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 night’s Shore Lunch 250 presented by Dutch Boy Paints at Elko (Minn.) Speedway.
The 2024 ARCA Menards Series season 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 29-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 night’s Shore Lunch 250 presented by Dutch Boy Paints at Elko (Minn.) Speedway.
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 summer scheme for the 200-lap race this weekend.
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 nine 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 night’s race.
Christian Rose ARCA Elko Speedway Stats: Saturday night’s Shore Lunch 250 presented by Dutch Boy Paints at Elko (Minn.) Speedway will mark Rose’s second ARCA start at the iconic half-mile short nestled in Elko, Minnesota – a famed northwest short track staple.
In his Elko Speedway ARCA debut last summer, Rose earned a 10th-place finish during the 2023 edition of the Menards 250 after starting 10th.
The effort was among his 13 top-10 finishes claimed for the rookie ARCA driver during the 2023 season.
In 12 career ARCA short track races, Rose has delivered three top-five and nine top-10 finishes.
Christian Rose Career ARCA National Series Stats: In 39 career ARCA National Series starts, Rose has earned five top-five and 18 top-10 finishes highlighted by a career-best third-place finish achieved at Salem (Ind.) Speedway in September 2023.
Additionally, Rose has showcased 27 top-20 finishes overall since 2022.
Since 2022, he has maintained an average finishing position of 12.8.
Former Winners: AM Racing is a former winner at Elko Speedway. In 2018, AM Racing driver Gus Dean charged to his second career ARCA Menards Series victory in an impressive triumphant driving the No. 32 GREE Chevrolet for the Statesville, N.C.-based team.
Dean survived a late-race restart to hold off hard chargers Christian Eckes and Joe Graf Jr. to propel AM Racing to Victory Lane.
Elko is the home short track of AM Racing owner Kevin Cywinski.
To The Point(s): Entering Elko Speedway, Rose is fifth in the ARCA Menards Series championship standings, just 12 markers behind ARCA Menards Series driver Kris Wright for fourth, with nine races remaining.
Rose stands 85 points in the arrears to championship leader Andrés Pérez de Lara.
AM Racing stands a respectable eighth in the ARCA Menards Series championship owner standings.
Slingin’ That Dirt: Since Daytona, Rose has been teamed up with AM Racing’s Dirt Division and getting experience behind the wheel of a Dirt Modified to strengthen his driving skills.
Rose will continue participating in select Dirt Modified events as his schedule allows this season.
Thanks For Your Support: With 55 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.
Salem Speedway | Mid-Summer Classic 200 Race Recap: In the 11th ARCA Menards Series race of the season, Rose returned to short-track racing at the legendary Salem Speedway in Salem, Indiana.
After qualifying his No. 32 Department of West Virginia Tourism Ford Mustang 11th, Rose had to drop to the rear of the field for unapproved adjustments before the 11th race of the season.
From the drop of the green flag, Rose steadily marched forward. By the first race break, he had avoided the plethora of caution and banged up race cars to move inside the top-10.
Falling a lap down in the early onset of the race, Rose’s hard work and determination paid off with a caution putting the AM Racing sophomore driver back on the lead lap and a march towards the top-five.
With a fast No. 32 Department of West Virginia Tourism Ford Mustang, Rose continued to march forward and found himself in a horrendous battle with Will Kimmel and Isaac Johnson for a spot inside the top five.
Able to overhaul Johnson, Rose, despite his best efforts, was not able to overtake Kimmel but followed the respected veteran driver to the checkered flag in fifth – earning his third top-five finish of the season.
Saturday’s effort was the team’s best result since finishing fifth at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in July.
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 Elko Speedway: “After our strong performance last weekend at Salem Speedway, I’m upbeat about returning to Elko Speedway on Saturday night.
Our car was extremely fast at Salem, and I’m hopeful that we can capitalize on that speed on another short track this weekend. Elko is not the easiest short track in the world.
“Its unique layout demands a different driving style to make sure you can capitalize on your momentum and carry the speed when you need it the most. “I learned a lot last year and I feel confident we can be better than 10th and hopefully challenge for back-to-back top-five finishes on Saturday night with our No. 32 Department of West Virginia Tourism Ford Mustang.”
Race Information:
The Shore Lunch 250 presented by Dutch Boy Paints (250 laps | 94 miles), is the 12th of 20 races on the 2024 ARCA Menards Series schedule. Practice begins Saturday, August 3, from 3:40 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., with an additional session from 4:10 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. General Tire pole qualifying follows beginning at 5:20 p.m. The race is set to take the green flag later in the day shortly after 8:00 p.m. CT (9:00 p.m. ET). The event will be televised live on FOX Sports 1 (FS1) and streaming on FloRacing. ARCARacing.comwill also stream live timing and scoring throughout the entire weekend festivities. All times are local (CT).
AM Racing PR
