Category: Other Series Racing

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.

On my past few columns, I have told you all the moments that triggered my career as a driver, so I will now start telling you about my journey to the present. Losing a brother is the hardest thing I´ve had to overcome in life. Since I was young I have always enjoyed movies and so I´m quoting a very bad movie (don´t remember the name) but makes a lot of sense to me after this tragic event in life. “Sometimes people need tragedies to wake up”. Unfortunate yes, but true as well.

[media-credit name=”Martinez” align=”alignright” width=”224″][/media-credit]This sad moment in life changed everything about me. From being spoiled and careless, to being passionate and conscious. My family took this sad event well, and it was especially hard on mom who was diagnosed with breast cancer a few months later (don´t worry, she´s doing fine and I will get to that story later).

It´s 1995 and life is already hard as it is. I have my shiny new Spider Bug 2000 Kart that my brother built before he passed away. The path looks very clear. I can´t control life, but I can control myself to try and reach perfection on the wheel. As a painter paints to release his feelings, a singer sings to say how he feels and as Forest Gump used to run (love this film), well I drove. Apparently it was working because that year, even though I didn’t reach perfection, I was close. Won 17 heats out of 18 and all poles while being the youngest driver in my class.

It would be a huge lie to tell you I was invincible at that age as I was only racing in Mexico and it would probably have been a much tougher and different story if I was driving a world class karting championship (most drivers would never tell you this part). What is not a lie is that I was on a good path and that being on a race car helped me overcome this difficult part of my life.

Stay tuned for my next column as I will tell you how my career kept getting bigger and stronger.

Annual Championship Awards Banquet

(COVINGTON, Ky.) – Richard Childress Racing’s Ty Dillon finished the 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards season as the champion 55 days ago, but has since watched brother Austin win and celebrate a title of his own. This evening was Ty’s time to shine, with his brother, parents, grandparents, and a wealth of team members at his side.

Dillon and his No. 41 Chevrolet team were officially crowned ARCA champions at the series’ annual Championship Awards Banquet at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center. The 19-year-old from Lewisville, N.C. was among 15 drivers from the top 20 in the final point standings to be honored on stage, and left with more than $100,000 in point fund and special award earnings, as awarded by the numerous series partners at the ceremony.

To honor Dillon’s position as the 29th ARCA Racing Series champion in 59 seasons, ARCA president Ron Drager presented the driver a letter signed by North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue, as well as a series championship ring and a leather championship jacket featuring the series logo.

As is the custom, a video tribute featured photographs from the champion’s youth and ascent to championship status; special additions to this season’s video included special messages from Richard Childress Racing drivers Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton, as well as a collection of footage showcasing Dillon’s use of the word “awesome” in Victory Lane interviews.

Joining Dillon on stage were his grandfather and team owner, Richard Childress, grandmother Judy Childress, and crew chief Scott “Flash” Naset, who was joined by his wife Stephanie.

“It doesn’t really hit you, how special it is to do something like this, until you’re up on the stage like this and all these people you’ve worked so hard against all year are staring up at you and you’re getting crowned the champion,” said Dillon, who finished the season with seven wins, 13 top-fives, and 16 top-10 finishes. “It hit me pretty hard, and I’m just proud to be with the group of guys I’m with. It’s almost just surreal, to finally take it in. This experience right here has changed me a lot.”

Among the top awards Dillon and his team received were: $10,000 for winning the Menards Pole Award presented by Ansell after securing seven poles in 2011; $6,000 from Sunoco Race Fuel; $5,000 for winning the Aaron’s Lap Leader of the Year Award; $5,000 from Messina Wildlife Management; $5,000 from Hoosier for most wins by a car owner; $2,500 from the University of Northwestern Ohio; and the Fast Track High Performance Driving School Award. Jeff Abbott of Menards presented Dillon a check representing his winnings from the series points fund.

Naset also visited the stage on his own to accept the Cometic Crew Chief of the Year Award.

David Ragan, a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and ARCA Racing Series race winner, served as the Guest of Honor. SPEED television analyst Phil Parsons acted as the banquet host for the third consecutive year.

