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One of a small handful of ARCA Menards Series teams with their Daytona vehicle still wholly intact, Kitzmiller and his team, with continued support from C7 Motorsports, trek to Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway looking to continue the solid start for their partial season in Saturday afternoon’s General Tire 200.
“It was great to see this team’s hard work pay off from start to finish at Daytona,” recalled Kitzmiller. “For sure, it was a long day on Friday, but I was proud of the competitiveness of our No. 97 A.L.L. Construction Chevrolet.
“We were fortunate enough to survive that last-lap carnage and bring back the car with minimal scratches. Since then, we have just massaged our car, preparing for Talladega. I’m glad it is finally here.”
Kitzmiller, a native of Petersburg, WV, heads to the 2.66-mile superspeedway poised for his fifth ARCA Menards Series Talladega start. In his previous four races, Kitzmiller scored a top-10 finish in his track debut during the 2020 season.
Fast forward, Kitzmiller is hungry for another Talladega top-10, but a top-five ARCA finish in the third race of the 2024 season would feel like a victory for this small, independent race team.
“Talladega hasn’t been particularly kind to us the last couple of years, but we have a chance to change that on Saturday,” added Kitzmiller. The speed in this race car is phenomenal, and we just have to bide our time, work ourselves through the field, and be there when it counts the most.”
With ARCA’s abbreviated schedule this weekend, teams will forgo qualifying and participate in a 50-minute practice session on Friday. They will start the race on Saturday with their 2023 owner points, which will line the team toward the back of the field.
“There’s nothing we can do about starting near the back of the field; we’ve been doing this schedule for a while,” added Kitzmiller. “We will work, however, to take advantage of the track time on Friday to make sure our car is dialed in and we’re ready to race.
“Once the race starts, it’s just about connecting with a good pack, setting our pace, and seeing what happens from there.”
Kitzmiller is looking for his second checkered flag of the season on Saturday.
In addition to the ARCA Menards Series, A.L.L. Construction Racing will participate in select Grand National Super Series events this season. Last month, Kitzmiller won the series’ season-opener at New River All-American Speedway.
“It was great to grab the checkered flag at New River,” Kitzmiller said. A top-10 and a win to start the year isn’t too bad; I hope we can continue this early-season momentum on Saturday at Talladega.”
Outside his busy racing schedule, Kitzmiller will also travel to races to watch his son Isaac’s career blossom.
“I am excited to watch Isaac build his craft,” mentioned Kitzmiller. “He has done a great job thus far, and as he adjusts to new tracks and new beginnings, I plan to support him as much as possible. Maybe, who knows – someday we just might be racing together on the same ARCA track.”
Since 2020, Kitzmiller has 23 ARCA Menards Series starts to his credit, with five top-10 finishes overall, including a career-best sixth-place finish at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway (February 2024).
The General Tire 200 (76 laps | 202 miles) is the third of 20 races on the 2024 ARCA Menards Series schedule. Group practice is set for Fri., April 19, from 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. The race is set for the following morning on Saturday, April 20 to take the green flag shortly after 11:30 a.m. (12:30 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 weekend festivities.
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