2011 ARCA at Chicagoland

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2011 ARCA: Tony Marks Racing Ready For Chicagoland
Posted by: newsla on Jun 02, 2011
NASCAR News
2011 ARCA: Tony Marks Racing Ready For Chicagoland


ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards Rookie of the Year contender Maryeve Dufault and her Tony Marks Racing (TMR) team will make their inaugural intermediate track debut Saturday afternoon when she takes the green flag in her No. 12 VR-12 / Dodge Motorsports Dodge Charger in the Messina Animal Wildlife Stopper 150.




Currently sitting 11th in the ARCA championship standings, the TMR is focused on having a solid run that will only propel the team’s confidence and hopefully vault the freshman team into the top-10 in their quest to run for a championship.

Thus far, Dufault has experienced her fair share of ups and downs, but with that being expected for any rookie driver and team in their inaugural season, the Mooresville, North Carolina-based team continues to march on with their head held high.

While the team did not participate in the recent open-test at Chicagoland Speedway, the Sorel, Quebec Canada native is relying on the wealth of experience from her team to guide her towards the front in the sixth race of the season.

“I’ve been anxious to get back to a bigger track, because I really enjoy competing on them,” said Dufault. “I’ve been learning as much as I can about Chicagoland by watching old races and talking to other drivers. I know I’m going to learn a lot this weekend – but I know that we’ll have a fast No. 12 VR-12 / Dodge Motorsports Dodge Charger which hopefully should ease our learning curve a little bit.”

Coming off a respectable finish in her ARCA road racing debut, Dufault is anxious to have some luck on her side and show how potent her TMR team really is.

“This is a great operation with a lot of great support,” sounded Dufault. “VR-12 and Dodge Motorsports have poured their faith and trust in our young team to go out there and produce good finishes. We’ve had those but we’re looking for more. Hopefully Chicagoland will be a race that we can find ourselves competitive right out of the box and earn our first top-10 of the year.”

For car owner Tony Marks, the continued trust of his leaders at TMR and his confidence of Dufault have him thinking extremely positive for Saturday’s race.

“We’re looking forward to our first mile and a half track this weekend,” said Marks, a racer himself. “The whole team has been focused on making sure we go to Chicagoland with a mission to show that our team is capable of running up front and staying there. It will be another weekend of learning for us, but in the end we’re hoping for a great finish for VR-12, Dodge and all those who support TMR.”

The Messina Animal Wildlife Stopper 150 (100 laps / 150 miles) is the sixth of 19 events on the 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule. The 11th ARCA event held at Chicagoland Speedway is a two-day show. Practice begins Friday, June 3 with a one hour and twenty minute practice session planned from 2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying is slated to begin at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 4. The field will take the green flag shortly after 5:00 p.m. The event will be televised same-day delayed on SPEED beginning at 10:00 p.m. CST / 11:00 p.m. EST. Live timing and scoring throughout the 1,318 race for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards since it was formed in 1953 will be available through the ARCA Racing Network (ARN) online at arcaracing.com presented by ARCANation.com. All times are local.

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