Category: NASCAR Cup Series

WELCOME, N.C. (September 30, 2010) — The following is a statement from Richard Childress, president and chief executive officer of Richard Childress Racing, regarding the September 29 decision of the NASCAR appeals committee to uphold the penalty on the No. 33 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team following the September 19 race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway:

“I am disappointed but not surprised by the decision knowing how the appeal system is structured. We proved beyond a reasonable doubt how the car was found to be out of tolerance after the race. Knowing how the system works, I brought a check with me to cover the cost of the appeal hearing and we have already submitted our request to appeal to the chief appellate officer. That being said, we will not let this be a distraction to the primary goal of one of our teams winning the Sprint Cup Series championship. We owe it to our fans and our sponsors to stay focused and bring the championship back to RCR. We will have no further comment on the matter until the appeal is final.”

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About Richard Childress Racing

Richard Childress Racing (www.rcrracing.com) has earned more than 180 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 2010 Sprint Cup Series lineup includes Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet), Jeff Burton (No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet) and Clint Bowyer (No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet). Bowyer drives the No. 21 Zaxby’s Chevrolet in the 2010 Nationwide Series, Austin Dillon drives the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet in the 2010 Camping World Truck Series and Tim George Jr. drives the No 31 RCR Development Chevrolet in the 2010 ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards. Ty Dillon and Ryan Gifford are RCR developmental drivers in both asphalt and dirt track racing.

Kasey Kahne

No. 9 Budweiser Ford Fusion

Price Chopper 400 at Kansas Speedway

Kasey Kahne and the No. 9 Budweiser Ford team will travel to Kansas City, Kan., to compete in Sunday’s Price Chopper 400 at Kansas Speedway.

For Kahne, the trip to Kansas will mark his seventh start at the 1.5-mile track. In his six previous starts at Kansas, Kahne has scored two top-10 finishes and one pole award. His average starting position there is 14.7 and his average finish is 16.7. Kahne scored his best-ever finish at Kansas, sixth, in last year’s race at the track.

With eight races to go in the 2010 season, Kahne has earned two pole awards, six top fives and eight top-10 finishes. He’s currently ranked 19th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver point standings.

Kahne kicked off the week with a trip to ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Conn., on Tuesday. While visiting the campus he participated in an online chat with fans, was interviewed on “SportsCenter” and “ESPNews” and co-hosted ESPN2’s “NASCAR Now” show.

Fans in the Kansas City, Kan., area will have two opportunities to meet Kahne on Thursday, Sept. 30. Kahne will be at the Price Chopper grocery store, located at 501 S. Commercial Drive in Bonner Springs, Kan., starting at 4 p.m. Just after 5 p.m., Kahne will make an appearance at Hooters, located at 1712 Village West Parkway in Kansas City, Kan. A limited number of wristbands will be available in advance at each location.

Kahne is organizing a 5K charity run and kids’ dash in Uptown Charlotte to be held the day following the fall NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The Kasey Kahne Foundation “Five Kahne Sponsored by Bank of America” is scheduled for Sunday morning, Oct. 17, and features a five kilometer (3.1-mile) route that will end at the NASCAR Hall of Fame. For more information, visit www.kaseykahnefoundation.org.

Follow along each weekend with Kahne and the team on Twitter. Check out @kaseykahne for behind-the-scenes information straight from the driver of the No. 9 Budweiser Ford. Get live updates from the track each weekend from @kk9team, the PR team for Kahne. Also, follow @RPMotorsports for additional information about the Richard Petty Motorsports organization.

Become a fan of Budweiser on Facebook. Exclusive information on Kasey and the No. 9 Budweiser Ford Team can be found on the Budweiser Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/Budweiser.

For the online version of the Budweiser Racing media guide, please visit .

Kasey Kahne discusses racing at Kansas Speedway:

Talk about racing at Kansas: “I’ve qualified well and led laps at Kansas, but I haven’t always been able to turn that into a good finish. Every time we go back to Kansas, the racing improves. The groove has gotten to be so wide that you can pretty much pass wherever you want to. Any track where you’re able to search around for that line that makes your car work better is a lot more fun for the drivers.”

