SPARTA, KY – With just two races remaining in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards season, Justin Fontaine (@driverFontaine) is hoping to capture some momentum in Friday night’s Crosley Brands 150 at Kentucky Speedway that will propel him towards the season finish line next month at Kansas Speedway.
Fontaine was hoping to be one of 20 or so drivers to participate in the open-test session at the 1.5-mile speedway on Tuesday, however, inclement weather soaked the track’s surface pushing the test back to Wednesday.
Fontaine, a native of Asheville, N.C. was unable to participate because of his commitment to his college courses.
Still, between hitting the books and preparing for his 12th ARCA race of the season, Fontaine says he believes his No. 33 ProMATIC Toyota will be competitive this weekend, despite the lack of track time.
“It’s a shame we had a weather delay, but school is important to me, so I decided to go back,” said Fontaine. “The good thing is Bill (Henderson, crew chief) and I believe we have a good baseline on where we want to be setup wise. I don’t have much experience on the intermediate tracks in ARCA, but we’ll make most of the situation and hope it all pays off when the checkered flag waves on Friday night.”
Fontaine said he learned a lot about mile-and-a-half racing in his last outing at Chicagoland Speedway last weekend, but a blown tire in the late stages of the ARCA race combated his chances for a better finish. Still, Fontaine finished 15th and went on to record a respectable top-20 finish the following night in his second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race of the year.
Overall, Fontaine says the experience helps the bottom line.
“There’s a lot that’s different about the ARCA cars and Trucks, but some similarities too,” noted Fontaine.
“I’m still learning about these cars at the different tracks and how much I can push. It’s different every week. It’s going to be a competitive field on Friday night and we might have the chance to push our way into the mix. But, I’m hoping the double dose of racing last week will help a little bit in my Kentucky debut.”
Looking for his second top-10 finish of the season at Kentucky, Fontaine knows that the ARCA field will be stacked, but says his team has the drive and motivation to put themselves in the hunt and prepare for whatever may come their way.
“I think it’s important for us in practice to spend much of our time in race pace as possible,” noted Fontaine. “I would think we could see some long green flag runs on Friday night, so we need the car rotating through the corners to carry that speed on the straightaways. We’ll see how we stack out.”
Entering Saturday night’s race ARCA race, Fontaine currently sits 15th in the series’ standings (+1 position from Chicagoland). Fontaine has a career best finish of ninth at Winchester Speedway in the Winchester ARCA 200 on Aug. 6.
The Crosley Brands 150 (100 laps / 150 miles) is the 19th of 20 races on the 2017 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule. Practice begins Fri., Sept. 22 with an hour and a half practice session planned from 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. General Tire pole qualifying is set for later in the day at 5:10 p.m. The race is set to take the green flag later shortly after 8:00 p.m. The event will be broadcasted live on FOX Sports 1 (FS1), while ARCARacing.com will stream live timing and scoring throughout the week’s activities. All times are local (ET).
To learn more information on AM Racing please visit amracingteam.com.
For more on Justin Fontaine, please like his Facebook page(Justin Fontaine) or follow him on Twitter @driverFontaine.
Follow Win-Tron Racing on Twitter @WinTronRacing, like on Facebook (WinTron Racing) or click on WinTronRacing.com.
About AM Racing:
AM Racing is a second-year NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) team owned by entrepreneur Tim Self. Established in December 2015, AM Racing is headquartered in Mooresville, N.C. Operated by Self, a native of Austin, Texas, the team is prided on faith, honesty and intelligent performance. The team has named Austin Wayne Self, Justin Fontaine and J.J. Yeley as AM Racing drivers for 2017.
About Win-Tron Racing:
Located in Mooresville, North Carolina, Win-Tron Racing is a professional race team headquartered in “Race City USA.” Owned by former racer Kevin Cywinski, the team will compete for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards championship in 2017 with driver Gus Dean in the No. 32 GREE Toyota Camry. The team will also field a second entry in the No. 33 Toyota Camry with Justin Fontaine and others. Learn more at WinTronRacing.com or on Twitter @WinTronRacing.
About ProMATIC Automation:
ProMATIC Automation Inc. specializes in the design and build of custom factory automation equipment. With complete in-house capabilities of design, programming, fabrication, machining, electrical and mechanical assembly, ProMATIC can manage project resources and coordinate manufacturing efforts to provide quality, on-time automation project implementation.
ProMATIC Automation, Inc. has extensive experience in the integration of high-level automation technologies like robotics, laser, vision, and dispensing systems along with many years of combined experience in the design and machining of custom manufactured components.
For more information on ProMATIC Automation please visit promaticautomation.com.
CONTACT: [email protected]
