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Category: NASCAR Cup Series

NASCAR Cup Series

  • Mistake on Final Lap Costs Mark Martin a Win at Bristol

     A TUMS MOMENT

    (For each of the 36 races during the 2011 Sprint Cup season, TUMS will provide a glimpse of a previous event at that track, one that could easily be described as A TUMS Moment.  This week, the focus is on Bristol Motor Speedway).

    MISTAKE ON FINAL LAP COSTS MARK MARTIN A WIN AT BRISTOL            

    The date was April 9, 1994.  Mark Martin started from the pole and was on cruise control most of the afternoon in the Goody’s 250 Nationwide Series (then Busch Series) race at Bristol Motor Speedway.  Then the unthinkable happened.

    NOTE:  TUMS is the sponsor of the TUMS Fast Relief 500, the seventh race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, at Martinsville Speedway on October 30 and also check out Sun bets promo code before the race.

    The race was slowed by the 10th caution with two laps remaining.  The race ended under caution as that was before the era of the green-white-checkered finish.  The white flag was displayed with Martin leading his 195th lap of the 250-lap event.  When other drivers pulled alongside and waved to him along the backstretch, a normal gesture to the winner, Martin mistakenly thought the race was over and pulled off the track out of turn four and did not cross the start-finish line 300 yards away.  The win went to David Green, who had already accepted what he thought was a second-place finish.

    “I can’t believe anyone could be that stupid,” Martin said after the event.  “I’ve been pulling for David Green to win really hard, but not like that.  That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever done and there’s nothing else I can say.  I thought the race was over when the guys pulled up beside me waving.  I thought it was over.”  Now, that was a TUMS moment.

    “As the saying goes, the race is not over until it’s over. It is important when you are doing anything to make sure and pay attention to the details or you may fail. Even if you do an amazing job on a project for work but misread the fine details, you may have issues with your team” Stated by Ben Tejes, Co-Founder and CEO of Ascend Finance.

    For the record, Martin has 49 career wins in 232 Nationwide Series starts, the most victories in the series, which started in 1982.

  • Jamie McMurray and Scott Dixon Swap Rides For Tours of Barber Motorsports Park and Talladega Superspeedway

    Transcript: Jamie McMurray and Scott Dixon Swap Rides For Tours of Barber Motorsports Park and Talladega Superspeedway  

    TALLADEGA, Ala. – The worlds of NASCAR and IndyCar came together at Talladega Superspeedway and Barber Motorsports Park today. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Jamie McMurray slid behind the wheel of Scott Dixon’s 09 Target Honda IndyCar at Barber, and Dixon took McMurray’s No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet for some hot laps at Talladega. Dixon, on what he told McMurray about Barber: This is one of our toughest circuits, just because it’s very narrow. It’s quite cold today. There’s a bunch of elevation. Elevation’s a bit of a pain when you can’t see the corners. Jamie’s very accomplished, and has raced many different types of cars. I think the toughest part of an IndyCar is the first couple of laps, in terms of getting up to speed on cold tires.

    McMurray, on whether he was going to take it easy at Barber: For me, it’s all about the experience. It’s not about going out and seeing how hard I can drive it, or exactly what the limits are.

    McMurray, about getting the chance to drive an IndyCar: When I drove for Chip Ganassi from 2002 to 2005, honestly I don’t think I even saw an IndyCar. Never had the opportunity. When I came back here, I told Chip that if there was ever a chance, I’d really like to drive one of those somewhere. I didn’t really expect all the media and everyone else to be here on my adventure. I was more wanting to go spend half a day with the team somewhere and really get to test, and see what it’s like. But this is a really cool opportunity for me.  

    Dixon, on how fast an IndyCar could go at Talladega: In this configuration, with the big wings, you’d probably do 170 to 180. But with speedway wings, you’d probably do about 230. Maybe even more than that. Maybe 240 or more.  

    McMurray, on the car-swapping opportunity: I think it’s cool that the racetracks came together and were able to let us help promote those races and make it fun for us. For me, getting to drive this is a great opportunity. It’s a lot of money to come and do something like this, so it worked out well that they were already here testing. For Chip to bring his car down to Talladega and let Scott drive it, it’s hard to put those two together, because it costs so much money.  

    Dixon, on the possibility of becoming a Sprint Cup driver: Well, there’s no $5 million prize in NASCAR, so no, I’m not going. (Laughing.) Obviously, I’m intrigued by it. Sprint Cup is a massive sport, and has a huge following. I think the thing that’s most intriguing, as you’ve seen by the people who have tried to make the transition or have made the transition, it’s 43 cars that are very, very tight and very, very close. I think the tough part for me would be actually doing the 36 races a year. That’s a lot of travel.

