U.S. Air Force pilot and part-time ARCA platform competitor Ryan Roulette is entering a new frontier in 2023: team ownership.
Roulette, who competed in two events on the ARCA platform in 2022 around his U.S. Air Force duties, will field his own No. 22 Ford this season in the ARCA Menards Series West.
He’ll be in the field when the ARCA Menards Series and ARCA Menards Series West take over Phoenix Raceway for the running of the General Tire 150 on March 10.
“Toward the later part of the 2022 season, I was looking at my next move, and my choices were to run one or two more races last year with the funding, partnerships and inquiries that were coming in, or I could look to possibly go in a different direction and be able to fund a more significant season in 2023 if I owned everything,” Roulette said.
“What I did is I basically did the cost comparison analysis on ownership versus just being a driver over a span of a season, and what I found is ownership made a little more sense for what I was trying to do long-term.”
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The 36-year-old from Minot, North Dakota, plans to compete in as many ARCA Menards Series West events as he can in 2023 depending on his work schedule and funding. Chris Greaney will be Roulette’s crew chief, and Darel Pedersen will work as his spotter.
Roulette has already secured a partnership with a well-known organization, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), which will serve as one of Roulette’s anchor sponsors during the 2023 season.
“We’ve partnered up with the VFW for 2023. We’re really looking forward to (telling) both my story wrapped up with what they do and what they represent,” Roulette said. “Not only will be working with local VFW posts near the races I’ll be at, we’re also working together to bring awareness to the VFW Unmet Needs Program.
“Essentially it’s a program the VFW put together to address the help needed by America’s military families who have run into unexpected financial difficulties as a result of deployment or other military-related activity or injury.”
Additional information about the VFW Unmet Needs Program is available at www.vfw.org/assistance/financial-grants.
In addition to the VFW, Bellator Recruiting Academy is returning to support Roulette’s racing efforts in 2023. Bellator Recruiting Academy is a 501 c3 non-profit that helps transform the lives of military veterans by positioning them for careers in the recruiting industry.
“Bellator Recruiting Academy has been with me for many years now,” Roulette said. “They work with military veterans that are transitioning from the military to the civilian sector by providing them training and helping them with job placement as a recruiter. This training has led to many of the Bellator Recruiting Academy alumni to find placement in a multitude of Fortune 500 companies.”
The General Tire 150 at Phoenix Raceway will mark Roulette’s fourth ARCA platform start dating back to 2021 and his third at Phoenix. His other ARCA platform start came last year at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, where he finished 10th driving for Andy Hillenburg’s Fast Track Racing.
He’s hopeful to start off the 2023 campaign on a strong note at Phoenix.
“I’m very excited about it. It’s a new adventure which should lead to seeing a lot more me at the track this season,” Roulette said. “I’ve owned race cars for a very long time now, mainly sprint cars. Everything from a 305 to a 410 sprint car, wing, non-wing, so that’s not new to me. What is new to me is owning something at this high of a level.
“We’re looking forward to working as an organization to make my race craft better. By bringing the right people on board that have experience, we ultimately are seeking to grow the organization as a whole to hopefully continue to the next level. Those I brought on board for 2023 have the experience we were looking for, and not only know how to prepare for the West Series tracks, but also can help our organization grow.”