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[/media-credit]TOLEDO, Ohio (May 16, 2012) – – Since the 2012 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards season-opener at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in February, the Josh Williams Motorsports (JWM) team has shown massive improvement. This weekend they look to continue their uphill climb as they fight towards another top-10 finish in Sunday’s Menards 200 presented by Federated Car Care.
With finishes of 20th, ninth and 12th respectively in the last three races, the family-owned team is thriving on building momentum as the Port Charlotte, Florida native returns to Toledo Speedway, the site of the fifth race of the year.
Williams is poised to make his fourth career-start at the half-mile oval and looks to improve on his best finish of 12thwhich occurred last spring. In the fall event, he stepped up his game and qualified a superb eighth before being relegated to a lead-lap 14th place run.
In his quest for a good finish on Sunday afternoon, the JWM team will revert back to their No. 02 Southwest Florida Cable Construction Ford Fusion that they utilized at Mobile (Ala.) International Speedway where a strong finish would be denied due to a parts failure, completely out of control of the Floridian. The former Roush Fenway Racing NASCAR Nationwide Series automobile has shown the capabilities of running near the front. This weekend, they want to keep it there.
“We like this car,” said 18-year old Williams. “It ran so well at Mobile, before the parts malfunction drowned us. Thankfully, we were able to diagnose the issue – we’ve fixed it and shined up our No. 02 Southwest Florida Cable Construction Ford Fusion for this weekend.”
He added, “Toledo a cool place to race. Really, there’s a lot of room to race. Turns three and four a little hairy but that’s where some of the best action happens on the track. Your car has to be glued to the bottom in turn one and two so you can get that drive off going down the backstretch to make your move entering three. I get some goose bumps just thinking about it, because racing at Toledo is such a blast.”
Jeremy Crandall, the team’s crew chief will continue to lead the team since taking the new role at Mobile. Since then – the communication between the two has grown which has yielded back onto the track with their overall performance.
“Let me tell you, we were happy to come out of Talladega with a 12th place run,” offered Williams. “We made a lot of changes to the car since Daytona and we still have a lot to do – but the tireless effort by Jeremy and the crew paid off in a huge way. We avoided the “big one” and hung in the lead draft all race long – after Daytona, we couldn’t have asked for much more.”
Climbing from 33rd to 11th overall in the championship standings over the last four contests has been no easy task. With just fifty points separating the avid Pro Truck driver from entering the top-10 in the chase for the crown, Williams details how important it is to be inside the top-10 throne after Sunday’s run.
“Like a lot of teams, we’re searching and struggling to gain additional sponsorship,” offered Williams. “Without my mom and dad (owners Kevin and Theresa Williams), none of this would be happening. They believe in me and this team though and that’s why we continue to forge ahead. We’re working on some stuff – we have some connections and have an upcoming race in July sold, so if we can just keep propelling this team in the right direction, our fenders shouldn’t be bare for much longer.”
The Menards 200 presented by Federated Car Care (200 laps / 100 miles) is the fifth of 20 events on the 2012 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule. The 71st ARCA race at Toledo Speedway is a two-day show. Practice begins Saturday, May 19 with a forty-five practice session planned from 11:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. A final practice is scheduled from 1:00 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. Menards pole qualifying presented by Ansell is set for later in the day slated to begin at 3:30 p.m. The event will take the green flag Sunday, May 20 shortly after 2:00 p.m. The race will be televised live on SPEED with additional coverage including timing and scoring available through the ARCA Racing Network (ARN) online at arcaracing.com. All times are local (Eastern).
For more information on Josh Williams, his Josh Williams Motorsports team and sponsorship opportunities for the 2012 season please connect to the team’s official website at Joshwracing.com.
