Concord, North Carolina (August 25, 2016) – Twenty-Five year old, Trista Stevenson will make her ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards debut at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds for the General Tire GRABBER 100 on Sunday, September 4.
Stevenson, a native of nearby Pocahontas, Illinois, will pilot the No.15 Stevenson BP Toyota for Venturini Motorsports. A second generation driver, Stevenson’s career spans over a decade primarily racing late model super trucks and UMP Dirt Modifieds. Trista’s uncle, Steve Stevenson, is a former ARCA Series competitor with 12 series starts during the late 90’s with a career best eighth-place finish coming at Springfield in 1997.
Asked about her upcoming series debut at DuQuoin, Stevenson replied. “It’s surreal, this is a dream come true. We’ve always talked about building a car for Springfield or DuQuoin but never pulled the trigger. So when the opportunity came to drive for Venturini Motorsports we jumped at the chance.”
Stevenson, a graduate of Lynn St. James’ Women in the Winners Circle academy and former NASCAR Drive for Diversity combine participant, will replace Jake Griffin who was originally scheduled at DuQuoin but due to a scheduling conflict will miss his start. Griffin, who finished 9th behind the wheel of the No.15 at Springfield, will attempt to make the field in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at the Canadian Road Course race the same weekend.
“This is a big race for me. I’m excited, but realistic with my goals. I have some experience racing these heavier cars, but it’s my first time out in the ARCA series and my first ever attempt at DuQuoin. I adapt well behind the wheel and hope I can go out and run in the top-10.”
Stevenson will be paired with Tom Hessert and Ken Schrader, both running for VMS at the DuQuoin State Fairground’s dirt mile.
Raceday Schedule
Practice for the September 4 General Tire Grabber 100 is scheduled from 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. with Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell following at 5:30 p.m. The 63rd General Tire GRABBER 100 will be run under the lights at 8:00 p.m. All times central, local time.
Media Coverage
The race will be tape-delayed on the American Sports Network. It will be broadcasted on Wednesday, September 21st at 7:00pm ET.
The race will feature live timing and scoring and live chat for all on-track activity at ARCAracing.com, as well as live flag-to-flag audio race coverage.
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.