Category: Other Series PR

Aguas, Kauffman, Pastrana and Waltrip

AF Waltrip Racing Rolex 24

TEST: Daytona International Speedway

CORNELIUS, N.C. —  Many of the world’s greatest sports car drivers will gather at Daytona International Speedway this weekend for the Roar Before the Rolex 24 test on the 3.56-mile road course. AF Waltrip Racing drivers Michael Waltrip, Rob Kauffman, Rui Aguas and Travis Pastrana plan to participate in the three-day test that begins Friday driving team’s Ferrari 458 GT. The entry is a joint project of the Italian sports car team AF Corse and Michael Waltrip Racing. The 2012 Rolex Series opens with the Jan 28-29 50th Anniversary Rolex 24 At Daytona.

WALTRIP ON TEST: “We have a very fast teammate in Rui Aguas. This weekend will be a matter of Travis, Rob and I listening to Rui’s input on the chassis and understanding what Rui sees and thinks then adapting to his direction. In this type of racing, you have to find a happy medium for all the drivers. I’ve never driven the latest version of the 458 so instead of worrying about learning the track and car, which is what I usually do when I race a Ferrari, this weekend I’m just focused on the car.”

KAUFFMAN: “Daytona is unique, so firstly, getting the new car set up to run well there is a priority, then of course posting competitive, consistent times from all of us drivers, and lastly, putting the car away Sunday as clean as it rolled off the truck when we got here!”

PASTRANA: “I have some pretty simple goals this weekend. I need to learn the track, learn the car and work hard with the other guys on pit stops exchanges. It might look easy on television but getting drivers in and out of the car quickly takes some practicing. The real key for me will be to learn how to drive the Ferrari without burning through the tires. We have a lot of work to do.”

NOTES

· The Rolex Sports Car Series is the top series sanctioned by GRAND-AM. Its two classes – the exotic Daytona Prototypes and production-based GT cars – run simultaneously at road racing venues across the U.S. and Canada. The GT class is home to production-based race cars that are similar in appearance to the latest high-performance sports cars. GT is a mixture of U.S.-produced muscle cars going against the international flavor, mainly German, Japanese and Italian models.

· Waltrip and Kauffman, both owners of Michael Waltrip Racing, tested at Daytona in December in a Porsche. The Ferrari 458 was still on its ocean voyage from Italy to Daytona. Pastrana, an 11-time X Games gold medal winner and four-time North American Rally champion, tested at Infineon Raceway in California on Monday in preparation for the Rolex 24.

· Aguas, 39, of Portugal, is one of the top GT drivers in the world and joined Waltrip and Kauffman at Le Mans in 2011.

12/23/201

Something I really enjoy is being with my friends. In Monterrey Mexico, it is very popular to assign a day for the guys. For us, it has always been Thursday. Why am I bringing this up?

[media-credit name=”David Martinez” align=”alignright” width=”128″][/media-credit]Over the last few years, we started to play “Texas Hold´em”. Very interesting game. As in life, you can´t control what cards you get. However, you can definitely make decisions based on how well you are prepared and on your experience. In this game, you have to be good with stats and numbers to make quick and smart decisions. With this being said, you might get lucky and win once in a while, even if you´re not good at it but one thing is for sure: you will eventually lose if you play long enough. I learned this lesson pretty young as my uncle Capi always told me luck did not exist and if I was basing my results in luck, I might as well just pack and go home. “Life is when preparation meets opportunity”.

I´m now back where I left up on my last blog. While I was busy reaching perfection in karting, the economy was going bad in 1994. How did this translate into racing? Remember I told you about my dad´s successful racing team called Martiga? Well, when I was getting ready to jump up into the series and run in my dad´s open wheel team, the sponsors left and I had no ride, the opportunity wasn´t there anymore. Was that bad luck? NO. That was a series of events that probably hurt other people worse. Collateral Damage I would call it, not luck. At this point, I knew what I had to do. I clearly had enough talent to jump up to bigger things as I had won every go kart class I could race at. If the opportunity wasn´t there, I was going to have to be ready for when it was, and so I kept training in karting.

