Venturini Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing team that competed in the ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East, and ARCA Menards Series West. Founded in 1982 by Bill Venturini Sr., Venturini Motorsports was the longest continually operated ARCA racing team in the United States. The team was based in Concord, North Carolina.
The team announced on April 18, 2025 that they will shut down their operations, transferring the ownership to Nitro Motorsports beginning on October 15.
History Venturini Motorsports was formed by Bill Venturini Sr., a former NASCAR driver, two-time ARCA Racing Series Champion (1987 and 1991), and 1983 ARCA Rookie of the Year. Largely influenced by his father Tony Venturini, Bill founded the racing team in 1982. The team is family-owned and operated, with various members of the Venturini family holding positions on the team, including CEO, CFO, General Manager, and Director of Marketing and Public Relations. In 2007, Bill's son Billy helped found the Venturini Driver Development Program, one of the largest such programs for ARCA drivers in the United States.
On April 18, 2025, it was announced that the team would be sold to Nitro Motorsports after the 2025 season. The transfer date would be October 15.
Cup Series Bill Venturini drove the No. 35 Chevrolet with Rain-X as a sponsor to make its Winston Cup debut at Michigan in 1989, where he started 38th and finished 37th. Between 1982 and 1995, the team had made select starts in the Winston Cup Series, Busch Series, and Craftsman Truck Series with Bill Venturini behind the wheel.
Car No. 35 results NASCAR Winston Cup Series results Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Pts Ref 1989 Bill Venturini 35 Chevy DAY CAR ATL RCH DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV SON POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT NWS CAR PHO ATL 100th 52 1990 DAY RCH CAR ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV SON POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO ATL 45th 349 1991 DAY RCH CAR ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV SON POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO ATL 74th 89 1992 DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV SON POC MCH DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO ATL NA - 1993 DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL SON CLT DOV POC MCH DAY NHA POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO ATL NA - 1994 DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL SON CLT DOV POC MCH DAY NHA POC TAL IND GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO ATL NA -
Daytona 500 Year Driver Manufacturer Start Finish 1990 Bill Venturini Chevrolet DNQ 1991 DNQ
Xfinity Series
Car No. 35 results NASCAR Busch Series results Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Pts Ref 1982 Bill Venturini 35 Buick DAY RCH BRI MAR DAR HCY SBO CRW RCH LGY DOV HCY CLT ASH HCY SBO CAR CRW SBO HCY LGY IRP BRI HCY RCH MAR CLT HCY MAR 126th 124 1983 65 Pontiac DAY RCH CAR HCY MAR NWS SBO GPS LGY DOV BRI CLT SBO HCY ROU SBO ROU CRW ROU SBO HCY LGY IRP GPS BRI HCY DAR RCH NWS SBO MAR ROU CLT HCY MAR 130th 91 1984 35 DAY RCH CAR HCY MAR DAR ROU NSV LGY MLW DOV CLT SBO HCY ROU SBO ROU HCY IRP LGY SBO BRI DAR RCH NWS CLT HCY CAR MAR 113th - 1985 DAY CAR HCY BRI MAR DAR SBO LGY DOV CLT SBO HCY ROU IRP SBO LGY HCY MLW BRI DAR RCH NWS ROU CLT HCY CAR MAR 103rd -
Car No. 25 history In 2013, the team made its return to the Nationwide Series with driver John Wes Townley and sponsor Zaxby's on the 25 Toyota Camry. The team planned to run at Bristol, Charlotte, and Talladega with the possibility of up to eight more races. Townley finished 17th in his debut at Bristol, crashed at Charlotte, and failed to qualify at Talladega.
