Jared Marks; Tony Marks Racing Ready To Rock At Salem Speedway

Jared Marks; Tony Marks Racing Ready To Rock At Salem Speedway

Topics: Jared Marks, Kentuckiana Ford Dealers ARCA Fall Classic

Jared Marks; Tony Marks Racing Ready To Rock At Salem Speedway

Chris Knight
Knight Motorsports Management/Tony Marks Racing
September 14, 2011

“ARCA Racing Series Rookie Inhales Career Best Qualifying Effort As Well”

SALEM, Indiana (September 14, 2011) - - Jared Marks has impressed in the handful of races that he has competed in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards in 2011. From Toledo Speedway to Winchester Speedway and the series’ long-awaited return to Lucas Oil Raceway, Marks will now take on his greatest short track challenge when his Tony Marks Racing (TMR) team tackles Saturday night’s Kentuckiana Ford Dealers ARCA Fall Classic by Federated Car Care at Salem (Ind.) Speedway.

Marks is focused and determined to capture his first top-10 finish of the season Saturday night behind the wheel of the No. 12 Mad Croc Energy / Dodge Motorsports Dodge Charger for the 17th race of the season. Marks, the son of car owner Tony Marks will make his long-awaited inaugural ARCA debut at the intimidating half-mile oval.

The team participated in the spring event, the third race on the 2011 calendar with Sorel, Quebec’s Maryeve Dufault at the controls. After starting 19th, Dufault finished 13th. From Salem, the team has showed an impressive program on the smaller tracks. To give the team that extra credibility and focus, the team recently took the Napoleon, Ohio native to the Southern Indiana track for a private test session.

“I think the test went pretty good,” said Marks, a veteran Late Model driver. “It’s a tough track. I was told by everyone it’s intimidating at first and that’s not far from the truth. We worked on setup for most of the day. The biggest challenge we’ll have when we go back will be is that the race will be run under the lights, so a lot of aspects could change between now and then.”

The 17-year old will make his sixth career ARCA Racing Series start on Saturday night and looks to improve on his recent finish at Madison International Speedway where he tackled ARCA’s return to the Wisconsin short track after nearly 40 years to a lead-lap 12th place finish, his fourth top-13 finish of 2011.

“Other than Lucas Oil Raceway, we’ve run good this year,” he offered. “I really think if we would not have been shoved into the wreck on that restart (At Lucas Oil Raceway), we would have been in good shape. But, that was then and this is now. We need to turn that good into great and I think a top-10 finish on Saturday night would be a step in the right direction.”

He added, “I witnessed the action at Salem for myself in the spring and it looked intense. There’s little to no room for error, which means it’s extremely important for us to qualify our No. 12 Mad Croc Energy / Dodge Motorsports Dodge Charger as close to the front as possible. From there, we can focus on race strategy and hope we can keep the fenders on and produce the team’s third top-10 finish of 2011.”

Recently making the move to “Race City USA” otherwise known as Mooresville, North Carolina this summer to be within the quarters of his father’s race team, Marks says the new surroundings have paid off in more ways than one.

“I enjoy going to the shop every day,” he said. “I get along great with the guys. We work hard but we still get the job done. On the other side, it’s gratifying to really see my dad’s dream come true. I know he has a long term interest in the industry and I’m happy to be just a small fraction of it.

Working with Ryan (Chism, crew chief) on a daily basis has strengthened our relationship both on and off the track. He’s smart and he now knows what I want in the racecar. Saturday night’s race is just another race for us to build upon for 2012.”

For Ohio entrepreneur and car owner Tony Marks, seeing his team grow this season has been the goal all along – but he is also isn’t shy to step up and face where his organization can enhance their efforts.

“We knew heading into Daytona back in February that we were going to have some road bumps,” the former racer explained. “I’m pleased with the direction our team is heading right now – but I know there is more to be done to make us even better. We’re going to focus on these next three races and run hard and fight for some strong finishes. Then we’ll take the off-season and regroup and prepare for a sturdy 2012. I have the up most faith that Jared is going to give nothing less than 100 percent behind the wheel on Saturday night. If we play it smart, we should go home with a good finish.”

The Kentuckiana Ford Dealers ARCA Fall Classic by Federated Car Care (200 laps / 111 miles) is the 17th of 19 events on the 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule. The 87th ARCA event held at Salem (Ind.) Speedway is a one-day show. Practice begins Saturday, September 17 with an hour and a half practice session planned from 1:05 p.m. - 2:35 p.m. Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying is slated to begin at 4:00 p.m. The field will take the green flag later in the evening at approximately 7:15 p.m. The event will not be televised but race coverage including live timing and scoring throughout the 1,329th 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.

To learn more about Jared Marks and Tony Marks Racing, please click over to Tmr-racing.com

For additional information on TMT, Inc. please visit; tmtcompanies.net.

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