Decker hopeful about ARCA debut
Expectations will be modest, but — this is at least as important — excuses are minimal.
So begins Natalie Decker’s three-race ARCA adventure, in a far better position than she was for her not-quite-one-off in NASCAR trucks.
For all the Rent-A-Wreck programs throughout the racing marketplace today, Venturini Motorsports is the Alamo or Avis of the ARCA series. A young hopeful such as Decker goes into a weekend with a solid chance to race, learn and compete rather than simply run laps.
“That was the biggest thing when we wanted to go ARCA racing this year was what team do we go with?” said Decker, a 19-year-old from Eagle River who failed to qualify in her one Camping World Truck Series attempt last season. “I was so excited when we all decided on that team … and it all just kind of fell into place really good.”
Since the start of 2010, the Venturini team has won 26 ARCA races while fielding cars
for about 100 drivers. Decker's super-late model crew chief, Kyle Wolosek, had worked for VMS and helped make the connection.
With sponsorship from N29 Capital Partners, Decker is set for three consecutive events starting with her debut Sunday at Toledo (Ohio) Speedway.
“For my first race, I was talking with my crew chief on the 25 car, Dave (Leiner), he was talking about what his expectations were and what he wanted,” Decker said in a phone interview after a test Wednesday.
“It was in practice for the first time, be in the top 12; in qualifying, be in the top 12; and in the race, finish the race. Don’t get caught up in anything. Just be there at the end. He said, ‘I’ll be happy with that being your first race,’ and I agree with him.”
After that, the goal for Decker would be to improve in her second race, June 3, at Elko (Minn.) Speedway, another short track, and prepare for the complete unknown of 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa., on June 9 in a preliminary event to the NASCAR weekend.
“I don’t know there’s any way I can (prepare), other than watching YouTube videos and talking to Dave … and other drivers and (owner) Billy Venturini and all of them on what it’s like,” Decker said.
“They can explain the best they can to me what it’s going to be like, but I’m never going to know until I really go out there and get going that fast.”
Decker wheeled the bigger, heavier ARCA car for the first time Wednesday at South Boston, Va.
“It went really well, really fast,” Decker said. “We made about probably a hundred laps, and that was it. We were done, packed up and ready for Toledo.”
Part of the program
Ty Majeski, the Roush Fenway development driver from Seymour, was named this week as a member of the NASCAR Next initiative for the second straight year.
NASCAR Next provides guidance for promising drivers that could benefit them in moving up in NASCAR’s national series, putting them in front of experts\ on a variety of topics on a regular basis.
“A lot of people think drivers just show up to the racetrack and hop in the car and go race,” said Majeski, 22. “But 80% of it is off track and 20% is actually driving the race car.
“There’s so much media stuff you have to take care of and so many sponsor responsibilities of any given week. From that standpoint, it prepares us young drivers (in ways) somebody wouldn’t know from the outside looking in.”
Others in the nine-member 2017-’18 class include 16-year-olds Harrison Burton and Todd Gilliland, the sons of former NASCAR Cup Series drivers Jeff Burton and David Gilliland, respectively.
Riding into town
A week of saddle sores and philanthropy ends Friday when participants in the annual Kyle Petty Charity Ride arrive at the Hilton Milwaukee City Center.
Fans can meet the riders — including NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty, broadcaster Rick Allen, NFL great Herschel Walker, 1980 Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers and Harley-Davidson Museum leader Bill Davidson — starting at about 4 p.m. at the hotel at 509 W. Wisconsin Ave. Memorabilia will be available for purchase and donations accepted. Since 1995, the ride founded by third-generation NASCAR star Kyle Petty has generated more than $17.5 million for children’s charities. Primary among them has been Victory Junction, a camp in Randleman, N.C., that provides experiences for children with chronic or life-threatening illnesses.
This year’s ride began Saturday in Portland, Ore., and will cover about 2,400 miles, including the finishing Minneapolis-Milwaukee leg.
Smoke returns
Retired three-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart is scheduled for an overdue return to Wisconsin sprint-car racing this weekend, headlining Saturday at Wilmot Speedway and Sunday at Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie. Stewart, who turns 46 Saturday, won his most recent sprint-car start in Wisconsin four years ago, edging perennial Interstate Racing Association champion Bill Balog in a back-and-forth battle at the Sheboygan County Fairgrounds.
A planned subsequent visit for what would have been Stewart’s Wilmot debut was wiped out when he suffered serious leg injuries in a crash.
The races this weekend are co-sanctioned by All Star Circuit of Champions, which Stewart owns, and IRA. With the All Stars’ 18 full-timers in addition to the locals, plus barnstorming fan favorite Rico Abreu, the IRA president Steve Sinclair said he expects car counts in the 50s.
Selection Wednesday
The next five members of the NASCAR Hall of Fame will be chosen Wednesday and the announcement carried live on NBCSN beginning at 5:30 p.m.
Among the nominees are pioneers Red Byron and Ray Fox, active owners Joe Gibbs, Jack Roush and Roger Penske, crew chiefs Harry Hyde and Ray Evernham, and 10 other drivers including Alan Kulwicki, the 1992 champion from Greenfield.