Christian Rose ARCA Menards Series Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Zinsser SmartCoat 150 Race Preview

AM Racing | ARCA Menards Series

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course | Zinsser SmartCoat 150

Fast Facts

No. 32 AM Racing Team:

Driver: Christian Rose

Primary Partner(s): Department of West Virginia Tourism | Secure Testing Services

Manufacturer: Ford Mustang

Crew Chief: Ryan “Pickle” London

Spotter: Mark Soronen

Engine: Ilmor Racing Technologies

Driver Championship Point Standings: Fifth

Team Championship Point Standings: Eighth

Notes of Interest:

Settling In: AM Racing returned to the ARCA Menards Series full-time in 2023 with Automobile Racing of America (ARCA) Rookie of the Year candidate Christian Rose behind the wheel of the team’s No. 32 Ford Mustang.

The 2023 ARCA Menards Series will mark the first time that AM Racing has competed full-time in the NASCAR-owned development series since Gus Dean drove for the organization during the 2018 season.

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 first full season of stock car competition aboard the team’s flagship No. 32 Ford Mustang.

Rose joins the Statesville, N.C.-based team on the heels of a limited ARCA schedule in 2022 competing in a series of races on ARCA’s platform with Cook Racing Technologies which was highlighted by a career-best seventh-place finish at Kansas Speedway last October.

Additionally, Rose earned two additional top-10 finishes at Five Flags (Fla.) Speedway and Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway respectively.

Glad To Have You: To help steer Christian Rose and the AM Racing team towards a championship in 2023, the organization has recruited Ryan “Pickle” London to serve as crew chief of the No. 32 Ford Mustang this season.

London, a long-time NASCAR CRAFTSMAN® Truck Series crew chief returns to AM Racing after spending the 2020 season with the team’s Truck Series program as the truck chief.  

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 Friday’s Zinsser SmartCoat 150.

The West Virginia Department of Tourism promotes West Virginia as a leading four-season travel destination and a 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.

This weekend at Mid-Ohio, Rose and the AM Racing team will showcase an explosive Department of West Virginia Tourism paint scheme in celebration of Independence Day this week.

Last month, on June 20, 2023, the state of West Virginia celebrated its 160th birthday!

Secured Partnership: In addition to the Department of West Virginia Tourism, Secure Testing Services (STS) will serve as a major associate marketing partner for the eighth of 20 races on the 2023 ARCA Menards Series tour.

Secure Testing Services LLC. is a nationwide leader in on-site drug testing located in Richmond, Virginia.

Quite simply, STS provides customized assistance to your organization’s Human Resources and Safety teams in achieving their compliance goals.

Take Me Out To The Ballgame: Ahead of Friday’s first ARCA Menards Series road course of the 2023 season, Christian Rose will throw out the first pitch for the Cleveland Guardians as they face off with the Kansas City Royals.

Rose is utilizing the Major League Baseball opportunity to promote the ARCA Menards Series and its visit to the Lexington, Ohio-based race track. Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio is approximately 90 miles from Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Incoming Truck Series Debut: AM Racing recently announced that Christian Rose will make his NASCAR CRAFTSMAN® Truck Series debut in July’s race at Richmond (Va.) Raceway.

Rose will be supported by Secure Testing Services LLC. and new partner Labworks USA.

Richmond is the first of a limited Truck Series schedule for the Martinsburg, West Virginia native this season.

To promote the race, Rose and the No. 22 Secure Testing Services LLC. Ford F-150 will appear at the local Sports Page Bar & Grill in Mechanicsville, Va. on Thursday, July 27, 2023, from 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

AM Minute: Last weekend was a career-best weekend for AM Racing.

With the ARCA Menards Series team idle, the AM Racing Dirt Division and Xfinity Series teams were both in action.

Brett Moffitt aboard the No. 25 AM Technical Solutions Ford Mustang and the AM Racing team collectively earned a career-best fourth-place finish after starting seventh in The Loop 121 at the Chicago Street Course.

Austin Wayne Self picked up his seventh win of the season this past Saturday night at Fairgrounds Raceway in Boone, N.C. Overall, the Statesville, N.C.-based Dirt Division has eight victories thus far in 2023.

This weekend, it’s a triple-header weekend for AM Racing with the ARCA and NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series programs in Mid-Ohio and the Xfinity Series racing at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway on Saturday night, July 8.

Austin Wayne Self returns to the Truck Series for AM Racing at Mid-Ohio and will pilot the No. 22 AIRBOX Air Purifier Ford F-150.

To The Point(s): Entering Mid-Ohio, Rose is fifth in the ARCA Menards Series championship standings, 62 markers in the arrears to championship leader Jesse Love with 13 races remaining.

