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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 this weekend’s General Tire 150 at Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway.
The 2024 ARCA Menards Series 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 28-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 afternoon’s General Tire 150.
The Department of West Virginia 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.
Squeaky Blue Clean: In between Phoenix and Talladega, 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 17 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 afternoon’s race.
Christian Rose ARCA Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway Stats: Friday’s General Tire 150 will mark Rose’s second start at the “Monster Mile,” a combination race for the premier ARCA Menards Series and the ARCA Menards Series East.
In his previous effort, the Martinsburg, WV native has a best track finish of 10th after starting 10th in the 2022 edition of the General Tire 125.
Christian Rose Career ARCA National Series Stats: In 31 career ARCA National Series starts, Rose has earned four top-five and 16 top-10 finishes highlighted by a career-best third-place finish achieved at Salem (Ind.) Speedway in September 2023.
Additionally, Rose has showcased 22 top-20 finishes overall since 2022.
Since 2022, he has maintained an average finishing position of 12.3.
To The Point(s): Entering Dover, Rose is first in the ARCA Menards Series championship standings, one marker ahead of ARCA Menards Series veteran Greg Van Alst, with 17 races remaining.
Rev Racing’s Andrés Pérez de Lara is third in the championship standings, just three points behind Rose.
Fourth-place competitor Amber Balcaen is six points behind Rose.
Rose is tied for third in the number of laps completed so far in 2024, with 275 of 275 laps completed with a 100 percent lap completion percentage.
AM Racing stands a respectable fifth in the ARCA Menards Series championship owner standings.
Super-Hot: Christian Rose has been on a hot streak in the ARCA Menards Series since the fall of the 2023 season.
In the last five races dating back to the last two races of the 2023 season, Rose has captured four top-five finishes with an average finish of 6.6. In the first three races of 2024, Rose has finished fourth, 16th and fourth with an average finish of 8.3.
His consistency has propelled him to the lead in the ARCA Menards Series championship standings for the first time in his career.
Slingin’ That Dirt: Since Daytona, Rose has been teamed up with AM Racing’s Dirt Division and has been getting experience behind the wheel of a Dirt Modified to strengthen his driving skills.
Rose will continue to participate in select Dirt Modified events as his schedule allows this season.
AM Minute: AM Racing has a busy weekend. In addition to the ARCA Menards Series, its NASCAR Xfinity Series team is also in action at Dover Motor Speedway.
Rose’s teammate Hailie Deegan heads to Dover following her career-best Xfinity Series finish of 12th in last Saturday’s Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.
After competing last week in Indiana, AM Racing’s Dirt Division will compete at Brownstown Bullring and Peoria Speedway this weekend, respectively.
Thanks For Your Support: With 15 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, Flying Circle, Mobil 1, and Whitetail Smokeless.
Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway | General Tire 200 Race Recap: Following a spring sabbatical, the ARCA Menards Series returned to action this past weekend at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway as part of a tripleheader with the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series.
In his second Talladega ARCA race with AM Racing, Rose started his No. 32 Department of West Virginia Tourism | Secure Testing Services Ford Mustang sixth and maintained his presence inside the top five for the entire race.
Running third on the last lap, Rose tried to start a high lane for the win, but he did not have any drafting help and dropped from third to fifth at the checkered flag.
The effort bookended a pair of top-five finishes on superspeedways for Rose, including his fourth-place finish at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in February.
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). |
