Michael Self on Fan4Racing Radio, Monday, February 12, 2018, at 9:30 pm ET Photo – Courtesy of VMS
Michael Self is our guest on Fan4Racing NASCAR & Race Talk, Monday, February 12, 2018, at 9:30 pm ET. Call 929-477-1790 or tweet @Fan4RacingSite with any questions or comments during our LIVE broadcast.
The ARCA Racing Series winner of an action-packed Lucas Oil 200 was Venturini Motorsports driver, Michael Self and that was after surviving two ‘overtime’ shootouts at Daytona International Speedway.
In the season’s first race for the series their first overtime was for a multi-car backstretch incident on lap 80 – the scheduled final lap – and that brought out a red flag setting up the first shootout. The first overtime lap went awry on the final turn on the 2.5-mile tri-oval, as several front-running cars got tangled up, bringing out another red flag. ARCA rules mandate a green-flag race finish, thus, a second OT shootout.
The second overtime restart proceeded cleanly, with Self’s No. 15 Toyota breaking away early, and eventually edging Willie Mullins’ No. 3 Ford by 0.562 seconds.
“We survived man, we survived,” Self said after a night spent cagily avoiding incidents. “We didn’t have brakes in the second half of the race, so in a couple of those wrecks I didn’t have a choice. I couldn’t slow down. I just kind of aimed it.”
The victory for Self gave Venturini Motorsports it’s 45th overall ARCA win and second at Daytona since 2012.
Self’s Venturini Motorsports teammate Natalie Decker was the Lucas Oil 200 polesitter. Decker’s historic start ended with a fifth-place finish. Decker was the fourth female pole winner in Daytona International Speedway history, joining Danica Patrick (2013 DAYTONA 500), Erin Crocker (2007 Lucas Oil 200) and Patty Moise (1989 and ’90 Lucas Oil 200).