ARCA rookie Decker looks forward to familiar track
The highlights? Speed, mostly. The lowlights? Results that don’t reflect that speed.
The takeaway? Natalie Decker has soaked up as much information as humanly possible in these past four months, and that’s going to continue well into October as she completes her first full season in the ARCA Racing Series
“New tracks. New car,” the 20-yearold stock-car racer from Eagle River said. “I only did seven races with Venturini (Motorsports) last year, so all the mile-and-a-halfs are very new to me, and that’s a big learning curve.
“I’m excited, I’m doing the full seasons and I get to travel around and go to all these new tracks and just get seat time and experience.”
Eight events into the 20-race season, the Venturini crew that prepares and pits her No. 25 Toyota would receive an A in Decker’s grade book. On her best days – the season opener at Daytona International Speedway, where she won the pole and finished fifth, for example – Decker might give herself a B. But maybe an "incomplete" would be more appropriate.
“There’s still so much more to learn,” Decker said. “A lot of the guys ... already have that many more laps than I do.”
The situation this weekend, though, is a little different for Decker from what most have been.
ARCA races the Herr’s Potato Chips 200 at 8 p.m. Friday at Madison International Speedway, where Decker has competed a handful of times in superlate model cars.
So the half-mile track in the Town of Rutland provides a different sort of challenge. She may have to unlearn some of what she does know, because the ARCA car is about 20% heaver and considerably less nimble. Speed comes more from carrying momentum than attacking the corners.
“I haven’t driven a super-late for a while, but I’ve been driving this ARCA
car every weekend this year so far and I’ve been to Madison,” Decker said. “So I think it’s going to be good that I have laps there and know what the track’s like.
“I’ve just been focusing on my ARCA car with Venturini this year; I think that will help because I’ve already driven the car at a few short tracks. I’ve been to Nashville, Salem (Ind.), Elko (Minn.), Toledo (Ohio), so I know what it feels like at a short track and I think it’s going to help.”
Decker’s best finish other than Daytona was a seventh place at Toledo Speedway, a half-mile track where she also had raced during her limited schedule last year.
After hernia surgery, Decker was able to qualify only for the Pocono race – Brennan Poole finished eighth in relief – and she is coming off a finish of 15th Friday in her first trip to Michigan International Speedway. Decker sits fifth in the standings.
The other Venturini car has won twice, with Christian Eckes (Salem) and Michael Self (Daytona) taking turns in the seat. But Decker doesn't compare results.
“I love that they’re winning,” Decker said. “We’ve got (three) poles, so that’s awesome. That shows that our team has a lot of speed this year.”
Now it’s about Decker putting that speed together with experience.