Dominick Casola, No. 1 A. Casola Farms Ford Fusion Gateway ARCA 150 Fast Facts

Topics:  Dominick Casola, Gateway ARCA 150

Chris Knight
Andy Belmont Racing
August 29, 2007

Dominick Casola, No. 1 A. Casola Farms Ford Fusion
Gateway ARCA 150 Fast Facts

Dominick Casola, Andy Belmont Racing, No. 1 A. Casola Farms Ford Fusion

ARCA RE/MAX Series Race No. 18, Gateway ARCA 150
Gateway International Raceway, Madison , Illinois

Race Information: Event: Gateway ARCA 150, Friday, August 31 at 8:00 p.m. Local Time Track: Gateway International Raceway Qualifying: Friday, August 31 at 4:30 p.m. Local Time Track Length: 1.25-mile paved oval.

The Milwaukee Mile Recap: ARCA RE/MAX Series rookie Dominick Casola finished an uncharacteristic 27th last Sunday in his inaugural debut at the Milwaukee Mile. The team battled brand new car gremlins throughout the 200-lap event, but persevered to take the checkered flag.

Welcome To The Arch: For the 15th different time this season, Dominick Casola will make his inaugural debut at a track he hasn’t seen before. With the ARCA RE/MAX Series providing a very diverse racing schedule, Casola will make his first ever trip to Gateway International Raceway on Friday night.

Friday Night Fight: For the fourth time this season, Dominick Casola will race on Friday night. The previous three races on the 2007 ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule have consisted of tracks 1.5-mile or higher, thus making Friday’s fight the first and only short track event to be held on Friday night.

Double Duty: In addition to running the Gateway ARCA 150 on Friday night, Dominick Casola will head to DuQuoin , Illinois on Sunday to prepare for his second dirt track start of the season at DuQuoin State Fairgrounds competing in the Southern Illinois 100 on Labor Day.

Watcha Haulin?: Crew Chief Andy Belmont has elected to bring Casola “Nina” to Gateway International Raceway this weekend. This is the same Ford Fusion that Casola piloted at Pocono Raceway and Nashville Superspeedway earlier this month. It is also the same automobile that Casola netted his first career top-10 finish at Pocono Raceway. The Holmdel, New Jersey is also scheduled to pilot this chassis at Chicagoland Speedway next Saturday in the Chicagoland ARCA 200. The team’s backup machine is nicknamed “Big Bird”.

Point Standings: Competing in 16 of the 17 races on the 2007 ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule, Casola sits 16th in the championship standings. 70 points separate Casola from overtaking the 15th position controlled by Jason Hedlesky. Casola only sits 100 points from moving into 14th held by veteran Mike Harmon.

Andy Belmont Racing, Gateway International Raceway Pre-Race Quotes:

Dominick Casola, driver of the No. 1 A. Casola Farms Ford:

On Gateway International Raceway: “I’m looking forward to Gateway Friday night. It’s another new track for me, but I think will do quite well. I’m looking forward to bouncing back from Milwaukee and notching our second top-10 finish of the season.”

On Night Racing At Gateway International Raceway: “Night racing is a lot of fun. It’s a lot cooler for us drivers and the races seem to be more exciting. As a driver it’s pretty cool to go by the stands and see all the flash-bulbs going off, I wished we raced at night more often.”

On Short Track Racing: “As much as I enjoy racing on the bigger tracks, I’m a short track racer at heart. We’ve run extremely strong on the short tracks this year with our No. 1 A. Casola Farms Ford Fusion and I know heading to Gateway, we should be able to produce the same type of performances we have all year.”

On Two Events In Three Days: “I’m a racer, so I’m looking forward to it. It’s hard on everyone though. Luckily the tracks aren’t that far apart, so that makes it a lot easier for all the teams. While I’m looking forward to a strong run at Gateway, I really think we have the chance to win at DuQuoin State Fairgrounds on Labor Day. I can’t wait.”

PRIOR RESULTS:

Dominick Casola, Gateway International Raceway Prior ARCA Race Results:

Date Event Start Finish Laps Status

No prior starts at Gateway International Raceway

Fast Links:

Driver/Team: Dominick Casola on the web: DominickCasola.com

Sanction: ARCA RE/MAX Series: ARCARacing.com

The Gateway ARCA 150 (120 laps/150 miles) is the 18th of 23 races on the 2007 ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule. The sixth ARCA race held at Gateway International Raceway is a one day show. Practice begins Friday, August 31 with a two hour practice session planned from 10:30am-12:30pm. ARCA SIM Factory pole qualifying is set for later in the day at 4:30pm Local Time. The event will take the green flag shortly after 8:00pm Local Time. The race will be televised live on SPEED with additional race coverage online at arcaracing.com.

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MEDIA CONTACT:
NAME: Chris Knight, Andy Belmont Racing
PHONE: 239.834.9797
EMAIL: knight849@aol.com