I was already 14, and until then, I had a really successful karting career. Was it luck? Definitely not. I had the best mentors anyone could have (dad, Capi and of course my brother) and I was the most determined driver in that region.

My next blog will tell you, how I got my first open wheel ride. Was it luck? I´ll leave it up to you to decide.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Dec 19, 2011) – Milka Duno and her Sheltra Motorsports team left a solid impression after three days of ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards testing at Daytona International Speedway last weekend. Setting fast time in two separate sessions, Duno and her Sheltra Motorsports team often found themselves atop the speed charts at the famed 2.5-mile oval, proving they will be a team to watch when the ARCA Racing Series makes their return to Daytona in February for the season opening event.

“The team gave me a good car to drive and together we were able to get around the track pretty good,” said Duno. “We needed Friday to sort some things out and when we hit the track on Saturday our results in the morning session put us on top and it showed that we were definitely heading in the right direction. Sunday was yet another good day for us as we very nearly topped the charts in the morning session and did top the charts in the second and last session. We did what we expected to do; what we are capable of doing. It was a good test.”

Duno and her No. 63 team rolled into Daytona early Friday morning to begin the first day of testing and were eager to get started as they would, for the first time in their history, be racing with a Ford Fusion. This proved to be a challenge at first for Duno and team as they ended Friday with a fast time of 49.787 seconds (180.770 mph), 20th among the 53 drivers to make laps around Daytona’s famed high-banks, but there would be no harder working team and that paid off as they continued to find speed with every change made throughout the weekend.

During Saturday morning’s session, the third of six scheduled sessions, Duno and her Dave Leiner Jr.-led team saw all that hard work pay off as she set the fastest time of all three sessions, circling the 2.5-mile track in 48.383 seconds (186.016 mph). This would be the quickest of the weekend’s single car run testing sessions. Duno topped more than 50 different drivers who made laps throughout the session.

ARCA Racing Series officials opened up the Saturday afternoon session for drafting, and Duno proved her quick time was no fluke, as she backed up her morning run with a time of 48.166 seconds (186.854) for what would be her fastest lap time of Daytona testing.

Sunday morning would be another busy day for the Sheltra Motorsports team, but again they proved what a fast Ford Fusion they had at “The World Center of Racing.” Holding the top time for much of the morning session, Duno actually helped Buster Graham’s No. 88 get the top speed as she pushed him to the fastest time of the day while working together in the draft. Duno ended the session second on the charts, only six thousands of a second behind Graham.

In the sixth and final session on Sunday afternoon, after 21 hours of on-track action, Duno again put her No. 63 Ford atop the speed charts, pacing the superspeedway in a time of 48.340 seconds (186.181 mph). By taking the top time in Sunday’s final practice session, Duno became the only driver, among more than 50, to lead two of the six test sessions at Daytona International Speedway.

“We really got a lot accomplished this weekend,” said Crew Chief Dave Leiner Jr. “We didn’t know exactly what we had when we first pulled into Daytona Friday morning, but the guys on the team did a great job and really got our Ford Fusion to where it needed to be. We have great Roush/Yates horsepower under the hood as well. Milka did a great job giving me feedback all weekend, and we really got the car dialed in. I am looking forward to returning here for the race in February. I believe that Milka and the entire Sheltra Motorsports team will be very competitive and put on a good show.”

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About Sheltra Motorsports:

Sheltra Motorsports, established in 2007, is in the midst of its fifth season of ARCA Racing Series competition.  Owned by Florida-native, Patrick Sheltra, the owner-driver team captured the 2010 ARCA Racing Series driver and owner’s championship titles on the strength of two wins, 12 top-fives and 17 top-10 finishes in 20 events.  Sheltra Motorsports is headquartered in Mooresville, N.C., with additional operations in Indiana and Florida.  For more information, visit www.sheltramotorsports.com.

