Sergio Peña Sets Sights on Championship as Fourth Year D4D Participant
A multi-year participant in NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program, 21 year old Sergio Peña has set a high bar for himself in the K&N Pro Series East this year. In fact, the first generation Colombian American from Virginia, along with his Rev Racing team, intends to be the champion.
“I definitely have my goals set high this year,” Peña said. “This is my fourth full-time season in the K&N Pro Series East and I want to go out and win as many races as I can and hopefully the championship.”
Peña already has three career K&N Pro Series East wins under his belt, as well as a pair of top-10 finishes in the point standings and 19 top-10 finishes in 39 East starts. But he yearns for the big prize in 2014, just like one of his racing idols and former Rev Racing driver Kyle Larson.
“I know Rev Racing is capable of doing it because they’ve done it with Kyle Larson,” Peña said. “They’ve had strong programs every year.”
“Any up and coming driver right now wants to imitate what Kyle Larson is doing,” Peña continued. “He’s kind of set the standard.”
“So to be doing it with the same team that he had and his same group of guys is exciting,” Peña said. “Everyone works together and it’s a big family here at Rev Racing so I’m excited to be a part of it and hopefully I can follow in his footsteps for sure.”
Although Peña is excited about working with his Rev Racing team, he admits that they are a totally new group and he and his team have much to learn about one another.
“I’ve got a whole new group this year so that will be interesting to get to know everyone,” Peña said. “I’ve been in the shop a few times and got to meet my crew chief, car chief, and a couple of the guys who will be working on the car.”
“I’ll have to get to know those new faces as quickly as possible so that we can click as a group,” Peña continued. “If you don’t have a good relationship with your guys, it just doesn’t work out very well.”
“So, I’ve been in the shop and we’re getting along great,” Peña said. “I’m excited to get going here and do some racing.”
Many, including East Series Director Kip Childress, have described Peña as a very calculating, very precise racer. So, how does Peña prepare himself for the 2014 season?
“I go to the gym every single day,” Peña said. “That’s something that I’ve been doing since high school.”
“I’m really into sports and I play basketball almost every day too,” Peña continued. “Staying physically fit is something that I stay on stop of a lot.”
Peña is also very exacting as far as his mental approach to the sport. And for this up and coming driver, it is all about maintaining his focus.
“I would say this is more of a mental sport than any sport there is,” Peña said. “When you’re driving on the edge at one hundred plus miles per hour, you definitely need to be focused.”
“It’s something that you train yourself over the years from when you first start racing,” Peña continued. “You learn how to focus, how to stay focused in those longer races, and throughout the years, I’ve just learned how to stay focused.”
While Peña is focused on winning the K&N Pro Series East championship, he also has his eye on another prize, that of moving up to the next level in the sport.
“I definitely have a relationship with several Truck Series and Nationwide teams,” Peña said. “As we all know, a lot in this sport is about funding. It’s hard to find sponsorship to do that so I definitely want to leave many doors open as I can to find some rides like that.”
While Peña has been competing since he was four years old, when his father bought him a dirt bike, he credits his success in NASCAR to date to the Drive for Diversity program.
“My involvement with the Drive for Diversity program has definitely helped me,” Peña said. “NASCAR is trying to get more diverse and this program is proven to work very well.”
“I believe that being a part of this program is definitely helping factor into my success,” Peña continued. “In fact, it can be the deciding factor in not only NASCAR since the whole entire country is trying to diversify in every angle.”
“It’s an awesome opportunity to be a part of and I’m really thankful that I’m selected again to participate,” Peña said. “I’m ready to help them spread diversity through the sport.”
“And I’m definitely ready to win that championship.”
ZLOOP COMPUTER & ELECTRONIC RECYCLING CENTERS HAS JUSTIN BOSTON ‘GOING GREEN’ AT DAYTONA
HICKORY, N.C. (February 10, 2014)—In Saturday’s Lucas Oil 200 Presented by MAVTV American Real, the green flag will signal the start of the 2014 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards season. Justin Boston is looking to capture the checkered flag in the No. 25 ZLOOP Computer & Electronic Recycling Centers Toyota for Venturini Motorsports.
