Four-Time Trans Am Series Champion Makes NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Debut with Rev Racing

CONCORD, NC (Photo by Bob Leverone/Getty Images)
Concord, NC. (June 12, 2018) Ernie Francis Jr., a four-time Trams Am Series Champion, will join Rev Racing, this weekend, for the first road course of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Season at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Francis was selected as one of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Development Drivers and will participate in scheduled NASCAR K&N Pro Series East road courses and potential NASCAR Whelen All-American Series races in the 2018 season. “I am extremely excited to make my first K&N East Series start at the upcoming NJMP race,” said Ernie Francis Jr. “Coming from an extensive road racing background has me feeling very positive for a good result for the Rev Racing team.” Although a rookie to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, Francis is no new-comer to New Jersey Motorsports Park. In 2017, as Ernie Francis, Jr. took the checkered flag for the New Jersey Trans Am 100 at New Jersey Motorsport Park, he not only secured his eighth win of the 2017 season—he clinched the TA class championship with two races remaining. At the age of 16, he became the youngest Trans Am Series Champion and at 19-years-old Francis became the youngest TA class champion and the winningest driver in 50 years of the series, overtaking series Chief Steward Wally Dallenbach Jr., who won the title in 1985 at the age of 22.  This championship was the fourth of Francis’ Trans Am career, with three TA4 class championships already under his belt.  In 2018, Francis has already secured four podium finishes and two wins in just five races in the Trams Am Series. Francis made his first NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Road America in 2017 and is eager to get back to NASCAR to test his skills. Francis will pilot the No. 42 Pro-Systems Inc./NTI Toyota. He will join teammates Chase Cabre, Ryan Vargas and Ruben Garcia Jr., who most recently clinched his first NASCAR K&N Pro Series East victory at Memphis International Raceway. All Rev Racing drivers will return to action this Saturday at New Jersey Motorsports Park on June 16th for the JustDrive.com125 at 6:00 pm.

Rubén García Jr. Clinches First Win in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and United States

Concord, NC (June 4th, 2018) –Saturday at Memphis International Raceway, marked the first win for Rubén García Jr. in both the United States and the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. García Jr.  was the 2015 NASCAR PEAK Mexico Series Champion, a NASCAR NEXT alumni and currently a third year NASCAR Drive for Diversity Development Driver with Rev Racing. “The feeling is unbelievable. It has always been a dream of mine to come to the United States and win in NASCAR,” said Rubén García Jr.. “We have been close many times and just fell short of the win. This is the motivation we needed and I am ready to bring home my next win to Rev Racing and the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Driver Development Program.” From the Drive for Diversity Program’s start, Rev Racing has had 18 wins, 82 top-5, and 170 top 10 finishes in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, with drivers finishing in the top 10  in points in every season. García Jr’s. win will also mark the first win of the season for Rev Racing and becomes the first victory for a Mexican born driver since Daniel Suarez on February 18, 2014. Suarez was a three-time series race winner under the direction of Rev Racing. Proceeding García Jr. and Suarez was Ruben Pardo (2006) and Rogelio Lopez (2007). “We have a lot of pride in our accomplishments at Rev Racing,” said Jefferson Hodges, Rev Racing Director of Competition. “We have watched Ruben over the last several years and witnessed his talent and maturity level on the track heighten. He is such an ambassador for what this program stands for and we knew it was only a matter of time before he earned a victory in the United States.” Other NASCAR Drive for Diversity drivers, Chase Cabre and Ryan Vargas finished the Memphis  150 in fourth and seventh place. All Rev Racing Drivers are currently in the top 10 in points with Ryan Vargas in 5th, Rubén García Jr. in 6th and Chase Cabre in 8th. García Jr. will head to Mexico this Friday to compete in the Trióvalo Internacional de Cajititlán in Guadalajara, JA on June 10. All Rev Racing drivers, including Ernie Francis Jr. (four-time Trans Am Series Champion), will return back to action at New Jersey Motorsports Park on June 16 for the JUSTDRIVE.com 125. This will mark the first road course race of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East schedule.   ABOUT REV RACING: Headquartered in Concord, NC, Rev Racing, owned by Max Siegel, operates the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Program, which is the industry’s leading developmental program for ethnic minorities and women drivers and pit crew members. For more information about Rev Racing visit https://revracing.net or follow us on Twitter @RevRacin.

