ARCA to Test at Daytona Starting Friday

Forty-two drivers have filed entries to participate in this weekend’s ARCA Menards Series open test at Daytona International Speedway, set for Friday and Saturday January 10 and 11. Former Daytona winner and last year’s championship runner-up Michael Self headlines the entry list, along with three-time ARCA Menards Series West winner Hailie Deegan who will make her oval track debut at Daytona in the test.

Self returns to Daytona with Venturini Motorsports, again at the wheel of the No. 25 Toyota which he guided to second in the series standings last season. He will be joined by new teammate Drew Dollar, who will take over the reigns of the No. 15 Toyota that was driven to the championship last season by Christian Eckes.

Deegan will make her Daytona oval track debut one weekend removed from making her first laps around the track’s 3.56-mile infield road course during testing for the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Series opener coming up on January 24. Deegan recently joined DGR-Crosley Racing as a development driver with Ford Performance and will be joined for the test by teammate Tanner Gray, himself the 2018 NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Pro Stock national champion. Both will be under watch of former Daytona 500 pole winner and team co-owner David Gilliland.

Tom Hessert III, son of former Rolex 24 class winner Tom Hessert, is slated to make his series return in one of three cars prepared by Chad Bryant Racing. Hessert will be joined by Jacob Haefner and Connor Hall in the Chad Bryant fleet.

Ty Gibbs and Riley Herbst will split testing duties in the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 18 Toyota, while Bret Holmes will return to his family-owned No. 23 Chevrolet. Former Talladega winner Gus Dean will also be making laps in the familiar No. 32 Win-Tron Racing Chevrolet prepared by team owner Kevin Cywinski.

The two-day test session will feature two sessions per day, from 9 am ET through noon ET and from 1 pm ET through 5 pm ET. ARCA has reserved Sunday, January 12 as a rain date. ARCARacing.com will feature live timing & scoring throughout all on-track sessions over the course of the weekend.

— ARCA Racing —