TEMPERANCE, Mich. (January 8, 2024) – As has been the case for more than a dozen years, select short track champions across the NASCAR Roots platform have been invited to participate in the annual ARCA Menards Series Pre-race Practice as a part of the series’ Road to Daytona program.
Seven drivers encompassing the two regional series that are a part of the ARCA Menards Series platform, the three ASA-branded touring super late model series, the ground-pounding open wheel cars of the Whelen Modified Tour, and the Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series have all received their invitations to spend a half day on the high banks at Daytona International Speedway on January 12 and 13.
The drivers will make laps in cars prepared by 1995 ARCA Menards Series national champion Andy Hillenburg’s Fast Track High Performance Racing Team with support from Ilmor, General Tire, Sunoco, Eibach Springs, and JRI Shocks.
The seven Road to Daytona drivers for 2023 are as follows:
Tyler Reif, Henderson, Nevada
ARCA Menards Series West
Then-15-year-old Tyler Reif kicked off the 2023 ARCA Menards Series West season with an improbable victory at Phoenix Raceway, a combination race with the ARCA Menards Series. Reif came back from a two-lap deficit to take the lead on an overtime restart, only to lose it to just as the caution came out again setting up yet another overtime restart. Reif outdueled fellow young gun Landen Lewis on the final restart to score the upset victory. He ended the 2023 ARCA Menards Series West season second in the final standings with one win, five top-five finishes, eight top-ten finishes, and two General Tire Pole Awards.
Sean Hingorani, Newport Beach, California
ARCA Menards Series East
Sixteen-year-old Sean Hingorani had a storybook season in 2023, competing in all three series across the ARCA Menards Series platform. Hingorani claimed the ARCA Menards Series West championship with four wins at Irwindale Speedway, Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway, Shasta Speedway, and Evergreen Speedway, and nine total top-five finishes. Despite missing one of the series’ eight races, Hingorani finished seventh in the ARCA Menards Series East standings with five top-five finishes, including four third-place finishes at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, Flat Rock Speedway, Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, and the Milwaukee Mile. In nine ARCA Menards Series starts, Hingorani scored five top-five finishes – all third-place finishes – and one General Tire Pole Award.
Justin Bonsignore, Holtsville, New York
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour
The three-time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion came up just short in 2023, coming home second to now two-time champion Ron Silk by just nine points after a tense battle at Martinsville Speedway. Bonsignore, 35, is a prolific winner in Mod Tour competition, collecting 40 checkered flags in 210 career starts. When he’s not winning, his car is still near the front of the field as he’s finished in the top-five in over half of his starts and finishing in the top ten 154 times.
Jacob Goede, Carver, Minnesota
NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series
The 38-year-old 2019 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series champion, Goede has won ten consecutive Super Late Model championships at Elko Speedway, and closed the 2023 season with five wins and 22 top-five finishes between Elko, where he won four times, and Lacrosse Speedway.
Chase Burda, Lapeer, Michigan
ASA CRA Super Series
Nineteen-year-old Chase Burda quickly advanced from quarter midgets, to street stocks, to full-size late models. The 2019 CRA Jr. Late Model champion advanced to the Jeg’s/CRA All-stars Tour in 2020, claiming the series rookie of the year award and finishing in the top five in series points and taking the series championship in 2023 with four victories, including the finale at the legendary Winchester Speedway. Burda finished second in the ASA CRA Super Series standings, 124 markers out of the lead.
Bryan Syer-Keske, Lakeville, Minnesota
ASA Midwest Tour
The 28-year-old capped off his first full season racing in the ASA Midwest Tour with a runner-up finish in the series’ cornerstone event, the Oktoberfest 200 at Lacrosse Speedway. Syer-Keske scored three top-ten finishes in eleven Midwest Tour starts, but the hallmark of his season was consistency. He never finished lower than 14th throughout the season, pushing him to the 2023 Midwest Tour rookie of the year award.
Michael Hinde, Hernando, Florida
ASA Southern Super Series
Hinde grabbed headlines in 2022, winning the Pro Late Model feature at SpeedFest and again at the World Series of Asphalt Racing at New Smyrna with a pair of Pro Late Model wins. He backed it up with a win in the Red Eye 50 at New Smyrna in January 2023 before making a splash in the Super Late Model. He competed for the ASA Southern Super Series championship, finishing fourth in the series standings with one top-five and four top-ten finishes in nine starts.
Notable Road to Daytona participants over the years include four-time ASA Midwest Tour champion and current NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship contender Ty Majeski (2014), former ARCA Menards Series race winner and current mechanic for Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 48 Chevrolet Travis Braden (2013), NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series rookie of the year candidate Layne Riggs (2022), and defending Daytona ARCA 200 winner Greg Van Alst (2020).
A total of 63 drivers spread across 35 cars are currently entered for the two days of practice at Daytona International Speedway, which is set for Friday and Saturday, January 12 and 13, with Sunday, January 14 reserved in case of inclement weather.
The 2024 ARCA Menards Series season kicks off at Daytona with practice on Thursday, February 15, General Tire Pole Qualifying on Friday, February 16, and the 61st Annual Daytona ARCA 200 set for 1:30 pm ET on Saturday, February 17. The race will be televised live on FS1 and broadcast nationwide on select affiliates of the MRN Radio Network. Live timing & scoring for all on track sessions is available at ARCARacing.com.
Story - Charles Krall, ARCA
Photo - Fast Track Racing Enterprises