    McMurray, after running at Barber: The Cup cars slide around a lot, and for me, I think that’s probably where the speed is that I didn’t have in this race car. Knowing the threshold of, if it breaks loose, how much you can hang on to it.   The acceleration of that car was way more than I expected, because the horsepower is less than the Cup cars. I thought that the acceleration would be a fair bit less. But that was really fun to drive. I couldn’t believe how quickly the car took off.  

    I never really pushed it very hard in the corners to get the feel of how much grip it has, for fear that I’d lose my other job if I happened to run off. It’s crazy at the amount of grip that car has.

    McMurray, after spinning out at Barber: It was the slowest corner on the track, and I was just trying to go a little quicker. The car wanted to spin the tires really badly right there, and I probably didn’t give it enough time to get the tires warmed up enough. If I had to choose somewhere to spin out there, that was a really good selection, because it didn’t cost anything.  

    McMurray, on the difficulties of driving an IndyCar: I thought the hardest part was just being in the open, and being exposed without a windshield. But that didn’t bother me at all. I actually enjoyed being out in the open and not having to look through a visor and a windshield. The hardest adjustment was just knowing how hard you can push, and what the limits are of sliding the car. When we run Watkins Glen or Sonoma, the whole race is about sliding around the corners. After spinning out at about 30 mph over there, I was really timid to push the car any harder in the fast corners.

    I’m just glad they called me in, because I kept picking up about two seconds a lap. At some point that ends, and you end up dropping a wheel off the track. But I couldn’t believe how much more comfortable I got in the car.  

    The sensation of speed was more in acceleration and braking. The cornering did not feel that much faster, even though it was. The car had so much grip and so much control that when you’re going around a corner 30 miles per hour faster than you could in a Cup car, I didn’t sense the speed there.  

    Dixon, after running at Talladega: It was cool. The whole “sitting with a cover over you,” and the seating position, and all the other things that were different in the car, the way the wheel is and how massive it is, all that was fun. This place is massive. I spoke before about how Indy is large as well, but I think the sheer size of this and how it’s spread out, when you go out there, you feel really lonely by yourself. It would have been nice to maybe have a few other cars out here and maybe take the restrictor plate off and see the full power of these kinds of cars on a track like this. I really enjoyed it. It was definitely an eye-opener. It was something I’d love to have a go at again.  

    Dixon, on getting in and out of a stock car: They’re pretty hard to get in and out of. I will say that. I thought ours would be more difficult, but you just come from the top and slide in. Here, you’ve got to go ‘Dukes of Hazzard’ style and slide through the window.

    Dixon, on what was the hardest part of running at Talladega: Going out on the track and running at speed wasn’t the most difficult part, because that’s not the style of racing that they do at Talladega. It’s all about the drafting and the pushing. I’d love to have had a go out there with some other people. Maybe do the tandem thing, and stuff that we’ve been watching in the Cup races.  

    On having more respect for Cup drivers: I’ve always had a ton of respect for the Cup drivers and what they do. As you can see, nobody steps into that series and sets it on fire. They’re very accomplished guys…In IndyCar, you have teammates and you sit down after every practice and go over data and try to work out where you can improve. To be honest, no data and teammates you don’t get to see a lot because it’s so divided would make the learning curve tough.

  • Harvick’s Go-Kart Getaway With Media Just Another Happy Day At Work

    Harvick’s Go-Kart Getaway With Media Just Another Happy Day At Work

    MARTINSVILLE, Va. (March 16, 2011) – Kevin Harvick is accustomed to racing at high speeds in full-bodied stock cars, wheel-to-wheel with some of the greatest drivers in the world. But he was right at home Wednesday in a go-kart, at twenty-something miles an hour with a lot of folks better at weaving a story than driving.

    [media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”259″][/media-credit]“It’s just something I love to do. Coming out here today, it’s just a lot of fun,” said Harvick.

    Harvick was the headliner for a Martinsville Speedway media event at Dan River Grand Prix in Danville. His opponents for most of the day were members of the media, even though at the end of the day he got a real test from three Dan River Grand Prix regulars and Martinsville Speedway president Clay Campbell.

    It was an opportunity for the media to gather information for the upcoming Goody’s Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway on April 3, while having a little fun with Harvick.

    Harvick is no novice when it comes to go-karts. He has a paved go-kart oval in his backyard and apparently spends a lot of time there.

    “We do have rules at our track, but not very many,” Harvick said. “It’s really just for fun, but in the winter there is nothing you can do in the gym that takes care of your neck (for racing) other than the go-kart. The go-kart helps with that.

    “And for the most part it’s just about getting your mind off things for a half of a day or a whole day and you get to hang out with your friends and neighbors and have fun.”

    After going head-to-head with the media, Harvick closed the day with a match race against Campbell, an accomplished racer, and three Dan River Grand Prix regulars. It was a hotly contested 10 laps, with Harvick giving up the lead on the last lap on the road course. He wound up second and Campbell third. And despite his third-place finish, Campbell recorded the quickest lap of the day, a tenth of a second faster than Harvick.

