Windom in his inaugural ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards debut at the Illinois State Fairgrounds (Springfield) last month stunned the field with an impressive third place outing in the Allen Crowe 100. Before Springfield, Windom had never sat in an ARCA car let alone a stock car.
During the Allen Crowe 100, Windom hovered inside the top-10 for a majority of the race before recovering from being spun out mid-way during the event to charge through the field for an impressive podium finish.
The effort turned a lot of heads throughout the ARCA garage not including the Lakeville, Minnesota-based team. Heading into Monday’s Labor Day tradition, Windom eyes a victory in just his second career start.
Despite his lack of experience behind the wheel of a 3,400-pound stock car, Windom adapted quickly which was crucial yet impressive, considering he had only one hour of practice and one lap of qualifying before taking the green flag. Monday’s agenda will be identical which doesn’t faze the 20-year old.
“It is what it is as far as the schedule lay out,” offered Windom. “It’s fine with me though. I trust the setup that Mike (Chaffee, crew chief) is bringing and if it’s not to our liking, we’ll make some adjustments and aim towards another good run on Monday afternoon.”
Win-Tron Racing co-car owner Nate Thiesse admitted it wasn’t a hard decision to put Windom back behind the wheel in the final dirt race of the season.
“Chris showed extreme talent and car control in his ARCA Racing Series debut at Springfield,” he said. “His finesse with the No. 32 Champion Brands / Win-Tron Racing Dodge Charger looked more of a veteran rather than a rookie. We’re excited to have him back with us for Monday’s race and hoping we can have the same success.”
Thus far in 2011, Win-Tron Racing owned by former American Speed Association (ASA) champion Kevin Cywinski and Thiesse has had four drivers behind the wheel of their No. 32 entries this year. Portland Texas native Matt Merrell started off the season before handing the wheel over to Ryan Wilson, the winner of last Fall’s Richard Petty Driver Search II for two races before Windom took the reins. Most recently, five-time ARCA winner and fellow Minnesota native Joey Miller guided the team to a seventh place outing at Madison International Speedway on August 26th.
Overall, the team has recorded one win (Merrell, Berlin (Mich.) Raceway), five top-fives and nine top-10 finishes. The veteran ARCA team currently sits ninth in the car owner standings with just four races remaining.
The Southern Illinois 100 presented by Federated Auto Parts (100 laps / 100 miles) is the 16th of 19 events on the 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule. The 29th ARCA event held at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds is a one-day show. Practice begins Monday, September 5 with a one hour practice session planned from 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying is slated to begin at 11:00 a.m. The field will take the green flag that afternoon shortly after 1:00 p.m. The event will not be televised but race coverage including live timing and scoring throughout the 1,328th race for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards since it was formed in 1953 will be available through the ARCA Racing Network (ARN) online at arcaracing.com presented by ARCANation.com. All times are local.
Further information including driver opportunities with Win-Tron Racing is available by visiting win-tronracing.com or contacting Nate Thiesse at 612.306.1641
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