Bill Venturini

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Bill Venturini
BillVenturini2018Madison.jpg
Venturini in 2018
NationalityUnited States American
BornWilliam Venturini
(1953-02-14) February 14, 1953 (age 68)
Chicago, Illinois
Related toTony Venturini (father)
Billy Venturini (son)
Wendy Venturini (daughter)
ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series career
Debut season1982
Starts188
Wins12
Poles12
Best finish1st in 1987, 1991
Championship titles
1987, 1991ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series
NASCAR Cup Series career
7 races run over 3 years
Best finish45th (1990)
First race1989 Miller High Life 400 (Michigan)
Last race1991 Miller Genuine Draft 500 (Pocono)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
4 races run over 4 years
Best finish103rd (1985)
First race1982 Goody's 300 (Daytona)
Last race1985 Kroger 200 (IRP)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
2 races run over 2 years
Best finish78th (1995)
First race1995 GM Goodwrench / Delco Battery 200 (Phoenix)
Last race1996 Sears Auto Center 200 (Milwaukee)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
Statistics current as of April 14, 2020.

William Venturini (born February 14, 1953), nicknamed "Big Bill",[1] is a retired American professional stock car racing driver who currently co-owns Venturini Motorsports, a team that competes in the ARCA Menards Series which he founded. As a driver, he primarily competed in the same series from 1982 through 1996. Venturini has won two ARCA championships, which came in 1987 and 1991.

Career[]

Driving career[]

As a driver, "Big Bill" Venturini made his ARCA Series debut in 1982. In 1983, Venturini won his first ARCA race at Flat Rock Speedway and at the end of the season he became rookie of the year and finished runner-up to Bob Dotter.[2] Venturini backed up this performance by finishing runner-up in 1984 and 1985. After finishing third in 1986 Venturini won his first ARCA championship in 1987.[3] After finishing fourth in the 1988 season Venturini scaled down and only ran a part-time schedule in 1989 and 1990. Venturini won his second ARCA championship in 1991 after a consistent season. He finished third in 1992 and sixth in his last full-time season in 1994. Venturini made his last ARCA Racing Series start at the season finale at Atlanta in 1996. During his ARCA Racing Series career Venturini set the all-time qualifying records at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway.[3]

Venturini made thirteen NASCAR starts across all three national series. He made his Winston Cup Series debut at Michigan International Speedway in 1989. In his seven Cup Series starts, his best finish was eighteenth at the 1990 Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Venturini attempted to qualify for the Daytona 500 in 1990 and 1991 but failed to qualify on both occasions.

Team owner career[]

Venturini (on left in front of the car) celebrating a win by his driver Chandler Smith in 2018

Bill, his wife Cathy, and his son Billy, also a retired driver, are the co-owners of Venturini Motorsports,[1] a team which competes full-time with three cars in the ARCA Menards Series (Nos. 15, 20, 25) as well as one part-time car (the No. 55). They have competed in that series for decades to much success. In 2020, they began fielding teams in the ARCA Menards Series East (the No. 20 part-time and the No. 25 full-time) and West (one car part-time).

It has been a tradition since 2006 for "Big Bill" to kiss one of his drivers in victory lane if they win a race. The first time he did it was when Billy was still competing in ARCA as a driver and won an ARCA race at Salem that year, and they continued it in 2007 when the Venturini's turned their team into a driver development team.[4][5]

Personal life[]

Venturini was born in Chicago, Illinois, as the son of Tony Venturini, an amateur racing driver who began his stock car racing career at the historic Soldier Field, also in Chicago. His father competed against NASCAR drivers such as Tom Pistone and Fred Lorenzen. Venturini's wife Cathy was part of his pit crew during his championship winning season in 1987. His son Billy also became a racing driver and competed in the ARCA Racing Series from 1994 through 2007. His daughter Wendy currently works in NASCAR as a radio reporter for the Performance Racing Network and formerly on TV for Speed and Fox as well.[3]

Motorsports career results[]

NASCAR[]

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series[]

NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year Team 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 NWCC Pts Ref
1989 Venturini Motorsports 35 Chevy DAY CAR ATL RCH DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV SON POC MCH
37 		DAY POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR CLT NWS CAR PHO ATL 100th 52 [6]
1990 DAY
DNQ 		RCH CAR ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL
18 		CLT
DNQ 		DOV SON POC MCH
30 		DAY POC TAL
25 		GLN MCH
28 		BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT
DNQ 		CAR PHO ATL 45th 349 [7]
1991 DAY
DNQ 		RCH CAR ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV SON POC MCH
40 		DAY POC
39 		TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO ATL
DNQ 		74th 89 [8]
1992 DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL CLT DOV SON POC MCH
DNQ 		DAY POC TAL GLN MCH
DNQ 		BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR PHO ATL NA - [9]
1993 DAY CAR RCH ATL DAR BRI NWS MAR TAL SON CLT DOV POC MCH DAY
DNQ 		NHA POC TAL GLN MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT
DNQ 		CAR PHO ATL NA - [10]
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
DNQ 		NA - [11]
Daytona 500[]
Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
1990 Venturini Motorsports Chevrolet DNQ
1991 DNQ

Busch Series[]

