Coming off a dominant performance and capturing his third win of the season at Michigan Int’l Speedway, ARCA Menards Series’ points leader, Michael Self (No. 25 Sinclair Oil Toyota), looks to keep the heat on his competition when the series returns to the track in Friday’s Shore Lunch 200 at Madison International Speedway.
With early season wins on the half-miles of Pensacola and Salem, along with his first career short track pole at Toledo, Self has escaped the designation of just a successful speedway racer.
This week marks just the fifth short track event of the season and Self’s first at the Wisconsin track.
“Madison is going to be totally new for me,” says Self. “I’ve never made a lap there, so I’m relying on the video I’ve watched and information from my teammates and people around the VMS shop to prepare and try and be ready to hit the ground running for practice on Friday. The track definitely looks unique and challenging, and hopefully I can pick it up and figure out by Friday night.”
Coming on strong after early season accidents derailed his efforts at Daytona and Nashville, Self has thrust himself to the top of the series standings and now focuses on separating himself from the pack of title chasers.
Finding himself staring up in the standings after five races, Self has come on strong adding pressure over the course of his last four races. Over the last month Self is averaging a 1.5 starting position thanks to the qualifying strength of three General Tire Pole Awards in four races. He’s also led 189 laps during that time with three top-five finishes to go along with his most recent win at Michigan.
Self’s Venturini Motorsports (VMS) team enters this week’s competition with six series victories out of the first nine events of 2019. The team with 58 all-time series wins has recorded four victories at Madison (Alex Bowman, Kyle Benjamin, Justin Boston and Chandler Smith) since 2011.
Practice for the Shore Lunch 200 at Madison International Speedway is scheduled for 1:15 CDT on Friday, June 14, with General Tire Pole qualifying set for 5pm CDT. The 200-lap event will be televised live on MAVTV starting at 8pm CDT.
Venturini Motorsports PR
