With the 2018 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards season finale on deck for Gus Dean (@gusdean) and his Win-Tron Racing team, the team heads to Kansas Speedway looking to close out the year with their second win of the year.
The team also looks to Friday night’s ARCA Kansas 150 as an opportunity to rebound from an uncharacteristic performance at Lucas Oil Raceway, where Dean struggled with the handling of his No. 32 GREE Cooling Products | Baker Distributing Chevrolet but still managed to earn a top-10 finish.
Armed with the same Chevrolet Dean earned his second pole of the season at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway in August, the Mooresville, N.C-based team has high expectations for the 20th race of the season.
“I can’t believe it’s the last race of the year,” said Dean, a native of Bluffton, S.C.
“We have a lot to be proud about. We’ve been fast, we won a race, scored some poles and finished inside the top-10 a bunch. Some bad luck kept us behind from contending from a championship, but we still can go to Kansas and close out the season on a high note.”
Dean has two prior starts at the 1.5-mile speedway. In 2016, the 24-year-old made his ARCA debut with Win-Tron Racing. Last year,
Dean qualified fifth but succumbed to handling woes after contact with the Turn 2 wall.
The South Carolinian believes he has paid his dues in the Land of Oz and is hopeful for his 11th top-10 run of the year.
“It’s going to be a tough race on Friday night, but I like Kansas Speedway,” added Dean.
“It’s going to be important for Jamie and I to keep up with the handling of our No. 32 GREE Cooling Products | Baker Distributing Chevrolet. We’re going to practice and qualifying during the day but race at night.
“It’s going to be the coolest mile-and-a-half race of the season too – which should bring faster speeds for the race – so I think all those challenges will make for a great race – but we just have to make sure we’re keeping ahead of the curve and putting ourselves in contention for that final stretch to the end.”
For Friday night’s anticipated thriller, Dean will bring back his black and fluorescent pink paint scheme hoping to bring further attentiveness to Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
On the hood, Breast Cancer Awareness ribbons will fly in memory of Marian Bussey (Nana), Gus’s grandmother.
Team owner Kevin Cywinski says the team is prepared to make the most out of the final race of the year.
“We feel like Kansas owes us one,” he said. “Gus has improved his craft on mile-and-a-half tracks which hopefully will translate to a good finish on Friday night. We’ve had a good year and we’d like nothing more than to end the year on a high note with a finish that everyone can be proud to take into the offseason.”
Tyler Green, spotter for Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Jamie McMurray returns in a spotting role for Dean at Kansas. In their second race together in April 2016, the pair earned their first victory at the 2.66-mile superspeedway of Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in a thrilling finish.
The Kansas ARCA 150 will also see Win-Tron Racing field two cars for the first time this season. NASCAR Whelen All-American Series competitor Cole Glasson will drive the team’s No. 33 Chevrolet entry in his series debut. He tested with Dean at Gateway (Ill.) Motorsports Park in June.
For the ninth time this season, Dean will carry an onboard camera providing an exclusive view inside his No. 32 GREE Cooling Products | Baker Distributing Chevrolet
In 46 career ARCA Racing Series starts, Dean captured his first career victory in his second ever start at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway after starting second in Apr. 2016, while earning his second win at Elko Speedway in July 2018. Overall, Dean has two poles (Pocono July 2018; Springfield August 2018), two wins, 13 top-five and 27 top-10 finishes.
The Kansas ARCA 150 (100 laps | 150 miles) is the 20th of 20 races on the 2018 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule. Practice begins Fri., Oct. 19 with a two-hour session planned from 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. General Tire pole qualifying is set for 5:05 p.m. The race is set to take the green flag that night shortly after 7:30 p.m. The event will be televised live on FOX Sports 2 (FS2). ARCARacing.com will also offer live timing and scoring throughout the day’s activities. All times are local (CT).
For more on Gus Dean, please visit his all new website at GusDean.com or like him on Facebook. Dean tweets too. Follow him on Twitter @GusDean.
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