Christian Rose ARCA Menards Series Elko Speedway Menards 250 Race Preview

AM Racing | ARCA Menards Series

Elko (Minn.) Speedway | Menards 250

Fast Facts

 

No. 32 AM Racing Team:

Driver: Christian Rose

Primary Partner(s): Department of West Virginia Tourism | Secure Testing Services

Manufacturer: Ford Mustang

Crew Chief: Ryan “Pickle” London

Spotter: Mark Soronen

Chassis Intel: AMR Chassis No. 232

Engine: Ilmor Racing Technologies

Driver Championship Point Standings: Fourth

Team Championship Point Standings: Fifth

Notes of Interest:

Settling In: AM Racing returned to the ARCA Menards Series full-time in 2023 with Automobile Racing of America (ARCA) Rookie of the Year candidate Christian Rose behind the wheel of the team’s No. 32 Ford Mustang.

The 2023 ARCA Menards Series will mark the first time that AM Racing has competed full-time in the NASCAR-owned development series since Gus Dean drove for the organization during the 2018 season.

Meet Christian Rose: Rose, a former Division 1 baseball player for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore has traded the glove and bat in for a steering wheel and helmet and has set achievable goals for his first full season of stock car competition aboard the team’s flagship No. 32 Ford Mustang.

Rose joins the Statesville, N.C.-based team on the heels of a limited ARCA schedule in 2022 competing in a series of races on ARCA’s platform with Cook Racing Technologies which was highlighted by a career-best seventh-place finish at Kansas Speedway last October.

Additionally, Rose earned two additional top-10 finishes at Five Flags (Fla.) Speedway and Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway respectively.

Glad To Have You: To help steer Christian Rose and the AM Racing team towards a championship in 2023, the organization has recruited Ryan “Pickle” London to serve as crew chief of the No. 32 Ford Mustang this season.

London, a long-time NASCAR CRAFTSMAN® Truck Series crew chief returns to AM Racing after spending the 2020 season with the team’s Truck Series program as the truck chief.  

London has plenty of experience as a leader in the ARCA Menards Series, including guiding drivers Tom Hessert and Frank Kimmel to poles and leading Grant Enfinger to victories at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway and DuQuoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds in 2014.

In addition to the two wins as crew chief, the winning NASCAR CRAFTSMAN® Truck Series crew chief has numerous ARCA top-fives and top-10 efforts to his credit.

Partner Support: The Department of West Virginia Tourism will serve as the primary marketing partner on Rose’s No. 32 Ford Mustang in Saturday night’s Menards 250.

The West Virginia Department of Tourism promotes West Virginia as a leading four-season travel destination and a top state to live, work and retire.

Known as the Mountain State, West Virginia is one of the most scenic states in the United States and home to thousands of acres of parks and public lands, including America’s newest national park and 45 state parks and forests.

In addition to its majestic mountains and rolling hills, West Virginia is full of rich historic sites, enchanting art galleries, charming towns and an immense sense of belonging found only in its heaven-like landscapes.

This weekend at Elko, Rose and the AM Racing team will continue to showcase a vibrant Department of West Virginia Tourism summer paint scheme.

Earlier this week on June 20, 2023, the state of West Virginia celebrated its 160th birthday!

Secured Partnership: In addition to the Department of West Virginia Tourism, Secure Testing Services (STS) will serve as a major associate marketing partner for the seventh of 20 races on the 2023 ARCA Menards Series tour.

Secure Testing Services LLC. is a nationwide leader in on-site drug testing located in Richmond, Virginia.

Quite simply, STS provides customized assistance to your organization’s Human Resources and Safety teams in achieving their compliance goals.

Incoming Truck Series Debut: AM Racing recently announced that Christian Rose will make his NASCAR CRAFTSMAN® Truck Series debut in July’s race at Richmond (Va.) Raceway.

Rose will be supported by Secure Testing Services LLC. and new partner Labworks USA.

Richmond is the first of a limited Truck Series schedule for the Martinsburg, West Virginia native this season.

AM Minute: Last weekend was a quiet but rewarding weekend for AM Racing.

While the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN® Truck Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series were enjoying a much-needed weekend off, the AM Racing Dirt Division was in action.

Austin Wayne Self again captured another win in 2023 by winning his fifth race of the season for the Statesville, N.C.-based team at Carolina Speedway.

Self will be back in action this weekend at East Lincoln Speedway in Stanley, N.C.

To The Point(s): Entering Elko, Rose is fourth in the ARCA Menards Series championship standings, 48 markers in the arrears to championship leader Jesse Love with 14 races remaining.

Just 10 points separate Rose from third in the championship standings currently occupied by Andres Perez De Lara.

AM Racing stands a respectable fifth in the ARCA Menards Series championship owner standings.  

Thanks For Your Support: With 30 percent of the season complete, AM Racing and Christian Rose would like to thank their associate marketing partners for their support: AIRBOX Air Purifier, Black Draft Farm & Distillery, Disability Opportunity Fund, Extreme Family Fitness, Flying Circle, Lopez Team, Mountaineer Rub, Mobil 1, Whitetail Smokeless and Warwood Tool.

