There was one significant crash near the end of the first day of ARCA preseason testing on Thursday at Daytona International Speedway.
It started with de facto teammates Chase Pinsonneault and Amber Balcaen out of the Venturini-Nitro Motorsports collaboration but then collected AJ Waller of KLAS Motorsports and Helio Castroneves and Brenden Queen of Pinnacle Racing Group.
(Daylon Barr Photography)
As one crew member onsite put it ‘Butterbean pushed Helio into it because Amber Balcaen turned the 15 in front us. It was a Venturini draft line … the front two cars dropped to the apron three-fourths of the way down the backstretch, which caused the check-up.’
Queen said it was something that ‘shouldn’t have happened,’ and that he pushed Castroneves into it because the line suddenly jammed up from going 170 mph and the lack of visibility in the draft gave him no response time.
Queen pushed Castroneves right into Waller.
The test was not televised and continues on Friday but several teams, including both PRG groups loaded up, feeling like they learned enough and not wanting to risk further damaging their cars, which were relatively unscathed.
“With it being group qualifying, we just need to work on handling,” Queen said. “The race is going to be like that test, come down to a lot of luck and just being in the right place at the right time. Got to be in it to win it
“We have a really good piece and didn’t want to risk tearing them up tomorrow.”
Unique mix of racers
On a positive for Queen, the reigning CARS Tour champion met four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Castroneves on Thursday in advance of being teammates at PRG in the season opening race at Daytona.
Queen learned what others before him have in that Castroneves is the genuine article
“He never treated me like he was better than anyone else,” Queen said. “He treated me like one of the guys. It was a really cool moment because I grew up watching him win the Indy 500, a lot of races, dancing with the stars and he’s just a fun guy. I’ve worked really hard to get to this level in ARCA and to be able to race with Helio Castroneves as a teammate at Daytona is kind of unreal.”
Even reigning rookie of the year Lavar Scott found it cool to test against Castroneves or decorated road racer and Indy 500 starter Katherine Legge and even Sprint Car prodigy.
“I have a bunch of respect for Helio,” Scott said. “Obviously, an IndyCar winner and Indy 500 winner. Corey has come from dirt racing like me and has been super successful in that world. I drove Micro Sprints and he has all those big wins the past couple of years. He wanted Turkey Night a couple of months ago.
“Once they put on the helmet, they’re the same as me, but I have all the respect for those guys coming to race with us this year.”
ARCA Daytona on FOX
There is some big energy building for the season opening race on February 15 because it will air on broadcast television, on big FOX, as they call it for the first time.
Scott says he notices a buzz.
“I was talking with some guys from our team today and was like, I have never seen so many people in the ARCA garage, and people from the bigger series, getting ready for the race,” Scott said. “The Spire and Hendrick cars, and drivers like Helio, and Nitro, PRG and our team.
“ARCA is getting huge and airing on FOX is only going to make it better.”
Legge said the race airing on FOX made it easier for her to put together her sponsorship package and said she noticed the same things Scott did.
“There were 78 cars here today,” Legge said. “They’ve done a really good job of making this one of the flagship races at Daytona. There’s a lot of people who want to do it. A lot of drivers want to do it to get prepared for other things at Daytona.
“It’s a box and stepping stone you have to cross off the list. FOX is adding to that. Anytime you can get national coverage and more fans, that’s what allows us to do this right, broadcasting to them our giant billboards. That was the same for our deal with Elf last year at Indy. The larger audience you have, the more impact you can have. It’s a self-perpetuating cycle.”
Day has raced in the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals and Knoxville Nationals before making his Truck Series and ARCA starts on cable but this is still the biggest audience he will have had yet.
“Yeah, it’s super cool,” Day said. “I think, you know, the more exposure me as a driver and all the other drivers in the ARCA Series can get is great. Hopefully everyone is in their best form for that and we can put a show on for everyone that is watching.”