About Milka Duno:

Duno has eight major race wins in the highest classes (Prototype) in the American Le Mans Series and Rolex Series and the highest finish ever by a female driver (2nd Place) in the Rolex 24 at Daytona in the 48-year history of the race. Go, Milka, Go! – a book about her life and racing career, was awarded the Best Young Adult Sports/Recreation Book of 2009 at the 11th Annual International Latino Book Awards. In 2010, Duno became the first Venezuelan athlete inducted into the Latin American International Sports Hall of Fame.

“RHR Breeding Another Talented Young-Gun”

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (December 19, 2011) – – Floridian and rising racecar driver Ross Chastain concluded three days of testing at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway this past weekend in the No. 08 Randy Hill Racing Ford Fusion in preparation for his proposed ARCA debut in two months in the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200, the 2012 season opener for the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA).

Chastain who is working with Texas entrepreneur and NASCAR Nationwide Series car owner Randy Hill utilized the open-test in order to allow 19-year old Chastain, who made five NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) this season to prepare for his attachment to Hill’s driver development program in 2012 joining Casey Roderick.

Throughout the weekend, Chastain utilized his No. 08 Randy Hill Racing Ford Fusion to gain speed and comfort with the 2.5-mile superspeedway. Overall, Chastain turned the 19th quickest lap out of an impressive list of drivers which consisted of 79 drivers overall.

“This was my first time in an ARCA car and I think overall, the test went pretty well,” said Chastain. “I learned a lot from Friday to Sunday and we’re going to work extremely hard on our car between now and February, so we can be in contention for a good finish.”

He added, “I want to thank Randy Hill and the team for putting their best foot forward to make this weekend possible. I cannot compare Daytona to anything else I’ve ever competed on. It’s a blast and the drafting was unbelievable. I was able to have a lot of on-track time, so that was helpful and I’m looking forward to coming back in February and doing everyone a good job.”

Hill was excited to bring a new driver into the ARCA Racing Series and is eager to see what the team can muster together between now and the race.

“We know we have some work to do, but that was one of our objectives of testing,” sounded Hill. “I’m proud of Ross and the team for working hard to get the car on the track and laying down some respectable lap times and making steady improvements throughout the weekend. I know when we come back for the race; we’re going to have a piece competitive enough that will allow Ross to hopefully contend for victory.”

One of the newest owners in stock car racing continued, “I was extremely impressed with the way that Casey (Roderick) and Ross (Chastain) gelled together. Not only did they consult, confer and share ideas at the track, but they took their relationship as teammates to the next level by participating and hanging out in non-racing activities outside the track. As a car owner, that makes me proud to work with two of the most promising up-and-coming drivers and know that they enjoy being around each other.”

The Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona officially kicks off the 2012 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards season and the 60th year of competition for the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). The season-opener will be televised live on SPEED and will serve as a preamble for the highly anticipated Budweiser Shootout for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS).

For more on Randy Hill Racing, please visit randyhillracing.com.

Join the team on Facebook by clicking here (Randy Hill Racing).

Tweet with us through Twitter at @RandyHillRacing.

[media-credit id=1 align=”alignright” width=”251″][/media-credit]DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (December 18, 2011) – – A week after announcing that Team BCR Racing and driver Buster Graham would compete in a minimum of 10 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards in 2012 at the championship awards banquet press conference in Covington, Kentucky – the team made a bold statement to be idolized as a pre-race favorite this past weekend at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in three days of testing in preparation for February’s Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 on Saturday, February 18th.

Graham, driver of the No. 88 Batter’s Dream Ford Fusion would tackle the “World Center of Racing” for the first time on Friday morning. In a session that saw 40 machines tackle the 2.5-mile superspeedway, Graham would put his blue oval powered by RoushYates Engines to the 15th quickest lap. That afternoon saw the Mooresville, North Carolina-based team find additional speed and land 13th fastest overall in a four hour session that consisted of 53 cars.

Saturday morning’s session of single-car runs showed that the Lafayette, Louisiana could show consistency with his Team BCR Racing entry landing nearly identical lap times. With the afternoon session took the green flag, the ARCA Racing Series officials made drafting possible for the first time in a day and a half. The former hydroplane racer was eager to experience his first serious taste of drafting – after all, it’s a critical piece to success at Daytona.

