July 24, 2024 (Concord, NC) – When it comes to the topic of historic short track racing in the Midwest it would be impossible not to put the high banks of Salem Speedway at the top of the list.

Built in 1947, Salem Speedway has hosted the ARCA Menards Series for 69-years. Since this time many notable drivers have crossed through Salem’s gate. Among those names include series legends like Jack Bowsher, Ramo Stott and Iggy Katona, along with and many NASCAR stars like Benny Parsons, Bobby Allison, Ken Schrader, Alex Bowman and Christopher Bell.

On Saturday, July 27 the ARCA Menards Series will make its 110th appearance at the famed southern half-mile Indiana bullring.

Venturini Motorsports, the most decorated team in ARCA’s history with 104 wins returns in search of its twelfth victory on the historic short track.

Leading the charge at Berlin are series regulars Kris Wright (No.15 F.N.B. Corporation Toyota), Amber Balcaen (No.22 ICON Toyota) and Toni Breidinger (No.25 Toyota Racing Camry).

Kris Wright currently sits fourth in the national driver standings while Toni and Amber are hot in pursuit sitting fifth and sixth in the championship rankings.

Also competing at Salem this week with VMS are former series winners from earlier in the season, Gus Dean (No.55 Palmetto Grain Brokerage Toyota) and Jake Finch (No.20 Phoenix Toyota).

Dean started the season winning at Daytona International Speedway handing VMS its 100th team series win and Jake Finch drove to victory lane at Talladega Superspeedway for his first career series win back in April.

Saturday night’s ARCA 200 from Salem Speedway will begin at 8 p.m. ET. with live coverage on FS1.

July 19, 2024 (Indianapolis, Indiana) – What once was a dirt track built for horse racing is now what many call Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, a 0.686-mile short track. Venturini Motorsports has had great success at Lucas Oil with winning the past five times at the track. On Friday the team showed great strength and speed during practice as Gio Ruggiero led most of it. By the end of practice, Toni Breidinger was fourth fastest with Ruggiero right behind her.

With 31 cars to round out the field, the green flag dropped at around 5:30 PM ET on FS1. The VMS starting lineup was Ruggiero in fifth, Breidinger in seventh, Kris Wright in eighth, Dean Thompson in ninth, and Balcaen in fifteenth.

Ruggiero, Breidinger, Thompson, and Wright ran inside the top-10 the majority of the race. After the halfway point of the 200 lap race, Ruggiero and Breidinger battled with the No. 33 of Alan for the fifth position. Throughout the whole race, all spotters were in constant communication with the drivers and pit crew to get the cars perfect as the track had changed drastically from practice to the race as stated by Breidinger.

On lap 172, the No. 33 of Alan got loose and tapped Breidinger in the back left quarter, which sent her to the wall and also collected the No. 96 of Jackson McLerran. It was a tough break as this ended the night for Breidinger. She was running in the sixth position at the time of the incident as she worked her way to the top-5.

The final results for the Circle City 200 were Ruggiero in fifth, Wright in sixth, Thompson in ninth, Balcaen in thirteenth, and Brieidnger in twenty-fourth.

Fifth place finisher Gio Ruggiero, driver of the No. 20 JBL, stated that he “learned a little bit of what we need to do to be better next year, so just looking forward to the next one and getting things turned around and get the car a little better and get me a little better.”

Several of the drivers struggled with their cars being tight in the corners. “We were super tight for the whole first half. We tried everything and just couldn’t get anything to work, so we made a big swing there at the break and then made up a lot of ground there after the half,” said Kris Wright, driver of the No. 15 FNB Corporation. Wright went on to finish sixth after a tough start to the race.

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July 15, 2024 (Concord, NC) – Indianapolis will come alive this weekend when NASCAR invades the motor city showcasing its top touring series’. The CUP and Xfinity series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway while ARCA and the Craftsman Truck series will compete at nearby Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

After nearly a three-week hiatus the ARCA Menards Series returns to action on Friday for the “Circle City 200” at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. Venturini Motorsports (VMS) coming off two ARCA West victories during the premier tour series’ break is focused on keeping the momentum rolling.

