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 Friday night’s General Tire 150 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor 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.
Stepping It Up: Earlier this week, AM Racing announced that Blue Wolf, a leader in All-Purpose Cleaners and Degreasers forged to take on the dirtiest places on earth, will increase its commitment to AM Racing and ARCA Menards Series driver Christian Rose with a full-race partnership for Friday night’s General Tire 150 race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
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.
Partner Support: The Department of West Virginia Tourism will serve as a major associate marketing partner on Rose’s No. 32 Ford Mustang in Friday night’s General Tire 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 continue with their new summer scheme for the 100-lap race this weekend.
Secured Partnership: In addition to Blue Wolf and the Department of West Virginia Tourism, Secure Testing Services (STS) will serve as a major associate marketing partner for the sixth of 20 races on the 2024 ARCA Menards Series tour.
Secure Testing Services (STS) is a nationwide leader in on-site drug testing. Located in Richmond, Virginia, it serves clients across the US.
STS helps organizations save time and money implementing their drug testing programs by providing nationwide on-site testing. By partnering with STS, companies can eliminate costly wait times at labs and have their employees back to work quicker, thus increasing efficiency and providing total cost savings.
As a partner with most major TPAs, they make the process simple. When you want to work with the best, call STS!
Hall of Fame Visit: Ahead of his responsibilities at the track on Friday, Rose will visit the NASCAR Hall of Fame in uptown Charlotte with several other ARCA Menards Series drivers to chat and race with fans on iRacing simulators from 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 23, 2024.
Christian Rose ARCA Charlotte Motor Speedway Stats: Friday night’s General Tire 150 will mark Rose’s second ARCA start at the 1.5-mile, which is nestled just outside the Queen City of Charlotte, N.C.
Last May, the Martinsburg, W.V. native registered a track-best finish of eighth after starting 13th in the No. 32 Secure Testing Services Ford Mustang.
Collectively, on speedways, 1.0-mile to 2.0-mile in length, Rose has 12 career ARCA starts with four top-10 finishes.
Christian Rose Career ARCA National Series Stats: In 33 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 23 top-20 finishes overall since 2022.
Since 2022, he has maintained an average finishing position of 12.6.
To The Point(s): Entering Charlotte, Rose is fourth in the ARCA Menards Series championship standings, just 20 markers behind ARCA Menards Series sophomore driver Andrés Pérez de Lara, with 15 races remaining.
Rose stands 14 points behind second-place runner Greg Van Alst and is trailing third-place runner Amber Balcaen by one marker.
Rose is sixth in the number of laps completed so far in 2024, with 447 of 525 laps completed with an 85.1 percent lap completion percentage.
AM Racing stands a respectable sixth in the ARCA Menards Series championship owner standings.
Remaining 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 seven races dating back to the last two races of the 2023 season, Rose has captured four top-five finishes with an average finish of 9.7.
In the first five races of 2024, Rose has two top-five finishes, three top-15s and four top-20 finishes, with an average finish of 12.0.
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 25 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, Ford Performance, Mobil 1 and Whitetail Smokeless.
Kansas Speedway | Tide 150 Race Recap: Looking to get back on track, the AM Racing team and Rose headed to Kansas Speedway eyeing their third top-10 finish of the season.
After producing solid lap times during the open ARCA Menards Series test on Friday at the 1.5-mile track, the team hoped the speed would carry over to race day.
With Mother Nature soaking the track early on Saturday morning, qualifying was canceled in place of a short practice with the team’s best lap serving as their starting position. Flaunting their new West Virginia Tourism summer colors, Rose landed 12th on the starting grid.
Throughout the race, Rose struggled to find the perfect balance for his race car. While fighting for a spot inside the top-10, Rose made contact with another competitor, damaging the front end of his Ford Mustang.
With the damage, the race car’s handling changed dramatically, and Rose fought for a 14th-place finish at the checkered flag.
Follow on Social Media: For more on AM Racing, please visit AMRacingteam.com, like their Facebook page (AM Racing), or follow them on Instagram and X | Twitter @AMRacingNASCAR.
For more on Christian Rose, please like him on Facebook (Christian Rose Racing), or follow him on Instagram (@christianroseracing) and X | Twitter (@CRoseRacing).
Christian Rose Quoteboard:
On Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway: “I am definitely looking forward to Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend. We had such a fast Ford Mustang last year. We tried for some strategy late in the race hoping it would pay off with a trip to Victory Lane, but we came up a little short.
“Charlotte is a fun place to race. You definitely need to have good momentum and a good-handling car. We need to bounce back this weekend after two tough races at Dover and Kansas and I am confident we can do that on Friday night!”
On Blue Wolf Expanded Partnership: “I’m looking forward to carrying the Blue Wolf colors at Charlotte Motor Speedway. My AM Racing team has brought me amazingly fast race cars this season, and Charlotte will no doubt be the same case.”
“Our No. 32 Blue Wolf Ford Mustang definitely stands out, and I look forward to challenging for not only another top-10 but hopefully our first win on Friday night.”
AM Racing PR
