Mike Affarano Motorsports

Mike Affarano Motorsports is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, fielding the No. 03 Chevrolet Silverado for Tim Viens, and previously with Jake Griffin, John Provenzano, and team owner Mike Affarano. The team has also competed in the ARCA Menards Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series in the past. They also field a Pro Cup Series team for Emily Cook[1] and in go-karts with Affarano's twin sons Kyle and Zach.[2][3]

Mike Affarano Motorsports
Owner(s)Mike Affarano
SeriesNASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series
ARCA Menards Series
Race drivers03. Tim Viens, Mike Affarano
Sponsors
03. Air One HVAC, TBA
ManufacturerChevrolet
Opened2012 (ARCA)
2014 (Truck)
Career
DebutARCA Menards Series:
2012 International Motorsports Hall of Fame 200 (Talladega)
NASCAR Truck Series:
2014 1-800-CarCash Mudsummer Classic (Eldora)

History

After making his first attempt in ARCA in 2012 at the season opener at Daytona driving the No. 59 for Mark Gibson (which was a DNQ), Affarano began fielding his own team in the series starting at Talladega. In his first race as an owner-driver, he immediately became known for his infamous crash in that race where his No. 83 flipped on lap 76 of the race in arguably one of the most dangerous crashes in ARCA history. Since the car landed on its roof, a safety truck had to flip it back on its wheels. Affarano proceeded to climb out of his car with the help of safety personnel at the scene.[4]

Affarano drove in four more races that year, two for his own team (and the other two driving the No. 18 for Fast Track Racing).

The team's first truck start came at Eldora in 2014, with Affarano himself driving. The team used the No. 03 and was a Chevrolet. Affarano made the field by qualifying via his finish in his heat race. However, he ended up finishing last in the race itself. He made three more starts that year at Chicago, Bristol (which was a DNQ), and Talladega.

On January 28, 2015, it was announced that the team would expand into the NASCAR Xfinity Series for the first time, with Johanna Long, who was without a ride in 2014, joining Affarano's team to drive the No. 03 Chevrolet Camaro.[5] However, the team had to cancel their plans of running Daytona due to lack of sponsorship, which continued for months. By spring, the team was finally able to attempt a race, Richmond, which turned out to be their one and only attempt of the season. Long and the team did not qualify. It was confirmed on May 21 that Long had left the team. She would eventually join Obaika Racing.

On the truck side, Affarano returned in 2015, again for a part-time schedule. Affarano himself drove at Kansas, Texas, Gateway, and Iowa. He also withdrew from two other races that year at Dover and Kentucky. He did enter his truck at Eldora for the second year in a row, but this time, it was with Jake Griffin driving. It was the first time he had someone other than himself driving his truck. After that, Tim Viens attempted Pocono and Michigan for the team, but failed to qualify for both races. Additionally, Viens and Affarano withdrew from the race at Chicago, Affarano's home track.

Affarano and his No. 03 team did not attempt any races in 2016, but they did attempt to come back in 2017 at Talladega. They were initially on the entry list, but the team withdrew after they could not get the truck ready and updated in time, according to a post on the team's Facebook page.

In 2018, the team tried to attempt Chicago with Affarano driving, but they withdrew. However, they were able to make it to another race that year, Eldora, with dirt driver John Provenzano attempting to qualify[6] but failing to do so.

It was announced on July 2, 2019, that Jake Griffin would return to the team for Eldora,[7] which again ended up being the team's only attempt that year. Griffin qualified for the race and finished 26th.

On February 13, 2020, the team was unable to make the Daytona race after its truck and trailer skidded off the road on its way to the track.[8] After failing to qualify for Charlotte and Atlanta, Mike Affarano Motorsports and Tim Viens were supposed to run at Homestead-Miami but the truck failed pre-race inspection and NASCAR forced them to withdraw since the repairs could not be made at the track. The truck failed inspection because the seat was mounted too low, and they couldn't fix it due to where the railing was installed. The truck also had the incorrect splitter, but with no way to fix the seat there was no point in trying to buy a new one.[9] After that incident, Viens and Mike Affarano Motorsports parted ways.

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References
  1. "Emily Cook". Mike Affarano Motorsports. RaceFaceBrandDevelopment. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  2. "Kyle Affarano". Mike Affarano Motorsports. RaceFaceBrandDevelopment. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  3. "Zach Affarano". Mike Affarano Motorsports. RaceFaceBrandDevelopment. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  4. "Affarano's Generosity Shines in Wake of Crash". ARCARacing.com. May 18, 2012. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  5. "Mike Affarano Motorsports Teams Up With Johanna Long". JohannaLong.com. January 28, 2015. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  6. Baranek, Tony (July 14, 2018). "Li'l John's big break: Former Santa Fe champion Li'l John Provenzano ready for first NASCAR Truck Series challenge". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  7. "Jake Griffin to return to Eldora with Affarano Motorsports". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. July 2, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
  8. "Affarano team caught up in winter weather en route to Daytona UPDATE". Jayski's Silly Season Site. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. February 13, 2020. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  9. Christie, Toby. "Tim Viens, Race Fans For Trump Cutting Ties With Affarano Motorsports After Frustration at Homestead". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
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