Taking the wheel for VMS at Lucas Oil are series regulars Kris Wright (No.15 F.N.B. Corporation Toyota), Amber Balcaen (No.22 ICON Toyota) and driver Toni Breidinger (No.25 Raising Cane’s Toyota).

A model of consistency after nine ARCA Series’ races thus far in 2024, Toni Breidinger is fourth in the overall point standings – trailing by 57-points. Breidinger, who appeared at the ESPY Awards last week in Los Angeles returns to the seat with confidence after a string of solid ARCA finishes.

Kris Wright enters Indianapolis coming off a fifth place finish at Berlin Raceway. Wright chases Breidinger by only three markers in the championship point standings.

Amber Balcaen captured her fourth top-10 finish of the season in her last outing now looks ahead at Indianapolis’ half-mile trace to continue her pursuit in the driver standings. Balcaen is currently seventh in the championship hunt.

Standout driver Gio Ruggiero returns to the seat for his fifth start of the season driving the No.20 JBL Toyota. During limited series starts Ruggiero has impressed with four consecutive top 3 finishes. Boasting a 3.5 average starting position with a 2.5 average finish, the 17-year old hopes to breakthrough at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Rounding out VMS’s Indianapolis driver entries is Dean Thompson. Thompson will make his third start of the season driving the No.55 Thompson Pipeline Group Toyota. He earned a season best third-place finish earlier in the year at Kansas Speedway.

ARCA’s Circle City 200 from Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park will air live on FS1 at 5:30PM EST.

For more on Venturini Motorsports, please visit venturinimotorsports.com, like them on Facebook (Venturini Motorsports), and follow them on Instagram (@venturinimotorsports) X (@VentuirniMotor) and TikTok (@venturiniMotorsports)

Winning the Red Carpet, Driver Toni Breidinger attended the 34th Annual ESPY Awards in Los Angeles.

The 25-year old competes full-time in the ARCA Menards Series for Venturini Motorsports driving the No.25 Raising Canes / Celsius Toyota Camry. Breidinger, the first ARAB-American to compete in NASCAR is also a Victoria’s Secret Model when she’s not behind the wheel.

July 6, 2024 (IRWINDALE, Calif.) — Sean Hingorani capped off his reunion with Venturini Motorsports in the ARCA Menards Series West platform by sweeping both events at Irwindale Speedway as part of Independence Day weekend.

The second night proved to be more challenging for Hingorani than the first. After his teammate Isabella Robusto lost a right-front tire with 29 laps remaining, Hingorani had to hang on through two late restarts to claim his second consecutive victory. He then had to patiently wait out a ruling on whether he jumped the final restart, but ARCA Menards Series officials determined there was no violation.

Although the ruling fell in his favor, Hingorani never doubted that his last restart of the evening was perfectly executed.
“My restarts have been good all season,” Hingorani said. “These guys at Venturini really taught me how to restart these ARCA cars. We had to restart for wins last year and we got here into a position to do it this year. It just came natural to me, and I couldn’t be more thankful for my guys.”
Irwindale has quickly become one of Hingorani’s favorite tracks. Of his now six West Series victories, half of them have occurred at the half-mile oval.
Adding onto his Irwindale win total required Hingorani to exercise patience during the opening 90 laps. He spent most of Saturday’s event following Trevor Huddleston on the top groove before methodically building momentum on the bottom that eventually allowed Hingorani to take second.
Robusto’s flat tire gave Hingorani the opportunity he needed. With clear track ahead of him, Hingorani could focus on playing defense and perfecting the final two restarts of the evening, which he accomplished to celebrate in front of the Irwindale crowd again.
With Hingorani capturing the flag, teammates Jake Finch finished 8th and Robusto finished a disappointing 17th after her misfortunes.

June 26, 2024 (Concord, NC) – The ARCA Menards Series travels to Michigan this weekend where they’ll compete on the outskirts of Grand Rapids at the famed Berlin Speedway for the ninth event on their 2024 ARCA schedule.

Nearly approaching the halfway point in the premier ARCA Series, Venturini Motorsports (VMS) returns to action looking for it’s third team victory of the season. With wins at Daytona and Talladega earlier in the season the team looks to erase a five-race drought and find victory lane once again with one of its standout drivers.