Christian Rose ARCA Elko Speedway Stats: Saturday night’s Menards 250 at Elko (Minn.) Speedway will mark Rose’s first ARCA Menards Series start at the 3/8-mile paved oval located just on the south side of the Minneapolis – St. Paul metropolitan area.

While Rose has no prior success at Elko Speedway, AM Racing won at the famed Minnesota short track during the 2018 ARCA Menards Series season with veteran driver Gus Dean in a thrilling green-white-checkered finish.

Christian Rose ARCA National Series Stats: In 14 career ARCA National Series starts, Rose has earned four top-10 finishes (seventh at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway | June 2023, seventh at Kansas Speedway | October 2022, eighth at Charlotte Motor Speedway | May 2023, ninth at Kansas Speedway | May 2023), while also showcasing seven top-20 finishes overall.

Berlin (Mich.) Raceway | Herr’s 200 Race Recap: In the most recent ARCA Menards Series race at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway, Rose and AM Racing enjoyed a career weekend together.

After practicing inside the top-10 during the day, Rose aboard his No. 32 Department of West Virginia Tourism | Secure Testing Services Ford Mustang qualified a career-best fifth.

From the drop of the green flag, Rose quickly moved into fourth where he stayed for a majority of the first quarter of the Herr’s 200.

As the sun set, the handling changed on Rose’s racecar dropping him to eighth at the first stage break.

Throughout the night, Rose was able to combat his handling woes and recover during the second half of the race to finish a career-best seventh and earn his third consecutive top-10 finish.

Show Your Support: AM Racing and Christian Rose are proud to announce that official team 2023 apparel is available by visiting Christian Rose’s website.

You can show your support for Christian Rose and the No. 32 AM Racing team by purchasing an official West Virginia Tourism tee-shirt, as well as a team cap representing West Virginia Tourism, Secure Testing Services and Disability Opportunity Fund.

AMerican Heroes: NASCAR and its fans have always put Patriotism and American Pride at the forefront of every race weekend. That same passion runs just as deep at AM Racing, a team whose family lineage is deeply rooted in the Armed Forces and First Responders workforce.

We’re a team whose blood bleeds Red, White and Blue every day, which is why we are proud to launch, AMerican Heroes.

At AM Racing, it is our mission to recognize and highlight the men and women who continue to put their lives on the line every day, as well as honoring and paying respect to those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms.

We are a nation that is united by one flag, which represents all the liberties and freedoms that we would not be able to enjoy without the sacrifices of those willing to answer the call.

Starting last month at Charlotte Motor Speedway, AM Racing will carry the AMerican Heroes livery, which will continue for the remainder of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series and ARCA Menards Series seasons respectively.

The team will work to salute all the men and women, past and present, who truly deserve the title of Hero, every weekend.

Follow on Social Media: For more on AM Racing, please visit AMRacingteam.com, like their Facebook page (AM Racing), or follow them on Instagram and Twitter @AMRacingNASCAR. 

For more on Christian Rose, please like him on Facebook (Christian Rose Racing), or follow him on Instagram (@christianroseracing) and Twitter (@CRoseRacing).

Christian Rose Quoteboard:

On Elko Speedway: “I am very optimistic about Elko Speedway this weekend. Like Berlin, I’ve never been to this racetrack, however, members of my AM Racing team have and I’ve been digesting as much information as I can.

“I know that Elko Speedway is an important track for AM Racing and especially Kevin (Cywinski). I know their last time at the track they won too. That’s the motivation for me to go out there and continue to fight hard and look to put our No. 32 Department of West Virginia Tourism | Secure Testing Services Ford Mustang into position to score a top-five and maybe with a little luck, challenge for the race win.”

On 2023 Season Outlook: “There’s a lot of hype and the AM Racing team has been extremely focused to make sure we are putting ourselves in a position to not only be competitive but also challenge for race wins and hopefully the championship too.

“In the first six races of the season, we have shown speed, finesse, led laps and put ourselves in contention to win a race. I’m hopeful by October, we are able to accomplish all of our goals.”

Race Information:

The Menards 250 (250 laps | 94 miles) is the seventh of 20 races on the 2023 ARCA Menards Series schedule in the 71st consecutive ARCA season. The first of two practices begin on Saturday, June 24 from 3:40 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. and the final practice launches from 4:10 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. General Tire pole qualifying begins at 5:20 p.m. The race is set to take the green flag later in the day shortly after 8:00 p.m. CT (9:00 p.m. ET). The event will be televised live on FOX Sports 2 (FS2) and FloRacing. ARCARacing.com will also stream live timing and scoring throughout the entire weekend festivities.

About AM Racing:

AM Racing is a multi-tiered, multi-faceted Motorsports program headquartered in Statesville, N.C.

Established in December 2015, AM Racing is prided on faith, honesty and intelligent performance.

The family-owned team will compete in the ARCA Menards Series, the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN® Truck Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series and various Dirt Modified events in its seventh year of competition.

The team has named Brett Moffitt, Christian Rose and Austin Wayne Self as their primary drivers for the 2023 Xfinity, ARCA Menards Series and Dirt Modified seasons respectively.

 

 

 

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