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Featured interviews from SpeedwayMedia.com

  • Steve Arpin Begins New Venture with Turner Motorsports in Camping World Truck Series

    Steve Arpin Begins New Venture with Turner Motorsports in Camping World Truck Series

    Earlier this week, Steve Arpin made the announcement that he would be joining Turner Motorsports to drive the No. 32 Mike’s Hard Lemonade Truck for five races.

    [media-credit name=”stevearpin.com” align=”alignright” width=”243″][/media-credit]Arpin, a native of Fort Frances, Ontario, began his racing career on dirt, though made the transition to asphalt in in 2008, starting in the ARCA Racing Series and working his way up the ranks. Last year marked a breakout year for Arpin as he won three ARCA races for Venturini Motorsports and ran some Nationwide races for JR Motorsports, including a top 10 at Daytona. 

    Before Arpin gets set for his first Camping World Truck Series start at Dover next month, he talked about his deal with Turner Motorsports and more.

    Ashley McCubbin: First of all, what are your thoughts on the announcement with Turner Motorsports?

    Steve Arpin: I couldn’t be more thrilled about it. We’ve worked really hard with Mike’s Hard Lemonade. We had lots of success in the ARCA Series last year. We worked really hard to figure out our best spot for this year and when the opportunity arose at Turner Motorsports, its like I said a bunch of times now we’ve got all the ingredients for the perfect recipe and I’m absolutely thrilled. I’m like a kid jumping around in a candy store. I’d like to get in one of these trucks in drive them.

    AM: You spoke of having all the perfect ingredients. What are some of your thoughts on working with your new teammates?

    SA: We’ve got Ricky Carmichael – They call him the Goat. He’s like the greatest of all-time in motorcross racing; he’s a champion. There’s so much to learn from him on the transition to the truck series and asphalt racing. There’s so much to learn from him from a life in general side in what it takes to be successful and learning things from him from that stand point. Then there’s James Buescher – he has been really successful in the Trucks and trying to do as much as he can Nationwide that I couldn’t be more thrilled than that. I am going to be sharing a truck with Mark Martin, Blake Feese and Brad Sweet and we’re all going to leaning on each other and the four Nationwide drivers as well. It’s a great team and there’s so much knowledge and so much talent just under the Turner Motorsports banner that it promotes a great opportunity for success.

    AM: So with the first start coming at Texas, what are some of your thoughts going into that?

    SA: I am excited about that. It’s like the perfect place to start off a strong ambition with my history at Texas. We got our first intermediate win in the ARCA Series there last year. That’s where everything got kicked off with Mike’s Hard Lemonade; that was the first race with them on board with us last year and it’s Steve Turner home track and it’s my favorite track so its going to be awesome. Texas is such an event. The facility is just unbelievable when you pull into the place and  they do such a good job at Texas Motor Speedway and the fans around Texas are great too so we’re pretty excited about that.

    AM: With the ARCA experience under your belt, how do you think that is going to help you?

    SA: Anytime you can get lots of experience with being with a team and racing knowledge, its good in my situation as I don’t have a lot of asphalt experience. This is still pretty new adventure so I don’t think I can put a price on how beneficial that was to me. I was a great team, Venturini Motorsports, and they put great cars under me and gave me the opportunity to win races and have Mike’s Hard Lemonade, it was just a great experience for me, both as a driver and as a brand ambassador.

    AM: What are some of your thoughts on the competition level in the Camping World Truck Series right now?

    SA: I think its incredible. I think anytime you get into anything under the NASCAR level at that level of motorsports, these people don’t get here by accident. You got to earn your way here and the competition level – we’re going to be racing against guys like Ricky Carmichael, James Buescher, Kyle Busch at times, Ron Hornaday, Todd Bodine. It’s absolutely incredible level of competition and it’s definitely going to be a step up from the ARCA Series compettion wise, but I think we’re definitely ready for the challenge.

    AM: What are your expectations going into this?

    SA: I want to win races. I realize there’s going to be a learning curve and we’re definitely going to need to have some curve balls thrown at us and some growing pains, that’s just part of life and anything you do, but its just as matter of how we learn from those mistakes and learn from those growing pains and capitalize on them. Part of being a racecar driver is my job is to get into that racecar and make it go as fast as I possibly can and provide the crew on information about what the car is doing and get the truck just as good as we can possibility it. With Turner Motorsports and Hendrick motors and all the people we have at Turner Motorsports, we’re putting myself in a position to do really well and I don’t think my expectations should be any less than good solid runs.

    AM: What’s your first racing memory?

    SA: My first racing memory was my first go-kart race when I was 10 years old. All I remember was getting out of go-kart and begging my dad the whole trip home, it was an hour trip home, begging my dad the whole way ‘if I could do this for the rest of my life, this was all I wanted to do for the first of my life’. I just absolutely love driving racecars ever since the first time I drove go-karts. Its just most thrilling – like, I’m luckiest guy on earth to do what I love doing for a living. It’s the most thrilling thing to be able to work hard all week long and get going on the weekend to get in that car and drive.

    AM: And what’s your favourite racing memory?

    SA: I think my favourite racing memory was Daytona Speedweeks in 2007. We just had a great week there. At Vulousia Speedway Park, we won a whole bunch – I think we won five in a row there. The other two races were run at Georgia and won both of those. We had seven wins there and that was pretty incredible experience for me.

    AM: Where do you see yourself in five years?