    [media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Harvick hopes his strong runs on Wednesday are an omen of things to come at Martinsville in a couple of weeks.

    “We’ve run well at Martinsville a lot, but you wouldn’t know it by a lot of our stats,” said Harvick, who has a Nationwide Series and a Camping World Truck Series win at Martinsville but not a Sprint Cup victory.

    “Last year we ran well at Martinsville and led laps and did the things we needed to do. Hopefully we can do the same thing this year. We just have to keep doing the same things we’ve been doing and putting ourselves in that good position and eventually we’ll get the win.”

    Tickets for the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 on Sunday, April 3, the Kroger 250 on Saturday, April 2 and the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Truck Series Practice Day on Friday, April 1 are on sale and can be purchased by calling 1.877.RACE.TIX. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.martinsvillespeedway.com.

    Tickets for the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 start at just $25.

  • J.J. Yeley Talks About Staying With The Fans; Bristol And NASCAR Points

    J.J. Yeley Talks About Staying With The Fans; Bristol And NASCAR Points

    J.J. Yeley, No. 46 Red Line Oil Chevrolet Impala

    Jeff Byrd 500 presented by Food City Fast Facts

    NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race No. 4 Jeff Byrd 500 presented by Food City

    Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, Bristol, Tennessee

    Race Information: Event: Jeff Byrd 500 presented by Food City, Sunday, March 20 at 1:00 p.m. Local. Track: Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway Qualifying: Friday, March 19, at 3:40 p.m. Local Time Track Length: .533-mile paved oval.

    Last Time Out; Las Vegas Motor Speedway: For the third consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event this season, J.J. Yeley and the Whitney Motorsports team qualified for the Kobalt Tools 400. After starting a season-best 32nd, Yeley and the team held their own in the field before being forced to the garage area on lap 45 with a rear gear failure.

    Are You Staying With J.J.?: Thanks to the support from Star Coach Race Tours, J.J. Yeley will kick off his “Staying With J.J.” campaign which Yeley, the former USAC champion will camp out with several race fans in the infield at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. In addition to staying just feet from Yeley, the lucky fans will also have the opportunity to connect with Yeley, ask questions and even tour the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series garage area before the green flag waives in the Jeff Byrd 500 presented by Food City.

    There’s Still Room Left: By popular demand, J.J. Yeley and Star Coach Race Tours have created two more spots with the “Staying With J.J.” campaign this weekend from “Thunder Valley.” For information on how to camp with J.J. Yeley, please visit starcoachracetours.com http://www.starcoachracetours.com/ , call 401.241.4450 or email joel@starcoachracetours.com.

    Facebook Fun: By visiting the official J.J. Yeley Fan Page on Facebook, fans will have the opportunity to place “Speed Dice.” Fans are encouraged to submit a number between 2-12 and Yeley himself puts two dice inside his No. 46 Whitney Motorsports Chevrolet and upon returning to the garage from the completion of his qualifying run, Yeley retrieves the dice and works with his management team to see which fans guessed the correct number for the dice. Once the guessers are correctly chosen, Yeley then places all the winners into his helmet with their name on it, shakes the helmet and retrieves the final winner of the weekly addition of “Speed Dice.” The winner will receive a memorabilia item from J.J. Yeley himself. For additional rules and instructions on how to play, please visit J.J. Yeley’s Facebook fan page.

    Straight To The Facts; Bristol Motor Speedway: The fourth of 36 races on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) tour invades Bristol, Tennessee for a stop at the ever popular Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS). Yeley will aim to make his sixth career start at BMS In his previous Sprint Cup outings, Yeley qualified a track best of 24th in his inaugural debut in 2006 driving for Joe Gibbs Racing. Yeley’s best track finish occurred in the summer event of 2007 where he guided the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS to a 13th place finish after starting 40th. Seven starts in the NASCAR Nationwide Series at Las Vegas have included a best start of second (outside pole) in the spring of 2006 with a best finish of 12th that summer.

    Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway Pre-Race Quotes: J.J. Yeley, driver of the No. 46 Red Line Oil Chevrolet Impala:

    On Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway: “When you go to Bristol Motor Speedway it is the most unique of all of the NASCAR tracks. It is the best place to watch a race no matter what the series. There’s not a bad seat in the house!”

    On The Old Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway Surface Compared To The New: “The “new” Bristol is just as tough, fun and demanding as the old track surface was. I enjoy it now more because the second and third grooves can be just as fast as the bottom during a long run. As a driver, I like to be able to help my cars handling by finding a better place on the track that fits my setup.”

    On His Fondest Memory At Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway: “My fondest moment at Bristol was on the “old track.” I was leading under caution for rain in the Nationwide Series. I didn’t like my car, the track and I told the reporters on Television that I hoped it would just rain until the track filled with water so we could have a finishing tournament there instead. Needless to say, it stopped raining and I didn’t win.”

