Justin Fontaine upbeat about ARCA season finale

KANSAS CITY, Kan – Still upbeat after notching his second top-10 finish of the 2017 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards season, Justin Fontaine (@driverFontaine) heads to Kansas Speedway looking to end his freshman season on the tour with a career-best finish in Friday night’s Kansas ARCA 150.

While having nearly a month to allow his 10th place finish at Kentucky Speedway to soak in, Fontaine has been incredibly focused on heading to Kansas and improving the performance of his No. 33 ProMATIC Automation Toyota with the intention of delivering his first top-five run in his Kansas debut.

The Asheville, N.C.-native will tell you that the recent late summer to fall surge of momentum from AM Racing’s development partner Win-Tron Racing team rallies behind a confident driver and competitive race cars.

Two solid ARCA performances on the mile-and-a-half tracks at Chicagoland and Kentucky Speedway respectively, plus a competitive top-20 performance in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) at Chicagoland has Fontaine hungry for more.

“I’m feeling really good about Kansas,” said Fontaine. “Kentucky was good for us, but there’s always room to be better and that’s what we are focused on. With every lap on an intermediate track, I feel like I’m even more comfortable and able to help the team improve the car.

“Each of these tracks are a little different – but overall have the same fundamentals. The rainout of the Kentucky Speedway test put me a little behind because of school, but I felt like start to finish we made up a lot of ground and it has me probably the most confident I have been this season on these bigger tracks.

“These bigger tracks are a blast to drive too.”

While the recently turned 20-year-old has never been to Kansas, he’s leaning on his team and his Win-Tron Racing teammate Gus Dean for additional support to hopefully propel the North Carolinian to his career-best finish in his 13th career ARCA start.

In fact, it would be the perfect belated Birthday present for Fontaine who turned 20 on Wed., Oct. 18.

“I’ve been fortunate throughout the year to have some good connections with the drivers in the garage,” explained Fontaine. “Of course, I know I can always lean on Gus, but it’s a good feeling that when you’re feeling something you can lean on one of your friends – even though he’s a competitor to get some feedback.

“Friday night’s race is going to go by quick and I feel like I’ve done a good job preparing myself from Kansas. From studying various layouts to watching some old races or just talking – I feel prepared and hopefully that shows right away in practice on Friday morning.”

The Kansas ARCA 150 will mark the final race of the 2017 ARCA season and while Fontaine has certainly experienced his ups and downs, the seat time has been priceless and the former NASCAR K&N Pro Series East competitor hopes to showcase that not only on Friday night but next season as well.

“I’ve learned a lot this year,” sounded Fontaine. “I thought Daytona was going to be a good race, then I got hurt and to go through a recovery process and we steadily got our mojo going during the summer months.

“I feel like there’s still plenty left to be accomplished. We’re going to work real hard this week at Kansas to end our season on a high note for ProMATIC and all our other partners to take into the off season.

“I’m very grateful and appreciative to be driving race cars and I’d like to show my appreciation for that with a good run on Friday night.”
In addition to ProMATIC Automation, Fontaine will have additional marketing partnership support from Accu-Tech, Snap Track, AM Technical Solutions, Superior Essex and Legrand for his third-career ARCA intermediate start.

Entering Friday night’s ARCA race, Fontaine currently sits 14th in the series’ standings (+1 position from Kentucky). Fontaine has a career best finish of ninth at Winchester Speedway in the Winchester ARCA 200 on Aug. 6. An eighth-place qualifying effort at Iowa Speedway in July is his best time trials effort to date.

The Kansas ARCA 150 (100 laps / 150 miles) is the 20th of 20 races on the 2017 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule. Practice begins Fri., Oct. 20 with a two-hour practice session planned from 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. General Tire pole qualifying is set for later in the day at 2:30 p.m. The race is set to take the green flag later shortly after 7:30 p.m. The event will be broadcasted live on FOX Sports 2 (FS2), while ARCARacing.com will stream live timing and scoring throughout the week’s activities. All times are local (CT).
To learn more information on AM Racing please visit amracingteam.com.

For more on Justin Fontaine, please like his Facebook page (Justin Fontaine) or follow him on Twitter @driverFontaine.
Follow Win-Tron Racing on Twitter @WinTronRacing, like on Facebook (WinTron Racing) or click on WinTronRacing.com.

About ProMATIC Automation:

ProMATIC Automation Inc. specializes in the design and build of custom factory automation equipment. With complete in-house capabilities of design, programming, fabrication, machining, electrical and mechanical assembly, ProMATIC can manage project resources and coordinate manufacturing efforts to provide quality, on-time automation project implementation.

ProMATIC Automation, Inc. has extensive experience in the integration of high-level automation technologies like robotics, laser, vision, and dispensing systems along with many years of combined experience in the design and machining of custom manufactured components.

For more information on ProMATIC Automation please visit promaticautomation.com.

About AM Racing:

AM Racing is a second-year NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) team owned by entrepreneur Tim Self. Established in December 2015, AM Racing is headquartered in Mooresville, N.C. Operated by Self, a native of Austin, Texas, the team is prided on faith, honesty and intelligent performance. The team has named Austin Wayne Self, Justin Fontaine and J.J. Yeley as AM Racing drivers for 2017.

About Win-Tron Racing:

Located in Mooresville, North Carolina, Win-Tron Racing is a professional race team headquartered in “Race City USA.” Owned by former racer Kevin Cywinski, the team will compete for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards championship in 2017 with driver Gus Dean in the No. 32 GREE Toyota Camry. The team will also field a second entry in the No. 33 Toyota Camry with Justin Fontaine and others. Learn more at WinTronRacing.com or on Twitter @WinTronRacing.

CONTACT: [email protected]

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