Venturini Motorsports (VMS) announced today the signing of 16-year old Landon Pembelton. Pembelton, who made headlines in 2021 after winning the Nation’s Premier Late Model Race at Martinsville Speedway, will compete in four ARCA races under the team’s Toyota Racing Development banner in 2022.
The Amelia County, Virginia born driver will pilot VMS’s Toyota Camry in the ARCA Menards Series at Elko Speedway, Milwaukee Mile and Toledo Speedway, as well as the Fall Phoenix event in the ARCA West Series.
“I am grateful for the opportunity with Venturini Motorsports and will make the most of the time. I am given to learn as much as I can,” said Pembelton. “Toyota and Venturini Motorsports are both proven winners in ARCA and I am excited for the challenge. I’m ready to rely on their leadership and knowledge to give me the best opportunity to succeed. I’ve got high expectations for myself. With the good equipment underneath me and knowing what I’m capable of, there’s no reason we can’t start off running top five.”
With some karting experience under his belt, yet relatively unknown within the racing community, the young Virginia driver’s interest in organized racing started in 2019. During his first year in the Limited Sportsman Division at South Boston Speedway he ran 8 races, capturing 6 top 5 finishes. The following year he won the Championship in the Virginia Racers Challenge Series which was a collaboration between Dominion Raceway and Langley Speedway.
In November of 2020, Landon participated in a non-winners race for the late model division at Dominion Speedway, he managed to capture the checkered flag in his first attempt piloting a late model stock car. Just two and a half years into the sport, he took the checkered flag in a NASCAR sanctioned points race at South Boston Speedway on August 7, 2021.
Now a high school junior, Pembelton was named the Virginia State Division I and the South East Division I Rookie of the year in 2021 and also ranked 10th in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series National Division I Standings.
Landon Pembelton will make his first career ARCA Menards Series start in the Elko 250 at Elko Speedway on June 25. The race will be aired live on MAVTV at 9 p.m. CST.
Follow Landon on social media @Lbpem0 on Twitter and @landonpembelton0 on Facebook.
VMS PR