Test Day 1
(Turn your phone sideways to read results)
| Pos. | Car No. | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed | Margin |
| 1 | 70A | Amber Balcaen | Nitro Motorsports | Toyota | 49.102 | 183.292 | — |
| 2 | 15 | Chase Pinsonneault | Venturini Motorsports | Toyota | 49.226 | 182.83 | 0.124 |
| 3 | 3M | Willie Mullins | Mullins Racing | Ford | 49.227 | 182.826 | 0.125 |
| 4 | 20 | Lawless Alan | Venturini Motorsports | Toyota | 49.229 | 182.819 | 0.127 |
| 5 | 25 | Jake Finch | Venturini Motorsports | Toyota | 49.236 | 182.793 | 0.134 |
| 6 | 55R | Isabella Robusto | Venturini Motorsports | Toyota | 49.26 | 182.704 | 0.158 |
| 7 | 73J | Andy Jankowiak | KLAS Motorsports | Ford | 49.283 | 182.619 | 0.181 |
| 8 | 3P | Brad Perez | Mullins Racing | Chevrolet | 49.308 | 182.526 | 0.206 |
| 9 | 73A | Vincent Arthur | KLAS Motorsports | Ford | 49.493 | 181.844 | 0.391 |
| 10 | 76 | Kole Raz | AM Racing | Ford | 49.536 | 181.686 | 0.434 |
| 11 | 07 | Jeff Scofield | Scofield Racing | Chevrolet | 49.554 | 181.62 | 0.452 |
| 12 | 97J | Jason Kitzmiller | CR7 Motorsports | Chevrolet | 49.613 | 181.404 | 0.511 |
| 13 | 23L | Katherine Legge | SPS | Chevrolet | 49.619 | 181.382 | 0.517 |
| 14 | 30M | Garrett Mitchell | Rette-Jones Racing | Ford | 49.64 | 181.305 | 0.538 |
| 15 | 6 | Lavar Scott | Rev Racing | Chevrolet | 49.65 | 181.269 | 0.548 |
| 16 | 46M | Thad Moffitt | Nitro Motorsports | Toyota | 49.671 | 181.192 | 0.569 |
| 17 | 77 | Corey Day | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 49.849 | 180.545 | 0.747 |
| 18 | 18C | Brent Crews | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 49.856 | 180.52 | 0.754 |
| 19 | 18S | William Sawalich | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 49.88 | 180.433 | 0.778 |
| 20 | 27 | Tim Richmond | Richmond Racing | Toyota | 49.9 | 180.361 | 0.798 |
| 21 | 18R | Giovanni Ruggiero | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 49.952 | 180.173 | 0.85 |
| 22 | 73W | AJ Waller | KLAS Motorsports | Ford | 50.05 | 179.82 | 0.948 |
| 23 | 28Q | Brenden Queen | Pinnacle Racing Group | Chevrolet | 50.144 | 179.483 | 1.042 |
| 24 | 82 | Helio Castroneves | Pinnacle Racing Group | Chevrolet | 50.149 | 179.465 | 1.047 |
| 25 | 75R | David Rodriguez | Brother-In-Law Motorsports | Chevrolet | 50.444 | 178.416 | 1.342 |
| 26 | 2B | Lanie Buice | Rev Racing | Chevrolet | 50.69 | 177.55 | 1.588 |
| 27 | 68M | Scott Melton | Kimmell Racing | Ford | 50.761 | 177.301 | 1.659 |
| 28 | 69K | Will Kimmel | Kimmell Racing | Ford | 50.808 | 177.137 | 1.706 |
| 29 | 69W | Nolan Wilson | Kimmell Racing | Ford | 50.814 | 177.117 | 1.712 |
| 30 | 2L | Eloy Sebastian | Rev Racing | Chevrolet | 50.848 | 176.998 | 1.746 |
| 31 | 3S | Regina Sirvent | Mullins Racing | Chevrolet | 50.861 | 176.953 | 1.759 |
