After turning in a solid fifth place finish last week at Elko Speedway, 21-year old rookie Natalie Decker will make her first ever start at Michigan’s Berlin Raceway in Saturday night’s Primera Plastics 200.
Decker, a native of nearby Eagle River, Wisconsin, is in the midst of her first full season schedule driving for Venturini Motorsports. Last week’s top-5 finish was Decker’s second of the season and first since winning the pole and finishing fifth in the season opening event at Daytona International Speedway.
Focused on gaining experience, the driver of Venturini Motorsports’ flagship No.25 N29 Capital Partners – Yamaha Power Product Toyota Camry looks ahead to the remainder of the summer schedule.
“I’m really happy with the run we had at Elko last week,” said Decker. “Running up front and finishing top-5 really gives me a lot of confidence going into Berlin. I’m excited to get back in the car – we’ve got a lot to build on moving forward the rest of the way.”
“This season has been a huge learning experience for me. Short track racing has always been my favorite but running the entire schedule this year has given me the opportunity to see a lot of new tracks and gain valuable experience.”
Assisting in Decker’s development is crew chief Frank Kimmel. Kimmel, a 10-time ARCA Series Champion and the all-time leader in series victories with 80, took over duties atop the 25-team’s pit box just prior to Elko. Kimmel drove for Venturini Motorsports in 2016 and joined the team’s crew chief lineup during last year’s off season.
“Frank and I have a great relationship and someone I’ve gone to for advice all season long. Having him as my crew chief is a big deal. He has so much information to share – he’s a huge asset – I’m really happy to have him on the radio.”
The Berlin race will mark the rookie drivers’ 14th race of the season and 21st overall in ARCA competition since splashing onto the scene in May of 2017.
Leading up to Saturday night’s Primera Plastics 200 Decker will make a local appearance joining teammate Christian Eckes for a fan meet and greet at the Wyoming, MI Menards store Friday night between 6:00-7:00pm.
The Primera Plastics 200 is the 14th race of 20 on the 2018 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule. At just 0.438 miles in length, Berlin Raceway is the second-shortest track on the 2018 ARCA Racing Series schedule.
Next up for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards is the Primera Plastics 200 at Berlin Raceway. Practice is scheduled for 2:30 pm ET with General Tire Pole Qualifying to follow at 6:30 pm ET; the race will go green at 9 pm ET and will be televised live on MAVTV. ARCARacing.com will have live timing and scoring, live chat, and live on-track updates for all sessions for registered users.
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