    SA: I’ve got my plans for the next 15-20 years. I’m just trying to figure out how we can get all these team owners to go along with my plan. That’s no word of a lie. I really want to keep up on my progression. I really want to take this opportunity in the Truck Series, whether it’s one year or two years, I really want to take this opportunity and captitalize on it and keep progressing up the ranks. But ultimately, my ultimate goal is to end up in the Cup Series and that’s where I want to be. We want to focus hard and make sure we do this right, both on the competition side and business side, and make sure we have a long-lasting relationship with Mike’s Hard Lemonade as well.

  • Jeff Gordon’s Mother Approaches Darlington Race With Pride

    Jeff Gordon’s Mother Approaches Darlington Race With Pride

    This weekend, prior to the Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, the time-honored tradition of giving the command to start engines will once again be afforded to the NASCAR moms in honor of Mother’s Day.

    [media-credit name=”sp.ask.com” align=”alignright” width=”106″][/media-credit]Amongst the group again this year will be Carol Bickford, four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon’s mother. And there is just one word that she has to sum up her feelings about her son this Mother’s Day, proud.

    “We always go to Darlington and we do the little Mother’s Day ‘Sons start your engines’ thing,” Bickford said. “Then we get introduced with our sons.”

    “And I get to see some of the other mothers that I’ve met over the years,” Bickford continued. “That’s always nice to catch up. We do it once a year and it’s really fun, as well as a proud moment.”

    For Carol Bickford, being the mother of one of NASCAR’s brightest stars has most certainly had it joys, as well as challenges. But it has been a journey that Bickford will always treasure.

    “It’s been fun,” Bickford said. “It’s been interesting. It’s been filled with a lot of pride and some great moments. Some not so great moments sometimes, but that’s all part of life.”

    “I think that every parent is faced with some big challenges in raising children, period,” Bickford continued philosophically. “It’s one of the greatest challenges that I think a parent can have is raising their children. Your biggest joy is to know that they turn out happy, successful in any direction that they go, and that they turn out to be good people.”

    Bickford and her husband John, who will celebrate their 38th wedding anniversary after Mother’s Day, knew early on that their son Jeff Gordon would have a career in racing.

    “Very early on, we knew that Jeff would be interested in racing,” Bickford said. “John, his step-father, has been a very big part of our lives for a good many years. He saw something in Jeff, the hand eye coordination type thing.”

    “Jeff would play Atari video games and he was riding a two-wheel bike without training wheels at three years old,” Bickford continued. “That takes a lot of coordination.”

    “Then he was racing BMX bikes when he was four years old and then we got into the quarter midget racing when he was four and a half,” Bickford said. “Jeff started going to the driving school at that time too. So, we knew pretty early on.”

    While Bickford and her family did not have a racing connection when she was growing up, Bickford caught the racing bug herself in an unusual way.

    “When I was growing up, my family wasn’t involved in racing but my father used to work for Continental Baking Company and he used to deliver hot dog and hamburger buns to Vallejo Speedway,” Bickford said. “Every Saturday night if they ran out of hot dog and hamburger buns, they always called him and I always wanted to go out there with him. I don’t know what the fascination was but I was probably ten or twelve years old at the time.”

    While Bickford has always loved racing, she never quite felt the urge to get behind the wheel herself.

    “The only thing I’ve ever done is drive a quarter midget with Jeff when we were teaching him how to set up and pass,” Bickford said. “I have no desire to drive but it’s fascinating to watch.”

    Bickford still gets to the track as often as she can and, if she is not there in person, she is glued to her television set watching her son compete.

    “These days, I don’t get to the track nearly as much as I used to a few years ago,” Bickford said. “There are still two race tracks that I’ve never been to, Fontana and Chicago.”

    “But I’ve been to every other race track on the circuit many, many times,” Bickford continued. “I’m able to pick and choose the races and Jeff is understanding about that fact.”

    Gordon’s mom did not miss watching the Crown Royal presents the Matthew and Daniel Hansen 400 this past weekend at Richmond either. Unfortunately, she had to see her son’s good run ruined by a wickedly hard crash into a non-safer barrier wall.

    “He was having a very good night when unfortunately that happened,” Bickford said. “He got out of the car right away and I knew he was OK.”

    “It just comes along with any sport,” Bickford continued. “If you focus on everything that can go wrong, you’ll drive yourself crazy.”

    While she did not get to experience it this weekend, one of her biggest thrills as a mother is being in Victory Lane with her son.

    “It’s wonderful!” Bickford said. “It’s the best feeling there is.”

    “They are very proud moments and very happy moments when you’re fortunate enough to be standing in that position,” Bickford continued. “It’s a great feeling.”

    But there is no better feeling, according to Bickford, than getting that phone call on Mother’s Day from her children.

    “I won’t go into anything else they give me, but the phone call from all my children is the thing that makes me happiest,” Bickford said.

    How will Carol Bickford feel this Mother’s Day when she not only gets those phone calls from her children but also gives the command for her son to start the engine on the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet?  She sums it up in one word.

    “Proud,” Bickford said simply. “I’m proud not just for what Jeff’s done on the race track or with his career but for what he’s done with his life.”

    “Watching Jeff with his wife and his family and how he’s grown and matured,” Bickford continued. “There is just a very big sense of pride.”