Car No. 25 results NASCAR Xfinity Series results Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Pts Ref 2013 John Wes Townley 25 Toyota DAY PHO LVS BRI17 CAL TEX RCH TALDNQ DAR CLT35 DOV IOW MCH ROA KEN DAY NHA CHI IND IOW GLN MOH BRI ATL RCH CHI KEN DOV KAN CHA TEX PHO HOM 114th 01
Craftsman Truck Series
Bill Venturini attempted three races in the No. 35 between 1995 and 1996, qualifying for two of them. It was announced in August 2014 that Venturini would return to the Camping World Truck Series on a part-time basis for the starting at Bristol with ARCA driver Justin Boston and his sponsor Zloop. Team owner Billy Venturini himself would serve as Boston's crew chief. Boston qualified 27th and finished 30th after a crash. The team planned to run the final three races of the season in preparation for a full-time effort in 2015, but those plans were scrapped when sponsor Zloop shifted their focus to the next season.
Boston and Zloop would move to Kyle Busch Motorsports for 2015. In addition, Venturini would field the No. 25 truck in select races for KBM driver Matt Tifft, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Cody Coughlin, and Venturini road course specialist Brian Wong. The team has not made any scheduled races in 2016.
Car No. 35 results NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Pts Ref 1995 Bill Venturini 35 Chevy PHO TUS SGS MMR POR EVG I70 LVL BRI MLW CNS HPT IRP FLM RCH MAR NWS SON MMR PHO 78th 116 1996 HOM PHO POR EVG TUS CNS HPT BRI NZH MLW LVL I70 IRP FLM GLN NSV RCH NHA MAR NWS SON MMR PHO LVS 119th 70
Car No. 25 results NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results Year Driver No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Pts Ref 2014 Justin Boston 25 Toyota DAY MAR KAN CLT DOV TEX GTW KEN IOW ELD POC MCH BRI MSP CHI NHA LVS TAL MAR TEX PHO HOM 82nd 142015 Matt Tifft DAY19 ATL MAR9 KAN29CLTDOVTEXGTWIOWKENELDPOCMCHBRI 36th 107 Brian Wong MSP12 CHI NHA LVS TAL MAR TEX PHO HOM
ARCA Menards Series Venturini Motorsports competed in the ARCA Menards Series. Various NASCAR Cup Series drivers, including Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, William Byron, Erik Jones and Daniel Suárez, were former drivers for Venturini Motorsports.
Car No. 8 history Marc Davis (2008) Marc Davis drove the No. 8 in one race in 2008.
Car No. 14 history Tom Berte (2008) Tom Berte drove a No. 14 for one race in 2008.
Car No. 15 history Multiple Drivers (2008) The No. 15 drove in six races in 2008, all with different drivers, including the 2018, 2022and 2024 NASCAR Cup Series champion, Joey Logano. Multiple Drivers (2010-2018) Venturini entered the No. 15 for eighteen races in 2010 and sixteen races in 2011. Ryan Reed drove fourteen of the nineteen races from the No. 15 in 2012. Kyle Benjamin and John Wes Townley drove eleven of the twenty-one races in 2013 for the No. 15. Townley would end up driving fifteen of the twenty races in the No. 15 in 2014. Only eight races in 2015 entered the No. 15. Daniel Suárez and even the legendary Frank Kimmel drove it. Sixteen races entered the No. 15 in 2016. For 2017, soon-to-be the 2019 series champion, Christian Eckes drove the No. 15 with other drivers. 2018 had twenty races run. Christian Eckes (2019)
Eckes drove the No. 15 car to a championship in 2019. He became the first driver since Tim Steele in 1997 to win a championship while missing a race because Harrison Burton raced one race in the No. 15 while Eckes drove the other nineteen. Drew Dollar (2020) After Eckes was promoted to the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series in 2020, Drew Dollar was promoted from the West Series to the ARCA Menards Series in 2020, finishing third and fourteenth in the first two races before the 2019-20 coronavirus pandemic stopped NASCAR from being public. Though he won at Talladega and finished fourth in points, he left to drive part-time in the Truck Series and part-time here.
Multiple Drivers (2021-2023)
Drew Dollar is slated to run 11 national series raced in 2021. Gracie Trotter was promoted from the ARCA West Series to the ARCA Menards Series on a part-time schedule for 5 races.
