(CONCORD, N.C. - August 9, 2012) - Championship contender Brennan Poole has made a late summer surge over the last few weeks, reclaiming the top spot in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards point standings.

Entering a stretch of five short track events starting at Berlin Raceway in Marne, Mich. this Saturday, Poole is focused on the task at hand with a 15-point lead over Chris Buescher. With a short track victory already earlier in the year at Elko Speedway, Poole is confident with his ability and heavily relying on the strength of his No. 25 Venturini Motorsports team to help him continue his winning ways.

“Getting back into the short track groove is gonna be exciting for me," he said. "The majority of my racing the last few years has been on tracks less than a mile so this is definitely where I’m most comfortable. As a rookie, I’m still learning each and every week so I’ll focus one track and one lap at a time.

“We’ve had a lot of team success this year and I expect more of the same in the coming weeks. It’s reassuring to know I’m surrounded by a group of people with similar goals with the experience to help me get around these tracks fast.”

Leading all series drivers in laps led and holding the top spot in the Team Messina Rookie Challenge, Poole has kicked into high gear, adding to his impressive season totals with two runner-up finishes and one fourth-place finish in his last three races. In all, Poole has earned three Menards Pole Awards, two victories, seven top-fives, and 11 top-10 finishes in 14 ARCA events this year.

The Berlin ARCA 200 presented by Hantz Group will start at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, with live timing and scoring and live audio coverage available at ARCARacing.com.

Practice for the 200-lap race will take place that afternoon from 2-2:45 and 3:15-4, with Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell following at 5. ARCA Racing Series drivers will participate in an autograph session - open to all fans - at 6:15. The race will be the 15th of 20 this season.

From Team Release