    On The Overall Improvement Of His Whitney Motorsports Team In 2011: “I am happy with the changes so far with the Whitney Motorsports team. They are trying real hard to improve their equipment and change their strategy to find sponsors in order to make the team grow. We just have to keep digging.”

    On The New NASCAR Points System In 2011: “The new points system doesn’t really affect the teams much. I think it is more exciting to the fans to see how tight the points really are and how one small mistake can drop you out of contention in a hurry. I am all for a nice simple points system.”

    Fast Links:

    Driver / Team: J.J. Yeley on the web: JJYeley.com

    Twitter: @JJYeley1

    Facebook: Official http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/JJ-Yeley-Official/188904204467053> J.J. Yeley Facebook page “JJ Yeley Official”

  • Roush Fenway Gunning for 18th NASCAR Win at Bristol

    Roush Fenway Gunning for 18th NASCAR Win at Bristol

    History Runs Deep for Jack Roush at “Thunder Valley”

    CONCORD, N.C. (March 16, 2011) – Fresh off a strong performance at Las Vegas followed by an off weekend, Roush Fenway Racing rolls into Bristol Motor Speedway looking for its 18th win in NASCAR competition.

    As the series hits the .533-mile track, described by some drivers as the equivalent of ‘jet fighters, racing around a football stadium,’ team owner Jack Roush can take a moment to reflect on his long history at the facility.

    “I went to Bristol for the first time (with NASCAR) in 1988,” said Roush. “But I had had a great deal of success there and won on the drag strip at Bristol with the Fastbacks years before that.

    “Bristol has always been a place that had two complexes,” added Roush, who’s NASCAR teams have made 240 starts at the half-mile oval track. “It had a drag strip up in between the hills and it had an oval track.

    “I’ve had the chance to race on both of them and whenever I go to Bristol, it ties my drag racing in with my stock car racing. I have fond memories of the drag racing that preceded the stock car racing and I have found memories of the stock car racing as well.”

    Just as with the drag racing, success on the oval at Bristol would soon follow.

    “Mark Martin was so enthused when he had a chance to go to Bristol,” recalled Roush. “It was fast and high-banked and he was able to get in the gas and not worry about a lot of finesse and it was one of his favorite places. He had a good feel for it and a great enthusiasm and eventually we realized the kind of success on the oval track that I had on the drag strip before that.”

    Roush Fenway finished second in its first NASCAR Cup start at Bristol in the spring of 1988. Martin and Roush won at Bristol from the pole in the fall of 1993 and opened the floodgate for the organization’s unparalleled amount of success at the track.

    All in all Roush Fenway has won at Bristol in all three of NASCAR’s major series for a total of 17 victories (including 10 in the Sprint Cup Series), with the victories spread out over six drivers. In the Cup series Roush Fenway swept the track in 2003 and put a Cup car into victory lane in eight of the last nine seasons.

    Roush Fenway Racing is NASCAR’s largest team operating seven motorsports teams. Four in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with drivers Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and David Ragan; and three in the Nationwide Series with Edwards, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Trevor Bayne. For more information on any of the Roush Fenway Racing teams, log onto http://www.roushfenway.com/ www.RoushFenway.com. Become a fan of Roush Fenway Racing on Facebook by going to http://www.facebook.com/roushfenway http://www.facebook.com/roushfenway and follow us on Twitter @roushfenway. For sponsorship inquiries please contact Robin Johnson at 704.720.4645.

  • Rebounding is Top of Mind for Regan Smith, Furniture Row Racing

    Rebounding is Top of Mind for Regan Smith, Furniture Row Racing

    DENVER, Colo. (March 16, 2011) — In a recent interview Furniture Row Racing driver Regan Smith kept on repeating the word “rebound”. As a huge Syracuse Orange fan, one would assume that Smith was talking college basketball and the opening-round games of the NCAA tournament.

    But for how much Smith would love to see his Orange advance in the tournament, his full focus is on Sunday’s Jeff Byrd 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. And his multi mentions of “rebound” were a reference to what his Furniture Row team needs to do after suffering unforced problems in the previous two Cup races at Phoenix (collected in an accident) and Las Vegas (engine failure).

    “I keep telling myself that things can turn just as quickly for the good as they can for the bad,” said Smith. “We were on a high after finishing seventh at Daytona and felt that what we’ve worked so hard for was paying dividends. But an accident and engine malfunction in Phoenix and Las Vegas kicked us to the curb. Yes, we need to rebound sooner rather than later. And a good result in our Chevrolet at Bristol will quickly get us back to where we want to be.”

    Smith and the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing team know that tackling the world’s fastest and toughest half-mile track will not be an easy task.