The green flag traditionally indicates the start of the race for both the drivers and spectators in all auto racing, but in recent years it has also symbolized a growing commitment to sustainability in the motorsports community and at speedways across the country.
As the premier solution to address the growing need for a safe, secure and responsible option to dispose of America’s electronics waste, ZLOOP Computer & Electronic Recycling Centers Recycling has teamed up with Venturini Motorsports to continue to spread the message of educated, simplified, and principled corporate recycling behavior.
“We’re (ZLOOP) excited to be back for another season of great racing with the ARCA Racing Series, Venturini Motorsports, and most importantly our driver and 2013 Rookie of the Year, Justin Boston,” Bob LaBarge, founder and CMO of ZLOOP, said. “There’s no better place to get our message out then with race fans that eWaste is serious waste – so recycle.”
“I am really excited to get back to work at Daytona this weekend,” Boston said. “Kevin (Reed) and all the guys at Venturini Motorsports have been working hard and put together a really fast ZLOOP Camry for me. We had a lot of speed at the test and we all expect to unload even better than when we left.”
Boston is not only looking for his first win in his young career during his sophomore season in the ARCA series, but he also hopes to make Venturini Motorsports a winner for the second time at the World Center of Racing. Defending race-winning crew chief Kevin Reed will return to the high-banked tri-oval with Boston. Reed helped John Wes Townley capture his career first win in the No. 15 Venturini Motorsports Toyota, which was also the first win at Daytona International Speedway for Venturini Motorsports.
“The goal for this weekend as well as the entire season is simple: win every practice, qualifying session, and race as possible,” Boston said. “If the wins are not there for us, then our next goal is to finish as consistently and as high as possible. We know there will be a lot of guys that will be trying to beat us. We will just have to be better.”
The 24-year-old’s debut Daytona start ended with a 31st-place finish a year ago, when he completed 41 laps before being caught in a mid-race incident. This event will mark his ARCA Racing Series career-third start at a super speedway.
Qualifying for the Lucas Oil 200 Presented by MAVTV American Real is Feb. 14. The ARCA Racing Series will begin its 2014 season on Saturday, Feb. 15 with the 80-lap event at Daytona International Speedway that will be televised live at 4:15 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1. Additional race coverage will include live timing and scoring, as well as radio broadcasting through the ARCA Racing Network at arcaracing.com.
ZLOOP® Computer and Electronics Recycling Centers
ZLOOP® Computer and Electronics Recycling Centers (ZLOOP) makes eWaste recycling easy for anyone. Founded in Hickory, North Carolina in 2012, ZLOOP guarantees eWaste is recycled domestically and that all data devices are permanently destroyed of all information. Zloop provides consumers, small businesses, corporations and Government entities peace-of-mind by providing: Flawless Execution™ – from start to finish, Zloop’s unique and proprietary processes provide: 100% Transparency™ – every step in our process is documented and auditable 24/7; 100% Domestic Transformation™ – all commodities created leave our facilities as feeder stock, ready to be made into new products; and Zloop is 100% Landfill Free™ – everything we create is either used for new products or used to create clean energy. ZLOOP is compliant with all federal (DOD and NSA), state and local government regulations for the safe and secure destruction of highly sensitive data, and is working toward certifications from the Responsible Recycling Practices for Electronics Recyclers (R2:2013) as well as Basel Action Network’s eStewards. For more information on ZLOOP’s eWaste recycling services, call today at 1-855-ZLOOP-IT (1-855-956-6748) or visit zloopit.com. eWaste is Serious Waste. Recycle®.
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, John Wes Townley and Erik Jones. Over the years the Venturini name has become synonymous with modern-day racing in America. In 2012, the Venturini family was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame (www.NIASHF.org) and now find themselves enshrined with such sports icons as Joe DiMaggio, Mario Andretti, Vince Lombardi, Tommy Lasorda and Rocky Marciano.
Official: www.VenturiniMotorsports.com | Twitter: @VenturiniMotor | Facebook: Venturini Motorsports
