Gus Dean wins ARCA race at Daytona
Photo by ARCA Racing photo
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — An efficient decade for Venturini Motorsports at Daytona International Speedway continued with Friday’s expedited Daytona ARCA 200.
Taking the checkered flag was veteran Gus Dean, who passed teammate Jake Finch on the final restart of the night to deliver Venturini Motorsports their fourth Daytona victory in the past five years.
Dean was overcome with emotion when he parked his No. 55 Dean Custom Air Toyota on the frontstretch. The process to reach Victory Lane at Daytona for the Bluffton, South Carolina native was one dominated by sacrifice and relentless dedication.
“I started racing when I was four years old at a tiny little dirt track in South Georgia,” Dean said in his post-race interview. “It’s been a whole lot of miles, a whole lot of work and a whole lot of people behind me.”
Like nearly everyone else who started Friday’s 80-lap feature, Dean’s night was eventful from the moment the green flag waved.
While getting a push from Leland Honeyman, Dean got loose and collided with teammate Toni Breidinger. The ensuing contact turned Breidinger around in front of the field, which collected Dean’s two remaining teammates Kris Wright and Amber Balcaen.
Dean shook off the early contact and patiently bided his time behind Finch, who dominated most of the ARCA Daytona 200. He did everything possible to help protect that lead from the pack, but an overtime restart would put Dean and Finch on the front row.
Dean used a push from Andres Perez to pull ahead from Finch coming off Turn 2. As Finch attempted to charge back on the outside line, he was turned into the wall by Andy Jankowiak, triggering a final multi-car crash that secured the victory for Dean.
The Daytona ARCA 200 served as Dean’s first ARCA Menards Series triumph since 2018 when he prevailed at Elko Speedway. Dean’s only other victory came at Talladega Superspeedway, which was also decided by a late-race caution.
A veteran presence for a young Venturini Motorsports lineup, Dean has provided his teammates plenty of insight on how to time runs and utilize the draft to their advantage. Despite this, Dean was still eager to add another triumph of his own with the limited amount of opportunities at his disposal.
Finally ending a near six-year drought carried plenty of catharsis for Dean in numerous ways. He dedicated his ARCA victory and Super Late Model triumph at New Smyrna Speedway earlier this week to his grandfather Charles Dean Sr., who passed away earlier this year.
With his grandfather riding shotgun on his car Friday evening, Dean had plenty of motivation to shine on ARCA’s biggest stage and re-establish Venturini’s dominance at Daytona.
“My granddad came to every race I ever ran,” Dean said. “In every single one, he told me to get what I can, even at the end when I would call him on the phone. [On Friday], we got what we could. It might not be the Daytona 500, it might not be the biggest race, but it is the biggest coliseum.
“For a small-town kid from Bluffton, South Carolina, this is everything.”
Thomas Annunziata survived the chaos on the final restart to finish second in his debut ARCA Menards Series appearance. Defending Daytona ARCA 200 winner Greg Van Alst placed third with Christian Rose and Tim Richmond completing the Top 5 finishers.
The ARCA Menards Series will be back in action on March 8 for the General Tire 150 at Phoenix Raceway. Fox Sports 1 will broadcast the race live.
RESULTS
Pos. Car No. Driver Sponsor, OEM Laps Diff.
1 55 Gus Dean Dean Custom Air Toyota 84 –
2 44 Thomas Annunziata* Nerd Focus Chevrolet 84 0.441
3 35 Greg Van Alst Zaki Ali Injury & Criminal Attorney ZakiAli.com 84 0.851
4 32 Christian Rose West Virgina Tourism Ford 84 1.712
5 27 Tim Richmond Richmond Racing Toyota 84 2.036
6 97 Jason Kitzmiller A.L.L Construction Chevrolet 84 2.415
7 68 Gil Linster* HOOSH.com Ford 84 2.746
8 3 Alex Clubb Race Parts Liquidators Ford 84 19.631
9 22 Amber Balcaen ICON Direct Toyota 84 01:23.1
10 73 Andy Jankowiak V1 Fiber Ford 84 01:35.7
11 20 Jake Finch* Phoenix Construction Toyota 83 1 Lap
12 2 Andres Perez Max Siegal Inc Chevrolet 83 1 Lap
13 13 Armani Williams Blue Sprig Toyota 83 1 Lap
14 62 Steve Lewis Jr.* Telco Construction/Jeffery Machine Chevrolet 83 1 Lap
15 6 Lavar Scott* Max Siegel Inc Chevrolet 83 1 Lap
16 36 Ryan Huff Southeastern Services Ford 83 1 Lap
17 8 Patrick Emerling Southern Tier Security Ford 83 1 Lap
18 34 Issac Johnson* Endress & Hauser Ford 83 1 Lap
19 6 Tommy O’Leary IV Peterson Motorsports Ford 83 1 Lap
20 75 Bryan Dauzat Brother-in-Law Racing Chevrolet 83 1 Lap
21 99 Michael Maples* Don Ray Petroleum LLC/Maples Motorsports Chevrolet 83 1 Lap
22 48 Brad Smith Brad Smith Motorports Ford 81 3 Laps
23 12 Ryan Roulette* VFW Ford 80 4 Laps
24 18 Tanner Gray Dead On Tools Toyota 77 7 Laps
25 17 Marco Andretti* Group 1001 Chevrolet 76 8 Laps
26 11 Bryce Haugeberg* Karcher/Brenco Toyota 69 15 Laps
27 69 Scott Melton Melton McFadden Insuracne/Donna’s Donuts Ford 61 23 Laps
28 3 Willie Mullins Corvetteparts.net/Crow Wing Recycling Ford 61 23 Laps
29 28 Shane Van Gisbergen* Pinnacle Motorsports Chevrolet 58 26 Laps
30 8 Sean Corr Empire Racing Chevrolet 55 29 Laps
31 2 Leland Honeyman Jr.* Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet 51 33 Laps
32 30 Justin Bonsignore* Hard Rock Bet 43 41 Laps
33 4 Dale Quarterley Van Dyk Recycling Services/Motul Arai Chevrolet 40 44 Laps
34 74 Mandy Chick* Dynamic Drivelines/FK Rod Ends/Fragola Perf Chevrolet 17 67 Laps
35 93 Caleb Costner* Lickety Lew’s/Heritage Water Systems Chevrolet 14 70 Laps
36 7 Jeff Scofield* JXT Transport Chevrolet 6 78 Laps
37 25 Toni Breidinger Celsius Toyota 3 81 Laps
38 15 Kris Wright F.N.B Corporation Toyota 3 81 Laps
39 63 John Aramendia* 1st Call Plumbing Heating & Air Chevrolet 3 81 Laps
40 10 Ed Pompa HYTORC of New York 3 81 Laps
Our Partners
.png)
