The ARCA Menards Series, founded in 1953 by former NASCAR official John Marcum, is often seen as a stepping stone into NASCAR. Originally called the Midwest Association for Race Cars (MARC), it was rebranded in 1964 to the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) to reflect its national expansion. Many drivers, like Joey Logano, Erik Jones, and Christopher Bell, started their careers at ARCA before making their way to the Cup Series.

Venturini Motorsports, synonymous with dominance in the ARCA Menards Series, experienced an unexpected setback at the recent race. Since July 27, 2018, at Pocono, this will be the first time that none of their cars finished within the top eight. This race at Pocono had always been a stronghold for Venturini, making the six-year streak-ending all the more surprising. Upon losing the streak, the questions on everyone’s mind are: What factors contributed to this unexpected outcome? Was it a strategic misstep, a mechanical issue, or simply an off-day for the drivers?

What’s even more interesting is the timing, as the last time Venturini Motorsports raced, was exactly six years ago. Kris Wright, their highest finisher, barely reached the top 10, crossing the line in 10th place, while other teammates finished even lower. Toni Breidinger, Amber Balcaen, and Gus Dean all struggled throughout the race, failing to make significant progress. This came to the attention of a fan on Reddit who shared a post revealing this fact.

[Srigley] For the first time since July 27, 2018 at Pocono, Venturini Motorsports fails to place a car inside the top-eight in an ARCA Menards Series event.
byu/RestlessInferno inNASCAR

It is unusual for Venturini Motorsports to not have one of their drivers running front, as that is something they have become quite well known in ARCA for. The team has been dominant over the years and has not shown such disappointing results in years now. Their dedicated fan base is not happy as they make it abundantly clear in the comments section of the post.

What fans had to say about Venturini Motorsports’ disappointing race

One fan said,

“Pretty sure Toyota funds the hell out of Venturini, no clue how any other team does it.” They’re basically pointing out how much financial support Venturini Motorsports gets from Toyota, which is huge compared to other teams. It makes you wonder how those other teams keep up without that kind of backing.

Another fan commented, “Kris Wright (P10) was the best finisher for VMS with Dean P14, Breidinger P16, Finch P18, and Balcaen P24. Also interesting was that this happened exactly 6 years to the day of that Pocono race.” This fan is sharing the race results for Venturini Motorsports, showing their top driver just made it into the top 10. Plus, they pointed out the weird coincidence that this happened exactly six years after a similar event at Pocono.

Someone else said, “We were agonizingly close to no VMS car being in the top 10 at all, but Wright got by Maples on the last lap.” This comment highlights how close Venturini Motorsports came to not having any car in the top 10, with Kris Wright managing to pull it off right at the last moment. It shows how tough the race was for them.

One fan joked, “Team will probably announce tomorrow that they are shutting down.” This is just a humorous way of saying that the team’s poor performance was so surprising and bad that it feels like they might as well give up. It’s a bit of dark humor reflecting their unexpected struggle.

Another fan added, “Let me play a sad song on the world’s smallest xylophone.” They’re being sarcastic here, basically saying they don’t feel too sorry for Venturini Motorsports’ struggles. It’s a way to mock the situation and show that they aren’t very sympathetic to the team’s problems.