  • Sam Hornish, Jr. Hopes Step Backwards Leads to Big Step Forward

    Sam Hornish, Jr. Hopes Step Backwards Leads to Big Step Forward

    While Sam Hornish Jr. has taken a bit of a step backwards, from racing in the Cup Series last year to now competing in select Nationwide races, he firmly believes that this step back will most surely lead soon to big steps forward.

    [media-credit name=”David Yeazall ” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Hornish will be back in his Nationwide No. 12 Penske race car this weekend at Richmond International Raceway. He will be sponsored for his fourth start of the Nationwide season, the Bubba Burger 250, by Olympic Paints, a sponsor that was on his car for his best finish to date, a fourth place finish at Pocono a few years ago.

    “I couldn’t be more excited for this weekend’s race at Richmond,” Hornish said. “It’s one of my favorite tracks and I have a lot of success here. I’ve always liked the track.”

    Hornish is also coming off a successful run at Talladega where he led laps and was in the top five most of the day. He finished the Aaron’s 312 NASCAR Nationwide race at Talladega in the 13th spot.

    Yet, in spite of moving forward with the 2011 Nationwide season, Hornish’s step back has not been without its challenges.

    “It’s been rough for us,” Hornish admitted. “All the guys that work on my car have other jobs at the shop. So, we’re a side project a little bit.”

    “It’s not exactly a perfect scenario,” Hornish said. “But sometimes you have to take a step back to take a step forward.”

    “We want to race in the Cup Series but this allows me to keep my foot in the game,” Hornish said of his Nationwide schedule. “We want to give this opportunity to our sponsor to get their feet wet in it and understand where they wanted to be and what they wanted to do. We feel like we’re growing a sponsor and it’s a way to keep myself in the game.”

    In spite of the step back, Hornish truly is embracing the opportunities and the lessons to be learned from it.

    “For me, it gives me the opportunity to work with new people and a new sponsor,” Hornish said. “On the personal side, I’ve had a lot more time to spend with my family. That’s been one of the benefits of this scenario.”

    Hornish also is careful to put his step back this year in perspective, particularly with the difficulties that so many have experienced with the recent storms and tornadoes in the Midwest and Southern parts of the country.

    “It’s obviously an unfortunate situation for a lot of people and we’re definitely thinking of that this weekend,” Hornish said. “I woke up five times throughout the night watching the news and the weather.  It’s unfortunate for sure.”

    He also got a perspective check when he visited injured soldiers at the Hunter Homes McGuire Veterans Administration Medical Center in Richmond, Virginia in preparation for the race weekend.

    “We did a walk through the spinal cord injury unit at the VA and met a lot of nice people,” Hornish said. “It was a good day and it puts a lot of things in perspective.”

    Another benefit of Hornish’s step back is being able to participate in his newest off-track gig, giving voice to Roary the Racing Car, an animated series carried on the PBS Kids Sprout Channel. Roary the Racing Car tracks the adventures of a young race car that resides at the Silver Hatch Racetrack, exploring his relationship with his race car friends and Big Chris, a mechanic who loves karaoke.

    “That’s definitely a fun thing for me to do,” Hornish said. “It’s a once in a lifetime and most guys don’t get to have a part on a TV show. It’s been a lot of fun.”

    Bottom line, however, Hornish yearns to get himself and his season moving forward so that he can position himself for a return to the Cup Series at some point in the very near future.

    “Obviously my goal is to get back into the Cup Series one way or another,” Hornish said. “I don’t just want to start and park.”

    “So, I’m just looking how to do that,” Hornish said. “We’ll just see how things play out.”

    “I feel like the next step forward is just right around the corner for us,” Hornish continued. “With my previous success at Richmond and how well our test went, I’ve got a good feeling about this weekend.”

    “For the fans who are supporting us and giving us wishes and prayers to race more often, I’m hoping we get that job done for them.”

  • Austin Dillon Looks For Championship in Second Season of Truck Racing

    Austin Dillon Looks For Championship in Second Season of Truck Racing

    After Martinsville, Austin Dillon sits seventh in points, 20 points out of the lead with one top five and two top 10s.

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]The season started off on the wrong note for the 20-year old with a crash at Daytona, though since then he has been climbing up through the points.

    “It’s a better start for me,” he said. “I think we’re in a better situation this year in points and I feel the competition level is high in the Truck Series.”

    The competition level in the Camping World Truck Series, to some fans, is better than any of the top three divisions. Dillon attributes that to the talent and teams.

    “I feel there’s a wide variety of new guys that have come in with a lot of talent and you still have the veterans that know how to run these tracks and how to get it done,” he said.

    One of the new talents is Dillon’s teammate Joey Coulter, who has been competiting in the ARCA Series the past couple of years.

    “Joey Coulter is a great driver,” he said. “He’s done a good job this year. I feel like he’s had some bad breaks so far, but he is going to be just fine. He’s started to learn how these trucks driver and there’s still a lot to learn for him and he will learn more as we go to the mile and a halfs, tracks he hasn’t been to. It’s a learning experience, but we’ll take care of him.”

    Dillon, grandson of car owner Richard Childress, has been around racing his entire life.

    “You get to go to races a lot and its just a regular family,” he said of the experience in a racing family. “You look out for each other,  take care of each other, and we go to the track and its just nice to have a strong family background in something that I love to do.”

    The first races he remembers going to date back to his dad, Mike Dillon, racing late models.

    “Probably going to all of my dad’s late model races, but first time big one was going to Dale Earnhardt’s when he won the Daytona 500,” he said. “We got to go to victory lane and do the hat dance when he won the race at Daytona. That’s the first one I really remember.”