VMS will be well-represented Saturday night in the ARCA 200 as the team will unload its customary fleet of Toyota Camrys as the they seek success under the lights on Berlin’s uniquely configured 7/16-mile short track.

Leading the charge at Berlin are series regulars Kris Wright (No.15 F.N.B. Corporation Toyota), Amber Balcaen (No.22 ICON Toyota) and Toni Breidinger (No.25 Ruedebusch Development & Construction – Raising Cane’s Toyota).

Kris Wright currently sits fourth in the national driver standings while Amber and Toni occupy the sixth and eighth spots in the championship rankings.

Also competing at Berlin with VMS is Sean Hingorani piloting the No.20 Fidelity Capital Toyota and Toyota Racing Development’s Gavan Boschele behind the wheel of his No.55 JBL Toyota.

Sean Hingorani, who won ARCA’s 2023 West Championship driving for VMS returns to the team for his first appearance of the season. VMS and Hingorani recently announced the 17-year old driver from Newport Beach, California will drive in six events this season.

Driving up the ranks, 16-year old Gavan Boschele will make his highly anticipated ARCA Menards Series debut with VMS at Berlin. Boschele, out of Mooresville, North Carolina comes from the world of Sprint Cars and Late Model Racing. Currently competing at selected events in the CARS and ASA tours the talented driver is looking to make an impact in his first race.

Saturday night’s ARCA 200 from Michigan’s Berlin Raceway will begin at 9 p.m. ET. with taped delay coverage on FS1 starting at 9:30 p.m.

For more on Venturini Motorsports, please visit venturinimotorsports.com, like them on Facebook (Venturini Motorsports), and follow them on Instagram (@venturinimotorsports) X (@VentuirniMotor) and TikTok (@venturiniMotorsports)

ALLADEGA, Alabama — A miscommunication between teammates and a last lap crash cost Jake Finch his first victory in the premier ARCA Menards Series division at Daytona International Speedway in February.

The 18-year-old competitor from Lynn Haven, Florida encountered no obstacles on Saturday afternoon at Talladega Superspeedway. Jake never lost control of the lead once, becoming the first driver in ARCA Menards Series history to lead a Talladega race wire-to-wire.

Knowing Talladega’s reputation, Jake admitted to feeling apprehensive before Saturday’s green flag, but was thrilled to enjoy a flawless day. The only aspect of his outing he wished could have been better was his post-race burnout.

“I was just trying to stay locked in,” Jake said. “I was a nervous wreck before this race, but [my crew chief] Shannon [Rusch] told me that if I do what I’m supposed to do, we’ll kick their butts. I think that’s what we did.

“Terrible burnout, but if we keep running this No. 20 with Shannon, I think we’ll get a few more.”
alladega has long been a special facility for Finch and his father James, who previously fielded cars across ARCA and NASCAR under the Phoenix Racing banner.

In 1994, James had the chance to celebrate an ARCA victory in Talladega’s Victory Lane with veteran Jeff Purvis, who had to pass Jimmy Horton with three laps remaining to claim his second of three ARCA wins with Phoenix Racing that season.

The Finch family’s most prestigious accomplishment at Talladega famously came in 2009. A young Brad Keselowski utilized a tandem draft with Carl Edwards to launch towards the front during the final lap before turning him coming to the checkered flag, delivering James his lone win in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Jake’s path to victory on Saturday was far more procedural compared to his father’s triumphs as a car owner at the track. The only time the race was slowed by a yellow came during the halfway break, all while Jake established a single-file procession at the front of the field.

Despite this, Jake was still left at the mercy of his Venturini Motorsports teammate Kris Wright in the closing stages, who had patiently followed him during the final 30 laps. Wright ended up staying behind Jake until the checkered flag waved to bring home a career-best ARCA Menards Series finish of second.

The runner-up performance was needed for Wright after placing outside the Top 10 in the first two events of the 2024 season. Although Wright tried to find a way around Jake, he was satisfied with helping Venturini Motorsports earn their fourth win over the past five Talladega races.

