AM Racing | ARCA Menards Series
Salem Speedway | Mid-Summer Classic 200
Fast Facts
No. 32 AM Racing Team:
Driver: Christian Rose
Primary Partner(s): Department of West Virginia Tourism
Manufacturer: Ford Mustang
Crew Chief: Ryan “Pickle” London
Spotter: Trevor Monn
Chassis Intel: AMR Chassis No. A-232
Engine: Ilmor Racing Technologies
Notes of Interest:
Welcome Back: AM Racing returns to the ARCA Menards Series full-time in 2024 with sophomore Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) driver Christian Rose behind the wheel of the team’s No. 32 Ford Mustang, continuing with Saturday night’s Mid-Summer Classic 200 at Salem (Ind.) Speedway.
The 2024 ARCA Menards Series will mark the first time that AM Racing has competed back-to-back full-time in the NASCAR-owned development series since three-time ARCA Menards Series winner Gus Dean drove for the organization during the 2017 – 2018 seasons, respectively.
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 second full season of stock car competition aboard the team’s flagship No. 32 Ford Mustang.
Rose returns to the Statesville, N.C.-based team on the heels of his inaugural rookie ARCA schedule in 2023, which was highlighted by two top-five, 13 top-10 finishes, and the most laps completed by any ARCA driver last season at 2,550 of 2,624 laps or 97.2% throughout the 20-race season.
His strength of two top-five and five top-10 finishes in the final five races of the season vaulted Rose to third overall in the championship standings behind series champion Jesse Love and Andrés Pérez de Lara.
The 29-year-old also made two starts in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, respectively, with starts at Richmond (Va.) Raceway and the season-finale at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway.
He’s Back Too!: To help steer Christian Rose and the AM Racing team towards a championship in 2024, Ryan “Pickle” London will return to serve as crew chief of the No. 32 Ford Mustang this season.
London, a long-time NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series crew chief, returned to AM Racing in early 2023 after spending the 2020 season as the truck chief with the team’s Truck Series program.
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 Mid-Summer Classic 200 at Salem (Ind.) Speedway.
The Department of West Virginia Tourism promotes West Virginia as a leading four-season travel destination and 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.
After running the Department of West Virginia Tourism winter paint scheme in the first four races of 2024, the AM Racing team will continue with their summer scheme for the 200-lap race this weekend.
Squeaky Blue Clean: In March, AM Racing and Christian Rose proudly announced the addition of Blue Wolf as a partner to the team’s ARCA Menards Series platform for the remaining 10 races in 2024.
Originally created by a West Virginia coal miner and a chemist to clean and degrease mining equipment, Blue Wolf quickly became trusted as a proven product for getting the job done.
As miners began taking the product home, they soon discovered that Blue Wolf worked great on everything from removing grease and coal dust from carpets and work clothes to pressure washing houses.
Today, Blue Wolf offers a full line of cleaners and degreasers for household, automotive, and industrial use.
Blue Wolf will serve in an associate role for Saturday night’s race.
Christian Rose ARCA Salem Speedway Stats: Saturday night’s Mid-Summer Classic 200 will mark Rose’s second ARCA start at the historic half-mile short nestled in Salem, Ind. – a southern Indiana short track staple.
In his Salem Speedway ARCA debut last fall, Rose earned a track-best and career-best third-place finish during the 2023 edition of the Atlas 200 after starting a career-best fourth.
The effort was among two top-five and 13 top-10 finishes for the rookie ARCA driver during the 2023 season.
In 11 career ARCA short track races, Rose has delivered two top-five and eight top-10 finishes.
Christian Rose Career ARCA National Series Stats: In 38 career ARCA National Series starts, Rose has earned four top-five and 17 top-10 finishes highlighted by a career-best third-place finish achieved at Salem (Ind.) Speedway in September 2023.
Additionally, Rose has showcased 26 top-20 finishes overall since 2022.
Since 2022, he has maintained an average finishing position of 13.1.
To The Point(s): Entering Salem Speedway, Rose is seventh in the ARCA Menards Series championship standings, just three markers behind ARCA Menards Series driver Toni Breidinger for sixth, with 10 races remaining.
Rose is 17 markers out of fifth place currently occupied by Kris Wright and stands 82 points in the arrears to championship leader Andrés Pérez de Lara.
AM Racing stands unofficially a respectable ninth in the ARCA Menards Series championship owner standings.
Slingin’ That Dirt: Since Daytona, Rose has been teamed up with AM Racing’s Dirt Division and getting experience behind the wheel of a Dirt Modified to strengthen his driving skills.
Rose will continue participating in select Dirt Modified events as his schedule allows this season.
Thanks For Your Support: With 50 percent of the 2024 ARCA Menards Series season complete, AM Racing and Christian Rose would like to thank their associate marketing partners for their support: AirBox Air Purifier, Blue Wolf Cleaners, Flying Circle, Mobil 1 and Whitetail Smokeless.
Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park | Circle City 200 Race Recap: In the 10th ARCA Menards Series race of the season, Rose returned to short-track racing at the legendary Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in Brownstown, Indiana.
Rose produced top-10 speeds in practice in the one-day show with his No. 32 Department of West Virginia Tourism Ford Mustang, which powered him to a 10th-place qualifying effort.
Throughout the 200-lap race, Rose maintained his presence inside the top-10. With a chassis adjustment during the second half of the race, Rose continued his climb towards the top five until becoming an innocent victim in a Lap 173 crash where a suspension part failure put Rose and the AM Racing team out of the race.
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 X | Twitter @AMRacingNASCAR.
For more on Christian Rose, please like him on Facebook (Christian Rose Racing), or follow him on Instagram (@christianroseracing) and X | Twitter (@CRoseRacing).
Christian Rose Quoteboard:
On Salem Speedway: “I am looking forward to Salem Speedway for a lot of reasons. I really enjoyed the race last year. The AM Racing team brought me a fast race car last September and without a doubt, I know they will do the same this weekend.
“I think the track conditions will be different racing in the heart of summer compared to the fall last year, but I think as a team we can adapt. We’ve had so much speed with our No. 32 Department of West Virginia Tourism Ford Mustang, it’s just unfortunate that we don’t exactly have the results to go with it.
“We have 10 races left this season; we’re going to make the most of them. I’d love nothing more than to gain some points and rack up another Salem top-five or a win on Saturday night.”
Race Information:
The Mid-Summer Classic 200 (200 laps | 111 miles) is the 11th of 20 races on the 2024 ARCA Menards Series schedule. Practice begins Saturday, July 27, from 3:45 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. General Tire pole qualifying follows beginning at 5:15 p.m. The race is set to take the green flag later in the day shortly after 8:00 p.m. ET. The event will be televised live on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) and streaming on FloRacing. ARCARacing.com will also stream live timing and scoring throughout the entire weekend festivities. All times are local (ET).
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 eighth year of competition.
