Tony Ave
Ave at Road America in 2010
Born (1968-11-10) 10 November 1968 (age 55)
Hurley, Wisconsin, U.S.
Achievements2010 Trans-Am Series champion
NASCAR Cup Series career
2 races run over 2 years
Best finish67th (2009)
First race2004 Sirius at the Glen (Watkins Glen)
Last race2009 Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen (Watkins Glen)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
4 races run over 2 years
Best finish87th (2010)
First race2009 NAPA Auto Parts 200 (Montreal)
Last race2010 NAPA 200 (Montreal)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 0 0
Statistics current as of 30 November 2011.

Tony Ave (born 10 November 1968) is a race car driver born in Hurley, Wisconsin, USA.[1] He competed in the Grand-Am Series from 2000 until 2002, in Formula Atlantic from 1996 until 2001, and in the Trans-Am Series since 2009. He also made three Indy Lights starts in 1993 and one Indy Pro Series start in 2003. He also has sporadic starts in NASCAR as a road course ringer.[2]

Trans-Am

In 2009, he was a regular competitor in the revived SCCA Trans-Am Series, driving a Chevrolet Corvette.[3] In 2010, he brought Chevrolet its first Trans Am championship since Paul Gentilozzi in 1998.

He won the 2010 and 2011 Trans-Am Series Championships. Ave owns Tony Ave Motorsports, which has become one of the most popular race teams amongst fans. However, he mostly drives for Lamers Racing.

Ave driving a Chevrolet Corvette in the Trans Am Series in 2014

NASCAR

2010 NASCAR Nationwide car at Road America

In 2004, Ave made his NASCAR Nextel Cup Series debut when he drove the No. 80 car owned by Hover Motorsports, a satellite team of Joe Gibbs Racing. Starting 42nd, Ave dropped out after 84 laps with a brake problem, finishing 31st.

Ave returned to the Cup Series in 2009, competed at Watkins Glen on August 10, 2009 in the rain-delayed Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen. Ave completed eight laps and finished 43rd in his No. 37 Long John Silver's Dodge owned by Front Row Motorsports.[2] Ave also participated in the NASCAR Nationwide Series' NAPA Parts D'Auto 200 presented by Dodge at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve as a road course ringer.

Ave participated in the No. 35 car owned by TriStar Motorsports in the 2010 Bucyrus 200 at Road America in his home state of Wisconsin. After racing in the Top 10 for most of the race, he spun out on the final lap and dropped out of the Top 10. He returned to the No. 35 team for the other two road course races, finishing 15th at Watkins Glen and leading one lap in Montreal – his first and only lap led in his Nationwide Series career.

In 2011, Ave made his so far last NASCAR attempt at Sonoma, attempting to qualify his No. 38 Long John Silver's car for FRM. He was bumped out of the field by Andy Pilgrim and did not qualify.

Other racing

In April 2002, Ave, along with Andy Hillenburg, tested for the Team Racing Auto Circuit series at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Four months later, Ave and Boris Said tested for TRAC at Lowe's Motor Speedway.[4]

In 2016, Ave made an agreement with Bill Riley to build a prototype chassis for ELMS for the P3 and IMSA for the Prototype Challenge.[5]

Motorsports career results

SCCA National Championship Runoffs

Year Track Car Engine Class Finish Start Status
1991 Road Atlanta Lola T87/90 Ford Sports 2000 16 3 Running
1994 Mid-Ohio Van Diemen Ford Formula Continental 22 7 Retired
XFR GS-94 Toyota Formula Atlantic 10 2 Retired
2007 Heartland Park Chevrolet Corvette Chevrolet GT1 1 1 Running
2008 Heartland Park Ford Mustang Ford GT1 2 2 Running
2019 VIR Chevrolet Corvette Chevrolet GT1 2 1 Running
Acura RSX Honda GT3 11 2 Retired
2020 Road America Ford Mustang Ford GT1 1 2 Running
Nissan 240SX Nissan GT3 7 4 Running
2022 VIR Nissan 350Z Nissan GT2 4 3 Running
Acura RSX Honda GT3 1 3 Running
2023 VIR Nissan 350Z Nissan GT2 13 2 Retired
Acura RSX Honda GT3 1 1 Running
Stohr WF1 Suzuki Prototype 2 4 5 Running
Mercedes-AMG GT4 Mercedes-AMG T1 4 4 Running

