010)
Eddie Sharp Racing, Nos. 81 and 6 – 80 laps led
Kevin Harvick, Inc., No. 33 – 64 laps led
Richard Childress Racing, No. 41 – 22 laps led, one win (2011)
Coulter Motorsports, No. 16 – 19 laps led
Roulo Brothers Racing, No. 17 – 14 laps led, one win (2012)
Cunningham Motorsports, No. 22 – 12 laps led
The garage will open for the 32nd ARCA Racing Series event at Michigan International Speedway at 8 a.m. Thursday, with a single practice scheduled that afternoon from 1:05-3:30. Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell will begin at 10 a.m. Friday, hours before the Michigan ARCA 200 at 5:15 p.m.
SPEED’s live television coverage from the Irish Hills will begin at 5 p.m. ARCARacing.com will carry live timing and scoring coverage for all on-track activity.
About Venturini Motorsports
Venturini Motorsports (VMS), fielding cars for over 30-years in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, is one of the premier NASCAR driver development programs in the country. Multiple team championships and consistent on-track success, VMS has evolved into one of the most recognizable names in motorsports. Since 2007, VMS has assisted in the career development of notable NASCAR drivers such as Joey Logano, Justin Allgaier, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Brian Scott, Kevin Swindell, Miguel Paludo, John Wes Townley, Josh Richards and Johanna Long.
In 2012, VMS and the Venturini family was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame and now find themselves enshrined with such sports icons as Joe DiMaggio, Mario Andretti, Vince Lombardi, Tommy Lasorda and Rocky Marciano, among others.
After nearly two decades away from NASCAR, 2013 marks VMS’s modern day return to the series with John Wes Townley driving the team’s familiar No.25 in selective NASCAR Nationwide Series events.
Official: www.VenturiniMotorsports.com | Twitter: @VenturiniMotor | Facebook: Venturini Motorsports
