Welcome Back: AM Racing returns to the ARCA Menards Series full-time in 2024 with sophomore Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) driver Christian Rose behind the wheel of the team’s No. 32 Ford Mustang continuing with Saturday afternoon’s Tide 150 at Kansas Speedway.
The 2024 ARCA Menards Series will mark the first time that AM Racing has competed back-to-back full-time in the NASCAR-owned development series since three-time ARCA Menards Series winner Gus Dean drove for the organization during the 2017 – 2018 seasons, respectively.
Meet Christian Rose: Rose, a former Division 1 baseball player for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore has traded the glove and bat in for a steering wheel and helmet and has set achievable goals for his second full season of stock car competition aboard the team’s flagship No. 32 Ford Mustang.
Rose returns to the Statesville, N.C.-based team on the heels of his inaugural rookie ARCA schedule in 2023, which was highlighted by two top-five, 13 top-10 finishes, and the most laps completed by any ARCA driver last season at 2,550 of 2,624 laps or 97.2% throughout the 20-race season.
His strength of two top-five and five top-10 finishes in the final five races of the season vaulted Rose to third overall in the championship standings behind series champion Jesse Love and Andrés Pérez de Lara.
The 28-year-old also made two starts in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, respectively, with starts at Richmond (Va.) Raceway and the season-finale at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway.
He’s Back Too!: To help steer Christian Rose and the AM Racing team towards a championship in 2024, Ryan “Pickle” London will return to serve as crew chief of the No. 32 Ford Mustang this season.
London, a long-time NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series crew chief, returned to AM Racing in early
2023 after spending the 2020 season as the truck chief with the team’s Truck Series program.
London has plenty of experience as a leader in the ARCA Menards Series, including guiding drivers Tom Hessert and Frank Kimmel to poles and leading Grant Enfinger to victories at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway and DuQuoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds in 2014.
In addition to the two wins as crew chief, the winning NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series crew chief has numerous ARCA top-fives and top-10 efforts to his credit.
Partner Support: The Department of West Virginia Tourism will serve as the primary marketing partner on Rose’s No. 32 Ford Mustang in Saturday afternoon’s Tide 150.
The Department of West Virginia Tourism promotes West Virginia as a leading four-season travel destination and top state to live, work and retire.
Known as the Mountain State, West Virginia is one of the most scenic states in the United States and home to thousands of acres of parks and public lands, including America’s newest national park and 45 state parks and forests.
In addition to its majestic mountains and rolling hills, West Virginia is full of rich historic sites, enchanting art galleries, charming towns and an immense sense of belonging found only in its heaven-like landscapes.
After running the Department of West Virginia Tourism winter paint scheme in the first four races of 2024, the AM Racing team will debut their new summer scheme for the 100-lap race this weekend.
Well Prepared: To prepare for the fifth ARCA Menards Series race of the season, Rose and AM Racing will participate in the series open-test session at Kansas Speedway on Friday, May 3, 2024, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. CT (10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET).
Squeaky Blue Clean: In March, AM Racing and Christian Rose proudly announced the addition of Blue Wolf as a partner to the team’s ARCA Menards Series platform for the remaining 16 races in 2024.
Originally created by a West Virginia coal miner and a chemist to clean and degrease mining equipment, Blue Wolf quickly became trusted as a proven product for getting the job done.
As miners began taking the product home, they soon discovered that Blue Wolf worked great on everything from removing grease and coal dust from carpets and work clothes to pressure washing houses.
Today, Blue Wolf offers a full line of cleaners and degreasers for household, automotive, and industrial use.
Blue Wolf will serve in an associate role for Saturday afternoon’s race.
Christian Rose ARCA Kansas Speedway Stats: Saturday’s Tide 150 will mark Rose’s fourth ARCA start at the 1.5-mile speedway, which is nestled in the heart of Kansas City, Kansas.
In his three previous efforts, the Martinsburg, W.V. native has registered a track-best finish of sixth achieved during the fall 2023 ARCA race, where he qualified ninth and finished sixth in the Sioux Chief Fast Track 150.
Collectively, Kansas is one of Rose’s strongest tracks on the ARCA Menards Series circuit with three top-10 finishes in three starts for an average finish of 7.3.
Christian Rose Career ARCA National Series Stats: In 32 career ARCA National Series starts, Rose has earned four top-five and 16 top-10 finishes highlighted by a career-best third-place finish achieved at Salem (Ind.) Speedway in September 2023.
Additionally, Rose has showcased 22 top-20 finishes overall since 2022.
Since 2022, he has maintained an average finishing position of 12.5.
To The Point(s): Entering Kansas, Rose is third in the ARCA Menards Series championship standings, just 13 markers behind ARCA Menards Series sophomore driver Andrés Pérez de Lara, with 16 races remaining.
Rose stands 12 points behind second-place runner Greg Van Alst and has a five-point buffer over fourth-place competitor Amber Balcaen.
Rose is tied for fifth in the number of laps completed so far in 2024, with 349 of 425 laps completed with an 82 percent lap completion percentage.
AM Racing stands a respectable sixth in the ARCA Menards Series championship owner standings.
Still Steady Hot: Christian Rose has been on a hot streak in the ARCA Menards Series since the fall of the 2023 season.
In the last six races dating back to the last two races of the 2023 season, Rose has captured four top-five finishes with an average finish of ninth.
In the first four races of 2024, Rose has tailed two top-five and three top-20 finishes and carries an average finish of 11.5.
Slingin’ That Dirt: Since Daytona, Rose has been teamed up with AM Racing’s Dirt Division and has been getting experience behind the wheel of a Dirt Modified to strengthen his driving skills.
Rose will continue to participate in select Dirt Modified events as his schedule allows this season.
Thanks For Your Support: With 20 percent of the 2024 ARCA Menards Series season complete, AM Racing and Christian Rose would like to thank their associate marketing partners for their support: AirBox Air Purifier, Blue Wolf Cleaners, Flying Circle, Mobil 1, and Whitetail Smokeless.
Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway | General Tire 150 Race Recap: On the heels of a strong top-five finish at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, the AM Racing team with Christian Rose carried momentum into the third race of the season.
In his second ARCA trip to the Monster Mile, Rose qualified his No. 32 Department of West Virginia Tourism Ford Mustang 12th and quietly entered the top-10 before the halfway mark and looking to charge through the field in the second half of the race.
Unfortunately, Rose suffered a blown tire on Lap 74 of 150, sending the No. 32 Department of West Virginia Tourism Ford Mustang hard into the wall. Rose was able to climb from his battered machine briefly shaken but unharmed.
The accident left the sophomore ARCA Menards Series driver with a frustrating 21st-place finish at the checkered flag.
Christian Rose Quoteboard:
On Kansas Speedway: “I’d love nothing more than go to Kansas Speedway and bounce back from our tough outing at Dover Motor Speedway.
“I know the team is excited about the car that we are bringing, and I am confident that testing on Friday will help us better prepare for the race on Saturday.
“Hopefully, we can have a productive weekend and deliver our third top-five of the 2024 season on Saturday afternoon.”
AM Racing PR
