Photo – Courtesy of SM
This year’s Lucas Oil 200 from Daytona International Speedway will carry a long list of firsts for 2016 ARCA Racing Series Rookie of the Year Dalton Sargeant. None more exciting than Phoenix Construction and Billy Ballew Motorsports’ return to the historic 2.5 mile superspeedway where they have each found victory lane before. The race also marks the first time that 18-year old Sargeant will compete at the famed racetrack, as well as his debut with Cunningham Motorsports in the Chad Bryant led No. 77.
“The No. 77 Phoenix Construction, Billy Ballew Ford Fusion looks great and I couldn’t be more excited to make my first start with Cunningham Motorsports,” said Dalton Sargeant. “To have the opportunity to race a car with Phoenix Construction on the hood is really cool, James Finch and Billy Ballew had some great drivers in their cars throughout the years so its an honor to include my name on that list. There’s a Florida connection with these group of guys and we’re all looking forward to a bit of a homecoming at Daytona this weekend. Hopefully with all of us being from the sunshine state it will bring us some luck.”
James Finch and Billy Ballew individually have an extensive history in NASCAR and the ARCA Racing Series. Between the two of them, they have achieved a total of 44 wins in Monster Energy Cup, Xfinity, Truck Series and ARCA competition as team owners. Billy Ballew Motorsports is a car dealership with two locations, one in Daytona Beach, FL and the other in Blairsville, GA while Phoenix Construction has it’s headquarters in Lynn Haven, FL.”
Looking towards the weekend, Dalton Sargeant’s excitement for the race is clear. Sargeant said, “I feel like we’ve put together an exceptional group of people on this team and I’m excited for Daytona. We’ve got a great car and a plan on how to attack the entire weekend. Chad Bryant and the entire team have put in a lot of work since they took the checkered flag at Kansas last season and that showed with how we tested at Daytona a few weeks back. Taking what we learned from that test I think we have a good chance at taking the No. 77 Phoenix Construction, Billy Ballew Ford Fusion back to victory lane.”
The Lucas Oil Complete Engine Treatment 200 Driven by General Tire tales place on Saturday, February 18 2017 at Daytona International Speedway at 4 pm EST. The 80-lap event will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 (FS1).