RACE INFO:

Event: Price Chopper 400

Date/Time: Oct. 3, 2010/1 p.m. EST

2009 winner: Tony Stewart

2009 polesitter: Mark Martin

Distance: 400 laps/400 miles

Track Length: 1.5 miles

Banking: 15 degrees

Track Shape: Quad Oval

EXPRESS NOTES:

Hamlin, FedEx Racing Persevere at Dover: Denny Hamlin drove the #11 FedEx Express Toyota to a ninth-place finish at Dover International Speedway on Sunday, securing his second top-ten finish in the Chase and keeping his lead at the top of the Chase for the Sprint Cup standings intact heading to Kansas this weekend.

Hamlin at Kansas Speedway – Back Where it All Began: This weekend will mark Denny Hamlin’s sixth Cup start at Kansas Speedway, his 180th career Cup start, and a return to the site of Hamlin’s Cup Series debut five years ago this weekend. Kansas has represented a tricky stop for Hamlin from their first visit in 2005, but a year ago they not only broke into to the top-ten, they ran fourth as Hamlin charged forward early in the race and never looked back. As the laps counted down, Hamlin look poised to challenge for the win but a late caution gave all of the teams the chance to pit – undoing the #11 team’s fuel advantage – and Hamlin couldn’t chase down the leaders before the end. In 2008, despite starting deep in the field, the FedEx team made continual gains on the car but never found the exact balance they needed to compete with the leaders. They did, however, fight their way forward from 30th place into the top-ten with just over 30 laps before taking the checkered flag in 11th place. In 2007, Hamlin had a promising run derailed when he was collected in a lap-184 wreck. After enduring long delays for rain, Hamlin had the #11 car inside of the top-15 but the incident forced him back in the pack and he finished 29th. In 2006, Hamlin and team suffered through a pit-road speeding penalty on lap 146 and a loose wheel on lap 209 before ultimately finishing 18th. In September of 2005, with the #11 team struggling to find success and consistency, J.D. Gibbs, President of Joe Gibbs Racing, offered his then Busch Series driver Hamlin the opportunity to make his first Cup start. After turning heads with a top-ten qualifying lap, Hamlin ran competitively until being forced two laps down by a cut tire and eventually finishing 32nd.

Race Series Date Start Finish Laps (Led)

Price Chopper 400 Sprint Cup Oct. 4, 2009 22 4 267/267 1

Camping World RV 400 Sprint Cup Sept. 29, 2008 30 11 267/267 1

Lifelock 400 Nextel Cup Sept. 30, 2007 5 29 209/210

Banquet 400 Nextel Cup Oct. 1, 2006 25 18 266/267

Banquet 400 Nextel Cup Oct. 9, 2005 7 32 265/267_________

Averages/Total 16.8 22.5 99.6% 2

Kansas Chassis – JGR 285 and 270: The team will unload JGR 285 – a new car from the JGR stable this weekend at Kansas. JGR 270, a winner at Texas in April, will serve as the backup.

FedEx Freight Kansas City Center Along for the Ride in Kansas: The #11 FedEx Freight Camry will carry the letters KCL on the B-posts this weekend in recognition of the Kansas City, MO Service Center. The Kansas City center continues to demonstrate a strong commitment towards achieving FedEx initiatives. During the current fiscal year, Kansas City is one of only a few FedEx National service centers to achieve certain operational metrics which can qualify them the People Service Profit Compass Excellence Award for 2011.

HAMLIN CONVERSATION – Kansas Speedway:

The Chase features tracks that you only visit once a season, how does that affect your preparation – both in terms of the car and for you behind the wheel?: “It’s a different situation, really. It seems that every time we finish a race in the first half of the season we talk about what we can learn when we come back in the fall or come back in the Chase. Obviously we don’t have that luxury here and I think it does play a factor in our performance but it’s not really a concern for us. We work hard to prepare for every race and there are things we can do in the shop but I think a situation like this means you’ll see us get every minute and every lap we can out of the practice sessions on Friday and Saturday. There are things we can plan for in the shop but we depend a lot on what we learn on the track, in the conditions we’ll be racing in.”