    “We’ve been working hard to improve our short track program and there’s no better place to put our efforts to a test than Bristol Motor Speedway,” explained Smith. “It’s a great, but challenging facility — a venue that I will always have fond memories for since Bristol is the place where I made my first career Sprint Cup start (March 2007).”

    Smith added, “The Jeff Byrd 500 is a classic race named after a classy person. Mr. Byrd was the key force in making the Bristol race one of the best on the circuit.”

    The 27-year-old Smith, who grew up in central New York (near Syracuse), is also fully aware of the pitfalls of a Bristol race. 

    “You need to respect Bristol,” noted Smith, whose best finish at short track was 14th in August 2008. “If you step out of line, this track will step up and put you out of the race in an instant. We can’t afford any more of those problems. We would like to have our finish be comparable to our performance, which wasn’t the case in either Phoenix or Las Vegas. Our Furniture Row Chevrolets were really good at those two races, but we didn’t have much to show in terms of final results.”

    And regarding the NCAA basketball tourney, Smith will be glued to his television Friday night cheering on Syracuse against Indiana State.

    “Obviously I like Syracuse in this game, but the early rounds are not much different than racing at Bristol — you just never know how it will all shake out,” stated Smith.

  • Rheem Joins Partnership Program on RCR’s No. 29 Team

    Rheem Joins Partnership Program on RCR’s No. 29 Team

    Primary sponsor for minimum of three races, associate for balance of season with Harvick

    WELCOME, N.C. (March 16, 2011) — Richard Childress Racing and Rheem have reached an agreement for Rheem to become part of the partnership marketing program for RCR’s No. 29 Chevrolet Impala NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team and driver Kevin Harvick.

    [media-credit name=”RCR” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Rheem will serve as the primary sponsor for at least three races during the 2011 season: June 26 at Infineon Raceway; September 4 at Atlanta Motor Speedway and November 6 at Texas Motor Speedway. Rheem will be an associate sponsor on the lower rear-quarter of the No. 29 Chevrolet Impala for the remaining races. The paint scheme and uniform will mimic the existing KHI No. 33 Rheem Tankless water heater scheme.

    The relationship is an expansion of the existing program between Rheem and Kevin Harvick, Incorporated, which was established in 2008. Rheem was a major associate sponsor of RCR and the No. 29 team from 2007 to 2009.

    “Our new partnership with RCR shows just how confident we are in our relationship with Richard, Kevin and the sport of NASCAR to help us effectively promote our innovative Rheem Tankless Water Heater product line. This partnership rests on an existing foundation of integrity and a history of performance that we share with the RCR organization and Kevin, so Rheem is pleased to once again have our brand on the No. 29 car, especially as a primary sponsor,” said Rheem president and CEO, JR Jones. “In practical terms, this partnership gives Rheem a valuable opportunity to develop new business relationships as well as bring the messages of unequaled comfort, operating efficiencies, and energy saving benefits associated with Rheem Tankless water heaters to millions of fans. Our Tankless water heaters represent the best and most advanced that Rheem has to offer, so they’re a natural fit for aligning with RCR and Kevin – among the most respected and progressive racing teams in the world.”

    The 2011 season marks Harvick’s 11th year of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition. The 2007 Daytona 500 champion has 14 wins and 156 top-10 finishes in 361 starts.

    “RCR and Rheem first established a relationship five years ago, so it’s great to have them back on the No. 29 Chevrolet in 2011 with this new partnership,” said Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing. “Rheem’s commitment to NASCAR and motorsports, as well as their customers and distributors, is second to none. We look forward to building on our successful relationship, both at the track and with Rheem’s customers.”

    About Rheem Manufacturing Company

    Rheem Manufacturing Company (www.rheem.com) is privately held with headquarters in Atlanta. In its 86th year of operation, the company manufactures a full-line of eco-friendly, technologically advanced residential and commercial heating and cooling systems; tank, tankless, solar and hybrid heat pump water heaters; whole-home standby generators, controls, swimming pool and spa heaters; indoor air-purification products; and commercial boilers throughout North America and world markets. The company’s premium brands, including Raypak, Ruud and Rheem, have been recognized with countless industry and consumer awards for reliability, innovative design and high quality. Rheem is the official heating, cooling and water-heating supplier to Richard Childress Racing (RCR), Kevin Harvick, Inc. (KHI) and is a primary sponsor of RCR’s No. 29 Sprint Cup Series car and KHI’s No. 33 Nationwide Series car and Camping World Truck Series No. 2 truck. Harvick was named Nationwide Series “Driver of the Decade” in 2010.