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Sprint Cup Series

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 NSCC Pts Ref
2004 Hover Motorsports 80 Chevy DAY CAR LVS ATL DAR BRI TEX MAR TAL CAL RCH CLT DOV POC MCH SON DAY CHI NHA POC IND GLN
31 		MCH 83rd 70 [6]
Ford BRI
DNQ 		CAL RCH NHA DOV TAL KAN CLT MAR ATL PHO DAR HOM
2009 Front Row Motorsports 37 Dodge DAY CAL LVS ATL BRI MAR TEX PHO TAL RCH DAR CLT DOV POC MCH SON NHA DAY CHI IND POC GLN
43 		MCH BRI ATL RCH NHA DOV KAN CAL CLT MAR TAL TEX PHO HOM 67th 34 [7]
2010 TriStar Motorsports 35 Chevy DAY CAL LVS ATL BRI MAR PHO TEX TAL RCH DAR DOV CLT POC MCH SON NHA DAY CHI IND POC GLN
DNQ 		MCH BRI ATL RCH NHA DOV KAN CAL CLT MAR TAL TEX PHO HOM N/A 0 [8]
2011 Front Row Motorsports 38 Ford DAY PHO LVS BRI CAL MAR TEX TAL RCH DAR DOV CLT KAN POC MCH SON
DNQ 		DAY KEN NHA IND POC GLN MCH BRI ATL RCH CHI NHA DOV KAN CLT TAL MAR TEX PHO HOM N/A 0 [9]

Nationwide Series

NASCAR Nationwide Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 NNSC Pts Ref
2009 Jimmy Means Racing 52 Chevy DAY CAL LVS BRI TEX NSH PHO TAL RCH DAR CLT DOV NSH KEN MLW NHA DAY CHI GTY IRP IOW GLN MCH BRI CGV
39 		ATL
DNQ 		RCH DOV KAN CAL CLT MEM TEX PHO HOM 145th 46 [10]
2010 TriStar Motorsports 35 Chevy DAY CAL LVS BRI NSH PHO TEX TAL RCH DAR DOV CLT NSH KEN ROA
20 		NHA DAY CHI GTY IRP IOW GLN
15 		MCH BRI CGV
36 		ATL RCH DOV KAN CAL CLT GTY TEX PHO HOM 87th 281 [11]

Craftsman Truck Series

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 NCTC Pts Ref
2000 Brevak Racing 31 Ford DAY HOM PHO MMR MAR PIR GTY MEM PPR EVG TEX KEN GLN MLW NHA NZH MCH IRP
DNQ 		NSV CIC RCH DOV TEX CAL N/A 0 [12]

ARCA Re/Max Series

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

ARCA Re/Max Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 ARMC Pts Ref
2002 Burroughs Motorsports 53 Ford DAY ATL NSH SLM KEN CLT KAN POC MCH TOL SBO KEN BLN POC NSH ISF WIN DSF CHI
4 		SLM TAL CLT 108th 125 [13]
2003 Bobby Gerhart Racing 7 Pontiac DAY
23 		ATL NSH SLM TOL KEN CLT BLN KAN MCH LER POC POC NSH ISF WIN DSF CHI SLM 82nd 330 [14]
Hendren Motorsports 66 Pontiac TAL
3 		CLT SBO
2006 Fast Track Racing 11 Chevy DAY NSH SLM WIN KEN TOL POC MCH KAN KEN BLN POC GTW NSH MCH ISF MIL TOL DSF CHI
DNQ 		SLM 140th 110 [15]
CyberSpeed Racing 87 Chevy TAL
29 		IOW
2007 DAY
DNQ 		USA NSH SLM KAN WIN KEN TOL IOW POC MCH BLN KEN POC NSH ISF MIL GTW DSF CHI SLM TAL TOL N/A 0 [16]
2008 66 DAY SLM IOW KAN CAR KEN TOL POC MCH CAY KEN BLN POC NSH ISF DSF CHI SLM NJE
31 		TAL TOL 141st 75 [17]

References

  1. ^ "Tony Ave". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
  2. ^ a b "Tony Ave NASCAR Statistics". NASCAR. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
  3. ^ "Ave Quickest In Muscle Milk SCCA Trans-Am Practice At Watkins Glen". SCCA. Retrieved 18 March 2010.
  4. ^ "TRAC Series Info". Jayski's Silly Season Site. Archived from the original on February 20, 2015. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  5. ^ "Ave-Riley LMP3 Race Debut Delayed Until 2017". 15 September 2016.
  6. ^ "Tony Ave – 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  7. ^ "Tony Ave – 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  8. ^ "Tony Ave – 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  9. ^ "Tony Ave – 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  10. ^ "Tony Ave – 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  11. ^ "Tony Ave – 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  12. ^ "Tony Ave – 2000 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  13. ^ "Tony Ave – 2002 ARCA Re/Max Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  14. ^ "Tony Ave – 2003 ARCA Re/Max Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  15. ^ "Tony Ave – 2006 ARCA Re/Max Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  16. ^ "Tony Ave – 2007 ARCA Re/Max Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  17. ^ "Tony Ave – 2008 ARCA Re/Max Series Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved 1 May 2020.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tony Ave.


TriStar Motorsports
Jimmy Means Racing
Front Row Motorsports
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