Jorge Arteaga (racing driver)

Jorge Arteaga (racing driver)
Jorge Arteaga (born March 28, 1986, in Aguascalientes) is a Mexican racing driver and entrepreneur. He competed in the NASCAR Toyota Series. He won the Most Popular Driver award for the Mexican Series three straight times, from 2009 to 2011. He also drove the No. 8 Toyota Camry for Revolution Racing in the K&N Pro Series East.
NASCAR career
Corona Series
Jorge entered the NASCAR Corona Series after establishing himself at age 20 in the Mexico feeder T4 Series in 2007. After an impressive season, he made the transition to the NASCAR Corona Series for the 2008 season shortly after the franchise was established. His best season was in 2009, when he came in 14th in the overall rankings after making a series of top-ten finishes. In the 2010 season, he had 3 top 10 finishes in the first 5 races.
K&N Pro Series East
In July 2010, Jorge made an impressive debut in NASCAR racing in the USA when he finished in the top 10 at the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at Lee USA Speedway. He worked his way up to 6th place before accidents in the last few laps dropped him down the field to 10th position.
Arteaga made the move to a full-time effort in the K&N Pro Series East in 2012, driving the No. 8 Toyota Camry for Revolution Racing. In 13 starts, Arteaga posted 2 top ten finishes and finished 14th in the standings, despite missing one race.
The Most Popular Driver 2009
In 2009 Jorge Arteaga was voted the most popular driver in the NASCAR Mexico Series by the fans in an official vote posted on NASCAR.com. He received 34% of the vote, a majority of 23%.
FCV Racing
Jorge raced for FCV Racing alongside experienced NASCAR driver Carlos Contreras (the first Hispanic driver to run in NASCAR). The team was established in 2006 and has racing experience in both the US and Mexican NASCAR series.
Arteaga scored his first Pole Position at Aguascalientes in 2010.
NASCAR K&N Pro Series
Jorge began racing in the United States in 2010, acting as an ambassador for NASCAR's Drive for Diversity Program, and working in Revolution Racing alongside drivers such as Mackena Bell and Sergio Peña. He scored a Top 10 finish in his series debut.
He parted ways with FCV Racing after the September race at Querétaro, changing his number to 46.
Since then, he has been struggling in the Mexican series. Jorge and his sponsors moved to a new team, with help from one of the series' top drivers, Jose Luis Ramirez, and purchased a race car from Carlos Anaya, a driver with limited economic resources.
NASCAR Corona Series Results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)
After the race in Guadalajara he was given a 20sec penalty dropping him to 13th.
Reality TV Series
During the 2010 racing season, Jorge Arteaga was filmed for a reality TV series entitled NASCAR Mexico 24/7 which follows the behind-the-scenes happenings of NASCAR from the perspective of the FCV Racing Team. It was broadcast on Speed TV in Latin America during race weeks.
Social Responsibility
Equipo Nutricion
Equipo Nutricion (The Nutrition Team) was established by Jorge Arteaga in partnership with La Huerta and Red Baron to provide support to Mexico's poor and malnourished. After each race he works with local government and institutions to donate 12 tonnes of frozen vegetables to those who need it most in the municipality of the racetrack. He has pledged to increase his donation to 22 tonnes after each race he wins. During the 2009 season he donated 190 tonnes of frozen vegetables.
Along with their donations, they aim to raise awareness for malnutrition and obesity by conducting chats in schools to combat the problem at a grassroots level.
Nowadays, he runs his own company, named "Holistic", a artisanal frozen goods company based in his hometown Aguascalientes.
See also
Carlos Contreras (Team Mate)
NASCAR Corona Series
Speed TV
References
External links
Official Website of Jorge Arteaga
NASCAR.com Driver Page
Mexican racing drivers
1986 births
Living people
NASCAR drivers
Sportspeople from Aguascalientes