Just two points separate Rose from fourth in the championship standings currently occupied by Tony Cosentino. Rose sits 14 points behind third place in the championship standings currently occupied by Andres Perez De Lara.

AM Racing stands a respectable eighth in the ARCA Menards Series championship owner standings.  

Thanks For Your Support: With 35 percent of the season complete, AM Racing and Christian Rose would like to thank their associate marketing partners for their support: AIRBOX Air Purifier, Black Draft Farm & Distillery, Disability Opportunity Fund, Extreme Family Fitness, Flying Circle, Lopez Team, Mountaineer Rub, Mobil 1, Whitetail Smokeless and Warwood Tool.

Christian Rose ARCA Mid-Ohio Stats: Friday’s Zinsser SmartCoat 150 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course will mark Rose’s first ARCA Menards Series start at the 2.25-mile, 13-turn road course.

The eighth race of the season will also mark the first of two road courses on the 20-race schedule this season. Mid-Ohio will also signify Rose’s debut on a road course in stock car competition.

Christian Rose ARCA National Series Stats: In 15 career ARCA National Series starts, Rose has earned five top-10 finishes (seventh at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway | June 2023, seventh at Kansas Speedway | October 2022, eighth at Charlotte Motor Speedway | May 2023, ninth at Kansas Speedway | May 2023 and 10 at Elko Speedway | June 2023), while also showcasing eight top-20 finishes overall.

Elko (Minn.) Speedway | Menards 250 Race Recap: In the most recent ARCA Menards Series race at Elko (Minn.) Speedway, Rose and the AM Racing team chase their fourth consecutive top-10 finish together.

Despite struggling with the layout of one of the tightest short tracks on the tour, Rose overcame a couple of innocent spins to capture a 10th-place finish in the Menards 250, extending his top-10 streak to four.

Show Your Support: AM Racing and Christian Rose are proud to announce that official team 2023 apparel is available by visiting Christian Rose’s website.

You can show your support for Christian Rose and the No. 32 AM Racing team by purchasing an official West Virginia Tourism tee-shirt, as well as a team cap representing West Virginia Tourism, Secure Testing Services and Disability Opportunity Fund.

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 Twitter @AMRacingNASCAR. 

For more on Christian Rose, please like him on Facebook (Christian Rose Racing), or follow him on Instagram (@christianroseracing) and Twitter (@CRoseRacing).

Christian Rose Quoteboard:

On Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course: “I am really not sure what to expect this weekend. It is going to be a whole new arena for me, but I am going to be incredibly focused on doing everything I can to deliver a strong finish for our No. 32 Department of West Virginia Tourism | Secure Testing Services Ford Mustang.

“I am focused on learning the track in practice, getting our laps times better in qualifying and making steady progress during the race. I’d love to come out of Mid-Ohio with another top-10 finish, but if we can come away with a solid finish and our No. 32 Department of West Virginia Tourism | Secure Testing Services Ford Mustang in one piece, it will be a small victory for our AM Racing team.”

On 2023 Season Outlook: “Through the first seven races of the season, we’ve made some steady gains and I am proud of the hard work everyone has put in at AM Racing.

“We still have a lot of the season to go, but I am focused on doing my part to make sure we are leaving the track every weekend with the best finish possible. Every race isn’t going to be perfect, but limiting mistakes and capitalizing on the opportunity will hopefully propel us forward as we inch closer to the second half of the season.

“We have shown speed, finesse, led laps and put ourselves in contention to win a race. I’m hopeful by October, we are able to accomplish all of our goals.”

Race Information:

The Zinsser SmartCoat 150 (42 laps | 94.84 miles) is the eighth of 20 races on the 2023 ARCA Menards Series schedule in the 71st consecutive ARCA season. Practice begins Friday, July 7 from 1:45 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. General Tire pole qualifying in a timed session will begin a short time later at 3:20 p.m. The race is set to take the green flag later in the day shortly after 6:00 p.m. ET. 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 day’s festivities.

About AM Racing:

AM Racing is a multi-tiered, multi-faceted Motorsports program headquartered in Statesville, N.C.

Established in December 2015, AM Racing is prided on faith, honesty and intelligent performance.

The family-owned team will compete in the ARCA Menards Series, the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN® Truck Series, the NASCAR Xfinity Series and various Dirt Modified events in its seventh year of competition.

The team has named Brett Moffitt, Christian Rose and Austin Wayne Self as their primary drivers for the 2023 Xfinity, ARCA Menards Series and Dirt Modified seasons respectively.

CONTACT: [email protected]

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