    About Richard Childress Racing

    Richard Childress Racing has earned more than 190 victories and 12 NASCAR championships, including six in the Sprint Cup Series with the legendary Dale Earnhardt. RCR was the first organization to win championships in the Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series. Its 2011 Sprint Cup Series lineup includes Paul Menard (No. 27 Menard’s Chevrolet), Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet), Jeff Burton (No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet) and Clint Bowyer (No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet). Its Camping World Truck Series program includes 2010 Rookie of the Year Austin Dillon (No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet) and Joey Coulter, Jr. (No. 22 RCR Development Chevrolet). Tim George Jr. (No 31 RCR Development Chevrolet) and Ty Dillon (No. 41 Chevrolet) will compete in the 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards. For more information, visit www.rcrracing.com.

  • Toyota NASCAR Notes & Quotes Bristol March 2011

    TOYOTA TIDBITS KAHNE TAMED DARLINGTON:  In Saturday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) at Darlington Raceway, Kasey Kahne earned his first NCWTS win in a Tundra.  Kahne drove the Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM) Tundra at the historic South Carolina track because the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) and NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) had the weekend off.  The 30-year-old started second in the KBM No. 18 entry and led 95 (of 147) laps at the 1.366- mile egg-shaped oval to earn his third career NCWTS win in four career starts.  In addition to Kahne, three other Tundra drivers earned top-10s in Saturday night’s race — Todd Bodine (third), Timothy Peters (sixth) and David Starr (10th).  

    BREAK OUT THE BROOM:  Camry driver Kyle Busch made NASCAR history last August at Bristol Motor Speedway when he became the first driver to sweep all three races — NCWTS, NNS and NSCS — at one race track in a single weekend.     Busch has more NSCS victories at Bristol (four) than at any other track, as well as two NNS wins and three NCWTS victories at the half-mile Tennessee oval.  

    SHORT TRACK SUCCESS:  The races at Bristol Motor Speedway mark the first short track event of the 2011 season for NSCS and NNS teams.  Last year, Camry drivers earned three (of four) wins at half-mile short tracks with Denny Hamlin visiting victory lane in both races at Virginia’s Martinsville Speedway and his Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) teammate Busch earning the win at Bristol Motor Speedway in the summer.

    TENNESSEE TIES:  Two Toyota team members call Tennessee home.  Mike Ford, crew chief for the No. 11 Camry driven by Hamlin, is from Morristown, Tenn.  Charlie Brock, car chief on the NNS JGR No. 18 Camry, is from  Brentwood, Tenn. Brock is the grandson of legendary racer ‘Red’ Farmer — an original member of ‘The Alabama Gang.’  

    TOYOTA TALLIES TENNESSEE TROPHIES:  Since becoming a NASCAR manufacturer in 2004, Toyota has found success in all three of NASCAR’s national touring series.  Tennessee has been a state where Camry drivers have earned an abundant amount of success, including three NSCS victories at Bristol Motor Speedway.  Camry racers have also been victorious at three Tennessee tracks in the Nationwide Series — Bristol (one win), Memphis Motorsports Park (two wins) and Nashville Superspeedway (two wins).  Tundra drivers have earned a total of 12 first-place trophies in the ‘Volunteer State’ across three race tracks — Bristol (five wins), Memphis (two wins) and Nashville (two wins).

    BACK STORY:  Follow Toyota Racing on Twitter (@toyotaracing) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/toyotaracing).   Background and images about the Toyota NASCAR program are available at www.toyotamotorsportsmedia.com.

    NOTES, QUOTES & NUMBERS NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS):  Since the start of the 2011 season, Toyota drivers have combined for two top-five results, seven top-10 finishes and have led 66 laps … After three races, two Toyota drivers are in the top-10 in the NSCS point standings — Martin Truex Jr. (seventh) and Denny Hamlin (eighth) are both 18 points behind leader Tony Stewart … Kasey Kahne (13th), Kyle Busch (14th) and Bobby Labonte (15th) are also in the top-15 in the standings after three races … … Joey Logano became the youngest pole-winner (19 years old) in NSCS history last March at Bristol.

    KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing How satisfying was it to sweep all three races at Bristol last August? “It was pretty cool because when you come so close and then don’t get it, it’s pretty frustrating.  I mean, in 2009 we won the Truck race and were leading the Nationwide race and we crashed out, and then we ended up winning the Cup race.  So, it was probably a year delayed.  It was pretty special.  It was cool to be able to put it all together in a complete weekend, with the Truck, the Nationwide car and the Cup car.”

    DAVID REUTIMANN, No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing What does it take to be successful at Bristol? “We’ve run well there, but we haven’t run as good as we wanted.  We ran second there last year.  We just have a good program for there.  Bristol is just like any other race track, you just need to stay out of trouble and sometimes it’s a little bit more difficult at Bristol to stay out of trouble than other race tracks.  In the end, we’ll try to be there at the end and make sure our car turns good.  Now, with the new surface you can run the top of the race track and the bottom.  Even if you are a little tight, you can get away with running the top and still make some pretty good ground.”

