Frankie Muniz and Rette Jones Racing Set for Elko Speedway Debut
NEW MARKET, Minn: On the heels of a career-high sixth-place finish in last Saturday night’s Herr’s 200 at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway, ARCA Menards Series rookie Frankie Muniz and his Rette Jones Racing trek to the historic Minnesota short track of Elko (Minn.) Speedway eying a top-five finish in Saturday night’s Menards 250.
With five top-10 finishes in the first six races of the 2023 season, Muniz is performing more like a seasoned sophomore than a freshman rookie, but as 2023 is preparing for an intense and busy summer stretch, Muniz and the Mooresville, N.C.-based team hope to attract their first top-five finish of the year at one of the series’ smallest tracks.
“I learned a ton last weekend at Berlin Raceway,” admitted Muniz who invades Elko Speedway a respectable second in the ARCA championship standings.
“I continue to learn every time I climb in my No. 30 Rette Jones Racing Ford Mustang and with every lap turned.
“Berlin was like nothing I had ever experienced in my racing career to this point, but I also feel like it was a good “test” to set myself up on what to expect at some of these tracks coming up this summer and fall.”
While disappointed that he hasn’t tallied a top-five finish in his six career ARCA Menards Series starts, the former Malcom in the Middle television actor is appreciative of how smoothly his inaugural season has progressed so far.
“I think for any driver you always want to do better,” he said. “Unless you are winning every week, I do not think you can be completely 100 percent satisfied, but my Rette Jones Racing has worked relentlessly to make sure they are bringing me fast cars.
“I was proud of our efforts at Berlin. We started off the day with a strong result in practice. Qualifying wasn’t the best, but we rebounded in the race. We just need to continue to make progress forward and hope the results will follow.”
For the second time this season and the second consecutive ARCA race, ReSkills will join the Rette Jones Racing team and serve as the primary partner on the team’s No. 30 Ford Mustang for the 250-lap showdown.
ReSkills is an award-winning global certified accreditation OnLive Learning Platform making education and learning affordable and accessible to anyone, anywhere.
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“I am looking forward to carrying the ReSkills colors again this weekend at Elko,” added Muniz. “It is amazing what ReSkills can offer to so many and I hope we can give them some time in the spotlight on Saturday night.”
Former ARCA championship-winning crew chief and co-owner Mark Rette was extremely impressed with Muniz’s performance in the first six races and looks forward to seeing his attentiveness continue at Elko.
“Like Berlin, Elko is not like most short tracks, but I am hoping it’s a track that Frankie can easily adjust to – much like he did last weekend at Berlin,” sounded Rette.
“Without a doubt, I feel like this weekend presents another good opportunity for Frankie to earn his first top-five finish of the season and give us a boost of momentum heading to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course next month.
“At the end of the night, we just want to have another successful race with a satisfying finish and feel better prepared for this upcoming summer stretch of ARCA Racing.”
For the 2023 ARCA season, Rette Jones Racing will continue its longtime partnership with Ford Performance but has upgraded its fleet to include the Ford Mustang continuing this weekend in Minnesota.
Entering Elko, Muniz sits second in the ARCA Menards Series championship standings, 20 markers behind championship leader Jesse Love with 14 races remaining.
Rette Jones Racing stands a respectable fourth in the ARCA Menards Series championship owner standings.
Since 2023, Muniz has six ARCA Menards Series starts to his credit with a career-best finish of sixth at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway in June 2023, Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway in May 2023 and Phoenix Raceway in March 2023 and five top-10s overall. He also maintains an average finishing position of 7.7 in his inaugural year of stock car competition.
For more on Frankie Muniz, please visit munizracing.com, like him on Facebook (FrankieMuniz4) and follow him on Instagram (@frankiemuniz4) and Twitter (@frankiemuniz).
For more on Rette Jones Racing, please visit RetteJonesRacing.com, like them on Facebook (Rette Jones Racing), or follow them on Instagram (@RetteJones30) and Twitter (@RetteJones30).
The Menards 250 (250 laps | 94 miles) is the seventh of 20 races on the 2023 ARCA Menards Series schedule in the 71st consecutive ARCA season. The first of two practices begin on Saturday, June 24 from 3:40 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. and the final practice launches from 4:10 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. General Tire pole qualifying begins at 5:20 p.m. The race is set to take the green flag later in the day shortly after 8:00 p.m. CT (9:00 p.m. ET). The event will be televised live on FOX Sports 2 (FS2) and FloRacing. ARCARacing.com will also stream live timing and scoring throughout the entire weekend festivities.