Less than a week from competing on the smallest track on the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards tour, AM Racing and their development team Win-Tron Racing set their sights with newcomer Justin Fontaine (@driverFontaine) for his Pocono Raceway debut in Friday’s General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200.
Returning to ARCA last weekend since suffering a mild compression fracture of his L1 vertebrae during a late-race accident in ARCA’s season-opening at Daytona International Speedway in February, Fontaine quickly burst back onto the scene appearing to not miss a beat.
After starting 12th in the Shore Lunch 250 at Elko, Fontaine minded his manners to a solid 11th place finish completing all but one lap in his Elko Speedway debut.
On Friday afternoon, Fontaine looks to break into the top-10 and continue to tally firm top-15 performances as he continues to adapt and learn.
“Elko went very well, all things considered,” said Fontaine. “We had a good day and night. I learned a lot about our No. 33 ProMATIC Toyota Camry throughout the day. I got a little too comfortable with my pace during the race and that’s how we found ourselves a lap down.”
“I learned from that though. It’s going to be a whole new ballgame this week at Pocono Raceway, but I’m ready for the next challenge and continue to build my ARCA resume.”
To familiarize himself with Pocono’s Tricky Triangle, Fontaine was one of 30 drivers who elected to partake in an open test session at the 2.5-mile speedway Wednesday. While the session was stalled for most of the day by a damp race track, Fontaine did get to turn his first laps in Long Pond shortly before 2:00 p.m.
When the session concluded, Fontaine timed in 18th quickest.
“Wrapped up my test session at Pocono and it felt great,” said Fontaine, a development driver for AM Racing. “Pocono was nothing like I’ve ever experienced before, but it felt great to make some laps in our No. 33 ProMATIC / Techline Toyota Camry.”
“We picked up every time I turned a lap and we showed good consistency throughout the day. Looking forward to seeing what we can put together Friday.”
Part of Fontaine’s learning experience included checks and balances. Finding more speed sometimes means sifting out of your comfort zone and trying new lines. The Fletcher, N.C. native did that on Wednesday and rubbed the wall in the Tunnel Turn.
While the damage was minimal to his car, Fontaine said he learned from it.
“I’m glad I did it Wednesday rather than during qualifying or the race on Friday,” noted Fontaine on the right-side scrap. “I’m going to be doing a lot of studying before I get back on the track. I have a feeling when I come back to Pocono at the end of July, I’m going to feel a little more like a veteran.”
Win-Tron Racing team Principal Kevin Cywinski who attended the Pocono Raceway test says Fontaine achieved the goals set before him.
“Pocono isn’t a place you get comfortable with in just a lap or two,” added Cywinski. “But, by the end of the day – Justin seemed like he knew where he needed to be and was eager for more track time. We accomplished our goals for the test and now we feel confident going into Friday with the outlook that we can concentrate solely on race setup.”
“A top-10 finish without a doubt is achievable for Justin in his Pocono debut.”
While sticking with a heavy ARCA schedule for now, Fontaine’s focus is expected to turn towards the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series where he’ll compete in a limited schedule this summer in an AM Racing entry.
The General Tire #AnywhereIsPossible 200 (80 laps / 200 miles) is the eighth of 20 races on the 2017 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule. Practice begins Fri. June 9 with an hour and 25-minute practice session planned from 9:30 a.m. – 10:55 a.m. General Tire pole qualifying is set for later in the day at 2:00 p.m. The race is set to take the green flag later that day shortly after 5:30 p.m. The event will be broadcasted live on FOX Sports 1 (FS1), while ARCARacing.com will also stream live timing and scoring throughout the day’s activities. All times are local (ET).
AM Racing PR
