Concord, NC (July 27, 2015) – William Byron turned in an impressive performance leading a race high 120-laps during his ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards driving debut – after dominating most of the race, Byron finished second in his Venturini Motorsports’ prepared No.55 Liberty University Toyota at Lucas Oil Raceway.
Byron, the 17-year old native from Charlotte, North Carolina, qualified second. He battled Kyle Weatherman and teammate Brandon Jones for the top spot before setting sail for the lead on lap-51 of the 200 lap event. After pitting for right side tires and Sonoco fuel on lap-65, Byron would extend his advantage to nearly 4 seconds late in the race.
With cautions at a premium, race strategy would come into play as Byron and the top-10 positions would elect to stay out during a yellow on lap-110. It was at this point eventual race winner, Travis Braden, came down pit road for fuel and four Hoosier tires after going one lap down and getting the lucky dog under the caution. This unknowingly set up a thrilling finish as the race would resume and stay green for the final 90-laps of the race.
Braden raced his way back through the field slowly erasing Byron’s lead. Hoping for a late race caution and new tires – which never developed – Byron pressed on but couldn’t hold off the hard charging Braden, ultimately relinquishing the lead on lap-180 and settling for a second place finish.
“The guys at Venturini Motorsports gave me a great Liberty University race car tonight. Everything was new to me. It was just fun. I just can’t thank Liberty University enough for coming on board and giving me this opportunity to race. We did everything to put us in position for the win but not getting a caution flag late in the race sealed our fate,” said Byron. “Travis (Braden) did a heck of a job tonight. Everything played out in his favor but he still had to get through traffic and make it happen. He did a great job.”
Byron, who’s currently leading the 2015 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East championship point standing driving for HScott Motorsports with Justin Marks, is in the midst of a breakout rookie season notching four wins, two pole awards, five top-5 and six top-10 finishes in just eight series events. He’ll return to NASCAR K&N action on Friday, July 31st at Iowa Speedway.
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, Justin Allgaier, Brian Scott, Alex Bowman, Ryan Blaney, Brennan Poole, John Wes Townley, Brandon Jones, and Justin Boston. 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.