Jason Bowles will take to the track for his ARCA Racing Series debut this week at Daytona International Speedway. The Ontario, Calif., native will pilot the No. 6 Rusty Wallace Racing Experience Toyota Camry for Eddie Sharp Racing.
Toyota All-Star Showdown Champion: Bowles started the 2011 racing season with a win in the Toyota All-Star Showdown at Irwindale Speedway. The race for the victory came down to the last restart, where Bowles lined up second with seven laps remaining in the 225-lap race. Holding off NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Champion DJ Kennington, Bowles had a great jump on the restart and took the checkered flag for the championship victory.
ARCA Racing Series Debut: Bowles will make his entrance into the ARCA Racing Series at DIS. The event, which will also be Bowles’ first event at DIS, will not be his first time on the newly-paved track. Bowles and the ESR team tested at the 2.5-mile speedway in January to prepare for the event.
Team ESR: Bowles will reunite with Eddie Sharp Racing for the ARCA Racing Series event. Last season, Bowles piloted the No. 46 ESR Toyota Tundra at Texas Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event.
Experience: Bowles is coming off a busy 2010 season. He competed in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and NASCAR K&N West Series. The driver competed in the K&N West Series full-time from 2007-2009 with nine wins, 10 poles, 26 top-fives, 32 top-10s, 2007 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Sunoco Rookie of the Year and the 2009 Championship. Bowles also made history in 2009 with an average finish of 4.2, the best in series history since 1995 for drivers with 13 or more starts. Bowles began racing go-karts in 1994 and gained experience driving in the Cooper Tires Zetec Championship and Grand-Am Cup ST class. Bowles soon transitioned from open-wheel racing to stock cars and competed in late models and the NASCAR K&N West Series.
Rusty Wallace Racing Experience: The Rusty Wallace Racing Experience operates a one-of-a-kind racing school at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. The school utilizes NASCAR COT Sprint Cup cars and Triad Racing Technologies Sprint Cup engines incorporates a spotter-driver system instead of the traditional lead-follow format of other schools. The authentic racing experience takes the driver to his or her limits at speeds over 175 mph. For more information, check out www.racewithrusty.com
Follow the Action: Get live updates from the track throughout the weekend at www.facebook.com/teamesrand www.twitter.com/TeamESR. Follow Jason at www.twitter.com/bowlesjason.
Tune-In: The Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 will be broadcast live on SPEED at 4:30 p.m. EST on Feb. 12, 2011. Fans can also catch the audio broadcast locally on WNDB 1150 AM in Daytona Beach, Fla. Live scoring, timing and audio will also be available on ARCARacing.com throughout the week.
Bowles on Racing at Daytona:
“I’m really looking forward to carrying momentum from the Toyota All-Star Showdown victory to Daytona with Eddie Sharp Racing and the No. 6 team. The test went really well in Daytona and gave me the chance to test out the draft, which I hadn’t experienced at a superspeedway.”
On the Biggest Challenge of Racing at Daytona;
“The biggest challenge is going to be the draft – getting someone you work really well with out there and making sure that you are in the right place at the right time, especially at the end of the race. Superspeedway racing is like a chess match, and I’m really looking forward to it.”