Showing extreme focus and positive coaching from Howard Bixman, Graham clicked off the 12th fastest lap in 48.279 seconds at 186.416 miles per hour – his then fastest time of the weekend.

With the final day of testing set to conclude on Sunday, Graham and his team guided by owner Howard Bixman made small changes to their RoushYates powered automobile hoping for a little more speed when the track opened for business.

Speed is exactly what the duo found on Sunday morning. Under brisker conditions than the past two days, Graham wrestled his No. 88 Batter’s Dream Ford Fusion to a lap of 48.229 seconds or 186.610 miles per hour – his quickest lap of the weekend and fastest lap of the series’ morning session. It was the first time during Graham’s career where he has controlled the charts in any of ARCA’s bulletins.

“Man, I’m so excited, you have no idea,” said Graham. “Howard and Team BCR Racing along RoushYates Engines have poured a lot of effort into our program and I cannot tell you how much that means to me that we’re able to come here together as a group and run as competitively as we did. We didn’t make any major changes to the car it was great right from start, the RoushYates power under the hood is a bullet. We ran well in single-car format and we’re rocketing fast in the draft, that was the most fun I have ever had. I don’t think I could ask for much more. I’m looking forward to coming back in February.”

Bixman offered his thoughts on the weekend’s venture. “I’m real proud of Buster (Graham) and all the guys on this Team BCR Racing team. We worked our tails off and I can’t thank this group enough how much I appreciate them.  I can not begin to thank RoushYates Engines along with Nick Ramey and his staff for their support and willingness to make us a viable outfit in the ARCA Racing Series. We were ninth fastest overall and the second quickest Ford overall. We have some work to do to try find a little more with the car between now and February, but after what we’ve been able to accomplish, I think we’re all hoping Daytona would be a here little sooner than February. I think we showed that we’re going to be someone that’s going to be reckoned with here in a couple months.”

The Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona officially kicks off the 2012 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards season and the 60th year of competition for the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). The season-opener will be televised live on SPEED and will serve as a preamble for the highly anticipated Budweiser Shootout for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS).

For more information including marketing partnerships for the 2012 ARCA Racing Series season for Team BCR Racing and Buster Graham, please log onto teambcr.com.

For more on Batter’s Dream, please visit Battersdream.com.

Connect with RoushYates Performance Products and RoushYates Engines through their official web site at roushyatesparts.com.

About Batter’s Dream:

Batter’s Dream is an automated ball feeding system (pitching machine) that allows baseball hitters and softball hitters to maximize time in the batting cage by getting more quality cuts without fixing a tee. One of the key benefits of the Batter’s Dream batting machines is that it allows batters the freedom to focus on rhythm, stance, timing and swing speed without the need for a second person. Simply put, Batter’s Dream is the most effective, simple and easy-to-use soft toss system ever invented to help improve a hitter’s mechanics and increase their batting average.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Venturini Motorsports Finishes Daytona Test with Top Four Spots; 79 Drivers Take Laps Over Three Days

(DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.) – Buster Graham and Milka Duno each led sessions over the final day of ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards open testing at Daytona International Speedway, but Venturini Motorsports ended the weekend with the top four positions on the overall time chart.

Graham’s morning lap of 48.229 seconds (186.61 mph) in the No. 88 Ford gave him the lead in the weekend’s fifth testing session, and in turn the only top 10 time outside of Saturday afternoon’s drafting session. Duno, Jared Marks, Will Kimmel, and Alex Bowman comprised the remainder of the morning top five.

Only 30 cars participated in the last afternoon session, which Duno led with a best lap of 48.34 seconds (186.161 mph). She was followed by Joey Coulter, Brandon McReynolds, Bowman, and Josh Richards. Full speed charts for both Sunday sessions are available at ARCARacing.com.