“I definitely could have made some more aggressive moves, but I wanted to keep that victory in the Venturini camp,” Wright said. “I didn’t want to give it to the Gibbs guys or [Christian Rose], so I was trying to be a team player there.”
Wright playing defense enabled Jake to claim his second victory on the ARCA platform. He previously earned his maiden checkered flag in the ARCA Menards Series East at Dover Motor Speedway last year after holding off Landen Lewis on an overtime restart.

As orderly as the day was, Jake could not help but wonder if he was doing everything necessary to maintain his lead at the front of the line. He credited everyone involved with his team for keeping him composed through all 76 laps and allowing him to experience the same feelings James enjoyed during his Talladega victories many years ago.

“[My spotter] Tyler Monn did a spectacular job,” Jake said. “Sometimes he didn’t talk much and [I was wondering] if he could still hear me. I couldn’t really believe that we won and this is super cool. I can’t wait to experience this with my friends and family.”

Following Jake and Wright home in third was Tanner Gray in the No. 18 for Joe Gibbs Racing. Rounding out the Top 5 were Gus Dean and Christian Rose.

Sean Corr, Amber Balcaen, Andres Perez, Frankie Muniz and Toni Breidinger made up the rest of the Top 10 finishers.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — An efficient decade for Venturini Motorsports at Daytona International Speedway continued with Friday’s expedited Daytona ARCA 200.

Taking the checkered flag was veteran Gus Dean, who passed teammate Jake Finch on the final restart of the night to deliver Venturini Motorsports their fourth Daytona victory in the past five years.

Dean was overcome with emotion when he parked his No. 55 Dean Custom Air Toyota on the frontstretch. The process to reach Victory Lane at Daytona for the Bluffton, South Carolina native was one dominated by sacrifice and relentless dedication.

“I started racing when I was four years old at a tiny little dirt track in South Georgia,” Dean said in his post-race interview. “It’s been a whole lot of miles, a whole lot of work and a whole lot of people behind me.”
Like nearly everyone else who started Friday’s 80-lap feature, Dean’s night was eventful from the moment the green flag waved.

While getting a push from Leland Honeyman, Dean got loose and collided with teammate Toni Breidinger. The ensuing contact turned Breidinger around in front of the field, which collected Dean’s two remaining teammates Kris Wright and Amber Balcaen.

Dean shook off the early contact and patiently bided his time behind Finch, who dominated most of the ARCA Daytona 200. He did everything possible to help protect that lead from the pack, but an overtime restart would put Dean and Finch on the front row.

Dean used a push from Andres Perez to pull ahead from Finch coming off Turn 2. As Finch attempted to charge back on the outside line, he was turned into the wall by Andy Jankowiak, triggering a final multi-car crash that secured the victory for Dean.
he Daytona ARCA 200 served as Dean’s first ARCA Menards Series triumph since 2018 when he prevailed at Elko Speedway. Dean’s only other victory came at Talladega Superspeedway, which was also decided by a late-race caution.

A veteran presence for a young Venturini Motorsports lineup, Dean has provided his teammates plenty of insight on how to time runs and utilize the draft to their advantage. Despite this, Dean was still eager to add another triumph of his own with the limited amount of opportunities at his disposal.

Finally ending a near six-year drought carried plenty of catharsis for Dean in numerous ways. He dedicated his ARCA victory and Super Late Model triumph at New Smyrna Speedway earlier this week to his grandfather Charles Dean Sr., who passed away earlier this year.

With his grandfather riding shotgun on his car Friday evening, Dean had plenty of motivation to shine on ARCA’s biggest stage and re-establish Venturini’s dominance at Daytona.

“My granddad came to every race I ever ran,” Dean said. “In every single one, he told me to get what I can, even at the end when I would call him on the phone. [On Friday], we got what we could. It might not be the Daytona 500, it might not be the biggest race, but it is the biggest coliseum.

“For a small-town kid from Bluffton, South Carolina, this is everything.”

Thomas Annunziata survived the chaos on the final restart to finish second in his debut ARCA Menards Series appearance. Defending Daytona ARCA 200 winner Greg Van Alst placed third with Christian Rose and Tim Richmond completing the Top 5 finishers.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 2, 2024) – In Los Angeles today NASCAR honored 10 trailblazers and inclusion advocates at the 16th annual NASCAR Drive for Diversity Awards. Among the honorees are crew members, league partners and a public school system who are all making a real difference in the sport.

