By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
Josh Bilicki heads to his home race this weekend at Road America, where the NASCAR XFINITY Series will run their Johnsonville 180 on Saturday afternoon.
With high expectations and a long list of Wisconsin-based sponsors, the 23-year-old Wisconsin native is looking to improve on his 12th-place finish at the 4.048-mile course one year ago, a run that stands as a career-high through 29 XFINITY starts.
“Last year, we had a really strong showing and finished in 12th place, on used tires,” Bilicki said. “This year, with my local sponsors, we’re able to have a full allotment of new tires.”
Since his first NASCAR start in 2016, Bilicki has raced three NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series races and has signed a full season XFINITY contract with the newly formed JP Motorsports. The team is coming off a top-20 finish two races ago at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, one of the circuit’s other road course events in 2018.
“We are running a slightly heavier steel body, but I think the new tires will help us out a lot,” he said. “I’m feeling really good about this year.”
He will bring several Wisconsin-based businesses with him as sponsors for the weekend. Bilicki’s primary sponsor, Prevagen, a memory loss supplement, is based in Madison, WI. ShopKo, headquartered in Ashwaubenon, WI, is co-sponsoring. Prevagen is available in 363 ShopKo stores in the United States.
Ariens, most popular for their snow-blowers and lawn tractors, will be a secondary sponsor. Marriott Construction Companies of Wisconsin will also be a secondary sponsor, making Bilicki appreciative of the hometown support.
“I take great pride in the fact that all of my sponsors are local Wisconsin and Illinois companies,” Bilicki said. “I work very hard to secure my own sponsorship and I’ve been very, very blessed to have such a great group of businesses not only support me, but believe in me and my dreams.”
Other Wisconsin sponsors for Bilicki include Trudell Performance, Associated Bank, Chimney Mechanix, and Cedar Valley Cheese Store.
“Road America is my favorite race of the year and we will have close to 75 guests at the track,” he said. “I had my best career NASCAR finish here in 2017 (12th) and I hope that we can improve on that finish this year.”
To learn more about Josh’s sponsors, please follow the links below:
Prevagen
Shopko
Ariens
Marriott Construction
Associated Bank
Trudell Performance
Cedar Valley Cheese Store
Chimney Mechanix
To learn more about Josh, visit his website.