Ryan Wilson Looks To Make Most Of Kansas Speedway With Win-Tron Racing

Topics:  Ryan WilsonKansas Lottery 98.9

Chris Knight
Ryan Wilson Motorsports
Win-Tron Racing
Knight Motorsports Management
October 4, 2011

KANSAS CITY, Kansas (October 4, 2011) - - Set to make his fourth career ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards start and third of the season behind the wheel of the No. 32 Champion Brands Toyota Camry for Win-Tron Racing, rookie Ryan Wilson looks to earn a thunderous applause in Friday night’s Kansas Lottery 98.9 at Kansas Speedway.

Wilson returns to the controls of the Lakeville, Minnesota-based entry for the first time in nearly two months since bolting to a career best finish of ninth after start fifth in the Pennsylvania ARCA 125 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway in August.

The Randleman, North Carolina native will make his inaugural debut at Kansas Speedway Friday night and his first ARCA start at a mile-and-a-half track. In order to get their driver up to speed with the track’s characteristics, the Win-Tron Racing team partook in the open ARCA test last month where Wilson maneuvered a time comfortably inside the top-10.

Having some time to chew-over his performance during the eight hour session, Wilson returns to the “Land of Oz” looking to pick up the pace even more and hopefully find himself in contention to put Win-Tron Racing in victory lane for the second time this season.

“I’m excited about getting back in an ARCA car, especially at a fast place like Kansas Speedway,” said Wilson, who has spent a majority of the season competing in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series for his family-owned Ryan Wilson Motorsports team. “We had a pretty decent test at Kansas Speedway. We worked hard on the handling of the car and getting up to speed throughout the day. I know the guys have made a bunch of changes to our No. 32 Champion Brands Toyota Camry since then, so I’m hoping we can get on the track on Friday and have a good outing.”

So far in 2011, Wilson has competed at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis and the 2.5-mile triangle of Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. With Kansas Speedway on deck for Friday night and his short track debut at Toledo Speedway on the horizon, Wilson is quick to point out how much he is learning about these bigger cars and the vast variety of tracks that he is competing on.

“I love racing in the ARCA Racing Series,” continued Wilson, winner of last Fall’s Richard Petty Driver Search II. “I cannot even begin to tell you how much I’ve learned, I could fill up a whole notebook full of stuff. Lucas Oil was fun because of I’m used to short track racing. Pocono was even better because of the challenge it created and now Kansas is here and I’m loving the speed that the track comes with. My main goal is to learn and take the checkered flag on Friday night, but I’m also a racer and I want to win. I know that I’m with a good enough team to make that happen, we just don’t need to have any hiccups or mishaps that would take that opportunity away from us.”

He added, “I cannot begin to say enough about Win-Tron Racing. They have really been patient with me behind the wheel and have gone beyond what I expected them to do to make sure I’m getting everything I need on and off the track. Even though I haven’t been with them for a long time, the atmosphere makes me feel like I’ve been around for years. That’s a comforting feeling for any driver when being a part of a new team and in a big series like ARCA. It gives me a lot of comfort and confidence when I climb into that seat and put that steering wheel on.

It’s important to me to make the best of Kansas this week and Toledo Speedway next weekend. We’re working hard for me to become a part of the ARCA family full-time in 2012 and two good finishes would only enhance those efforts to make that become a reality. If we can’t find ourselves up front and contending for the win, I hope we’re somewhere inside the top-10. Whatever the outcome though, I’m just thankful for the opportunity handed to me by everyone at Win-Tron Racing.”

Nate Thiesse, co-car owner of Win-Tron Racing offered his sentiments on having Wilson on-board for the 18th race of the season.

“We have really liked what we’ve saw in Ryan all year long,” Thiesse sounded. “When we met with him in February, we were immediately drawn to him and over the course of the year our intuitions have proven to be dead on. We’re thrilled to have him in our car for Kansas and Toledo. As a team, we considered the Kansas test a huge success and we were very pleased with the effort that Ryan gave all day long. We’ve set realistic goals for ourselves and with Ryan’s short track experience, we feel that he can go to Toledo and fit nicely in with the field. If everything plays out the way we’re hoping, we should have a couple good finishes to boast about.”

Thiesse added, “We’re working hard on our 2012 plans and Ryan is definitely in the cards. We would love to see him run for the championship next year if we can put everything together. His devotion and talent are beyond his years and I feel he can really represent not only our team and marketing partners well but the series too. Hopefully we can make it a reality.”

As for Wilson, the opportunity to run full-time for Win-Tron Racing would be a dream come true. “It’s been my dream to run at tracks like Daytona and Talladega,” Wilson explained. “I have a lot of people that believe in me and want to see that happen. We’re (hopefully) not going to stop until we make that happen. Hopefully, what we’re working on will materialize into something grand for 2012.”

The Kansas Lottery 98.9 (99 laps / 148.5 miles) is the 18th of 19 events on the 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule. The 11th ARCA event held at Kansas Speedway is a one-day show. Practice begins Friday, October 7 with a two hour and 15 minute practice session planned from 9:00 a.m. -11:15 a.m. Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying is slated to begin later in the day at 5:35 p.m. The field will take the green flag approximately two hours later at 7:30 p.m. The event will be televised live on SPEED with additional race coverage including live timing and scoring throughout the 1,330th race for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards since it was formed in 1953 will be available through the ARCA Racing Network (ARN) online at arcaracing.com presented by ARCANation.com. All times are local.

Further information including driver opportunities with Win-Tron Racing is available by visiting win-tronracing.com or contacting Nate Thiesse at 612.306.1641

For more on Champion Brands LLC and their extensive line of products, please log on to championbrands.com or championsusechampion.com.

Additional input on Ryan Wilson is available by logging on the web at RyanWilsonMotorsports.com.

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RYAN WILSON CONTACT:
NAME: Chris Knight, Knight Motorsports Management
PHONE: 239.834.9797
EMAIL: chris@chrisknightpr.com