Cunningham Motorsports and the No. 22 car helped one driver get their first win in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards last year at Toledo Speedway…and they look to do it again this year with Shane Lee. Lee, who has been edging closer and closer to his first ARCA win, has his eyes now set on Toledo and the Menards 200 presented by Federated Car Care.
“Every week I feel like we’ve had a car that’s been able to win races and I think it’s just a matter of time until we get there,” said Lee. “It’s clear that Cunningham always has the potential to win and knowing that the 22 car won here last year, I think we have a good shot at it this weekend. My crew chief Paul (Andrews) knows the track well and hopefully we can defend the win here and finally get the No. 22 Big Tine Ford Fusion into victory lane.”
Things have been going right for Lee this season, notching three top five finishes in four races and climbing up to second in championship point standings. The 23-year-old Newton, N.C. native has never raced at Toledo, but was able to get some laps in during a test last week.
“The test went really well and I’m happy I was able to come out and see what the track was like and get comfortable before the race this weekend,” said Lee. “I was able to learn what lines to take going into the turns and how much grip this track has. It was a little colder when we tested than what it’ll be like when we’re racing, but I know all the guys on the team have worked really hard to get me a quick, solid race car and I think we have a lot of potential going into Toledo.”
Whatever knowledge Lee was not able to pick up from the test will surely be made up with having veteran crew chief Paul Andrews on the pit box. Andrews has been able to work with Lee and teach him the ins and outs of tracks he’s never been to before and was impressed with what he saw after the Toledo test.
“Shane’s never been there (Toledo) before and he really paid attention to what we were telling him and what other drivers like Dalton were doing,” said Andrews. “Toledo’s got a lot of grip and you have to manage your tires there, but not as much as other tracks and adapted to that really well and I think it’ll fit his driving style pretty good. Last year we had two of the best cars there…we won with one of them (22) and the other (77) led the most laps so I think it’ll be a really good place for Shane and we’re all excited to get back to Toledo this weekend.”
The Menards 200 presented by Federated Car Care is set to kick off Saturday with practice and General Tire Pole Qualifying. The 200 lap feature is slated for Sunday afternoon at 2:00 PM ET and will air live on FS1.
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