NASCAR Busch Series results
Year Team 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 NBSC Pts Ref
1982 Venturini Motorsports 35 Buick DAY
13 		RCH BRI MAR DAR HCY SBO DOV CLT CAR SBO IRP BRI HCY RCH MAR CLT MAR 126th 124 [12]
1983 65 Pontiac DAY
24 		RCH CAR HCY MAR DOV BRI CLT SBO IRP BRI HCY DAR RCH SBO MAR CLT MAR 130th 91 [13]
1984 35 DAY RCH CAR HCY MAR DAR NSV MLW
11 		DOV CLT SBO IRP LGY SBO BRI DAR RCH CLT HCY CAR MAR 113th - [14]
1985 DAY CAR HCY BRI MAR DAR SBO DOV CLT HCY IRP
21 		SBO LGY HCY MLW BRI DAR RCH CLT CAR MAR 103rd - [15]
1995 36 Ford DAY CAR RCH ATL NSV DAR BRI HCY
DNQ 		NHA
DNQ 		NZH CLT
DNQ 		DOV MYB GLN MLW TAL SBO IRP MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV CLT CAR HOM NA - [16]

Craftsman Truck Series[]

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results
Year Team 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 NCTC Pts Ref
1995 Venturini Motorsports 35 Chevy PHO TUS SGS MMR I70 LVL BRI MLW CNS HPT IRP RCH MAR NWS
DNQ 		SON MMR PHO
34 		78th 116 [17]
1996 HOM PHO POR TUS CNS HPT BRI MLW
31 		LVL I70 IRP FLM GLN NSV RCH NHA MAR NWS MMR PHO LVS 119th 70 [18]

ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series[]

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series results
Year Team 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 ABSC Pts Ref
35 Buick NSV DAY
22 		FRS NSV TAT NA 0 [19]
Venturini Motorsports 25 Buick MIL
3
35 Pontiac DAY
7 		NSV
2
8
3*
6
13 		IRP
5
2 		FRS
1*
6
13
4
14
9
1 		FRS
2 		MIL
2 		DSF
8
6 		SND
3 		2nd 3075 [20]
DAY
20
6
4
27 		2nd 2425 [21]
Chevy
17
4
1*
11
3
20
1* 		ISF
6 		DSF
14
3
2

10 		DAY
38
6
4 		ATL
25
1*
5
4
6
4 		ISF
4 		DSF
7 		TOL
12 		2nd 2585 [22]
Pontiac
21
25 Chevy ATL
15 		DAY
19 		ATL
1 		TAL
9
18
20
12
4
4
4* 		BLN
2
22 		DSF
18 		TOL
19
10
2 		3rd 2385 [23]
DAY
2
5
33
1*
22 		TOL
1
1
6
14
7* 		TAL
3
3 		ISF
14
5 		DSF
10
2
1 		1st 4245 [24]
DAY
5
3 		TAL
39
8
10
5
3
12
6
14
7
5
2
6
3 		ISF
30 		DSF
37
17
23 		4th 3740 [25]
DAY
39
19
4
25 		TAL ISF TOL DSF NA 0 [26]
DAY
2
17
8 		TOL
18 		TAL TOL
4 		DSF
4 		16th 1605 [27]
35 MCH
5 		ISF
3
DAY
16 		1st 5085 [28]
25 ATL
29
19
2 		TOL
6
12
7 		MCH
12
7
7
3
5 		TAL
3
16 		MCH
6 		ISF
9 		TOL
11 		DSF
4
1
3
DAY
3
6
28
4 		TOL
15
1
6 		MCH
5
8
6
25
5
6
20
3 		ISF
22
6 		DSF
15
29
18
18 		3rd 5265 [29]
DAY
30
30
12 		TOL
14 		MCH
4
5 		KIL ISF DSF TOL NA 0 [30]
Bill Egbert
35
DAY
20
5
8
10
7 		TOL
20
14
26
35
6
29 		KIL
15
5
27
21 		ISF
9 		DSF
16
13
12
11
26 		6th 4515 [31]
Venturini Motorsports DAY
41 		ATL
15
28 		KIL DSF NA 0 [32]
DAY MCH DSF
17 		NA 0 [33]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Venturini Motorsports: Team". Venturini Motorsports. Digital Momentum. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  2. ^ "ARCA Menards Series". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "Venturini Motorsports – History". venturinimotorsports.com. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  4. ^ Blount, Rob (June 21, 2015). "Father, Son Turn Venturini Motorsports Into ARCA Gold". Speed51.com. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  5. ^ Radebaugh, Don (September 16, 2017). "Who wants a kiss from "Big Bill"?... you'd be surprised". ARCARacing.com. Archived from the original on December 14, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  6. ^ "Bill Venturini – 1989 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  7. ^ "Bill Venturini – 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  8. ^ "Bill Venturini – 1991 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  9. ^ "Bill Venturini – 1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  10. ^ "Bill Venturini – 1993 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  11. ^ "Bill Venturini – 1994 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  12. ^ "Bill Venturini – 1982 NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  13. ^ "Bill Venturini – 1983 NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  14. ^ "Bill Venturini – 1984 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  15. ^ "Bill Venturini – 1985 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  16. ^ "Bill Venturini – 1995 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  17. ^ "Bill Venturini – 1995 NASCAR SuperTruck Series by Craftsman Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  18. ^ "Bill Venturini – 1996 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  19. ^ "Bill Venturini – 1982 ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  20. ^ "Bill Venturini – 1983 ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  21. ^ "Bill Venturini – 1984 ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  22. ^ "Bill Venturini – 1985 ARCA Talladega SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  23. ^ "Bill Venturini – 1986 ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  24. ^ "Bill Venturini – 1987 ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  25. ^ "Bill Venturini – 1988 ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  26. ^ "Bill Venturini – 1989 ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  27. ^ "Bill Venturini – 1990 ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  28. ^ "Bill Venturini – 1991 ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  29. ^ "Bill Venturini – 1992 ARCA SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  30. ^ "Bill Venturini – 1993 ARCA Hooters SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  31. ^ "Bill Venturini – 1994 ARCA Hooters SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  32. ^ "Bill Venturini – 1995 ARCA Hooters SuperCar Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  33. ^ "Bill Venturini – 1996 ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved April 13, 2020.

External links[]

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