Officials from AM Racing and their development team Win-Tron Racing jointly announced today that ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) driver Justin Fontaine (@driverFontaine) has been medically cleared to return to competition, effective immediately.
Fontaine, 19, suffered a mild compression fracture of his L1 vertebrae during a late-race accident in ARCA’s season-opening Lucas Oil Complete Engine Treatment 200 driven by General Tire at Daytona (Fla.)
International Speedway on Feb. 18. He was released from Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach, Fla. the following afternoon.
With his clearance, Fontaine will return to ARCA and compete in Saturday’s Shore Lunch 250 at Elko (Minn.) Speedway aboard the No. 33 ProMATIC Automation Toyota Camry.
Fontaine, a native of Asheville, N.C. participated in a private test at Motor Mile (Va.) Speedway this past Friday, where the driver went through a grueling test session getting him re-acclimated behind the wheel – but more importantly making sure that Fontaine himself was comfortable and competitive.
After meeting with management and consulting with series’ officials, the decision was made for Fontaine to return this weekend.
“We had a really good testing session at Motor Mile,” said Fontaine. “I’ve kept a low profile and focused on myself and my recovery and I feel really good. The AM and Win-Tron guys really put a lot of time and effort into making sure I was comfortable behind the wheel, but equally putting me through different situations to make sure I was where I needed to be.”
“Daytona’s accident was a disappointment, but I realized it could have been much worse. I’m just thankful to my team, colleagues and my friends and family who went out of their to stay in touch during my recovery. I can’t wait to get back on the track Saturday and have a good finish.”
Fontaine will make his second career ARCA start but eyes a top-10 finish in his return to give him a boost he’d welcome ahead of a busy summer schedule.
“I’ve heard a lot about Elko, so I’m eager to get there and experience it for myself,” added Fontaine who was credited with a 13th place finish at Daytona. “The guys feel like we’ll have a good piece. The No. 33 team had a good short track car at Toledo Speedway a couple weeks ago – just some bad luck in the race.”
“If we can go out there on Saturday and qualify respectably and finish inside the top-10, I’d be thrilled for myself and ProMATIC Automation. It certainly would be something to build on heading to the upcoming races.”
Win-Tron Racing team principal Kevin Cywinski who attended the Motor Mile test says Fontaine quickly got up to speed and achieved the goals sought of him.
“You could tell right off the bat Justin was excited to be back behind the wheel of an ARCA car and it showed with his speed and finesse during the test,” offered Cywinski. “He gave us the feedback we were looking for and looked comfortable behind the wheel.”
“He’s keen on showing that the Daytona setback was just a fork in the road and he has what it takes not only to be competitive – but contend for wins too. Like Justin said, a top-10 finish is exactly what we need to get him back in a routine.”
While sticking with a heavy ARCA schedule for now, Fontaine’s focus is expected to turn towards the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series where he’ll compete in a limited schedule this summer in an AM Racing entry.
The Shore Lunch 250 (250 laps / 94 miles) is the sixth of 20 races on the 2017 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule. Practice begins Sat., June 3 with an hour and a half practice session planned from 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. General Tire pole qualifying is set for later in the day at 5:00 p.m. The race is set to take the green flag later that night shortly after 8:00 p.m. The event will be broadcasted live on MAVTV, while ARCARacing.com will also stream live timing and scoring throughout the day’s activities. All times are local (CT).
AM Racing/Win-Tron Racing PR
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