MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Officials from Win-Tron Racing announced today that the longtime ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards team will undergo several organizational changes following a promising pre-season test at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway earlier this month with ARCA winner Gus Dean.
After finishing fourth in the championship standings in 2017, championship contender Gus Dean will return to the team full-time and seek the ARCA championship in his sophomore season.
Dean’s ARCA’s efforts for 2018 will once again be supported by GREE Cooling Products. GREE joined 23-year-old Dean for a limited ARCA schedule in 2016 through a relationship with its master distributor for the United States market, Tradewinds Climate Systems.The duo won in their debut together at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in Dean’s second-career ARCA start.
In 1991, GREE set out to make the world a cooler place. To this end, they’ve become a global leader in air conditioners, developing some of the most advanced commercial and residential air conditioners in the world.
Tradewinds Climate Systems will return for the 2018 season, as well as many their regional wholesalers, salespeople, and most importantly, fellow race fans. The company, which ranked 385th in Forbes’ Global 2000 possesses 18,000 active patents for products sold in 160 countries.
“We’re happy to extend our partnership with Win-Tron Racing and Gus (Dean) for 2018,” said Tradewinds’ Dave Pearson. We’re very excited about the changes the team has made for the upcoming season and look forward to building on the successful Daytona test and kick off the season with a strong showing for the race in February.”
GREE and Dean will have additional marketing support this season from Jacksonville, Fla.-based Baker Distributing Company.
Founded in 1945, Baker Distributing Company is engaged in the sales and distribution of HVAC, refrigeration and food service, equipment, parts, and supplies for residential and commercial applications.
“I’m very excited to be back with Win-Tron Racing and GREE for the 2018 ARCA season,” said Dean. “We made some major strides in our first season together and we have a lot of great things happening for the team to make sure we can not only continue that trend but contend for another championship this season.“I can’t wait to get to Daytona.”
Veteran industry leader Jamie Jones has joined Win-Tron Racing to lead Dean’s efforts this season. An accomplished crew chief for decades, Jones brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the organization.Jones began his new tenure at Win-Tron Racing before the Daytona test after a stint at MDM Motorsports, where he was instrumental in helping assemble the team’s current ARCA foundation.
“Jamie and I seemed to really hit it off good at the Daytona test,” added Dean. “I learned a lot from Todd (Myers) last year and he’s still going to be an important piece of the puzzle at Win-Tron, but we believe Jamie can bring some new ideas that we hope will hopefully put us in Victory Lane for GREE and Baker.”
Finally, beginning with the Feb. 10, 2018, Lucas Oil 200 driven by General Tire at Daytona, Win-Tron Racing will also switch manufacturers for the team’s flagship team from Toyota to Chevrolet for the entire 20-race season schedule.
Win-Tron Racing team principal Kevin Cywinski believes the organizational changes for 2018 gives the Mooresville, N.C. team a serious boost towards their first championship.
“There’s a lot of good things happening at Win-Tron Racing,” he said. “From the return of Gus and GREE to the addition of Baker to the sponsorship family – to Jamie jumping on board and the overhaul to switching our organization to Chevrolet, we’re very proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish during the off-season.He added, “2017 was a great year, but we’re also striving to be even better in 2018. These changes should help us accomplish that. I’m appreciative to all of the guys behind the scenes and especially Todd (Myers) who was a huge part in making our Daytona test successful for both of our cars.”
Already committed to proving their focus on Motorsports in 2018, GREE has confirmed an in-car camera for each ARCA Racing Series race televised on either FOX Sports 1 or FOX Sports 2 during the series’ 66th consecutive season beginning with the Lucas Oil 200 from the World Center of Racing at Daytona on Feb. 10.