Erik Jones Leads Three Venturini Motorsports Drivers in Top 12 at Kentucky

Sparta, KY (September 22, 2013) – Erik Jones finished sixth to lead a group of three Venturini Motorsports drivers among the first dozen finishers in the ZLOOP™ 150, the first ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards race at Kentucky Speedway since 2009.

Jones (No. 15 Toyota Care/Matrix Protection Toyota) started second with the field set by owner points, and he led 25 laps early. The race, which started at 1:47 p.m., had been delayed over 17 hours from Friday evening, when heavy precipitation swept through northern Kentucky. This left the racing surface unavailable for use and the lineup set by the rule book.

Jones contended for the lead before a pit stop miscue on Lap 36 sent him out of the top 10. The jack fell before his crew had finished his stop, sending Jones’ car to the ground and delaying him considerably. From 13th place, the 17-year-old from Michigan recovered and moved to ninth by the race’s halfway point. On Lap 54, though, he spun in the frontstretch grass, again falling out of the top 10.

Jones restarted 13th on Lap 62 and improved to ninth over the next 13 laps. He then gained three positions in the final 25 laps to earn his eighth top-10 in 14 ARCA starts.

Scott Rookie Challenge contender Justin Boston (No. 25 ZLOOP™ Computer & Electronic Recycling Centers Toyota) had extra incentive to earn a first career victory in his 20 ARCA starts, with his sponsor also acting as the primary supporter of ARCA’s 20th event at Kentucky. Boston started fifth but fell to seventh shortly thereafter, an area in which team general manager and No. 25 crew chief Billy Venturini acknowledged the young driver can improve.

“We need to get a little better on our initial restarts with the 25, but once Justin got rolling, he did a great job,” Venturini said.

Indeed, Boston returned to the top five by Lap 15 and stayed there through a caution period and a Lap 36 pit stop in which he took four tires and fuel, and made several minor adjustments. With four fresh tires, Boston moved into fourth soon after the Lap 40 green flag, and drove to third when leader Chase Elliott slowed down the next time around.

Boston started to drop around the race’s halfway point, and found himself fifth for a Lap 62 restart which would shape the fate of his day. Soon after the green flag, Boston felt his tires were too cool and he was unable to get a good run down the Kentucky backstretch; he fell to seventh. Jones passed him in the final quarter of the race and Boston stayed eighth from there, but Venturini found positives for his 24-year-old rookie from Maryland.

First of all, a broken engine part caused Boston to lose horsepower late, so maintaining a top-10 finish ended up a silver lining. After the checkered flag, Venturini quickly pointed out to his driver over the radio that he had gained on Scott Rookie Challenge rival Mason Mingus by beating him by two positions.

“I think that finish right there by Justin just made the worst-case scenario that we can finish in a tie in first,” Venturini said, with the official standings set to be released by ARCA at the beginning of next week.

Boston’s top-10 finish was his 15th in 20 starts.

Seventeen-year-old Taylor Ferns (No. 55 National Auto Placement/Motor City Auto Transport Toyota) finished 12th in her eighth start.

“Taylor, she’s obviously got the least amount of experience in a stock car, so finishing 12th, I think she showed a lot of positives,” Venturini said. “There’s a lot of potential there. She can be great once we get her a little more experience.”

Rounding out the Venturini group, Milka Duno (No. 35 CANTV/Milka Way Toyota) finished 23rd and Tom Berte (No. 20 CGS Premier Chevrolet) was 25th.

Corey LaJoie won the race, which finished in one hour, 12 minutes, and 33 seconds at an average speed of 124.149 mph. Thirty-two cars started the event.

Venturini Motorsports will next compete in the season finale, the Kansas Lottery 98.9 at Kansas Speedway on Friday, October 4. Practice will begin at 9 a.m. with qualifying following at 5:35 p.m. The 99-lap, 148.5-mile race will air live on FOX Sports 1 at 7:30 p.m., and ARCARacing.com will present live timing and scoring of all on-track events. All listed times are Central. 

About Venturini Motorsports
Venturini Motorsports (VMS), fielding cars for over 30-years in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, is one of the premier NASCAR driver development programs in the country. Multiple team championships and consistent on-track success, VMS has evolved into one of the most recognizable names in motorsports. Since 2007, VMS has assisted in the career development of notable NASCAR drivers such as Joey Logano, Justin Allgaier, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Brian Scott, Kevin Swindell, Miguel Paludo, John Wes Townley, Josh Richards and Johanna Long.

In 2012, VMS and the Venturini family was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame and now find themselves enshrined with such sports icons as Joe DiMaggio, Mario Andretti, Vince Lombardi, Tommy Lasorda and Rocky Marciano, among others.

After nearly two decades away from NASCAR, 2013 marks VMS’s modern day return to the series with John Wes Townley driving the team’s familiar No.25 in selective NASCAR Nationwide Series events.

Official: www.VenturiniMotorsports.com  |  Twitter: @VenturiniMotor  |  Facebook: Venturini Motorsports

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

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