Following the two-day ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards open test session at Daytona International Speedway, it was hard to wipe the smile off Justin Fontaine’s face.
And for good reason.
Driving the No. 33 ProMATIC Automation Toyota Camry for Win-Tron Racing, Fontaine posted the 13th quickest lap overall in a session that saw 63 drivers turn at least one lap around the 2.5-mile superspeedway.
Despite his limited superspeedway experience, Fontaine under the direction of his Win-Tron Racing team and car owner Kevin Cywinski quickly built up his speed and comfort level sending the University of North Carolina Charlotte student into the lead draft Saturday allowing the 19-year-old to post a strong lap at the “World Center of Racing.”
“I’m very satisfied with my weekend at Daytona,” said Fontaine. “I can’t thank the Win-Tron Racing team enough for bringing me a strong No. 33 ProMATIC Automation Toyota for the test.
“Each lap I made on the track, I continued to learn and that will help me a bunch when I come back to Daytona next month. We worked a lot on single car runs on Friday and then we worked up my comfort level getting into the draft. It was an experience I’ll never forget.”
Car owner Kevin Cywinski expressed how pleased he was with Fontaine’s progress from start to finish.
“Daytona can be intimidating,” he said. “It’s a place that has such rich history both on and off the track, but Justin added his name to the track legacy in his own way with a successful test at Daytona.
“He and the team worked really hard on getting him comfortable in superspeedway trim then took the opportunity for him to find his groove in the draft. He worked extremely close with his teammate Gus Dean who did a great job mentoring Justin. I really think we’re going to come back to the race next month with two cars capable of winning the race. I can’t begin to tell you how proud I am of everyone at Win-Tron.”
Fontaine joins Win-Tron Racing, the driver development partner of AM Racing for several races on the ARCA Racing Series tour in 2016 starting with the Feb. 19 Lucas Oil Complete Engine Treatment 200 driven by General Tire.
Tim Self, team principal at AM Racing attended the ARCA test to watch Fontaine to make his first laps at Daytona.
“I’m real proud of Justin,” said Self. “He learned a lot at Daytona this past weekend and that will without a doubt will help us not only for the ARCA race next month, but also for his impending Truck Series start at Daytona the week after.
“The effort of Win-Tron Racing will undoubtedly give him the confidence he needs to go have a successful run on Feb. 19 and then hopefully that carries over to the Truck Series opener a week later. Good things are on the horizon and AM Racing is just proud to be a part of it.”
Justin Fontaine is the younger cousin of longtime Truck Series competitor and Florida short track ace Chris Fontaine.
Justin Fontaine PR
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