    The first time he got in the racecar was in a bandolero on a quarter mile behind Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    “It was fun as it was such a challenge and I knew after that it was what I wanted to do,” he said.

    As he goes forward with the rest of the year, Dillon will be a driver who will be challenging for wins at every track, though Texas and Michigan are two he’d really like to win at.

    “I really like Texas and Michigan,” he said. “Both those tracks are really fun. I like Michigan – that’s just fun; it’s a really racey track. Texas because the pistols, the cowboy, and I feel like we’ve been really close in winning a race there so hopefully we’ll get one of them.”

    For now, Dillon is focused on Nashville this weekend as he will compete in both the Camping World Truck Series race and the Nationwide Series race.

    “Great race track,” he said. “I have ran well there in the past. Get to run a Nationwide car there for the first time. There’s a pretty cool guitar for a trophy so I wouldn’t mind taking the guitar home.”

    It has been reported that Dillon will be running full-time in Nationwide next year, though he will make his first Sprint Cup start later this year.

    “Its just another learning curve,” he said. “It’s awesome. I didn’t know I’d be in the Cup Series that fast. It’s going to be a lot of fun and I’m just going to have to take it day-by-day from the time that we get there.”

    Away from the track, Dillon hosts his own radio show “Country Boy Radio” on High Point University’s radio from 4pm-6pm EST every Monday.

    “I love it,” he said. “It’s something that I just started this year and within the first 30 minutes of the first show, I knew keep doing it and really enjoy it.”

  • Points leader Johnny Sauter talks about season and more

    Points leader Johnny Sauter talks about season and more

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”233″][/media-credit]To say that the beginning of the year has been good for Johnny Sauter would be understatement as currently the driver of the No. 13 for ThorSport Racing sits first in points with his teammate Matt Crafton second with a win from Martinsville under his belt.

    This weekend marks a big date on the schedule for Johnny as Curb Records, which has been associated with Johnny his entire career, will make their 500th career shot next weekend at Nashville Speedway. 

    Johnny took some time to answer some questions with regards to his season, Nashville and more.

    Ashley McCubbin: What are some of your thoughts on the season so far?

    Johnny Sauter: Its been a good year. To be first in points and have a win in the first four races, there’s nothing to ashamed off so we got to keep going. There’s 21 races left so hopefully we can win a couple more races and make a good run for the championship.

    AM: What are some of your thoughts with regards to the competition level in the series?

    JS: As far as the competition level, personally I think its one of the most competitive seasons so far with all the teams that are involved. I think we had a lot more teams show up at Daytona than anybody probably even realized. You got some rookie drivers, you got some veteran drivers, you got them all paired up with good teams. I think its, you know obviously you got some of the Cup guys that come run with us, so I think you obviously got to look at it as being really competitive and pretty tough right now.

    AM: You spoke of some of the Cup drivers coming in and running in the Truck Series. What are some of your thoughts on that?

    JS: I mean, it doesn’t bother me at all. You could make a case for everything, especially now a days, so obviously they’re going to come down and race and there’s no rule against it. A lot of people spend, in my mind, too much time worrying about what Cup drivers are doing in the Trucks or the Nationwide Series. That’s part of life and we feel that we got a team that we can beat the Cup guys. We just got to keep doing what we’re doing at ThorSport with what we’re doing and not get caught up in what everybody else is doing.

    AM: How did you originally get involved with ThorSport Racing?

    JS: Well, I mean it was a deal where in 2005, I ran a race down for them at Homestead, the final race of the year, and that was the first time that I met some of the people with ThorSport. I think it’s just one of those deals where there was a opening and I happened to be looking and we were able to put a deal together to race together and here I am in my third season with them and the rest of the history as they say.

    AM: What are some of your thoughts on working with your teammmates Matt Crafton and Dakoda Armstrong?

    JS: Matt has been in the Truck Series for a while and has been real consistent and we both kind of have the same background with short track late model racing so we have fun cutting up with each other, being teammates, and whatever. We race each other hard and have fun. Dakoda is obviously the new face and just to get to see his development and getting starting in the series and all the things that he has to learn and hopefully me and Matt can help him along with all that stuff. It’s just going to be interesting to watch and fun through the year.

    AM: This weekend marks the 500th start for Curb Records. What are some of your thoughts on that?

    JS: I don’t think a lot of people know that much of his background in the sport. You know, he’s been around a long time and have had a lot of success with a lot of different drivers – Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty when he won his first race. He’s been involved in the sport for a long time and he’s always liked me as a driver and me as a person and he’s always been involved wherever I’ve been racing. It means a lot to me and to have his 500th start and me be going to the guy going to his hometrack, that’s a big deal.

    AM: How’d you originally get involved with Mike Curb?

    JS: He was always racing and he had a Nationwide team and he was looking for a driver and I was looking at different avenues and I was able to come in and fill the void and Mike and Kari and I won a race together in the Nationwide Series a while back and that’s how I originally got to meet him and got to know him and he’s been around hanging with me ever since.

    AM: What track is at the top of your list to win at next?

    JS: I think knowing how hard it is to win the Superspeedway races, like Daytona and Talladega, would be pretty cool. Everything just has to go right, no mistakes, no wrecks, just a different type of racing so I think Daytona or Talladega would be pretty sweet to win.

    AM: What would it mean to you to win the championship this year?