Overall, Venturini Motorsports ended the weekend with the top positions among 79 drivers who took laps over 21 hours. Bowman’s Saturday afternoon lap of 47.787 seconds (188.336 mph) in the No. 25 Chevrolet will stand as the test’s top effort, just ahead of teammates John Stancill, Brennan Poole, and Ryan Reed. Marks, driving a Tony Marks Racing Dodge, ended the weekend fifth.

Duno’s Saturday afternoon lap in the Sheltra Motorsports Ford ended the test sixth overall, just ahead of Venturini’s Nelson Canache, DC Racing’s Drew Charlson, Graham, and Coulter Motorsports’ Matt Lofton.

The overall weekend results are listed below.

CAR #DRIVERMFGTIMESPEED 125aAlex BowmanChevy47.787188.336 255John StancillToyota47.811188.241 325Brennan PooleChevy47.812188.237 415Ryan ReedToyota47.821188.202 512Jared MarksDodge47.832188.159 663Milka DunoFord48.166186.854 735Nelson CanacheChevy48.212186.676 851Drew CharlsonChevy48.221186.641 988Buster GrahamFord48.229186.610 1016Matt LoftonChevy48.234186.590 1194Steve BlackburnChevy48.245186.548 1269aFain SkinnerFord48.251186.525 1358Chad HackenbrachtChevy48.340186.181 1461Joey CoulterChevy48.363186.093 154Brandon McReynoldsChevy48.364186.089 1632Chris WindomToyota48.380186.027 1766Josh RichardsToyota48.438185.805 1868Will KimmelFord48.488185.613 1908Ross ChastainFord48.569185.303 2012Maryeve DufaultDodge48.573185.288 2175Ginny QuinonesToyota48.674184.904 2244Frank KimmelToyota48.773184.528 236Cale GaleChevy48.803184.415 2414John FerrierChevy48.839184.279 2505Derrike CopeChevy48.846184.253 2600Ed KennedyChevy48.865184.181 2766Mark ThompsonToyota48.931183.932 281Alli OwensFord48.953183.850 2990Zachary RalstonFord48.971183.782 3029cBobby PellandDodge49.076183.389 3129aSam EdwardsDodge49.092183.329 325aBobby GerhartChevy49.169183.042 3382aSean CorrFord49.190182.964 3461T.J. DukeChevy49.193182.953 3511bRick CliftonChevy49.340182.408 3675aBenny ChastainToyota49.392182.216 3717Chris BuescherFord49.417182.124 3829bSloan HendersonDodge49.461181.962 395b Damon Lusk Chevy49.469181.932 4014aJosh WilliamsFord49.609181.419 4105Spencer GallagherChevy49.625181.360 421aJeremy PettyChevy49.725180.995 4340aMichelle TheraultDodge49.745180.923 4410aDennis StricklandFord49.793180.748 4513George CushmanDodge49.985180.054 4669Chris BrownFord50.133179.522 4718Michael AffaranoChevy50.207179.258 4810bRyan GlenskiChevy50.223179.201 4990aGrant EnfingerFord50.258179.076 5040tNick TuckerDodge50.390178.607 5111Paul HarrakaChevy50.403178.561 5211cTrevor EdwardsChevy50.517178.158 5310Derrick GriffinFord50.539178.080 541bThomas PraytorFord50.560178.006 5511aEd PompaChevy50.579177.939 5629Bob BryantDodge50.606177.845 5711eSunny HobbsChevy50.617177.806 5829dAndy JonesDodge50.626177.774 5918fChris CokerFord50.640177.725 6004cDanny EspositoDodge50.651177.687 6104Scott EdwardsDodge50.695177.532 621cAlexsander GregoryFord50.715177.462 6340bTrent MayoDodge50.926176.727 6404aJuan Carlos BlumDodge51.029176.370 6540dLarry BarfordDodge51.054176.284 6611dBill CoffeyFord51.162175.912 6740dJosh WatkinsDodge51.162175.912 6806Ricky ByersChevy51.173175.874 6911hJames HyltonFord51.243175.634 7010fBrad LloydChevy51.257175.586 7110bDaryl EusticeFord51.277175.517 7218cTyler SpeerChevy51.348175.275 7389Chris LaffertyChevy51.563174.544 7440cRyan RustDodge51.605174.402 757Brent CrossChevy51.792173.772 7640Michael BocklerDodge51.795173.762 7740bRoger CarterDodge51.827173.655 7889aKorbin ForristerChevy52.314172.038 7974Jimmy NowellChevy60.220149.452

