Concord, NC (September 16, 2013) – Fifteen-year-old rookie sensation Kyle Benjamin won his second race of the season Saturday night by winning the Kentuckiana Ford Dealers ARCA Fall Classic presented by Federated Car Care at the Salem Speedway.
Benjamin, who won last month at Madison International Speedway to become the youngest ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards winner in series history, once again dominated the race driving his No.15 Renton Coil Spring-Cometic machine to victory lane leading 70 of the 200-lap event.
“We went up against an incredibly strong field of cars tonight and to get the win is just awesome! My crew chief (Kevin Reed) did a great job with tonight’s set-up, the car got better and better as the night went on and the entire team was flawless,” said Benjamin.
Benjamin’s victory gave Venturini Motorsports (VMS) their sixth victory of the 2013 ARCA season. Each of the team’s victories has gone way of a multi-driver rotation, each driving VMS’s No.15 car with crew chief Kevin Reed at race controls.
“It’s been a special year, I can’t give enough credit to Billy for giving me everything we need to build and prepare these race cars. There’s a ton of financial commitment that goes into building a winning team. The Venturini’s support everything we need to make it work,” says Kevin Reed, crew chief of the No.15 VMS team. “We’ve got great team balance and amazing guys back in the shop to make this happen. I couldn’t ask for anything more.
VMS has won this year on virtually every discipline of track style; superspeedway, intermediate, short track and dirt track.
In all, four different VMS drivers have found victory lane this year.
NASCAR/ARCA driver John Wes Townley kicked off the season in dramatic fashion winning at Daytona International Speedway in his No.15 Zaxby’s Toyota.
ARCA veteran Brennan Poole found victory lane twice, once at Michigan International Speedway and again at the Springfield dirt mile.
Rookie Erik Jones won his first career ARCA race in his home-state of Michigan at Berlin Raceway.
And most recently, Kyle Benjamin joined Poole with multiple season victories behind the wheel of the No.15 car at Madison International Speedway and again this past weekend at Salem Speedway.
“I’ve been fortunate to work with great drivers. John Wes (Townley) has done an amazing job driving for us on the speedways and continues to get better behind the wheel every time out. Brennan (Poole) is a threat every week he gets behind the wheel. Erik (Jones) never won before Berlin but I always knew he was capable. He’s obviously a strong driver with bright career ahead of himself,”added Kevin Reed.
“Kyle (Benjamin) won a lot in late models but we just weren’t sure if his age and inexperience would translate into success so early in the ARCA series. He’s definitely proven his abilities. I spend a lot of time with all the drivers making sure everyone is prepared and comfortable each and every week.”
Reed will reunite with Erik Jones (No.15) this weekend in hopes of continuing their winning ways when the series returns to Kentucky Speedway for the running of the ZLOOP 150 and John Wes Townley will drive the 15-car during the season finale at Kansas Speedway on October 4th. Both races will be aired live on Fox Sports 1.
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