    JS: It would be huge. A championship in any division is huge. I don’t care if its NASCAR or Late Models or Sportsmen division or whatever. Championships are hard to win and not only do you have to win races, but you have to be consistent week-in-week-out to win championships so that’s what we aim for – we try to win races and win championships. So I don’t know how you put that into words as that’s what we’re here to do.

    AM: What is your first racing memory?

    JS: I mean, I first started racing, I still remember my first race driving a Sportsmen car at Wisconsin Dells Motor Speedway and I spun out two people out in 25 laps and the officials and the people there weren’t happy with me. I didn’t understand why I was spinning people out; it was something I had to learn.

    AM: And what would your favourite racing memory be?

    JS: I’ve got too many of them to narrow it down that much. I’ve been fortunate enough to have a lot of good memories. I mean, winning the ASA championship and winning 10 of 20 races, winning two Nationwide races and last year in Trucks winning two races. There’s so many good memories that I just can’t tell you one that’s my favourite.

    AM: What are some of your thoughts heading into Nashville this weekend?

    JS: Just excited, obviously. We got a brand new truck that we’re taking so excited to see how we can do with that new truck. It’s a race track that I feel that I’ve been close at before, as far as winning. So with that bundled up with Curb’s 500th start, I’ve had some good races and it’s been a good track. So I feel we should go there and try to win the race and see what happens.

  • Cole Whitt: ‘We’re Trying Really Hard’

    Cole Whitt: ‘We’re Trying Really Hard’

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”250″][/media-credit]Red Bull development driver Cole Whitt has been tearing up the tracks in his No. 60 truck for his rookie season in the NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series. He has had one pole, led 30 laps and currently leads the Sunoco Rookie of the Year competition.

    To date, Whitt has three consecutive top-10 finishes, with an average start of 11.2 and an average finish of 8.5.  The young driver is currently tied for third in the point standings, just seven points behind leader Johnny Sauter.

    To what does Whitt credit his success so far this season in the Truck Series?

    “Everyone has just been working hard is the main thing,” Whitt said. “We’re not the biggest team and we’re not the most expensive team in the world but we get good results with what we got.”

    “That’s what’s kind of cool is everyone knows what we’re working with,” Whitt continued.  “We’re trying really hard.  Everyone puts so many hours in. It’s pretty cool to have guys that care about it that much.”

    Whitt likes to lead by example, going to the race shop every day.

    “I’m there from 7:00 AM in the morning to 4:00 PM in the afternoon,” Whitt said. “I like to go in and show them that I care and give back to them what they give to me.”

    Whitt also credits his team’s chemistry with the success that they have all enjoyed in the early goings of the 2011 season.

    “I’m a firm believer in chemistry and that your team has to be all gelled together,” Whitt said. “I try really hard at making the team work together. Everyone needs to communicate and everyone needs to get along. That’s how our team operates.”

    “We’re having fun racing and we’re loving it,” Whitt continued. “It’s been enjoyable.”

    One of the races that Whitt was not looking forward to, however, was the one now in his rear view mirror, the Kroger 250 at Martinsville. In spite of his apprehension about that race, Whitt qualified second and brought his truck to the checkered flag in sixth.

    “I wasn’t looking forward to Martinsville”, Whitt said candidly. “I feel like I run pretty good everywhere, but Martinsville is not the kind of track I look forward to.”

    “But to qualify as well as we did and race all day like we did and be fast all day was really exciting,” Whitt said. “We passed the most trucks, I think 53, by the end of the day so it was a long day but our truck was good.”

    With that good finish, Whitt is now ready to tackle the next race, the Bully Hill Vineyards 200. As is the case with many rookies, this will be Whitt’s first time ever at the Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee.

    “I’ve never seen the place so I don’t know how it’s going to be,” Whitt said. “I’m usually good at places I’ve never seen though like Darlington, which was one of the best races of the year and I’d never seen that track a day in my life.”

    “We’ll spend time making sure our truck is the way we want it to be,” Whitt continued. “Other than that we’ll get our feet wet in the first practice session, learn the track the best we can and put the hammer down.”

    Whitt has only one wish as he heads into the Nashville race weekend.

    “I want to go win the race,” Whitt said. “That’s the way we approach every race. We go to run good and we’ll take what we can get, but we go to every race to win.”

    With that confidence comes a great deal of pride in his accomplishments to date. Whitt also revels in the increased attention that he and his team have garnered thanks to their performance.

    “I’m proud of everything and the way that it’s all gone down,” Whitt said. “I feel like our team deserves it.”

    “It’s kind of funny because we’re not a team that’s expected to run really good,” Whitt said. “But hopefully by the end of the year, we can change everyone’s minds and make it where everyone thinks of us as a winning team.”

    “I think a lot of people are now thinking that we’ve run well this far, but how long will they last?” Whitt said. “We’re looking to doing it all year.”

    Whitt will get that chance to run the full season and is especially excited about a new sponsorship deal that has just been announced. Fuel Doctor will be an associate sponsor for the next eight races starting with the Nashville race.

    “We’re pretty excited about that,” Whitt said of his new sponsorship deal.

    “Hopefully when we roll through the gates, everyone will worry that we’re there. That’s what we are working towards.”

  • One-On-One Interview With Camping World Truck Series Driver James Buescher

    One-On-One Interview With Camping World Truck Series Driver James Buescher

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”217″][/media-credit]Racing is sometimes a mix of highs and lows and this season so far for James Buescher has been full of both ends of the spectrum. At Daytona, he qualified on the outside pole, though he missed the race at Phoenix. He got a top five at Darlington, though finished dead-last after a brake failure at Martinsville.

