(SALEM, Ind.) — When Justin Boston took the checkered flag to win the pole for Sunday’s Kentuckiana Ford Dealers 200 presented by Crosley Radio, crew chief Billy Venturini immediately started passing out high five’s and handshakes from his seat above the pit box for the 25 team.
“I think having him on the pit box elevates this team and our whole group,” Boston said while accepting the Menards Pole Award presented by Ansell. “I think it’s exactly what the ZLOOP team needs.”
Venturini, who won here in 2006 as a driver and has two wins as a crew chief at Salem, was excited for Boston.
“It is so important for Justin to sit on the pole here,” he said. “He’s such a raw race car driver. He is going to be really good. He is more impressive every time out.”
Boston won the pole in impressive fashion, nosing out Venturini Motorsports teammate Kyle Benjamin by .004 seconds. Anderson Bowen will start third, John Wes Townley fourth and Mason Mingus fifth.
“We’ve been neck and neck here,” Boston said of himself and Benjamin. “He edged me out at the test and I went and watched the video of that. After the qualifying lap he had, I didn’t know if I could top that.”
Benjamin thought he might have his first pole award after his qualifying lap.
“Now, I’m trying to figure out what I could have done to be a little bit faster,” the 15-year-old Benjamin said. “We’re always right there together, though. I’m happy for Venturini Motorsports to have the top two qualifiers.”
Townley – coming off a win in the season-opening ARCA Racing Series event, gives Venturini three of the top four spots.
Boston, who hails from Baltimore, Maryland, will make his first start at Salem on Sunday. His team worked on race set up in Saturday’s early practice, then switched to qualifying set up for the second practice and the team had the fastest time.
Mingus, who enters Sunday’s race as the co-point leader with Frank Kimmel, led the early practice session and nosed out Mobile International Speedway winner Grant Enfinger for fifth. Kimmel will start eighth, behind 15-year-old Kyle Weatherman, and in front of Travis Swaim and Will Kimmel.
Frank Kimmel has nine all-time wins at Salem, the winningest ARCA Racing Series driver at the historic .555-mile track. The series has been coming to Salem since 1955 and Sunday will be the 93rd ARCA Racing Series race at the track.
Billy Venturini wasn’t on the pit box for the first two races of the season, but is doing so this weekend at Salem.
“Salem has been good to me,” he said.