Rob Bunker - ARCA

Rob Bunker will contest six ARCA RE/MAX Series races this season, driving
the No. 4 Dodge Motorsports Dodge Charger for Cunningham Motorsports.
Bunker, of Bridgewater, N.J., completed a successful test for the team in
February and will follow with a three-track test this month. He will enter
the series races at Salem (Ind.), Winchester (Ind.), Toledo (Ohio), (Sparta)
Kentucky, Pocono (Long Pond, Pa.) and Chicagoland (Joliet, Ill.) speedways.

 

A versatile driver, Bunker started his auto-racing career in formula cars,
competing in the Formula BMW USA and Star Mazda championships. The ARCA
series will be his first in a stock car, but he has adapted quickly to the
higher horsepower and heavier chassis.

 

"As a race-car driver, all you want to do is race. It doesn't matter what it
is – it can have two wheels, four wheels or six wheels. It can be 5000
pounds or a hundred pounds," he noted.

 

"The physical demands aren't quite the same as they were in formula cars.
Experiencing all that extra heat inside the [ARCA] car is the biggest
difference. Making sure I'm comfortable with being hot is a big thing. I'm
doing my best to make sure I'm in tip-top shape whatever form of motorsports
I do."

 

Racing different cars and setups for different teams in different series,
Bunker has acquired the crucial skill of engineering feedback, which has
already been a bonus in setting up his Cunningham Dodge.

 

"We were really impressed with how quickly Rob adapted to the heavy stock
car. Rob was able to give great feedback as to what the car was doing and
was able to relay info by breaking the track down into sections. His
experience working with engineers and his driving coach was a big help in
giving us the info we needed to make the car better," Cunningham general
manager Mark Gibson noted. "Rob is a young, talented driver with the drive
and desire to make it in big-league stock-car racing."

 

Any driver feels the pressure of a new environment, but Bunker is ready:

 

"I tell myself, 'Robert, you've started plenty of races, you've been on
ovals before in other cars, so this isn't going to be that big a step for
you.' I'm used to the horsepower now, I've gone out and proven that I can
drive the car, I can drive it fast, drive the limit. A test day or two with
other cars on the track, just to make sure I'm comfortable with drafting,
will be beneficial," he said.

 

"I'm happy to run with Cunningham Motorsports this year. They're a great
team. We've already started to make a good connection and I'm definitely
looking forward to working with them. The learning curve is indeed pretty
steep, but I know that I'm up for the challenge and I think that, given the
skills that I've shown I have, we should have a pretty fun time charging our
way to the front."

 

– robbunker.com – 

 
Sylvia Proudfoot
HYPERLINK "mailto:sylvia@spurcom.ca"sylvia@spurcom.ca
403 287 3945