Venturini Motorsports Announces Sale To Nitro Motorsports

Billy Venturini (center) is selling Venturini Motorsports to Nitro Motorsports owner Nick Tucker (left). (Jacob Seelman/Race Face Digital photo)

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. – On the same property where his team earned a win that catapulted it into national prominence, Billy Venturini confirmed Friday that this year will mark Venturini Motorsports’ final chapter in the ARCA Menards Series.

Revealing the news at Rockingham Speedway – site of a 2008 ARCA win by Joey Logano that ultimately cemented the organization’s status as a driver development partner with Toyota – Venturini explained that his team will be sold at the conclusion of the season.

Venturini Motorsports’ assets will be purchased by Nitro Motorsports, which debuted in February at legendary Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway with drivers Thad Moffitt and Amber Balcaen and is racing full time in ARCA this season with technical support from the Venturini family.

In addition to ARCA, Nitro Motorsports also houses a national go-karting program, a Trans-Am Series team, and a Toyota GR Cup North America program.

“Nitro Motorsports foundation has been built on driver development; a pillar of what Venturini Motorsports has been known for and curated. My partner Joe (Tovo) and I understand the responsibility to carry on that legacy and the history that the Venturini family has poured their life’s work into and build on that for many years to come with Toyota GAZOO Racing,” said Nitro Motorsports founder Nick Tucker. “With the acquisition of Venturini Motorsports, Nitro becomes the most vertically integrated driver development program in the world, starting with our premier cadet go-karting program (Nitro Kart) as the ground floor with progression to cars in Toyota GR Cup, Trans-Am, and now ARCA.

“Billy and I are cut from the same cloth of being born into the sport with a racing family, working up through the ranks at all levels, and seeing how to build a driver with an intimate view that very few have,” Tucker continued. “I want to thank Toyota for believing in my vision to carry forward their goals and Billy for the forethought to bring us in to carry forward the torch.”

Since debuting in 1982, Venturini Motorsports has earned a record 107 victories across ARCA’s national and regional racing platforms, as well as four ARCA national driving championships (1987, ’91, 2019, ’23) and a regional ARCA Menards Series West title in 2023 with Sean Hingorani.

It’s been an institution – the most tenured team in ARCA’s more than 70-year history – but that sterling run will come to an end following the Oct. 4 national season finale at Toledo (Ohio) Speedway.

“I want to thank my wife, my parents, my team, Jack Irving, Tyler Gibbs, and Ron Drager. Each of them is what has made this journey so very special,” said Billy Venturini. “The last 20 years [as owner and team general manager] have been very rewarding, but also incredibly demanding. I love what this sport has given to me, but in return I gave it everything I had. The time has come to be able to prioritize other things ahead of racing. As a racer, nothing comes before the sport. I understood, I believed, and lived by that, but it’s now time to prepare for my departure.

“I knew that the person who was to take this team over when the time came needed to be someone who carried that same passion and intensity that I did. Nick is that guy,” Venturini added. “Nick seems like the perfect fit to continue this program for the team and for Toyota with the same devotion to driver development as I have.”

Among Venturini Motorsports’ many highlights as a team are seven ARCA wins at Daytona, including five straight from 2018-’22; the first ARCA championship with an all-female pit crew (1987); and a dual driver-owner title sweep in 2023 with Jesse Love behind the wheel.

Ninety-seven of its 106 victories have come on ARCA’s national touring platform, which dates back to 1953 and moved under the NASCAR umbrella at the start of the 2020 season.

But of all those trophies and hallmark moments, Venturini said Friday that the pivotal day in the team’s history was May 4, 2008, when Logano led 257 of 312 laps at Rockingham en route to a victory that put his organization on the path to becoming ARCA’s premier driver development program.

“This race in 2008 was what put us over the top, with having Joey behind the wheel,” Venturini recalled. “We had the opportunity to work with him … such a special opportunity, and we came down here and did something pretty amazing that day by winning the way we did.

“That race put us on the map and it’s full circle to come back here and announce this news now.”

As an official partner of Toyota Gazoo Racing, Venturini Motorsports has played a key role in the development of numerous top NASCAR national series drivers, including Joey Logano, Christopher Bell, William Byron, Alex Bowman, Love, Corey Heim and Eckes.

“Billy Venturini and the entire Venturini Motorsports organization have been incredible partners for TRD. Over the years, we’ve shared countless wins and developed some of the sport’s brightest talents together,” said Jack Irving, general manager of Toyota Racing Development. “What makes the relationship special is not just the success on the track, but the trust, integrity, and friendship that define how we work together.

“Billy’s passion for racing and commitment to driver development truly embody what we value at TRD.”

ARCA Menards Series president Ron Drager also nodded to the Venturini family’s lengthy ARCA history.

“The Venturini family has built a racing legacy synonymous with the success in the ARCA Menards Series for over 40 years, beginning with Bill and Cathy Venturini’s championship in 1987,” said Drager. “Over the past 20-plus years, Billy Venturini has taken the business to a new level, winning races and championships, establishing and growing the team’s partnership with Toyota and creating and expanding its highly respected driver development initiative.

“From an ARCA perspective, we’re proud that Venturini Motorsports chose to make a home here, and we applaud them on their tremendous success.”

Billy Venturini will remain active in the garage as general manager of Nitro Motorsports’ ARCA program for the upcoming 2026 season.