CONCORD, N.C.: Five weeks since earning a runner-up finish with Venturini Motorsports at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, veteran ARCA Menards Series racer Gus Dean returns to the series for Friday night’s General Tire 150 hunting his third career victory at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway.
After a sour finish in the season-opening race at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway because of a mechanical failure, Dean and the Kevin Reed Jr.-led Venturini Motorsports team returned to the 2.66-mile superspeedway hungry as ever.
Dean showcased his superspeedway skills and while he attempted to steal the limelight from his Venturini Motorsports teammate Jesse Love on the last lap in the General Tire 200, the Bluffton, S.C.-native just didn’t have enough momentum to propel him past Love and settled for second – recording his best Talladega ARCA finish since winning in his second career start in 2016.
Fast forward to this week, Dean is excited about returning to Charlotte Motor Speedway with his potent team in his corner looking to finish one position higher in one of the most watched ARCA races of the season on May 26.
“I am really glad to be back with Venturini Motorsports this weekend at Charlotte,” said Dean. “I cannot thank everyone on the Venturini Motorsports team enough for continuing to give me opportunities to drive their race cars.
“Even though we came up a little short of a victory at Talladega, I am still proud to be able to assist in propelling the team to another superspeedway win. We definitely needed a good run at Talladega and we were able to achieve that.
Sniffing Victory Lane though just made our No. 25 team hungrier to go to Charlotte and do everything in our power to put ourselves in Victory Lane. We definitely deserve it. Hopefully, we can execute the race perfectly and do some celebrating on Friday night.”
Dean has two prior ARCA Menards Series starts at the 1.5-mile speedway, most recently in 2019 during his full-time campaign in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series.
Paired with AM Racing, Dean started 11th and raced to a third-place podium. In his track debut in 2018, also for AM Racing, he qualified on the outside pole and finished a respectable 14th.
“Charlotte is a fun race track,” explained Dean. “It is a very fast track with a lot of characters. I am intrigued to see how the cooler temperatures this week affect the handling conditions of our race cars.
“I know our No. 25 Mobil 1 | Dean Custom Air Toyota Camry will be fast, but it will be crucial for us to make sure we stay ahead of the handling and have a mistake-free race to challenge our contenders for the race win.”
In addition to Daytona, Talladega and Charlotte, Dean will return to ARCA competition with Venturini Motorsports at Michigan International Speedway in August and Salem (Ind.) Speedway in September.
Additional ARCA races with Venturini Motorsports could be added as the season progresses.
Dean, a fan favorite is poised to have a busy 2023 season between ARCA, Late Models, Mud Truck Racing and a hopeful sporadic appearance or two in NASCAR.
“With no championship on the line for me this season, it’s about having fun,” sounded Dean.
“Whether that’s competing with Venturini Motorsports in ARCA, DLP Motorsports in Late Model competition, or the other racing endeavors we have planned for this season. Of course, the urge to still compete full-time is there, but it takes marketing partners and a lot of financial commitment to make it happen.
“Until we can hopefully put ourselves back into that position again, we’ll take the path that has been laid out before me and make the most of it.”
For the second time in his ARCA career, Dean will carry the Mobil 1 colors as the primary partner on Venturini Motorsports’ flagship No. 25 entry. In addition to Mobil 1, Dean Custom Air, IMPACT Race Products and Folds of Honor will serve as associate marketing partners for Dean’s 62nd career ARCA race.
Since 2016, Dean has 61 ARCA Menards Series starts to his credit with two wins at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in 2016 and Elko (Minn.) Speedway in 2018 respectively. Overall, he has earned two poles, two wins, 19 top-five and 35 top-10 finishes.
For more on Gus Dean, please visit GusDean.com, like him on Facebook (Gus Dean Racing) and follow him on Instagram and Twitter (@GusDean).
The General Tire 150 (100 laps | 150 miles) is the fifth of 20 races on the 2023 ARCA Menards Series schedule in the 71st consecutive ARCA season. Practice begins Friday, May 26 from 11:40 a.m. – 12:25 p.m. General Tire pole qualifying in a timed session will begin a short time later at 12:40 p.m. The race is set to take the green flag later in the day shortly after 6:00 p.m. ET. The event will be televised live on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) with the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM Satellite Radio (XM channel 391 | online channel 981) handling the radio waves. ARCARacing.com will also stream live timing and scoring throughout the entire weekend festivities.