The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards will return to central Florida in less than two months, as the February 18 Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona International Speedway will open ARCA’s 60th Anniversary Season. The 80-lap, 200-mile race is scheduled as the first of 20 races in 2012 and will air live on SPEED, with additional coverage available at ARCARacing.com.

The complete 2012 event schedule is available at ARCARacing.com.

The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards has crowned an ARCA national champion each year since its inaugural season in 1953, and has toured over 200 race tracks in 28 states since its inception. The series has tested the abilities of drivers and race teams over the most diverse schedule of stock car racing events in the world, visiting tracks ranging from 0.4 mile to 2.66 miles in length, on both paved and dirt surfaces as well as a left- and right-turn road course in its most recent season. This year, the series will visit Alabama’s Mobile International Speedway and Minnesota’s Elko Speedway for the first time; ARCA’s first visit to Minnesota will give ARCA a race in a 29th state.

Founded by John Marcum in 1953 in Toledo, Ohio, the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is recognized among the leading sanctioning bodies in the country. Closing in on completing its sixth decade after hundreds of thousands of miles of racing, ARCA administers over 100 race events each season in two professional touring series and local weekly events.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Dec 17, 2011) – Milka Duno and her Sheltra Motorsports team proved they will be a team to watch when the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards visits Daytona International Speedway for the season opener in February. Duno drove her No. 63 Ford Fusion to the top of the speed charts during the Saturday morning test session, topping over 50 other drivers to post the fastest time in the third and final single run session before drafting sessions begin this afternoon.

Circling the famed 2.5 mile superspeedway in a time of 48.383 seconds (186.016 mph), Duno not only set the fastest time in the first day and a half of testing but also tops 2011 ARCA Racing Series Champion Ty Dillon’s pole qualifying effort (48.509 seconds/185.533 mph) from last season’s race at Daytona by almost two tenths of a second.

“This is what we want; we are working for this,” said Duno. “It is not a surprise. All the guys on the team have been working very hard to find what we can do with the car. Also, when I am on the track, I am driving as hard as I can to run the perfect lap every time. We worked very hard this morning because the car was not responding the way that we wanted it to. Dave (crew chief) and the team changed everything on the car in the morning session, and we finally got it driving the way that we wanted. It was a good result; we are happy with that, but we also expect that every time.”

Duno and her Sheltra Motorsports team are set to return to Daytona’s high-banks this afternoon for the first drafting session of the test. Teams have three total sessions left throughout the open test with this afternoon’s session and two more drafting sessions on Sunday.

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About Sheltra Motorsports:

Sheltra Motorsports, established in 2007, is in the midst of its fifth season of ARCA Racing Series competition.  Owned by Florida-native, Patrick Sheltra, the owner-driver team captured the 2010 ARCA Racing Series driver and owner’s championship titles on the strength of two wins, 12 top-fives and 17 top-10 finishes in 20 events.  Sheltra Motorsports is headquartered in Mooresville, N.C., with additional operations in Indiana and Florida.  For more information, visit www.sheltramotorsports.com.

About Milka Duno:

Duno has eight major race wins in the highest classes (Prototype) in the American Le Mans Series and Rolex Series and the highest finish ever by a female driver (2nd Place) in the Rolex 24 at Daytona in the 48-year history of the race. Go, Milka, Go! – a book about her life and racing career, was awarded the Best Young Adult Sports/Recreation Book of 2009 at the 11th Annual International Latino Book Awards. In 2010, Duno became the first Venezuelan athlete inducted into the Latin American International Sports Hall of Fame.