19 races down, one to go.
Saturday afternoon’s Shore Lunch 200 presented by CGS Imaging at Toledo Speedway, will signify the final race of the 2023 ARCA Menards Series season and rookie Frankie Muniz and his Rette Jones Racing team are determined to end the year on a high note.
After a summer and early fall filled with lousy luck, the two turn to ARCA’s hometown track, looking to pull off the ultimate upset and end the season in Victory Lane.
Last weekend, despite battling throttle issues in his Salem (Ind.) Speedway debut, Muniz was able to soldier through the adversity and score his 10th top-10 finish of the season in the Atlas 200.
This weekend in Northern Ohio, Muniz is focused on delivering his best result of the season and, hopefully, his second top-five performance of his inaugural ARCA Menards Series season.
“I can’t believe the end of the season is here,” said Muniz. “To compete professionally and for a championship in the ARCA Menards Series has been a dream come true. While we could not challenge for the series title with our hiccups throughout the season, we have been able to fight hard and overcome our setbacks.
“Now, it’s time to go to Toledo Speedway this weekend and fight for the win.”
For the 18th time this season, Muniz will visit a new track on the ARCA Menards Series schedule and while Toledo Speedway may seem like a traditional half-mile short track from the outside, he has been informed by his crew chief and co-owner Mark Rette that Toledo is much more than it seems.
“I’ve been told that Toledo is a lot about finesse and throttle control,” added Muniz. “I think it is a short track that I will adapt to quickly and be able to find my groove from practice to qualifying and the race.
“Like most tracks on the schedule, I realize that track position will be important, and hopefully, we can capitalize on that and have one of our best runs of the season on Saturday afternoon.”
The Scottsdale, Ariz. native is also focused on points. With his finish at Salem, Muniz remains fourth in points and sits 26 points behind fellow rookie Christian Rose.
“I don’t know if we are going to be able to chase down Christian in points on Saturday, but we are going to give it a try,” added Muniz.
“Unfortunately, some of our bad luck has hit us in the points department and with the field so tight, it’s hard to make a significant recovery. We won’t go down, though, without a fight.”
For the 10th time this season, Muniz and Rette Jones Racing will display the Ford colors for the 20th ARCA Menards Series race of the season.
Former ARCA championship-winning crew chief and co-owner Mark Rette has been impressed with Muniz’s performances in the first 19 races of the year despite some heartache finishes. He looks forward to seeing him strengthen his craft in his Toledo Speedway debut on October 7.
“We are going to try to end the season the same way we started with, and that’s by making a lot of noise,” offered Rette. “Frankie has stepped up to the plate and continued to give more than 100 percent behind the wheel – even with things out of his control.
“The Rette Jones Racing team brought a fast car to Salem Speedway last weekend, but another mechanical gremlin ruined from finishing better. Hopefully, it will be a problem-free race on Saturday, and we can push ourselves towards contending for the win.”
Entering Toledo, Muniz sits fourth in the ARCA Menards Series championship standings, 26 points behind third-place runner Christian Rose and 50 points behind second-place runner Andrés Pérez de Lara.
He sits 188 markers behind championship leader Jesse Love with one race remaining.
Rette Jones Racing stands a respectable seventh in the ARCA Menards Series championship owner standings.
Since 2023, Muniz has 19 ARCA Menards Series starts to his credit, with a career-best finish of fifth at Michigan International Speedway in August 2023. In all, Muniz has delivered one top-five and 10 top-10 finishes. He also maintains an average finishing position of 11.2 in his inaugural year of stock car competition.
For more on Frankie Muniz, please visit munizracing.com, like him on Facebook (FrankieMuniz4) and follow him on Instagram (@frankiemuniz4) and Twitter (@frankiemuniz).
For more on Rette Jones Racing, please visit RetteJonesRacing.com, like them on Facebook (Rette Jones Racing), or follow them on Instagram (@RetteJones30) and Twitter (@RetteJones30).
The Shore Lunch 200 presented by CGS Imaging (200 laps | 100 miles) is the 20th of 20 races on the 2023 ARCA Menards Series schedule in the 71st consecutive ARCA season. Practice begins Saturday, October 7 from 11:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. General Tire pole qualifying will begin a short time later at 1:00 p.m. The race is set to take the green flag shortly after 4:00 p.m. ET. The event will be televised live on FOX Sports 2 (FS2) and streaming on FloRacing. ARCARacing.com will also stream live timing and scoring throughout the entire weekend festivities.
Rette Jones Racing PR
