Justin Marks; Win-Tron Seek Success At Palm Beach

Topics:  Justin Marks, Tire Kingdom 150

Chris Knight
Win-Tron Racing
February 23, 2010

JUPITER, Florida (February 23, 2010) - - On the strength of a 11th place finish at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway two weeks ago, Justin Marks and his Win-Tron Racing team now head to Palm Beach (Fla.) International Raceway (PBIR) looking to emerge victorious in Saturday’s Tire Kingdom 150 presented by ModSpace.

Palm Beach is a new track to the ARCA Racing Series circuit and while that course could be a setback to some, the Lakeville, Minnesota team is grasping the opportunity as a chance to emerge with their road racing ace behind the wheel.

Marks, 28, cut his teeth on road courses in divisions such as SCCA regional and national road racing, Speed World Challenge GT Championship, Touring Car and Grand-Am Cup and the Rolex Sports Car Series. He's also earned four wins and five poles in Grand-Am Cup and finished third in Rolex Sports Car Series points in 2004.

With his road course background and the team’s ever-growing confidence – it would be an understatement if the team wasn’t on everyone’s short list as the track’s inaugural ARCA winner. Following Daytona, the team took advantage of an open test to help give them an indication of what they would be in for this weekend.

“Palm Beach is a good example of what a lot of new tracks are going to these days," said Marks. "The track itself is very smooth and was paved with the right aggregate to create a surface that's very raceable and seems to take rubber down and grip up. There's a lot of grip.

"The layout is great because it has a few technical sections that can be approached differently depending on the type of car and how your car is handling. Also, and most importantly, it has a few good passing zones and a few places that you can really set someone up and make a pass. It's important to have technical corners that lead to passing zones and they've done a good job of that. It should be a good treat for the fans.”

Sitting just outside the top-10 in the ARCA Racing Series point standings, a clean solid run would be the ammunition the team would use to move up the ladder until the next race in April.

“We’re off to a solid start,” added Marks. “I’m enjoying being part of this Win-Tron Racing team. It’s a real honor to work with Mike (Chaffee, crew chief). "He's very even-tempered, has a lot of experience, is low key and doesn't get emotional. He's won a lot of races and knows how to prepare, show up, do the job, and go home to work on doing it better next time. That’s the type of guy I want sitting atop of the pit box.”

Win-Tron Racing co-owner and general manager Nate Thiesse is excited to see what the weekend may bring for his operation. “I don’t think we could have a better driver for Saturday than Justin. He is smart when it comes to these road courses. He knows what it takes to stay out of trouble, be easy on the equipment and be around when it’s go time.”

From 2005 to 2009, Justin Marks has competed in 42 ARCA Racing Series events presented by RE/MAX and Menards events collecting five top-five finishes and mounting 13 top-10 efforts. He has also collected two pole positions including a New Track Record (NTR) at Kansas Speedway in 2007. Marks career best finish is second which has occurred twice at The Milwaukee Mile (2007) and Chicagoland Speedway (2007). He has led the field for 136 laps in five races. He finished fifth in the ARCA Racing Series championship point standings in his lone season of full-time ARCA competition in 2007.

Entering Palm Beach, Win-Tron Racing holds the 11th position in the ARCA RE/MAX Series owner’s standings after one race. Car owner Kevin Cywinski is 60 markers from the top spot held by fellow car owner Bill Gerhart (No. 5). Just five markers keep Cywinski from the 10th position controlled by car owner Bill Venturini (No. 55).

The Tire Kingdom 150 presented by ModSpace (75 laps / 150 miles) is the second of 20 events on the 2010 ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards schedule. The first ARCA race held at Palm Beach is a two day show. Practice begins Friday, February 26 with a three hour practice session planned from 11:30a.m.- 2:30 p.m. Menards pole qualifying presented by Ansell is set for later in the day Friday, February 26 slated to begin at 4:00 p.m. The event will take the green flag on Saturday, February 27 shortly after 1:00 p.m. The race will not be televised but race coverage including live timing and scoring and radio broadcast will be available through the ARCA Racing Network (ARN) online at arcaracing.com. All times are local.

Further information including sponsorship opportunities with Win-Tron Racing is available by visiting win-tronracing.com or contacting Nate Thiesse at 952.469.1839.

For more on Justin Marks please visit, JustinMarksRacing.com.

Be sure to get personal with Justin Marks by following him on Twitter at Twitter.com/justin_racing.