Each year that passes puts your Cup debut deeper in memory, do you remember that weekend?: “I’ll never forget that weekend because everything was happening so fast and then I was here in Kansas with the #11 FedEx team and making my first start in a Cup car. It was an amazing experience and I think about how close it was to being a really good weekend. I wrecked the primary in qualifying after a really good first lap and we were really good in the race until we cut a tire. If you would have told me that weekend I would be coming back here five years later running as well as we are and leading the points, I am sure I would have laughed at you and wouldn’t have been the only one.”

You pointed to getting through New Hampshire and Dover as key to your Chase hopes – are you satisfied with where you are heading to Kansas?: “Well I would say we could have been in even better shape with a couple of wins but just knowing how we’ve performed at those tracks in the past, we did what we had to do to put ourselves in a good place looking ahead. There are no easy races in the Chase, just those that you look forward to more than others.”

2010 FEDEX RACING – TEAM ROSTER

Crew Chief: Mike Ford – Morristown, Tenn.

Car Chief: Chris “Spider” Gillin – Smithtown, NY

Shocks: Tim Sparkman – St. Louis, Mo.

Engineer: Mike Wheeler – Southholt, NY

Tire Specialist: Patrick Mullen – Brick, N.J.

Windshield: Bobby “Spike” Christenson – Spokane, Wash.

Mechanic: Rick Bray – Placerville, Calif.

Hauler Driver: Jerry Hess – Lancaster, Pa.

Mechanic: John Furino – Long Island, NY

Hauler Driver: Frank Hodel – Blythe, Calif.

Spotter: Curtis Markham – Fredericksburg, Va.

Front Tire Changer: Jonathan Sherman – Monroe, La.

Rear Tire Changer: Mike Hicks – Salisbury, N.C.

Rear Tire Carrier: Heath Cherry – Belmont, N.C.

Front Tire Carrier: Brandon Pegram – Statesville, N.C.

Jackman: Nate Bolling – Swanton, Ohio

Motor Specialist: Chris Woodward – Franklin, NH

Gas can: Scott Wood – Liberty, S.C.

Catch Can: John Eicher – London, Ky..

JGR Athletic Director: Michael Lepp – Charlotte, N.C.

Kansas Speedway, 1.5-mile

Price Chopper 400

Sun. 10.3.10, 1:00 p.m. EDT

ESPN TV, MRN, Sirius 128

David Ragan, No. 6 UPS Ford

Greg Biffle, No. 16 3M Sherwin Williams Ford

Matt Kenseth, No. 17 Crown Royal Black Ford

Carl Edwards, No. 99 Aflac Ford

Kansas Lottery 300

Sat. 10.2.10, 3:30 p.m. EDT

ESPN 2 TV, MRN, Sirius 128

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 6 Citi Financial Ford

Colin Braun No. 16 Con-way Freight Ford

Carl Edwards, No. 60 Fastenal Ford

Paul Menard, No. 98 Menard’s

Log on to www.roushfenway.com to see exclusive video of Roush Fenway driver Carl Edwards talking about competing at his ‘home’ track of Kansas Speedway.

Roush Fenway, Chase for Sprint Cup Heads to Kansas

After an up and down weekend at the Monster Mile of Dover, Roush Fenway and the NASCAR circuit heads to Kansas Speedway where the team will look to keep its championship hopes alive. The Sprint Cup Series is again joined by the Nationwide Series, at a track where Roush Fenway has won in a three major series.

Roush Fenway Chase Report

After Dover, Roush Fenway moves into Kansas sixth (Edwards), ninth (Biffle) and 11th (Kenseth) in the point standings. The teams will need to make a serious charge at the 1.5 mile speedway, where Roush Fenway has won twice in Chase action.

Roush Fenway at Kansas

Roush Fenway has made 89 starts at Kansas Speedway, winning six times and collecting 29 top-five and 46 top-10 finishes across the top-three NASCAR series at the track. Roush Fenway’s first win at the track came via the NNS series with Jeff Burton in 2002. The following year Jon Wood took the checkered flag in the truck series and Mark Martin collected the organization’s first Cup win there in 2005.