| 32 | 93C | Caleb Costner | CW Motorsports | Chevrolet | 51.06 | 176.263 | 1.958 |
| 33 | 62 | Steve Lewis Jr. | Steve Lewis Motorsports | Chevrolet | 51.085 | 176.177 | 1.983 |
| 34 | 8 | Sean Corr | Empire Racing | Chevrolet | 51.148 | 175.96 | 2.046 |
| 35 | 12H | Trevor Huddleston | Fast Track Racing | Ford | 51.265 | 175.558 | 2.163 |
| 36 | 46F | Ty Fredrickson | Nitro Motorsports | Toyota | 51.289 | 175.476 | 2.187 |
| 37 | 55L | Treyten Lapecevich | Venturini Motorsports | Toyota | 51.341 | 175.298 | 2.239 |
| 38 | 9S | Dustin Smith | Fast Track Racing | Ford | 51.369 | 175.203 | 2.267 |
| 39 | 4A | Alex Quarterley | Quarterley Racing | Chevrolet | 51.373 | 175.189 | 2.271 |
| 40 | 9D | Cody Dennison | Fast Track Racing | Ford | 51.433 | 174.985 | 2.331 |
| 41 | 70G | Gavan Boschele | Nitro Motorsports | Toyota | 51.533 | 174.645 | 2.431 |
| 42 | 75D | Bryan Dauzat | Brother-In-Law Motorsports | Chevrolet | 51.658 | 174.223 | 2.556 |
| 43 | 23E | Grant Enfinger | SPS | Chevrolet | 51.696 | 174.095 | 2.594 |
| 44 | 4D | Dale Quarterley | Quarterley Racing | Chevrolet | 51.729 | 173.984 | 2.627 |
| 45 | 52 | Bob Martin | Martin Motorsports | Toyota | 51.786 | 173.792 | 2.684 |
| 46 | 97I | Issac Kitzmiller | CR7 Motorsports | Chevrolet | 51.789 | 173.782 | 2.687 |
| 47 | 12C | Colton Collins | Fast Track Racing | Ford | 51.978 | 173.15 | 2.876 |
| 48 | 11P | Presley Sorah | Fast Track Racing | Ford | 52.082 | 172.804 | 2.98 |
| 49 | 12W | Jason White | Fast Track Racing | Ford | 52.133 | 172.635 | 3.031 |
| 50 | 67 | Ryan Roulette | Maples Motorsports | Chevrolet | 52.138 | 172.619 | 3.036 |
| 51 | 11Z | Zachary Tinkle | Fast Track Racing | Ford | 52.251 | 172.246 | 3.149 |
| 52 | 68H | Bryton Horner | Kimmell Racing | Ford | 52.286 | 172.13 | 3.184 |
| 53 | 99 | Michael Maples | Maples Motorsports | Chevrolet | 52.417 | 171.7 | 3.315 |
| 54 | 11C | Chase Burda | Fast Track Racing | Ford | 52.603 | 171.093 | 3.501 |
| 55 | 12T | Davey Akers | Fast Track Racing | Toyota | 52.615 | 171.054 | 3.513 |
| 56 | 10P | Ed Pompa | Fast Track Racing | Ford | 52.86 | 170.261 | 3.758 |
| 57 | 10H | Dalton Hanes | Fast Track Racing | Ford | 52.97 | 169.907 | 3.868 |
| 58 | 10B | Craig Bracken | Fast Track Racing | Ford | 53.205 | 169.157 | 4.103 |
| 59 | 85 | Becca Monopoli | City Garage Motorsports | Toyota | 53.482 | 168.281 | 4.38 |
| 60 | 00A | Corey Aiken | Kennedy Aiken Racing | Toyota | 53.751 | 167.439 | 4.649 |
| 61 | 00H | TJ Harris | Kennedy Aiken Racing | Toyota | 53.911 | 166.942 | 4.809 |
| 62 | 93M | Tristan Maheu | CW Motorsports | Chevrolet | 54.854 | 164.072 | 5.752 |
| 63 | 00V | Austin Vaughn | Kennedy Aiken Racing | Toyota | 55.396 | 162.467 | 6.294 |
| 64 | 03M | Doug Miller | Clubb Racing | Ford | 59.156 | 152.14 | 10.054 |
| 65 | 03C | Alex Clubb | Clubb Racing | Ford | 59.922 | 150.195 | 10.82 |