    Buescher is get things back on an upswing this weekend at Nashville and carry that on for the rest of the season as he looks for his first career Camping World Truck Series victory this year.

    He took some time during the off-weekend to discuss his season, Turner Motorsports and more.

    Ashley McCubbin: What are your thoughts on the season so far? 

    James Buescher: We’ve had an up-and-down season so far. We started up at Daytona as we started on the outside-pole and led a bunch of laps and finished in the top 10 even with getting wrecked. Then we went off to Phoenix and missed the race and that was a pretty downer. Went to Darlington and finished first in one of the practices and second in the other one, qualified in the top 10 and finished fifth. Our season was back-up and we caught back-up in the points. Then we went to Martinsville and had a brake failure  and hit the wall halfway through the race and it went back down again as we finished dead last. Hopefully we can get a good finish in Nashville and get it back up and hopefully recover during the rest of the year for the bad races we’ve had so far.

    AM: What are your some of your thoughts heading into Nashville? 

    JB: For Nashville, I feel like we’ve struggled there in the past. I never felt like I’ve ran really stout there and it’s one of those tracks on my list of tracks that I really need to focus on and get better at. I felt like Martinsville was another one that I needed to get better at as I’d never finished in the top 10. This year, I felt I was as strong as I’ve ever been before we crashed so I feel like going to Nashville, I’ve never ran in the top 10 there and somewhere I’ve kind of struggled, but we really focused hard on Martinsville and got better. So it gives me confidence heading into the weekend to now focus hard and figure out something with regards to set-up and something for me, a better way to drive the track, whatever it is. I don’t know what’s its been, whether the trucks haven’t been good or what, but I got some confidence going in there. Hopefully we can get a good finish.

    AM: What are some of your thoughts with regards to the competition level in the Camping World Truck Series? 

    JB: I think it’s pretty up, even better than last year. You’ve got teams like Turner Motorsports and KHI (Kevin Harvick Inc) and a lot of teams have added a team to their fleight of trucks and Germain added a couple, too. KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports) is suppose to run a second truck in a couple races and ThorSport is adding a third truck, so all of these teams that are pretty much running up front on a regular basis and battling for top fives and win are all adding trucks to their teams so  its just growing competition level in the Camping World Truck Series and I think it’s definitely on an upswing, which is good for the sport.

    AM: Speaking of KBM adding a third truck, what are some of your thoughts on Kimi Raikkonen coming into series? 

    JB: I really don’t know much about Kimi Raikkonen. I know he was a world champion in F1 and you got to know how to drive to that so he’s got driving talent and it’s just about how fast can he adapt to these trucks and stock cars. From what I’ve heard about his testing, he is adapting really quickly. You see Juan Pablo Montoya and those guys, some of those world drivers getting the hang of it and running really well, so he could another Juan Pablo Montoya, he could better or he could be worse. I really don’t know what to expect because you have some of those world guys that come in here and don’t run really good, and then you have those guys who take the bull by the horns and run up front.

    AM: What are some of your thoughts on working with your teammates Brad Sweet and Ricky Carmichael? 

    JB: I mean, Carmichael and Brad and I are really close and we’re doing really well. I can go talk to one of my teammates right after practice or after qualifying and compare what my truck was doing in one spot and see if they’re having the same problem as me or if they’re good in those spots. We can compare set-ups and notes and feedback on the trucks and all work together to get all of us better. I think it’s good to having teammates you can go talk to and normally with a big team like that, you go talk to one or the other. I can feel like I can go talk to any of teammates on the trucks or Nationwide side and see what my truck or car is doing compared to their’s and work together.

    AM: How’d you originally get involved with Steve Turner and Turner Motorsports?

    JB: I first started driving for Steve back in 2005 in Legends. My first race was actually at Houston Motorsports Park in Texas in 2005. I was racing legends car against his daughter Kris Turner, who is now my fiancé. I broke a rear-end housing in practice and asked him if I could burrow her back-up car and she let me burrow it and I went racing. I’ve driven for him ever since so it’s been a long couple of years and it’s been six years now and ran every bit of it for him. I’ve raced late models, ARCA, Hooters Pro Cup, Truck and Nationwide for him. He has grown as a car owner as I’ve grown as a driver, kind of at the same speed and it’s been pretty cool to that have consistent team my whole career and have the same people around me.

    AM: What are some of the differences between the Nationwide cars and trucks? 

    JB: The trucks have a lot of drag. Places like Texas and Charlotte and these mile-and-a-half tracks, we can hold them wide open for a lot of laps in the race. Sometimes we can hold them wide-open for the entire race; it just depends on our race truck and how much grip there is. The Nationwide cars don’t seem to have as much drag as the trucks have. It’s more similar, but still not able to hold it wide-open like a truck, and I think everybody are still learning the changes they can make on these new Nationwide cars. They seem to act a little different when you add track-bar, wedge, that sort of thing, and it’s just kind of hard to get your hands around what changes that you need during the race. The more you race them, the more you learn, and I think a year from now they’ll be as far along as the trucks with knowing all the changes and what helps the most and get as much grip as possible and maybe  we’ll be able to hold them wide open at places like Texas and Charlotte for a long period of time.

    AM: What track would it mean a lot to you to win at? 