Roush Fenway Kansas Wins

2005 Martin Cup

2007 Biffle Cup

2002 Burton NNS

2003 Wood Truck

2004 Edwards Truck

2007 Darnell Truck

Roush Fenway in the Chase

Roush Fenway is no stranger to NASCAR’s Chase to the Cup, the organization has fielded at least two cars in each of its seven years of existence. In 2005, Roush Fenway occupied half of the 10-car field and in 2004 the organization won the inaugural Chase. In addition, Roush Fenway has placed more cars in the Chase field (20) than any other racing organization.

Leading the Way

Roush Fenway has led a total of 1,174 laps in NASCAR action at Kansas, including 634 laps in Cup action and 311 laps in the Nationwide Series.

Kansas Chase Moments

There have been quite a few Chase highlights for Roush Fenway at Kansas. Mark Martin and th No. 6 team took two tires and never looked back, leading 137 laps en route to the team’s win there in 2005. Greg Biffle came back and took the checkered flag in 2007, but the most memorable Chase moment for Roush Fenway at Kansas, may have come in 2008 when Carl Edwards attempted a last turn, off the wall pass for the race win. Despite the fact Edwards gutsy move failed to notch him the victory, Edwards still finished second, leading four Roush Fenway cars in the top eight of the race.

Edwards Late-Race Pass Attempt for home-track victory stands out at Kansas

This is the third in a series of 10 moments that have shaped Roush Fenway’s history in the Chase for the Sprint Cup

Kansas Speedway – Sept. 28, 2008

CONCORD, N.C. (Sept. 28, 2010) – Both of Roush Fenway’s two wins at Kansas Speedway occurred during Chase races and were earned by drivers competing in the Chase. Mark Martin and the No. 6 team took two tires, never looked back and ran away with the 2005 Kansas event and Greg Biffle was equally as strong in his 2007 victory. However, it is Carl Edwards’ runner-up finish at his ‘home track’ in 2008 that stands out the most in people’s minds.

With the laps winding down, Edwards seemed to find something in his No. 99 Ford and spent the last several laps chasing down leader Jimmie Johnson. Edwards attempt at the victory concluded with a last corner pass attempt that saw Edwards drive in low in the turn and pass Johnson, before moving up the track and slamming into the wall. Still, through it all he stayed on the gas holding onto second as Johnson went back around. Despite the fact he was unable to hold on for the win, Edwards settled for what is most likely the most daring runner-up finish in NASCAR history.

“I planned on hitting the wall, but I didn’t plan on the wall slowing me down that much,” said Edwards after the race.

“In video games, you can just run into the wall and run it wide open. That’s what I did, but it didn’t quite work out the same as the video game. I just really, really wanted to win this race,” added the Missouri native.

“I feel bad for tearing up [the] car intentionally. I didn’t want to hit him. I just want to win this race more than any race on the schedule.”

“I was so in awe of how far he drove it in,” said Johnson after the race. “I watched him pound the wall and get back in the gas and thought, ‘Man, he’s serious about this win. I’d better get back in the gas myself.’”

The day also marked a strong outing for Roush Fenway as well, with Greg Biffle winning a drag race to the finish for third over Jeff Gordon. Matt Kenseth finished fifth and David Ragan was eighth, with Roush Fenway placing four cars inside the top 10.

Roush Fenway 10-for-10 Chase Moments:

10. Kurt Busch, No. 97 team win inaugural Chase race at New Hampshire.

9. 1-2-3 Roush Fenway finish at Dover.

8. Carl Edwards makes a last-lap pass attempt at Kansas.

Roswell, Ga. (September 28, 2010) – Todd Berrier, crew chief for the No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet driven by Jeff Burton, and WYPALL Wipers’ crew chief representative has been named the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Race following Sunday’s AAA 400 at Dover International Raceway, the famed “Monster Mile”.

Despite starting from the back of the pack in 27th, Burton never fell below that mark, due to consistent pit stops by the Berrier-led team; working his way up through the field, into the top 20 by lap 50 and into the top 15 by lap 146.

Following a series of long green-flag runs during the second half of the 400-lap event, Berrier’s crew performed a flawless pit stop on lap 188 shooting him out in eighth for the restart on lap 193.