“Today we celebrate 10 individuals playing a key role in growing our sport and welcoming new fans by making it more inclusive,” said NASCAR President Steve Phelps. “Having the support of sponsors like Ally is crucial because we share a common goal of making racing inclusive for all. We’re elated to have them as the presenting sponsor of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Awards.”

Among the honorees was team owner, Billy Venturini, who accepted the award on behalf of Venturini Motorsports for their contributions to the sport for nearly four decades.

Venturini Motorsports has played a pivotal role in the careers of drivers throughout the years. During the 2023 season, Venturini Motorsports earned an ARCA Menards West Championship with Sean Higorani while also competing in the ARCA Menards Series with drivers Toni Breidinger, Amber Balcaen and Taylor Reimer. In addition to developing driver talent, Venturini has continued to advance engineering talent, hiring Monon Rahman, who won his first race as a crew chief with Sean Hignorani in 2023. Venturini’s longstanding commitment to advancing careers and the sport began with The Ultra Blue Crew in 1987, which was an all-female pit crew that competed in ARCA races.

Series: ARCA Menards Series

Track: DuQuoin State Fairgrounds

Race: Southern Illinois 100

Duration: 100 laps / 100 miles

Date / TV: 9/3/2023 – 9 p.m. ET on FS2

VMS Previous Success at DuQuoin State Fairgrounds:
● Christian Eckes, 2019
● Logan Seavey, 2018
● Tom Hessert, 2016
● Steve April, 2010

Jesse Love Extends his Championship Lead: With a second place finish at the Milwaukee Mile, Jesse Love extended his point lead by a dominating 120 points, gaining an extra six point lead from the previous week at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. To top that, Love has eight wins, 13 top 5’s, and four pole awards with five races to go in the 2023 season.

Brent Crews Eyeing the Performance Seed Dirt Double Bonus: After Brent Crews’ dominating win at Springfield, he became the only driver eligible to chase the Performance Seed Dirt Double Bonus with a potential $34,500 paycheck if he finds victory lane this weekend at DuQuoin. After leading more than half of the race at Springfield (64 of 100 laps total), Crews will look to repeat his dominant performance to secure a historic payday this weekend.

Sean Hingorani Takes on the Dirt Scene: Sean Hingorani will not only be making his ARCA dirt debut, but DuQuoin will mark Hingorani’s first attempt on a dirt track at any level of his racing career. Already proven to be a quick learner and excel on all platforms, Hingorani plans to carry that approach into DuQuoin.

Dominance on Dirt: Venturini Motorsports heads to DuQuoin already having 11 previous wins on dirt tracks since 2010. This year at Springfield, Venturini Motorsports drivers Jesse Love and Brent Crews combined to lead all 100 laps of the race. With such recent and past continued success at dirt tracks, VMS drivers will be hungry to get to victory lane at DuQuoin.

Crew Chiefs:
● Kevin Reed Jr. – No. 15
● Shannon Rursch – No. 20
● Monon Rahman – No. 25

Sean Hingorani – No. 15 Fidelity Capital Toyota Camry
Regarding the DuQuoin Race: I’m excited to see how this weekend goes. I think it will go well and it’ll be fun to try something new. I’ve been doing lots of iracing to prepare. Racing with some very talented guys in the ARCA Menards Series in the dirt will help me when I get back to the West coast.

Jesse Love – No. 20 GEARWRENCH Toyota Camry
Regarding the DuQuoin Race: Honestly I would have liked to have won Springfield so that I could have a shot at the big money on the line, but I still have motivation going into the race because I want to make up losing at Springfield. I believe we have a good shot at it and just need to qualify well and keep it up front. I ran second here last year after starting on the pole, broke something leading, we fixed it, I drove back up to second and then the rain came and rained us out.

Brent Crews – No. 25 Yahoo-Mobil 1 Toyota Camry
Regarding the DuQuoin Race: Knowing we had such a fast racecar, were able to keep that speed the whole race, and then pit and had even faster speed, is huge momentum going into this weekend, especially since this is a dirt race. When you win on dirt and go back to a similar place on dirt, it really boosts your confidence, especially working with the same car and same people. It’s super uplifting.