    JB: Texas would be cool to get my first win at. I’d like to think that we could win a race before we get to Texas this summer, but that would be pretty cool as it is my home track. There’s five race tracks at that facility and I’ve won at four out of five in different series, in Legends cars and what not, but it’d be pretty cool to say that I’ve won at all five tracks at my home track. That’s where I started racing and that’s where I grew up and going out there every weekend racing Legends and Bandoleros  and I was at the first Cup race that was ran there so that kind of tells you how long I have been going to that place. It’d be certainly cool to win in front of my home town crowds and all my family and friends.

    AM: Speaking of racing memories, what is your first racing memory? 

    JB: One  that comes to mind is the first championship I ever won in a Bandolero car at Sunny Side Raceway in Mobile, Alabama, and I sat on the pole for the Bandolero National race – sat on the pole and led every lap of the main event – and that was my second year of racing so that was pretty cool to able to do that. That’s the beginning of a lot that I’ve done in racing.

    AM: And what is your favourite racing memory? 

    JB: That’s a tough one. It’d be winning at Daytona in the ARCA Series. Daytona is a big one is on everyone’s checklist that they want to win and to win in my first start there, pretty much dominating the race and leading the most laps there, that’s a pretty cool place to win and to win there in my first time trying is pretty cool.

    AM: Where do you see yourself in five years? 

    JB: I’d like to say that I would be in the Cup Series, be at the Cup or Nationwide level. I’d like to say that I’d have a Truck or Nationwide championship by then and competing up front in the Cup Series.

    AM: Lastly, what is some advice that you have for drivers trying to get into racing?

    JB: Don’t move too quickly. If drivers are trying to get to the NASCAR level or ARCA or anything from whatever level you’re at, don’t move up to a series before you’re ready. You see a lot of guys go Nationwide racing when they’ve only had two ARCA starts or something and they don’t make it and you only get one shot at this, so you got to make the most of your opportunities and don’t advance before you’re ready to advance and you should be pretty solid.

  • Matt Crafton and Johnny Sauter Put the Thor in ThorSport Racing

    Matt Crafton and Johnny Sauter Put the Thor in ThorSport Racing

    While most know Thor as either a Norse god wielding a hammer or as the star of an upcoming movie based on the Marvel Comic Series character from the realm of Asgard, NASCAR Camping World Truck teammates Matt Crafton and Johnny Sauter are hoping to put their own brand of ‘Thor’ in their team, ThorSportRacing.

    [media-credit name=”Shell Sparrow” align=”alignright” width=”229″][/media-credit]Crafton, behind the wheel of the No. 88 Menards Chevy race truck, is showing his domination of the Truck Series, currently sitting in the points lead. Teammate Sauter, driving the No. 13 Safe Auto/Baker Curb Records Chevy,  is not far behind in the fifth position in the point standings.

    “Life’s good right now,” Crafton said. “I mean it’s early in the season. But the guys have been bringing great trucks. And we’ve had luck on our side and that’s a huge, huge part of it.”

    “It feels good to be noticed and recognized,” Crafton continued. “To be one of the championship contenders is an awesome feeling.”

    In Thor-some style, Crafton likens his ascension to the top of the series, as well as his work ethic, to that of his ThorSport team owners Rhonda and Duke Thorson.

    “I haven’t always had things handed to me,” Crafton said. “And I’ve had to work really hard all my racing career to get to where I am.”

    “Duke and Rhonda Thorson started really small and they’ve made their team better and better every year,” Crafton continued. “Now all of a sudden everyone is looking over their shoulders wondering where they came from but we’ve been here all the time.”

    “We’ve grown together as a race team,” Crafton said. “It’s awesome to contend for a championship for them.”

    While Crafton is happy with his performance to date in the Truck Series, he still is searching for that first win of the young 2011 Truck season.

    “I have not had a win this season,” Crafton said. “And that’s what we strive for each week. But we’ve got to be smart at the same time and be there at the end of the day for all of them.”

    “I hate to say we’re points racing but you’re always trying to be smart,” Crafton continued. “It’s even more critical now with the points system to not have those bad races.”

    In spite of being winless, Crafton would not trade a win for being on top of the point standings. And he definitely thinks that this will be his version of a ‘Thor’ season.

    “Yes, without a doubt, this is the year of Matt Crafton,” Crafton said. “We’re really going to shine.”

    While Crafton may think that it his year to be the champion, his teammate Johnny Sauter is hoping to bring his own Thor strength to the competition.

    Sauter, who wielded his god-like powers sealing his driveway during the two-week off period, is ready to give his ThorSport teammate a run for the money in the points race.

    “It’s the best start to a season in the Truck Series that I’ve ever had, that’s for sure,” Sauter said. “I feel good where we’re at right now.”

    When asked if his team, ThorSport Racing, was the up and coming powerhouse in the Truck Series, Sauter was quick to agree with that assessment.

    “You almost have to look at it that way,” Sauter said. “Matt’s leading the points right now. Last year we finished third and fourth in points. How can you not?”

    “Last year, I had 16 top fives and Matt’s on this insane stretch of top-ten finishes,” Sauter continued. “We’re there every week.”

    “The one thing I think me and Matt need to work on and improve, and I speak for both of us, is we need to try to win more races.”

    “But as far as being a powerhouse in the Truck Series, ThorSport is there already,” Sauter said. “We’ve just got to get over the hump and get a few more ‘W’s.”

    “It’s just not as easy as everyone thinks it is,” Sauter continued. “There’s so many elements that are even out of us as drivers’ control. It takes the whole package.”

