AVONDALE, Ariz: The journey continues for ARCA Menards Series rookie Christian Rose in Friday night’s General Tire 150 at Phoenix (Ariz.) Raceway.
Rose, a former Division 1 baseball player for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore is poised to make his second career start in the premier ARCA Menards Series and use his Phoenix debut as an opportunity to bounce back and deliver his career-best finish.
“I’m ready for Phoenix,” said Rose, driver of the No. 42 West Virginia Tourism Chevrolet for Cook Racing Technologies.
“New Smyrna and Daytona were not particularly kind to our team but we still learned a lot together and we are using that as motivation to go to Phoenix and have a competitive showing to put our team and partners on the map.”
Despite just four years of experience as a driver, Rose has captivated an audience with his ability to quickly dial in his race car and backup his intuition with his race craft on the track which included producing two top-10 finishes in his only two starts in the ARCA Menards Series West division last year at the Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway Bullring and All American (Calif.) Speedway respectively.
Focused as ever, Rose is determined to display his craft as he visits a new race track for the fifth time in his young career.
“I take my craft seriously and I’ve been preparing for Friday night’s race since the Monday following Daytona. Homework is something I embrace and I’ve had plenty of that getting ready for Phoenix. It appears an incredibly fun race track to compete on, but it appears to be a momentum-type race track were making sure you hit your marks every lap is so important.
“I’m sure I will have questions after practice, but thankfully I have an experienced team around me who want me to thrive and be successful, so I’m just eager to get to the track and get behind the wheel of our No. 42 West Virginia Tourism Chevrolet.”
A bonus for Rose this weekend at Phoenix will be the addition of a teammate at Cook Racing Technologies. NASCAR Xfinity Series winner Josh Berry will drive the No. 17 MMI Chevrolet.
The Martinsburg, WV native is hopeful he can lean on Berry for advice ahead of his fifth career start.
“I embrace teammates,” added Rose. “Especially a caliber driver like Josh. Without question, he will be a benefit to our Cook Racing Technologies team and I look forward to conferring with him after practice to see what his car was doing compared to our No. 42 West Virginia Tourism Chevrolet and make sure we have a good mindset for both cars ahead of the race.”
This season, Rose who compete in the ARCA Menards Series and the ARCA Menards Series East will continue to strengthen a relationship with the West Virginia Department of Tourism.
The West Virginia Department of 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.
In West Virginia, let country roads lead you far away from everything. And a little closer to heaven.
“My relationship with the West Virginia Department of Tourism is everything to me,” added Rose.
“Without them, I would not be able to race at Phoenix. It is my goal throughout the year to spread the mission of everything the West Virginia Department of Tourism means.
“It is going to be a fun year.”
Bruce Cook, owner of Cook Racing Technologies and crew chief of both Rose’s entries this week is excited to have the 26-year-old Rose back in his corner for another year of learning, racing and chasing checkered flags.
“Without a doubt, Christian is going to impress people this season,” sounded Cook. “I know we did not have the finishes we deserved at New Smyrna and Daytona, but we did have the speed.
Hopefully, we can have a smooth weekend at Phoenix and Christian can earn his third career top-10 ARCA finish.”
A detailed schedule for Rose will be announced at a later date.
For more on Christian Rose, please like him on Facebook (Christian Rose Racing) or follow him on Instagram (@christianroseracing) and Twitter (@CRoseRacing).
The Lucas Oil 150 (150 laps | 150 miles) is the second of 20 races on the 2022 ARCA Menards Series schedule. A combined practice and qualifying session begins on Fri., March 11 from 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. The green flag will wave later in the afternoon shortly after 5:30 p.m. The event will be televised live on FloRacing with the Motor Racing Network (MRN) managing the radio waves. ARCARacing.com will also stream live timing and scoring throughout the day’s festivities. All times are local (MT).
About The West Virginia Department of Tourism:
The West Virginia Department of 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.
