Last year’s BRANDT 200 Supporting Florida FFA at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway certainly brought a lot of positive memories for ARCA Menards Series veteran Jason Kitzmiller and his No. 97 A.L.L. Construction Racing | CR7 Motorsports team.
Unfortunately, the strongest race of Kitzmiller’s ARCA career left more to be desired after his No. 97 A.L.L. Construction Chevrolet was shuffled out of the draft and left with a 19th-place finish in the season-opener.
Fast forward 12 months later, Kitzmiller and his Todd Myers–led team return to the “World Center of Racing” focused on finishing what they started and delivering a defining performance in Saturday afternoon’s Daytona ARCA 200.
“Last year was so much fun,” said Kitzmiller.
“Yes, the race did not end the way that we hoped, but we were able to showcase the capabilities of our race team and I’m eager to get back to Daytona this week and see if we can duplicate our performance but earn the finish I feel like we deserve.”
The family-owned team opted not to participate in the series pre-season test last month at Daytona, but Kitzmiller doesn’t see the missed track time as anything to necessarily be concerned about. He believes with the leadership of Myers and the guidance of spotter Tim Fedewa, his team will quickly adapt.
“Traditionally it works out for us to be able to test, but the stars did not align last month,” offered Kitzmiller.
“It’s a bummer because the test always gives you the opportunity to knock the rust off a little bit – and shake down the car pretty good. Todd (Myers) does an amazing job with our equipment, and I believe our group will quickly make up any gaps.
“Talking to some folks, some teams only tested a couple of hours on Friday night, and it seemed like a chaotic day on Saturday, so maybe it was for the best. I know our No. 97 A.L.L. Construction Racing Chevrolet is going to be fast and we’ll see if we can’t fight for a pole and win this weekend.”
Kitzmiller is set for another year of racing – which includes a limited ARCA Menards Series schedule, but he is poised to deliver his first top-10 finish since finishing ninth at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway in 2022.
“We’ll be at some of our favorites,” added Kitzmiller. “I am expecting us to be at Talladega, Kansas, Michigan, and another race or two throughout the season. I’m disappointed that the series isn’t making the trip to Pocono Raceway this year, but we’ll look and see if we can find another racetrack to take its place – maybe Dover, we’ll see.”
In addition to the ARCA Menards Series, A.L.L. Construction Racing will also participate in select Grand National Super Series events this season.
“Between the ARCA Menards Series and the Grand National Super Series, I think we can not only have some fun but, hopefully, even find ourselves in a position to contend to win some races. The competition is probably at its best right now in both worlds of racing, but I am ready for it.
“Our team works hard even with a limited schedule to make sure we come to the track and be as competitive as possible. We’ll keep doing that and hopefully make 2024 our best year yet.”
Outside of his own busy racing schedule, Kitzmiller will also be traveling to races to watch his son Isacc’s career blossom.
“I am excited to watch Isacc build his craft,” mentioned Kitzmiller. “He has done a great job thus far, and as he adjusts to new tracks and new beginnings, I plan to be there to support him as much as I can. Maybe, who knows – someday we just might be racing together on the same ARCA track.”
Since 2020, Kitzmiller has 22 ARCA Menards Series starts to his credit with four top-10 finishes overall, including a career-best eighth-place finish twice at Talladega Superspeedway (April 2020) and Michigan International Speedway (August 2020) respectively.
The Daytona ARCA 200 (80 laps | 200 miles) is the first of 20 races on the 2024 ARCA Menards Series schedule. Practice begins Thurs., Feb. 15, with a fifty-minute session from 4:05 p.m. – 4:55 p.m. Group qualifying is set for Fri., Feb. 16, at 1:30 p.m. The season-opener for the 72nd consecutive ARCA season is set for the following afternoon on Feb. 17 to take the green flag shortly after 1:30 p.m. The event will be televised live on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) with the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and SiriusXM Satellite Radio (XM channel 391 | online channel 981) handling the radio waves. ARCARacing.com will also stream live timing and scoring throughout the entire weekend festivities.
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