TALLADEGA, Ala.: ARCA Menards Series East winner Max Gutiérrez will continue to enhance his racing resume as he returns to the premier ARCA Menards Series tour for Saturday afternoon’s General Tire 200 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
The former NASCAR Mexico Challenge Series champion returns to the premier ARCA Menards Series tour determined to finish what his team started in the 2022 season-opener at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in February.
Fresh off a third-place finish in the ARCA Menards East opener at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway on that Tuesday, Gutiérrez and his Rette Jones Racing team in an alliance with AM Racing trekked 12 miles north where he successfully qualified 19th aboard his No. 32 TOUGHBUILT | Rette Jones Racing car at the “World Center of Racing.”
While running competitively in the draft and inching close to the top-10, Gutiérrez’s race car developed an electrical issue which thwarted their opportunity to contend for the win and instead left the 19-year-old embracing laps around the 2.5-mile superspeedway in the draft to prepare him for this weekend’s battle at Talladega’s breathtaking 2.66-mile superspeedway.
With the team confident that the electrical issue is fixed for Talladega, Gutiérrez heads to the famed Alabama race track ready to contend for a strong finish.
“I am so thankful for this opportunity at Talladega,” offered Gutiérrez. “Daytona was certainly disappointing, but you will have days like that in racing. Even though we were out of contention for the win, I never stopped learning from the drop of the green flag to the checkered flag.
“I am hoping that all of that experience will be a benefit for Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday.”
The third ARCA Menards Series race of the season will present a unique schedule for its teams and competitors. With a firm one-hour practice set to allow them to showcase the speed in their race cars, qualifying will not be held and the field will be set per the 2021 ARCA Menards Series owner standings.
The rules will put the Mexico City, Mexico native towards the back of the field for his seventh career ARCA Menards Series start, but the sophomore competitor is confident about his ability to work his way from the back to the front of the field at Talladega.
“Mark (Rette), Jamie (Jones) and everyone who works on this No. 32 TOUGHBUILT car have not left anything on the table. Together, we want redemption. We want to bounce back from Daytona and put ourselves in the running for a good finish.
“It’s going to take a lot of patience and being able to thread the needle and make sure I’m listening to my spotter constantly as he is my best eyes and ears to not only keep me out of trouble but to move forward at a competitive and good pace.”
Following Talladega, Gutiérrez and his Rette Jones Racing team are expected to return to Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway where together the organization will try and repeat their impressive top-five finish in ARCA East competition from 2021.
“This upcoming stretch of races is going to be a lot of fun, but I’m really pumped up for some of the races we have coming this season,” he said. “I just need to stay focused and be mindful. Both Talladega and Dover are on different ends of the spectrum as far as race tracks are concerned, but both races definitely present an opportunity to shine.”
In addition to TOUGHBUILT. TekNekk and Jimmy Morales Escuderia TELMEX | TELCEL, Distributed Ledger Inc. (DLI), GoGig, Ford Performance, Goodridge Fluid Transfer Systems, Jones Group Demolition and Abatement and JRi Shocks join the Mooresville, N.C.-based team as partners on Saturday.
Rette is just as upbeat as his driver is about the impending race.
“Even though the results don’t show it from Daytona, Max is plenty capable of contending for a top-five finish if not the win on Saturday,” the former ARCA championship crew chief said. “While not running a full ARCA schedule this season, Max is incredibly focused and determined to treat every race as if it was his last.
“We showcased that the car was plenty capable of the draft, now we just need to have a little luck and Max should be able to take care of the rest.”
The General Tire 200 (76 laps | 200 miles) is the third of 20 races on the 2022 ARCA Menards Series schedule. Group practice begins on Fri. April 22 from 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. The series won’t host qualifying, setting the field by 2021 ARCA car owner standings. The 60th ARCA from Talladega is set to take the green flag on Saturday, April 23 shortly after 12:00 p.m. The event will be televised live on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) with the Motor Racing Network (MRN) handling the radio waves. ARCARacing.com will also stream live timing and scoring throughout the entire weekend festivities. All times are local (CT).
For more on Max Gutiérrez, please visit maxgutierrez.com, like him on Facebook (Max Gutierrez Racing) or follow him on Instagram (@maxgutierrezmx).
For more on Rette Jones Racing, please visit RetteJonesRacing.com, like them on Facebook (Rette Jones Racing) or follow them on Instagram (@RetteJones30) and Twitter (@RetteJones30).
About TOUGHBUILT Industries Inc.:
TOUGHBUILT is an advanced product design, manufacturer and distributor with emphasis on innovative products. Currently focused on tools and other accessories for the professional and do-it-yourself construction industries.
We market and distribute various home improvement and construction product lines for both the do-it-yourself and professional markets under the TOUGHBUILT brand name, within the global multibillion-dollar-per-year tool market industry. All of our products are designed by our in-house design team.
Since launching product sales in 2013, we have experienced significant annual sales growth.
Our current product line includes three major categories, with several additional categories in various stages of development, consisting of Soft Goods & Kneepads and Sawhorses & Work Products.
Our mission is to provide products to the building and home improvement communities that are innovative, of superior quality, derived in part from enlightened creativity for our end users while enhancing performance, improving well-being and building high brand loyalty.
Additional information about the company is available at: toughbuilt.com.
About Rette Jones Racing:
Headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina, Rette Jones Racing (RJR) was founded in 2015 with the intent of building a successful racing operation built around the fundamentals of hard work and a never-give-up attitude.
Owned by racers Terry Jones and Mark Rette, RJR plan to field a full-time entry in 2022 in the ARCA Menards Series, while also planning to field vehicles in the ARCA Menards Series East and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) respectively.
The winning ARCA team also offers technical and setup intel as part of its technical alliance partnership program.
