Venturini Motorsports Up and Down at 'Dega

Topics:  Talladega ARCA 250, Steve Arpin, Mikey Kile

Emily Teeter
Venturini Motorsports
April 26, 2010

TALLADEGA, AL (04-26-10) All eyes were on Venturini Motorsports as the team headed to Talladega Superspeedway for the ARCA 250. The team was coming off of two back-to-back wins and had the top 5 quickest cars in the open test session in March.

Venturini Motorsports brought 5 cars for the fifth stop on the ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/Max and Menards and each car was colored with primary sponsors behind each driver.

Throughout the ARCA 250 at Talladega Superspeedway, Venturini Motorsports showed the essence of teammates - one big team and working towards one common dream.

After early pit stops, the 5 Venturini Motorsports drivers lined up behind one another for the restart; there was communication and race strategy between each team before the green flag dropped. With Mikey Kile leading the pack, all of the Venturini Motorsports drivers went to the high side and Kile pulled his teammates to the front.

Championship contender, Steve Arpin piloted the no. 55 Mike’s Hard Lemonade Toyota. Mike’s Hard Lemonade came on board with Steve Arpin and Venturini Motorsports just one week prior to Talladega Superspeedway. Steve Arpin put Mike’s Hard Lemonade in victory lane for company’s debut with Venturini Motorsports at Texas Motor Speedway, and he looked to do that once again at Talladega Superspeedway.

Steve Arpin ran second in the no. 55 Mike’s Hard Lemonade Toyota for the later half of the ARCA 250. On the final laps of the race, Arpin made a bold move to race for the win. The top-10 cars raced hard for their positions and were three and four wide. Arpin was quickly shuffled to the back before being spun. Steve Arpin raced to the checkered flag and finished in the 14th position.

“We did everything we had to do to put ourselves in position at the end but that’s the way plate racing goes. You roll the dice at the end and hope you come out on top. We tried to win the race and ended up getting shuffled back, but I had to try,” commented Arpin after the race.

Mikey Kile, driver of the no. 25 TAG Heuer Eyewear Toyota, qualified on the outside pole for the ARCA 250. Kile still remains the only driver to qualify in the top-5 at every ARCA Racing event. Despite an engine change in Thursday’s practice and having minor damage in the multi-car accident, Kile drove a smart and consistent race and got his best finish of the 2010 season, finishing fifth.

"I was fortunate to only get as little damage as we had in the accident on lap 50. T.J. Majors was my spotter for the race and he was great at keeping me calm to work through there. With the way the weekend went and the blown motor in practice, I am pretty pleased with the finish," Kile said post-race.

Venturini Motorsports made a last minute driver change and put Hal Martin behind the wheel of the no. 35 Zaxby’s Toyota. Hal Martin made his debut at Talladega Superspeedway with Venturini Motorsports and learned the importance of teammates throughout the race as he worked with them to progress up front. He secured at top-10 finish after racing in the top-10 throughout most of the race.

Alli Owens returned Talladega Superspeedway in the no. 15 ElectrifyingCareers.com Chevy where she had her career-best ARCA finish. Owens practiced in the top-10 and drove a strong race until unfortunately for Owens, her engine overheated. Owens was only able to complete 40 of the schedule 94 laps, causing her to finish in the 32nd position.

Mark Thompson drove the 5th car in the Venturini Motorsports 5 car line-up. Thompson, in the no. 66 Phoenix Air Toyota, was involved in a mid-race, multi-car accident on lap 50, placing him 25th in the race results.

Venturini Motorsports has returned back to their shop in Concord, NC to prepare for upcoming race at the ARCA Racing Series home track, Toledo Speedway on May 23rd.

With a month off before the next race, Venturini Motorsports will be participating in the Matt Hawkins Memorial Golf Tournament in memory of their former Venturini Motorsports driver.