Brooklyn, MI (June 15, 2013) – On two occasions late in the Patriot Pumps 200 at Michigan International Speedway, Venturini Motorsports and ZLOOP™ Racing driver Justin Boston looked to have not only his best speedway finish on the horizon, but also, perhaps, a victory.
Boston (No. 25 ZLOOP™ Computer & Electronic Recycling Centers Toyota) achieved one of the two, matching his career-best finish of fourth, which easily topped his past speedway results. Brennan Poole, a teammate and mentor to the rookie Boston, earned his fourth career win.
Driving into the second turn on Lap 89 of 100, Boston had led 15 laps in search of his first ARCA win in eight attempts. He had recovered from losing the lead under the yellow flag less than 15 laps before, meaning less than 25 miles separated the Maryland driver from Victory Lane.
But as Poole approached in that second turn with a hard-charging car and a shrinking gap, Boston spun across Michigan’s wide backstretch apron. Luckily, he did not make contact with a wall or any other car, and came back to action in seventh place. He improved from there with a fast car that had earlier in the day qualified fourth, and then matched that qualifying spot in the finishing order by passing a fellow rookie and two ARCA veterans.
“We were bad fast today,” Boston said in a television interview shortly after the race. “It’s unfortunate we had that mishap in the end; I thought we were going to have a good one today. (With) pit strategy, everything was on point and we were smooth sailing there but Brennan started running us down and I started getting loose off the corners. He drove down under me and I just got loose and lost it. Thankfully, I saved the car and we rebounded to fourth, so I’ll take it. We’re going to get one soon.”
After starting fourth and finding himself fifth following a Lap 27 pit stop, Boston improved to third on Lap 36 with Poole just behind him. After another caution period, the Venturini duo passed Kimmel for second and third on Lap 55, with Boston still in front of his friend.
When leader Ryan Blaney pitted under the green flag on Lap 70, Boston had the lead for a third race in his still-new career. Poole followed closely until the caution flag flew on Lap 73, giving the Venturini cars a chance to pit under yellow and preserve their advantage.
Grant Enfinger led the field to a Lap 79 green flag, but Boston was second and easily passed for the lead one lap later. Poole quickly approached, though, and finally matched Boston at what turned out to be the race’s fateful moment on Lap 89.
“I felt like it was air that got me loose when Brennan got up to my bumper in (Turns) 2 and 4,” Boston said to a group of reporters in the track media center. “I’m just happy we didn’t get torn up there.”
After restarting seventh on Lap 93, Boston improved to fifth within two laps, and then passed Enfinger for fourth the next time around. He held that spot until the checkered flag, just missing his first victory, but earning key points to improve two places to fourth in the series point standings. Unofficially, Boston stands just 35 points short of third place. He also won SCOTT® Rookie Challenge honors for the race and closed in on Mason Mingus for the category lead.
Through only eight races, Boston says his patience is improving, which was evident as he kept his car unharmed and returned it to the top five late in the race.
“I think composure is the thing I’ve learned the most,” he said. “It’s a big deal to remain composed and that showed today. We’re doing all we can to get back up there, and we made up points today. It’s been a really good year and I feel like I’m learning really quickly. We’re going to take it one step at a time and try to find ourselves in Victory Lane soon.”
Boston and Venturini Motorsports will next compete in the SCOTT® 160 at Road America in Wisconsin. The race is the first of two road course events scheduled for 2013. Practice will begin Friday. Qualifying is set before the 40-lap, 160-mile race, which is scheduled for 12:45 p.m. Central Saturday.
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
