Catchfence

CONCORD, N.C. (May 1, 2012) — Zach Ralston believes it’s always better to go big or go home. That’s why his second career start in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menard’s will be Friday’s International Motorsports Hall of Fame 250 at the Talladega Superspeedway.

After finishing 18th in his ARCA Racing Series debut at the Daytona International Speedway in February, the driver from Marian, Iowa, has a limited selected schedule two of the biggest, fastest races on the schedule.

He will drive the No. 90 O-RingSales.com Chevrolet for car owner Doug Stringer. Without a lot of help from others, Ralston wouldn’t be able to pursue his dream to compete at the most-prestigious races of the season.

“I’m very excited to be able to keep racing,” Ralston said. “It has a lot to do with the support of O-RingSales.com and backing from my friends and family. It has been a dream come true so far.”

Despite making the season-opening race at Daytona his first in the ARCA Racing Series, Ralston had the patience – and speed – more common to experienced veterans, especially after he finished on the lead lap.

“We had a lot of fun at Daytona and we learned so much by running all the laps and finishing the race,” crew chief Tom Bear said. “We’re going to Talladega with same goals. Now that we’ve created a platform, we have something we can build on.”

Ralston admits it’s not easy to be patient in the draft, especially when the car feels so racy. But the best way to move up in traffic is to let others make mistakes and fall back.

“Talladega and Daytona are a lot alike,” Ralston said. “You have to pick a fast line of cars and not get too aggressive. There’s so much beating and banging with guys trying to create a hole that’s not always there. I learned quickly at Daytona you can’t win the race in the first 220 miles; you can only lose it. We will try to keep all the fenders on the car for the first 220 miles, then go racing.”

The International Hall of Fame 250 is scheduled for a 5 p.m. ET start. SPEED will provide live coverage of the fourth race on the ARCA Racing Series schedule.

- Zach Ralston Motorsports Press Release