    DAVID REUTIMANN, No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing (continued) What would it mean if you won a race at Bristol? “It would be amazing.  That place is just phenomenal.  The atmosphere is so charged with all the people that are there and the design of the place.  To win a race at Bristol — it would rank right up there with winning Daytona for me.”

    MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing How do you feel about the start of the season? “The potential is there for us all to have a great season and so we’re excited about that.  My engineer Chad Johnson and my crew chief Pat Tryson — everyone is just really doing a great job right now and we know some areas that we need to improve and everybody is working hard on those areas.  We just need to go out there and do all of the little things right and not make any mistakes.  If we can do that, we’ll just keep stacking up points and knocking on the door to victory lane.   I’m pretty excited.  It has been a great start to our season and everybody is doing so well.  The sky is the limit for this team.  It’s great that we’re getting to show it early in the season.”

    BOBBY LABONTE, No. 47 Kingsford Toyota Camry, JTG-Daugherty Racing Are you looking forward to racing at Bristol? “Bristol is a great track — I love going there.  I’ve had some good runs and wadded a few up.  I feel confident in these guys — they had a good run there last year and the year before.  I’m looking forward to it.  Hopefully, that will fit our style with 500 laps there.  You have to be aggressive, but it’s a long race and I think the program for the team is really good.  I’d like to add my experience, hopefully that will help.”

    NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS):  Since the start of the 2011 season, Toyota drivers have combined for one win, one top-five result, eight top-10 finishes and have led 351 laps … Kenny Wallace (eighth, -27) is the top Toyota driver in the NNS point standings … Brian Scott (11th), Steve Wallace (14th) and Michael Annett (15th) are also in the top-15 in the standings … Kyle Busch earned the first NNS win for a Camry at Bristol last August.

    JASON RATCLIFF, crew chief, No. 18 Z-Line Designs Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Can you continue the streak of leading all the laps in the race that the team began at Phoenix? “To try and keep that record intact, you’re probably not going to attempt it at Bristol.  I’ll be happy if we can just go there and run well with the new car and be in contention to maybe get a win.  To try to go there and think we could lead all the laps, I think we’d be kidding ourselves.  We’ve run well there the last two or three years with the old car.  Hopefully, we can just keep that momentum going.  Kyle (Busch) runs well there in the (Sprint) Cup car, so maybe some of their stuff will apply to the Nationwide car.”

    What are the biggest differences between the old Nationwide Series car and the new car that will be used at Bristol? “The biggest thing we have to focus on is the difference between the splitter and the valence.  The splitter is a solid stop — you can’t go past it.  But, you want to get to it.  The valence — you wanted to get to it but, because of the material it was made of and the way it was designed, you had some flexibility there.  You could go a little beyond it — you could go short of it a little bit and be okay.  So, the splitter is probably the number one difference that requires us to shift our setup around. The second thing would be that this car has quite a bit more drag on it.  The third thing would probably be the approach you have to take, because the center of gravity is so much higher with these cars than it was with the old cars.  So, you have to take a different approach with the setup and a little bit of a different thought process to get things working for you.  The fourth thing, and the thing we’ll be focusing on heading into Bristol, is probably the brake package.  Because the center of gravity is higher and makes the car a little more difficult to turn, you have to slow it down a little bit more.” NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS):  Since the start of the 2011 NCWTS season, Tundra drivers have registered three wins, six top-five results, nine top-10 finishes and have led 215 laps … Seven Toyota drivers are currently in the top-15 in the NCWTS points after three of 25 races — Timothy Peters (third), Todd Bodine (seventh), Max Papis (ninth), Miguel Paludo (12th), David Starr (13th), Craig Goess (14th) and Justin Lofton (15th) … The NCWTS will enjoy two weeks off before returning to action on April 2 at Virginia’s Martinsville Speedway.

    KASEY KAHNE, No. 18 Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports Was winning the goal for the Darlington race weekend? “I went to Darlington wanting to win — that was the plan.  This is a tough series.  These guys do an awesome job.  That restart with Todd (Bodine) near the end of the race — our truck was really good once I could get rolling.  He tried to get me all the way up to the wall and I think he got himself loose by trying to squish me into the wall.  We had a good run down the back and some good laps after that.  It was a solid run.  I have to thank Kyle Busch for letting me drive and the whole team.  The guys do such a good job and it was a lot of fun driving for them and working with Eric (Phillips, crew chief), Rick Ren (general manager) and all the guys.”

  • BRISTOL GOLDEN GIVEAWAY OFFERS FANS CHANCE TO WIN FORD MUSTANG PACE CAR

    BRISTOLGOLDEN GIVEAWAY OFFERS FANS CHANCE TO WIN FORD MUSTANG PACE CAR BEGINNING MARCH 18  

    CONCORD, N.C.(March 16, 2011) –Race fans love having their picture taken with the Bristol Motor Speedway pace car. Now they have the opportunity not just to go home with a photo, but the car itself.  

