Christian Rose ARCA Menards Series Watkins Glen International Race Preview

AM Racing | ARCA Menards Series

Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International | General Tire 100 at The Glen

Fast Facts

No. 32 AM Racing Team:

Driver: Christian Rose

Primary Partner(s): Department of West Virginia Tourism

Manufacturer: Ford Mustang  

Crew Chief: Ryan “Pickle” London

Spotter: Trevor Monn

Chassis Intel: AMR Chassis No. A-939

Engine: Ilmor Racing Technologies

Notes of Interest:

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 afternoon’s General Tire 100 at The Glen at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International.

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 Friday night’s General Tire 100 at The Glen at the iconic Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International.

The Department of West Virginia 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.

After running the Department of West Virginia Tourism summer paint scheme in the most recent race at the DuQuoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds, the team will revert back to their patriotic scheme for the final road course race of the 2024 ARCA Menards Series season. 

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 four 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 Friday’s race.

Christian Rose ARCA Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International Stats: Friday’s General Tire 100 at The Glen will mark Rose’s second ARCA start at the eight-turn, 2.45-mile road course in the Finger Lakes of New York.

Last August, Rose qualified 15th in just his second road course race and finished on the lead lap in 11th.

Earlier this year, the Martinsburg, West Virginia native returned to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and finished 11th for the third consecutive road course race dating back to Mid-Ohio during his rookie season in 2023.

In three career ARCA road course events, Rose carries an average start of 15.0 and a finish of 11.0.

Christian Rose Career ARCA National Series Stats: In 44 career ARCA National Series starts, Rose has earned five top-five and 23 top-10 finishes highlighted by a career-best third-place finish achieved at Salem (Ind.) Speedway in September 2023.

Additionally, Rose has showcased 32 top-20 finishes overall since 2022.

Since 2022, he has maintained an average finishing position of 12.4.

To The Point(s): Entering Watkins Glen, Rose is fourth in the ARCA Menards Series championship standings, 33 markers behind ARCA Menards Series driver Kris Wright for third, with four races remaining.

Rose stands 100 points in the arrears to championship leader Andrés Pérez de Lara.

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

Hot Streak: Rose invades Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International on the heels of six consecutive top-10 finishes dating back to late July at Salem (Ind.) Speedway.

In fact, Rose has delivered one top-five and six top-10 finishes that have allowed him to climb from seventh in the ARCA Menards Series championship standings to fourth.

In seven of the last eight races dating back to Berlin (Mich.) Raceway in late June, the West Virginia native has posted six top-10 finishes only botched by a late-race accident finish of 22nd at the Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park in July.

Thanks For Your Support: With 80 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.

DuQuoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds | Southern Illinois 100 Race Recap: In the 16th ARCA Menards Series race of the season, Rose returned to the DuQuoin (Ill.) State Fairgrounds for the annual Labor Day weekend running of the Southern Illinois 100.

Despite qualifying 12th, Rose methodically worked forward throughout the race and utilized the second half of the race, the final 50 laps to assert himself inside the top-10, where he was able to hang on to a ninth-place result at the checkered flag.  

Rose’s DuQuoin effort captured his ninth top-10 finish of the season and extended his top-10 finishing streak to six looking ahead to Watkins Glen.

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 Watkins Glen International: “The last three consecutive road course races we have been able to bring home 11th place finishes. Without any road course experience entering last season, I am pleased with those finishes, but we’re looking for a top-10 finish on Friday afternoon to keep our streak alive.

“I believe I have learned a lot about the fundamentals of road course racing and I am keen to keep learning on Friday at Watkins Glen. I believe the more laps I can turn, the better I can continue to get.

“It’s just about salvaging the best finish possible for our team, hopefully, a top-10 and we can focus on the final three races of the year at Bristol, Kansas and Toledo.”

Race Information:

The General Tire 100 at Watkins Glen (41 laps | 100.45 miles) is the 17th of 20 races on the 2024 ARCA Menards Series schedule. Practice begins Friday, September 13 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. General Tire pole qualifying follows beginning at 3:15 p.m. The race is set to take the green flag later that afternoon shortly after 5:00 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 entire 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 eighth year of competition.

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