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ARCA: Duno Solid In First Stock-Car Test
Milka Duno got her first test of a stock-car at Daytona last weekend...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted December 22, 2009   Charlotte, NC
Venezuelan driver Milka Duno was the fastest rookie in Saturday's ARCA test session at Daytona International Speedway. (Photo: LAT Photographic)
Milka Duno is best-known to American race fans for the infamous video of her squabble with Danica Patrick at Mid-Ohio in 2008 and her results in IndyCars have been modest, at best. But Duno acquitted herself admirably last weekend at Daytona International Speedway in her first stock-car test.

Duno, a native of Venezuela, piloted one of car owner Todd Braun’s Toyota Camry at Daytona as part of a three-day open-test conducted by the ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards.

And the boss said he liked what he saw. “Milka’s put on an excellent performance this weekend at Daytona,” said Braun, who will field four full-time NASCAR Nationwide Series teams in 2010. “She demonstrated her ability to transition from driving an open-wheel car to a stock car and shows a lot of promise.”

Duno, who had never driven a stock car before, was 13th fastest of the 63 drivers who set times at Daytona on Saturday. Of those 63 drivers, 10 were women, and Duno came home second in class behind the talented young Alli Owens and ahead of former IndyCar nemesis Patrick. Duno was also the fastest rookie in the session.

Of the 10 women participating in the ARCA Racing Series test, which included Danica Patrick – Milka was the second fastest at the end of the day on Saturday. Alli Owens, an experienced stock car competitor, led the group.

As all the drivers ahead of her that day have previous stock car experience, including several ARCA race winners – Milka was the fastest rookie on Saturday.

“I knew what I was capable of if given a great car,” said Duno, who first made headlines when she and Patrick argued in the pits at Mid-Ohio, an argument that was captured on video and immortalized on YouTube. “Braun Racing’s No. 90 Toyota Camry was a great car. … I think given that this was my first time behind the wheel of a stock car the test was a great success and a strong indicator of my potential in stock car competition. My thanks to Braun Racing and the entire crew for helping to make this exciting first venture in stock cars a great success.”

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED, and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com! Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to



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