This momentum stayed with Burton as he moved into the top five 16 laps later, eventually moving into second on lap 345 and with his eyes on the prize. The final pit stop came with just 38 laps remaining and with the help from Berrier and crew, Burton never looked back, settling for a runner-up finish.

“My guys did a great job of adjusting to the track and getting the car better at the right time,” said Burton. “At about halfway and through the next to the last run, my car just got really happy and took off. We then became a contender. I’m just proud of the Cat Racing team for being right at the right time.”

“Berrier played the key role getting Jeff in the right position,” said WYPALL Wipers crew chief representative Jeff Hammond. “Burton passed more cars and because of a great car, finished where he did.”

WYPALL* Wipers Crew Chief Results

Marcos Ambrose and the No. 47 Bush’s Baked Beans Toyota Camry, led by Frank Kerr took off from the 23rd position and after fighting an ill-handling car all day, finished 20th.

“We were running lap times as fast as the leader, but the problem was that we were pinned a lap down and never had a caution fall our way to get back onto the lead lap,” said Ambrose. “We had a car capable of finishing in the top 10.”

WYPALL* Wipers Crew Chief Team

Berrier, Kerr and Hammond, along with representatives from the WYPALL Wipers brand, serve as the panel for the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief Challenge and vote for the weekly crew chief winners. In addition to the $500 check, the winning crew chief will receive signage to announce the win on their pit box the following week. The crew chief with the most weekly wins will be honored as the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief of the Year and will be presented a $20,000 check at season’s end.

Former winners of the WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief Challenge include Tony Eury, Sr. (Dale Earnhardt, Jr.), Robbie Reiser (Matt Kenseth), Doug Richert (Greg Biffle), Mike Ford (Denny Hamlin) and Chad Knaus (Johnson).

About WYPALL Wipers

WYPALL is a brand of Kimberly-Clark Professional. Since 2004, WYPALL Wipers has been affiliated with some of racing’s top teams. Offering heavy-duty to versatile light-duty towels, WYPALL Wipers provide race teams with a number of products that demonstrate strength and durability. Defeating the toughest of challenges, from absorbing tough grease and oil to wiping down windshields without leaving residue behind, WYPALL Wipers continue to offer performance and versatility.

The WYPALL Wipers Crew Chief Challenge will continue throughout the 2010 season and spotlight the men behind the machines. For more information, log onto www.wypall.com.

Biffle on Kansas: “Kansas is a unique track that I have always enjoyed racing at. I think I enjoy it because I’ve run well there. We finished third there the last two years and had a win there in 2007 so we know we can get to victory lane there. The last two weekends have not been a great start to the Chase for us so we really need to get to victory lane to try to make up some of the points. This is a resilient team though and we are definitely going to give it all we have until the checkered flag drops at Homestead.”

Erwin on Kansas: “We’re taking a brand new car to Kansas this weekend based on what we’ve learned at tests and races throughout this season. We’re definitely glad to get back to a mile-and-a-half race track. Kansas is a fast track that allows for a lot of good racing and we’ve had a lot of success there. My first win with this team was at Kansas in 2007 so it would be great to repeat that success there this weekend. Kansas is easy on tire wear so that allows for flexibility in pit strategy as far as taking two tires or fuel only. Hopefully that will play into our hands and we’ll have a solid run this weekend.”

Kansas Notes

• Biffle and the 3M team are currently ninth in the standings; they are 140 points behind leader Denny Hamlin but only 75 points out of fifth.

• Last year following Biffle’s 13th-place finish at Dover, he was ninth in the standings and 138 points behind the leader who was Mark Martin at that time.

• Biffle’s average finish at Kansas is ninth from an average starting position of 18.8.

• During last season’s race at Kansas, Biffle led the most laps but reported that the car was just too loose after a late-race pit stop for four tires. He finished third to Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon but held off Juan Pablo Montoya in the closing laps.

• This weekend the No. 16 Ford Fusion will feature a Sherwin Williams paint scheme. The car was actually painted with a more environmentally friendly paint by Sherwin Williams called AWX Waterborne Basecoat System which has the following advantages: Up to a 96% decrease in VOC emissions compared to solvent borne basecoats; Reduces hazardous waste generation; Eliminates flammability hazard associated with solvent borne coatings; Uses less material to cover more area.