Gavan Boschele
Gavan Boschele (center) makes his ARCA Menards Series debut this Saturday at Berlin Raceway. (Photo: Ted Malinowski)

Gavan Boschele amped up for his ARCA Menards Series debut at Berlin Raceway

www.arcaracing.com June 27, 2024

Gavan Boschele will take the next step in his racing career when he makes his ARCA Menards Series debut Saturday night at Berlin Raceway (8 p.m. ET on FloRacing / 10 p.m. ET delayed on FS1).

Boschele, 16, will make his debut during the Berlin ARCA 200 aboard the No. 55 Venturini Motorsports Toyota. It’s the first of what Boschele hopes will be many ARCA starts in the coming years.

“All the folks at Toyota have given me a shot to race this year,” Boschele said. “I’m pretty stoked. I’ve been on the sim preparing.”

The road to ARCA for Boschele started in 2012 at the age of 4, when he made his racing debut in an Outlaw Kart at North Carolina’s Millbridge Speedway.

He became a consistent figure at Millbridge over the proceeding decade, competing in practically every division featured at the sixth-mile dirt oval. He also honed his skills racing Quarter Midgets and Karts on asphalt tracks across the Southeast.

As Boschele gained experience, championships and victories followed. Perhaps his biggest victory to date came in the Stock Non-Wing division during the 2023 Tulsa Shootout, the annual precursor to the Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

He’s also scored marquee victories in the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series and the POWRi National Midget League.

“I was obviously a dirt kid,” Boschele said. “I think the dirt stuff helps you know where your limit is, because you’re always driving on the limit in the dirt stuff. Throttle control, using brake, everything happens so quick in the dirt stuff.

“I think it transfers over (to asphalt). In the stock car, everything kind of slows down a little bit.”

More recently, Boschele has made the transition from dirt to asphalt. He made his Late Model debut during the 2022 season and has made asphalt racing his primary focus the last few seasons.

In fact, as part of his preparations for Saturday’s Berlin ARCA 200, Boschele recently competed in the Money in the Bank 150 Super Late Model race at Berlin on June 12, finishing fourth in a field that featured NASCAR Cup Series drivers Erik Jones and Carson Hocevar.

RELATED: Get your tickets to Saturday’s Berlin ARCA 200

“(Berlin) is really neat. It’s super, super hard. It’s a technical track with multiple lines. You’re always turning,” Boschele said. “It’s kind of my style track. You can really use your footwork on the brake and the gas. You can kind of manipulate the car and put it where you want. You can just do a lot of different things.

“I think it’s going to be fun. At 200 laps, it’s going to be a long race. The track changes a lot, so it’s going to be a lot about time management.”

Boschele isn’t sure when his next ARCA event will be after Saturday’s Berlin ARCA 200. At 16 years old, he’s limited to competing on short tracks and road courses until he turns 18.

The hope is that Boschele will be able to use Saturday’s race to help prepare him for a broader ARCA schedule in 2025, though nothing is set in stone.

A win in Saturday’s Berlin ARCA 200 would certainly be a great way lay the foundation for his 2025 plans.

“Obviously I want to win; that’s the best day,” Boschele said. “I think if I finish inside the top three or top four, I think that would be a solid day. Try to keep my nose clean, learn as much as I can, log all the laps and learn for all of my future races.

“I’d love to win, but you’ve got to take it one step at a time.”