Concord, North Carolina (July 27, 2016) – Cherry Hill, New Jersey’s Tom Hessert will make the short drive from his home outside Philadelphia to compete in this weekend’s ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards ModSpace 150 at Pocono Raceway.
The ModSpace 150 this Friday at Pocono marks Hessert’s 17th career start on the Pocono triangle. It’s also the 63rd time ARCA has visited the famed facility since 1983 and the second time this season.
In June during the series’ first season visit, Hessert and his No.25 Venturini Motorsports team gambled on pit strategy but was forced to make a late pit stop for fuel relinquishing their fifth place running position and ultimately settling for a 15th place finishing spot.
This week’s return to Pocono will undoubtedly come down to pit strategy once again as the race around the 2.5-mile ‘Tricky Triangle” is scheduled 20-laps/50 miles shorter than the Spring event.
“The second time around at Pocono is always a strategy race with the shorter mileage,” says Hessert. “Qualifying and track position will be very important this week. It’s a one (pit) stop race so staying up front will be the key to success.”
Hessert, with mixed results at Pocono over the course of his nine year career, has managed four top-5 and seven top-10 finishes with his best finish of third coming in 2014.
Currently fourth in ARCA’s driver point standings, Hessert looks to rebound at Pocono before making the late summer push which includes two dirt track races sandwiched in between two short track events leading into mid-September. Practice for the ModSpace 150 is from 9:30 A.M. to 10:55 A.M. Friday morning July 29 with Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell following at 2:00 P.M. The Friday late afternoon ModSpace 150 is live on FOX SPORTS 1 (FS1) at 5:30 P.M. Eastern. All on-track activity will be featured in live Timing & Scoring and live Chat at arcaracing.com.
ABOUT VENTURINI MOTORSPORTS:
Venturini Motorsports (VMS), fielding cars for over 30-years in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, is one of the premier NASCAR driver development programs in the country. Multiple team championships and consistent on-track success, VMS has evolved into one of the most recognizable names in motorsports. Since 2007, VMS has assisted in the career development of notable NASCAR drivers such as Joey Logano, Erik Jones, William Byron, Justin Allgaier, Alex Bowman, Brian Scott, Ryan Blaney, Brennan Poole, Daniel Suarez, Brandon Jones and John Wes Townley. Over the years the Venturini name has become synonymous with modern-day racing in America. In 2012, the Venturini family was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame and now find themselves enshrined with such sports icons as Joe DiMaggio, Mario Andretti, Vince Lombardi, Tommy Lasorda and Rocky Marciano.