Chase Pinsonneault, who captured Rookie of The Year honors in the CRA JEGS All-Stars Tour this season, will debut in the ARCA Menards Series at Daytona.
The 18-year-old driver will be part of the Venturini Motorsports brigade for the February 15 event at the 2.5-mile superspeedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.
“I’m ecstatic about this new partnership,” said Pinsonneault. “It’s a good group of people with a whole lot of talent and knowledge. This is the chance to be in some top-tier equipment at Daytona — which is something I’ve dreamt about my entire life.”
Pinsonneault, a native of Belle River, Ontario, will be piloting the No. 15 Toyota Camry in the ARCA Menards Series season-opener at Daytona, which will be broadcast live on FOX.
The third-generation racer earned a victory in the CRA JEGS All-Stars Tour this season — as well as a number of podium finishes at various locations across the country.
“Venturini Motorsports gives me the chance to make a footprint for myself and open the door for future possibilities within NASCAR. I had the chance to meet with the team this week and it felt like they were just a group of homegrown guys just like me. I’m ready for this and I’m incredibly excited to have everything falling into place.”
Having only turned laps on short tracks across North America, Pinsonneault has a steep learning curve to prepare for his first event on a superspeedway.
“Daytona is a whole new experience compared to anything I’ve done in the past,” he admitted. “Truthfully, I don’t feel at all worried about practice and qualifying. Learning energy build and draft and how to race in a pack — that’s going to be the learning curve because it’s a completely different feel than anything I’ve ever done before.”
The added benefit for Pinsonneault is the ability to lean on Late Model owner and NASCAR Cup Series driver Carson Hocevar, who tapped the Canadian driver to be part of the Carson Hocevar Racing development program in 2024.
“My team has done an amazing job preparing me — mentally, physically, and professionally — for this opportunity with Venturini. We knew that taking the step into ARCA meant that I would need to maintain a higher level of mental fortitude and professionalism, but I feel prepared for the challenge.
Venturini Motorsports has been competing in the ARCA Menards Series since 1982. Paired with Toyota, the organization has managed to collect 107 all-time victories across all of ARCA’s race platforms.
The ARCA Menards Series season-opener will take place on Saturday, February 15, prior to the NASCAR Xfinity Series event. Coverage of the event will be on FOX at Noon ET.