    Beginning March 18, Bristol Motor Speedway, Scotts EZ Seed and Ford, will give fans the chance to win the official 2011 BMS 50th Anniversary Edition Ford Mustang pace car plus a pallet of Scotts EZ Seed product to beautify their lawn. Fans can register for the Bristol Golden Giveaway, which honors the Speedway ’s 50th anniversary, at www.bms50.com. The Mustang, valued at more than $44,000, features a number of upgrades, including a custom metallic gold paint job, Ford Racing wheels, Goodyear Eagle F1 tires and a power exhaust upgrade.  

    Three fans ultimately will be selected as finalists for the chance to win the Official Bristol Motor Speedway 50th Anniversary Edition Ford Mustang Pace Car. 

    All active 2011 Bristol Motor Speedway ticket account holders with a valid email address on file automatically will be entered.  Two fans names will be selected from the pool of entries while a third fan will be chosen during a special 50th Anniversary fan event which takes place at the Speedway July 30. Those three fans all win a trip to Bristol Motor Speedway for the August 26-27 night races, along with suite passes for the weekend, pit passes, Scotts and BMS 50th anniversary merchandise and parking passes. 

    Twenty weekly prizes consisting of Scotts and BMS 50th anniversary merchandise will also be awarded on www.bms50.com.  

    The three finalists will attend the pre-race show for the IRWIN Tools Night Race. Each willreceive a key and the fan with the key that starts the Official BMS pace car, which will have led the field for all NASCAR events at the World’s Fastest Half-Mile in 2011, wins this special edition vehicle to drive home!  

    The Bristol Golden Giveaway promotion ends July 30, 2011. For official rules, prize descriptions and odds disclosure, visit www.bms50.com.

  • Roush Fenway – Bristol Team Advance

    Roush Fenway – Bristol Team Advance

    Like us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/roushfenway

    Follow us on twitter: @roushfenway.com

    More information at www.roushfenway.com  

    Roush Fenway Shoots for 18th Bristol Win After an impressive run in Las Vegas and a weekend off, Roush Fenway Racing returns to the track at Bristol Motor Speedway where the company will look for its 18th NASCAR win at the half-mile track known for intense competition and fierce racing.

    Jeff Byrd 500 Sun. 3.20.11, 1:13 p.m. EDT FOX TV, PRN, Sirius 128  

    David Ragan No. 6 UPS Ford Greg Biffle, No. 16 3M Ford Matt Kenseth, No. 17 Crown Royal  Black Ford Carl Edwards, No. 99 Scotts EZ Seed Ford  

    Scotts EZ Seed 300 Sat. 3.19.11, 2:00 p.m. EDT ESPN TV, PRN, Sirius 128   Ricky Stenhouse, No. 6 Blackwell Angus Ford Trevor Bayne, No. 16 Roush Fenway Ford Carl Edwards, No. 60 Scotts EZ Seed Ford    

    By the Numbers Bristol Motor Speedway ranks in the top five of virtually every category for Roush Fenway Racing in Sprint Cup competition. Roush Fenway’s 10 Cup wins at Bristol are the second most that the organization has at any track and the nine poles are three more than RFR has at any other track. All in all, Roush Fenway has turned a total of 75,617 laps in Cup action at BMS and just over 90,000 in NASCAR competition.

    Winning Formula at Bristol Roush Fenway has won in all three of NASCAR’s major divisions at BMS, including 10 wins in the Cup Series. In addition, Roush Fenway has five wins at Bristol in the Nationwide Series, including David Ragan’s win there in the fall of ‘09. Overall Roush Fenway has won at Bristol 17 times in NASCAR competition, with six different drivers on three levels.

    Edwards King of the Oval Carl

    Edwards is one of only three drivers in NASCAR history to have won in all three of NASCAR’s major divisions at Bristol . Mark Martin accomplished the feat as well, with each of his wins coming in a Roush Fenway entry. Edwards is one of only four drivers to accomplish the career sweep at any NASCAR track.

      Runner Up Roush Fenway’s history at BMS began on April 10, 1988 with the No. 6 car almost winning Roush Fenway’s first race at the track and finishing second. Since that time, in addition to the organization’s 10 Cup wins at the track, Roush Fenway cars have finished second at BMS on seven occasions.  

    Hot Streaks Roush Fenway’s history at Bristol has been that of hot streaks. Roush Fenway swept the track in 2003 and put a Cup car in victory lane at Bristol at least once in every season from 2002-2008. In addition, Roush Fenway has sent an entry to victory lane at Bristol in nine of the last 10 years.

    Hitting on 50K Roush Fenway will turn its 50,000th mile of NASCAR action this weekend at Bristol . Roush Fenway has run over 92,000 laps, while leading over 4,500 laps in 240 starts at “ Thunder Valley .”