5-time ARCA winner Brennan Poole will sub for his Venturini Motorsports (VMS) teammate, John Wes Townley, in Saturday’s ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards race at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway. Poole, who claimed a fourth-place finish in the ARCA event at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway last week, will pilot the No. 15 Zaxby’s Toyota Camry.
Last week at Pocono, Townley was involved in an incident during ARCA qualifying. Townley is now in good health, but sat out of both the ARCA and NASCAR Truck events at Pocono Raceway as a precautionary measure.
“As a precaution, John Wes Townley will sit out Saturday night’s ARCA event at Berlin Raceway,” said a team spokesperson. “Townley did not compete in last week’s ARCA race at Pocono Raceway following an incident during qualifying earlier in the day.”
During his 2014 ARCA debut last week at Pocono, Poole qualified the No. 66 The Identical Movie Toyota on the outside pole, led 31 of 50 laps, and finished in the fourth position. The 23-year-old driver has been instrumental in VMS’s success serving as consultant, driver coach and spotter for many of the team’s current and former drivers. Poole, the 2012 Hoosier Superspeedway Champion, also finished a career-best of third in the 2012 ARCA driver championship point standings, in his only full season in the series.
Earlier this season during ARCA’s first visit to Pocono in June, Poole practiced and qualified the No. 15 Zaxby’s Toyota while Townley was fulfilling his duties in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. After posting top-10 practice speeds, The Woodlands, Texas native claimed a second-place qualifying effort, before handing over the race driving duties to Townley.
“You never like to see any driver, especially your teammate, get shaken up after an accident,” said Poole. “I’m really glad John Wes is okay and this week will just give him additional time to rest before returning to the driver’s seat. I just want to thank Zaxby’s for giving me the opportunity to fill the role this weekend.”
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