Tim Viens Bio
Timothy Neil Viens (born October 10, 1976) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He last competed part-time in the ARCA Menards Series, driving the No. 31 Toyota Camry for Rise Motorsports. Over the course of his career, Viens has also competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, building a profile as a determined owner-driver at the regional and national levels of stock car racing.
Early Life and Background
Timothy Neil Viens was born on October 10, 1976, in South Hero, Vermont, in the United States. Growing up in the small Lake Champlain island community gave him an early appreciation for outdoor sports and competition, including football, which became his primary athletic focus as a young man. After high school, Viens attended Glenville State College, where he played college football as a placekicker and developed the discipline that would later shape his approach to motorsports.
Following his college career, Viens tried out for the National Football League but was not signed. He then moved to Daytona Beach, Florida, and played for the Daytona Thunder in a professional arena football league, continuing his involvement in competitive sports. His time in Florida brought him into close proximity with the heart of American stock car racing, an environment that would eventually redirect his athletic ambitions toward the cockpit of a race car.
Path to NASCAR
Viens transitioned into motorsports in the early 2010s, beginning his stock car career in the ARCA series. His early years were marked by persistence through modest equipment and small teams, as he sought to learn the rhythms of paved superspeedways and short tracks across the country. That perseverance set the foundation for his later entries into NASCAR national series competition in the second half of the decade.
Along the way, Viens built relationships with several small, hard-working teams and developed a reputation for showing up at demanding venues with limited resources. His steady presence in the ARCA garage, combined with his willingness to take on ownership responsibilities, helped him earn opportunities to attempt NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events as his career progressed.
Tim Viens Career
Early Career (2012-2014)
Viens made his ARCA debut in 2012 at Salem, driving the No. 67 Dodge for Carter 2 Motorsports. He was credited with a did-not-start result, and he did not log any additional starts that season or in 2013. The difficult debut did not deter him, and he returned to Carter 2 Motorsports in 2014 for what was initially planned as a fuller season of competition.
During the 2014 ARCA season, Viens began in the team’s No. 97 car before moving to the Wayne Peterson Racing No. 06 Chevrolet after failing to qualify at Toledo Speedway and New Jersey Motorsports Park. After seven races, he parted ways with Carter 2 Motorsports and later rejoined Wayne Peterson Racing for three additional starts at Chicago, Pocono, and Kansas, rotating through several Peterson entries along the way.
ARCA Menards Series Breakthrough (2015-2016)
In 2015, Viens returned to Wayne Peterson Racing for a part-time ARCA campaign. He made five starts that year at Nashville, Talladega, both Pocono races, and Kentucky, driving all four Peterson cars at least once, including the No. 00, No. 0, No. 06, and No. 08. He did not finish every race he started, but the season reflected his growing comfort at superspeedways and his commitment to the series.
His most recent ARCA starts of that era came in 2016, when he drove the Wayne Peterson Racing No. 06 at Daytona and Talladega. After several seasons of grinding at the ARCA level, Viens shifted his primary focus toward NASCAR’s national touring series while continuing to manage team ownership interests.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Era (2015-2021)
Viens debuted in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 2015, attempting four races and making only one start. He returned in 2016 with five attempts and three starts, then attempted the 2017 Daytona race in the No. 1 for TJL Motorsports but failed to qualify. In early 2018, he attempted Atlanta with Mike Harmon’s No. 74 but again did not make the field.
After a planned 2020 Daytona effort with Mike Affarano Motorsports was scrapped when the team’s hauler slid off a highway en route to the track, Viens continued to chase Truck Series starts. He later joined CMI Motorsports for a part-time schedule beginning at Pocono in 2020, and in 2021 he announced plans to run a fuller season in the No. 83 truck. Mechanical troubles, including a broken driveshaft before a qualifying run at Daytona, kept him out of multiple events, and qualifying limitations frequently worked against him.
Xfinity Series Opportunities (2015-2022)
Viens made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut in the 2015 Ford EcoBoost 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, driving for Mike Harmon Racing. During the race, he switched seats with team owner Mike Harmon and was credited with a 33rd-place finish as the original driver of the car. He returned to Miami in 2018 with Harmon but failed to make the field, and later Xfinity attempts with the team in 2018, 2020, 2021, and 2022 also failed to qualify.
Rise Motorsports Era (2025-Present)
On February 3, 2025, it was announced that Viens would return to the now-renamed ARCA Menards Series to compete part-time in the No. 31 Toyota for Rise Motorsports. The opportunity marked a return to the series where he had built much of his driving experience, this time paired with a more established team and a Toyota Camry program.
Driving Style and Strengths
Viens is known as a persevering owner-driver who has spent the bulk of his career working through the realities of underfunded entries, including frequent qualifying DNQs and short-notice team changes. His background in football has given him a team-first mentality, and he has embraced superspeedway-style events where track position and race craft can outweigh raw equipment.
Notable Races and Milestones
His 2015 Homestead-Miami Xfinity debut with Mike Harmon Racing stands out as a career milestone, along with his multi-year association with Wayne Peterson Racing in ARCA. The 2020 Truck Series effort that was lost when his hauler slid off the highway remains one of the more memorable stories from his career, illustrating the logistical hurdles he has repeatedly overcome.
Tim Viens Career Wins
Across his time in the ARCA Menards Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Viens has been primarily focused on making races and growing his teams rather than chasing victory lane. No national-series wins are documented in the verified record available for his career.
ARCA Menards Series Highlights
Viens has made numerous ARCA starts across multiple teams, including Carter 2 Motorsports, Wayne Peterson Racing, and Rise Motorsports. His tenure with Wayne Peterson Racing from 2014 through 2016 represented his most sustained run of consecutive ARCA appearances, and his 2025 return with Rise Motorsports brought him back to the series after several years away.
Other Wins and Performances
Outside of stock car racing, Viens founded the Vermont Bucks indoor football team in 2016 and later created the Can-Am Indoor Football League for the 2017 season. He also helped establish the Atlanta Havoc indoor football team in the American Arena League before stepping away from those football operations in April 2018.
Tim Viens Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Public information about Viens’ immediate family and racing lineage is limited. His roots in South Hero, Vermont, and his college years at Glenville State College remain the clearest biographical anchors in the verified record.
Personal Life
Viens is an alumnus of Glenville State College, where he played college football as a placekicker. After an unsuccessful NFL tryout, he moved to Daytona Beach, Florida, and played for the Daytona Thunder in a professional arena football league. His later football ventures, including founding indoor teams and leagues, demonstrated the same entrepreneurial drive that has defined his approach to motorsports ownership.
2025 Season Performance
Viens returned to stock car racing in 2025 with a part-time ARCA Menards Series schedule announced on February 3, 2025. He is driving the No. 31 Toyota Camry for Rise Motorsports, aligning himself with a more competitive team structure than the small, rotating entries he piloted in earlier ARCA seasons. The arrangement allows him to balance his role as a team owner with selective seat time behind the wheel.
The 2025 campaign represents an opportunity for Viens to refocus on a single series with a consistent team and manufacturer partnership, after years of bouncing between Xfinity, Truck, and ARCA entries with varying levels of preparation. His plate of part-time ARCA dates gives Rise Motorsports an experienced owner-driver presence while freeing him to manage his broader racing and business interests.
Looking ahead, Viens will look to translate his persistence and football-honed discipline into stronger on-track finishes in ARCA competition. While the 2025 schedule is part-time, the combination of a stable team, a Toyota Camry program, and renewed focus offers a platform for him to continue building his legacy as a determined owner-driver in American motorsports.