Chris Buescher, who drove to second place in the final standings for Roulo Brothers Racing, received the $10,000 ARCA Rookie of the Year Award, as well as $2,500 in cash and product certificates from Print Resources and $500 from JRI. Buescher also accepted the $15,000 Hoosier Tire Superspeedway Challenge Award and the R.E. Lightning Challenge Award, among other prizes.

Buescher won three of the season’s last four races, and the team’s Russell Roulo won the Klotz Engine Mechanic of the Year Award. Gary Roulo joined Buescher on stage when he was introduced for finishing in second place.

The team left with more than $100,000 in point fund and special award earnings after a season in which Buescher drove to three wins, 14 top-fives, and 16 top-10s.

Frank Kimmel was recognized on stage for finishing third in the series standings, as well as for winning the CGS Imaging Hard Charger of the Year Award and the S&S Volvo Laps Completed Award. He was joined for a final time on stage by brother and crew chief Bill Kimmel; the two will separate for the 2012 season with Frank Kimmel moving to ThorSport Racing.

Chad McCumbee, who finished fifth in the final series standings, joined owner Jennifer Belmont on stage to accept the Bill France Four Crown Award for his combined performances at New Jersey, Michigan, Springfield, and Salem.

Fourth-place driver Grant Enfinger and owner Mike Allgaier were introduced, as were fellow pairs from the top 10 in the final standings: Tom Hessert and team owner Ken Schrader (sixth); Tim George Jr. and crew chief Gere Kennon (seventh); Chad Hackenbracht and team owner Greg Hackenbracht (eighth); Sean Corr and team owner John Corr (ninth); and Darrell Basham (10th).

The top-10 honor – Basham’s first since 1976 – turned out to be the second recognition of the night for Basham. Earlier, he was honored with his second Spirit Award, following the same honor in 2003. The Spirit Award is given to a person for dedication and support of ARCA, uplifting spirit by way of example, perseverance, and positive attitude. Despite a late 2010 garage fire that destroyed nearly all his race equipment, Basham displayed all of those characteristics in driving to his best season finish in 35 years.

Nick Ramey accepted the Crane Cams Engine Builder of the Year Award on behalf of Roush Yates Engines, and Ramey himself was presented the H.G. Adcox Sportsman of the Year Award for his consistent willingness to assist any team in the garage.

In addition to stepping to the stage with Hessert, Schrader appeared to accept the Marcum Award, annually presented to an individual or entity whose positive efforts have elevated ARCA’s motorsports stature to the benefit of all associated. Schrader is a 15-time winner in the ARCA Racing Series, and continues to promote the series today as a team owner and television broadcaster.

Cathy Venturini and Nate Thiesse, the fourth and 10th-place owners, respectively, both spoke on stage.

To complete the honoring of the top 20 drivers, James Hylton (11th), Brad Smith (12th), Levi Youster (14th), Will Kimmel (15th), and Maryeve Dufault (16th) visited the stage to receive congratulations.

Jeff Kettman accepted the Manufacturer Championship on behalf of Chevrolet.

Andy O’Neal, dean of the College of Technology of the University of Northwestern Ohio – ARCA’s Official High Performance Education University – awarded a group of ARCA scholarships on behalf of the university.

Likewise, Parsons announced the winners of the Bob Loga Memorial ARCA Scholarships. Brianna Peterson – granddaughter of ARCA competitor Wayne Peterson – won $1,500. Peterson, of Hoover, Ala., holds a 4.23 grade point average as a sophomore veterinary student at Auburn University. Brittany Gaddis of Romulus, Mich. won $500. She is the daughter of ARCA Figure 8 driver Danny Gaddis, attends Romulus High School, and plans to study nursing at Wayne State University in Detroit.

The ceremony concluded just after 10 p.m. with a special video featuring an interview with Mildred Marcum, known widely as an ARCA founder. The interview led into a short mention of ARCA’s 60th Anniversary Season and the surrounding celebrations that will occur throughout 2012. A press conference in the afternoon included major series and team announcements.

The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards featured 19 events at 16 tracks on its 2011 schedule. The series 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. In 2011, 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.

The 2012 ARCA Racing Series schedule is currently available at ARCARacing.com. Testing for ARCA’s 60th Anniversary Season will begin Friday, December 16 at Daytona International Speedway. The season’s first race is scheduled for Saturday, February 18 at Daytona.

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.