Venturini Motorsports (VMS) swept the ARCA weekend procuring two historic victories in a single day, a near impossible feat for any team. Jesse Love conquered Talladega Superspeedway in the Main Series while Sean Hingorani made a triumphant drive to a Kern County Raceway Park Victory in the West Series. Already holding the record of winningest team in the history of the series, Venturini Motorsports has extended their run to 86 total wins in ARCA. As the only team to ever challenge for three championship titles in a single season, VMS has found its stride with three consecutive victories.
18 year old driverJesse Love, from Menlo Park, California, secured his first superspeedway win of his career at the General Tire 200 at Talladega Superspeedway. Love made his speedway debut at the ARCA Menards Series Season opener at Daytona this season having just reached age eligibility. On only his second speedway outing, he was able to hold off his teammate, Gus Dean, and bring home a one-two for Venturini Motorsports. Love was supported by his crew chief, Shannon Rursch, and spotter, Tyler Monn. This marks Love’s third victory in the ARCA Menards Series.
Love managed a commanding performance at the iconic track, leading the first half and pulling off the Reese’s Sweet Move of the race to retake the lead on lap 69 for the victory. Following the celebrations Love described the significance of the victory. “I’ve been going through a lot emotionally just trying to stay positive but also stay confident and it just feels good to know that what you’re doing is right.”
Elaborating on the impact of his family’s presence, “My mom doesn’t get to come to a lot of these races. She’s back home making sure our family life is secure. I moved away from home at about 15 years old, I didn’t get a whole lot of time with my mom the last three years so to win when my mom’s here at the race she wanted to go to the most just made me feel really good. She’s definitely my source of motivation.”
Later that evening, over 2000 miles away, 16 year old rookie Sean Hingorani, from Newport Beach, California, took on the NAPA Auto Parts BlueDEF 150 at Kern County Raceway Park. Starting from second place and taking on an early race penalty, Hingorani was able to fight his way back up to win from a lap down. Hingorani’s victory is a first for the team at the ARCA Menards Series West track. Aside from being the second victory for the team in a day, it was also the second ARCA West victory for Hingorani in a row. He most recently captured the win at Irwindale Speedway, becoming the first driver of Indian Descent to win a NASCAR race.
On his second consecutive ARCA Menards Series West victory and the championship battle Hingorani explains, “I’m just trying to do the best I can, get the best finishes possible. I’ve got the right guys behind me to do it.”
Hingorani had team owner Billy Venturini as his spotter once again, after winning alongside him previously at Irwindale. Monon Rahman served as Hingorani’s crew chief and the victory marked Rahman’s first in the role of crew chief.
Rahman, who is Bengali, had aspirations of working in NASCAR as early as high school. Rahman interned with Venturini Motorsports and traveled with the team for multiple races in the 2017 and 2018 seasons before graduating college at the age of 19 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Working full time as the VMS engineer, Rahman has more recently stepped up into the role of crew chief under the guidance of team owner, Billy Venturini. This first victory is a sign of what’s to come as Venturini Motorsports continues their efforts out West.
Venturini Motorsports heads to Dover Motor Speedway this weekend for the second round of the ARCA Menards East Series Championship. Catch all of the action live on FloRacing at 5:30pm ET.