REV RACING, NASCAR DRIVE FOR DIVERSITY ANNOUNCE 2018 YOUTH DRIVER LINE-UP

Two additional drivers will join Rev Racing’s youth driver line-up as part of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Driver Development Program. Kaylee Bryson, 17, and Hayden Swank,16, will compete with previously announced Rev Racing youth drivers Isabella Robusto and Nick Sanchez. All four drivers will compete at the Bojangles’ Summer Shootout at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The youth program targets drivers age 12 to 17 to compete in the INEX Legend Cars and serves as an entry point to the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Driver Development Program. Selected youth drivers are year-long members of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity team roster. After several months of evaluation, youth drivers are chosen based on recommendation, historical success, and overall driving performance. “As it remains a goal of ours to focus on the growth and development of both our academy-style program and youth participants, we want to connect with these drivers as early as possible,” said Max Siegel, owner of Rev Racing. “The sooner we can start providing the proper guidance to these individuals, the more prepared they are to grow into different series.” Swank, a native of North Carolina and a resident of Woodstock, Ga., began his quarter midget racing career at the age of seven. Swank promptly won his first 10 races and spent four years racing quarter midgets before he graduated to Bandoleros, winning six of his first seven races. In 2014, he won the Bandit class at the Bandolero National Championship. Swank finished second in Thursday Thunder Outlaw points standings in 2015, which led him to be recognized with the David Ragan Award for the 2015 season. Bryson is an accomplished race car driver from Muskogee, Okla. Bryson started racing winged karts in 2010 when she was eight-years old. In her first two and a half years of racing winged karts, she accumulated 50 total wins. In June 2012, she made the transition to Restrictor Micro-Sprint Cars. She continued her winning ways 2013-2015, by winning a total of 16 races in Restrictor Micro-Sprint Car ranks. In 2016, Bryson ran two Restrictor Micro-Sprint Car races which resulted in two wins early in the season. She moved up to A-Class and Outlaw Micro-Sprint Cars and claimed multiple top-three, top-five, and top-10 finishes. She claimed the 2016 Port City Raceway A-Class Rookie of the Year and Points Championship honors. The 2017 race season brought two A Feature wins, including the Donnie Ray Crawford Memorial Championship and her first Outlaw Micro-Sprint A Feature win in Shawnee, Okla. Bryson also made her rookie start at The Chili Bowl Nationals in January. Robusto, 13, will join Rev Racing for her second season. Robusto earned one podium finish, two top-fives and eight top-10s in the 2017 Bojangles’ Summer Shootout. She took first place in Young Lions U.S. Legend Cars/INEX division at the sixth-annual Battle at the Big Top (BATBT) at Texas Motor Speedway in April. Robusto placed second in overall points, winning three poles in six races. She was the only female Legend car driver in attendance and became the first female to win a race in a Legend car at the BATBT, guarantying her a starting spot in the 2018 Asphalt Nationals at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 25-27. Sanchez, 16, is currently running full-time in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series with Rev Racing. Sanchez participated in the Youth Driver Development Program in 2017, earning five podium finishes, six top-fives and one win, garnering a fifth-place finish in the 2017 championship point standings. Sanchez’s Legend car performance ultimately earned him a chance to compete in the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Driver Development Combine and secure a season-long ride in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series with Rev Racing. Sanchez most recently came off his first top-10 finish at South Boston Speedway in the NASCAR Whelen All- American Series. “This program cultivates growth and seizes the opportunity for development in drivers at the earliest age possible,” said Jusan M. Hamilton, NASCAR senior manger of racing operations and event management. “Drivers who are successful and show promise are considered to compete for a chance at the next level of the program in the Late Model Series.” The 2018 Bojangles’ Summer Shootout will kick-off with a practice session on June 5. See http://legendsnation.com/2018/02/07/schedule-released-25th-anniversary-bojangles-summer-shootout/ for more details. About Rev Racing: Rev Racing seeks to obtain the highest quality applicants representing diverse backgrounds and develop them into successful NASCAR drivers. Started by Max Siegel in 2009, Rev Racing manages the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Driver Development Program. Rev Racing currently operates and manages drivers in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East, NASCAR Whelen All-American Series and a youth racing initiative.