In 2022, Parker Chase, Gus Dean, Jonathan Shafer, and Landon Pembelton will split the seat time.
In 2023, Sean Hingorani competed in eight races with the rest of the schedule split between numerous drivers such as Kris Wright, Toni Breidinger, and Amber Balcaen.
Kris Wright (2024) For the 2024 season, Kris Wright signed on to pilot the No. 15 for the entire season. Wright would go on to have a solid season, finishing third in the points standings with eight Top 5s and twelve Top 10s.
Multiple Drivers (2025)
The No. 15 was shared by multiple drivers for 2025.
Car No. 20 history Multiple Drivers (2017–2020) Zane Smith and Tom Berte both drove the No. 20 in three races with Smith driving two and Berte one. Drivers such as Leilani Münter and Chandler Smith drove the No. 20 in 2018. Five drivers shared the No. 20 in 2019. Ryan Repko and Chandler Smith shared the No. 20 in 2020.
Corey Heim (2021)
Corey Heim drove the 20 full-time in 2021. Corey won the Lucas Oil 200 (ARCA) that year. Heim would go on to win six races and finish second in the points standings.
Jesse Love (2022-2023)
Jesse Love ran the No. 20 in 14 races in 2022, excluding 6 events which Corey Heim ran. Love returned to pilot the No. 20 full time in 2023, as he had turned 18 before the season began. Love finished 7th in the season opener at Daytona. He had led 38 laps in the second race at Phoenix before he crashed and ended up 27th. Love bounced back winning the next three races at Talladega, Kansas and Charlotte. Love would go on to dominate the season, winning 10 races and the championship.
Multiple Drivers (2024)
The No. 20 was shared by multiple drivers for 2024.
Multiple Drivers (2025)
On January 5th, 2025, it was announced that Lawless Alan would drive the No. 20 full-time in 2025, but that would be down to part-time, as Leland Honeyman would drive the No. 20 for the final few races.
Car No. 22 History
Amber Balcaen (2024) On January 9, 2024, Balcaen was announced to be joining VMS full-time, piloting the No. 22. Balcaen would finish sixth in the points standings with seven Top 10s.
Car No. 25 history Multiple Drivers (2008) Sixteen races were run by five different drivers in 2008. Mikey Kile (2010) Mikey Kile moved from running a limited basis in Brad Keselowski Racing in 2009 to drive the No. 25 in 2010 full-time winning a race at Michigan and finishing fifth in points. Multiple Drivers (2011) Ten drivers drove in the No. 25 in 2011. Brennan Poole (2012)
Poole would drive the No. 25 in 2012 full-time earning fifteen top tens, three poles, and two wins back-to-back at Elko Speedway and Pocono Raceway to finish third in points before being forced to race part-time for the next two years due to a lack of funding, he would serve as a crew chief, spotter, consultant, and engineer for the team in that time. Justin Boston (2013-2014)
To replace Poole, Venturini got Justin Boston to race the No. 25 in 2013, with his sponsor, Zloop. His highest finish was second at Madison Speedway. That was one of his eight top-fives that season. He ended up getting the Rookie Of The Year honors and finished third in the standings behind Mason Mingus and Frank Kimmel. He drove the No. 25 again in 2014. Although he got two wins at Toledo and Madison, he finished fifth in points for 2014. He left the No. 25 in 2015 to drive two more races in ARCA in Venturini's No. 55. Frank Kimmel And Brandon Jones (2015) Both drivers drove ten races in 2015, with Kimmel finishing thirteenth in points to Jones finishing fifteenth. Kimmel's highest finish was second at Michigan and Jones’ highest finish was also second but at Mobile. Tom Hessert (2016) After Jones and Kimmel left, Tom Hessert was picked up to drive the No. 25 for 2016. He won one race at DeQuoin and ended up finishing second in points to Hessert's replacement at Cunningham Motorsports, Chase Briscoe. Multiple Drivers (2017)