Venturini Motorsports entered the weekend with optimism hoping to pick up the team’s third win in the last four years at Michigan International Speedway in Friday’s running of the Corrigan Oil 200.
Venturini Motorsports’ three team effort was led by Matt Tifft’s fifth place finish during his return to ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards competition. Rookie Dalton Sargeant continued his success finishing ninth, scoring his sixth consecutive top-10 finish of his young career. Tom Hessert, entering the series event at Michigan with optimism, settled for a disappointing 21st place finish after mechanical failure sidelined him early.
Matt Tifft Finishes Fifth in First Michigan Start
Matt Tifft, driving VMS’s No.15 Cometic Gasket Toyota, turned in a solid performance finishing fifth in his first ARCA Racing appearance of the season and first-ever attempt at Michigan International Speedway.
“We worked hard for that one,” said an exhausted Tifft after exiting his car. “Overall we had a really good car and got a decent finish for VMS. We needed one more caution at the end to tighten up the field for a last shot – Unfortunately it never happened.”
After the race Tifft was treated at the infield care center for dehydration.
“The air intake duct on my helmet was damaged during my flight to Michigan. We did everything possible to fix it but it didn’t hold up and I lost the hosing mid-way through the race. Not exactly what you want when racing under these warm conditions,” added Tifft.
Tifft, whose main focus is running part time schedules with Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR XFINITY Series and Red Horse Racing in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, will make three more ARCA starts with Venturini Motorsports. His next ARCA Racing attempt comes in two weeks at Winchester Speedway.
Sargeant Salvages Ninth Place Finish after Costly Late Race Penalty
Rookie Dalton Sargeant turned in another strong performance behind the wheel of his No.55 Toyota Racing Development – Windows 10 Camry, finishing ninth in Friday’s Corrigan Oil 200 at Michigan International Speedway.
Sargeant, who notched his sixth consecutive top-10 finish, was penalized on the final pit stop costing him a finish inside the top-5.
“Not the finish we were looking,” said a disappointed Sargeant. “Finished in the 9th position after running in the top 5 all day, but got caught speeding on pit road and had to serve a penalty. I have a ton of faith in the people at Venturini Motorsports and this Toyota Racing Camry powered by Windows 10. We’ve got some work to do but we will most definitely be better and will be competing for wins soon.”
Sargeant, who started third, maintained a top-5 running position until late in the race when he was issued a speeding penalty on pit road. The costly penalty forced the 18-year old driver a drive through penalty dropping him one lap down to the leaders and a ninth place finish.
Sargeant will compete at Berlin Speedway in the CRA Super Series Battle at Berlin 251 on Monday, June 13. His next ARCA Racing Series event will be at Winchester Speedway on Sunday, June 26.
Tom Hessert Sidelined Early Settles for 21st Place Finish at Michigan
Sidelined early with a broken right rear drive plate, Tom Hessert was credited with a 21st place finish in Friday’s Corrigan Oil 200 at Michigan International Speedway.
“Very disappointing day for me and this team,” said Hessert. “We made some solid gains during the race and had a pretty sporty car early. I’m not exactly sure what went wrong but once we brought the car behind the wall I knew we were finished for the day.”
Hessert, driving the No.25 Cometic Gasket Toyota, entered weekend competition third in ARCA’s driver points, dropped two spots in the overall standings putting himself 245-points behind Chase Briscoe for top position.
“We’ve dug ourselves a bit of a hole with today’s finish but I’m confident we can rebound with more than half the season left on the schedule. I’m looking forward to getting back on track at Madison and Winchester,” added Hessert.
The ARCA Racing Series returns to action next weekend for the running of the Montgomery Ward Father’s Day 200 at Madison International Speedway.
Next weekend’s race will feature the return of VMS driver Christian Eckes along with series newcomer Nicole Behar making her series debut.
VMS PR