    According to Sauter, part of that whole package includes the great chemistry between him and his ThorSport teammate Crafton. The teammates, as well as their significant others, are often at each other’s houses, hanging out or having dinner together.

    “The difference is the people,” Sauter said. “That’s the secret to Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus. And it makes a difference for us too.”

    “I hang out with him more than I have any other teammate,” Sauter said of Crafton. “At the end of the day, don’t get me wrong, we are competitors and we’re racing against each other. But we have a good time.”

    Whether teammates or fierce competitors, both Matt Crafton and Johnny Sauter hope to show their super-human strength in the Truck Series this year.

    “I think ThorSport as a whole is off to the best start ever,” Sauter said. “Who knows, maybe this is the year.”

  • Todd Bodine Looks For First Martinsville Speedway Clock and Third Championship

    Todd Bodine Looks For First Martinsville Speedway Clock and Third Championship

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”266″][/media-credit]Last year was the dream season for Todd Bodine as he won the championship, despite all the talk of lack of sponsorship.

    This year so far, it hasn’t been all roses as the year started off with a crash at Daytona, resulting in a 23rd place finish. Though following a third place finish at Darlington, Bodine now sits seventh in points and looks to keep climbing as he heads to one of his favourite tracks – Martinsville Speedway. 

    Bodine took some time to answer some questions about the season, his career and more earlier this week.

    Ashley McCubbin: What are some of your thoughts on the season?

    Todd Bodine: Well, our performance has been really good; we’ve run well every race, just had some bad luck to start the year, but with the performance being good, we just got to keep doing what we’ve been doing.

    AM: What are some of your thoughts going into Martinsville?

    TB: Well, I really like Martinsville. I grew up going there watching my brothers race, always run well there, and never been able to get it all done and get one of those clocks so hopefully we can get there and have a good truck and do our thing right to get one of those trucks.

    AM: Last year with winning the championship, there was a lot of talk about the lack of sponsorship. How is the Sponsorship Situation as of this point for this year?

    TB: Not a whole better. We’ve got Tire Kingdom and Valvoline for a few races and Georgia Boot came on for one race, but other than that, we’re still searching for sponsors. It’s pretty bad when the champion of the series can’t get a sponsor when he runs up front every week, but we’re working. We got a lot of things cooking, a lot of things in the fire.

    AM: What championship means the most?

    TB: Well, they both mean a lot. To get the first one, it was a relief to finally get it done. It’s the first championship our family has ever had. And the second one was validation for the first one. We didn’t luck in to the first one and we came back and we’re able to do it again as a team to prove we were worthy of it the first time.

    AM: What are some of your thoughts on the competition level in the series?

    TB: The competition level is better than it’s ever been from when the series was born till now. It’s obviously the most competition we’ve ever had. We’ve got more really good quality race teams with good quality drivers and it makes for good racing every week.

    AM: Speaking of the quality of drivers, what are some of your thoughts on the Cup drivers coming in and running the series?

    TB: Well, whenever you can race against that type of competition, it just makes you a better driver. That’s the way I’ve always looked at it, even when I was one of the young kids racing Mark Martin and Dale Sr and Harry Gant and all of those guys. The better the driver, competitor you race against, the better driver it makes you so I feel the same way today.

    AM: How’d you get associated with Germain Racing?

    TB: Mike Hilman Sr. He’s been a friend of mine for 25 years and he went over there to run the program and get it going and he brought me in there as a driver.

    AM: With Germain Racing expanding this year, what are some of your thoughts on your teammates?

    TB: Well, we’ve got a great group of guys and the guys working on the trucks to put them together, but I’m fortunate to have three great teammates and they’re all difference. Brendan (Gaughan)’s been around a little while and has run well in the trucks before. Justin (Lofton), it’s only his second year in the Truck Series and he’s a really good kid, lots of talent, and we’re hoping we can bring him along to become a company driver. And Max Papis, a lot of experience in different forms of racing and first year in Trucks so he’s learning and been a great guy. We’ve got an incredible group of people at Germain Racing.

    AM: What was it like growing up in a racing family?

    TB: Well, that’s all I’ve ever done and that’s all I’ve ever known. Our father owned a race track for 25 years. If I knew another way of life or another lifestyle, I could give you a good answer, but I don’t know any other lifestyle, this is all I have ever done. To me, this is normal and you know, I grew up watching my brothers run races and run upfront so that’s where you’re supposed to be and what you’re supposed to do.

    AM: Talking about your brothers, were there any sibling rivalries with getting opportunities?

    TB: No, not at all. We’re so far in difference in age that we never had that sibling rivalry ever. It never had a chance to materialize. The first time we had a chance to compete against each other was in the Cup Series. At that point, we had already got through that and after all of that, it was about beating each other on track.

    AM: What track haven’t you won at that would mean the most for you to win at?

    TB: Martinsville, definitely. I grew up racing at Martinsville and racing at Martinsville and changing tires on pit road and I’ve been going there since I was eight years old to watch my brothers race and I’ve seen them win a lot of races there. To me, that’s like a second home so to win there would be incredible. Another is Walkin’s Glen, my home track. I never got to win a race there. I ran really well and came close to winning, but never got it done. I would like to see the Truck Series to go back there and have another opportunity to win. That’s our home track and that’s the area we were brought up in so those two places are especially special to me.

    AM: Talking about Martinsville, what would be your favorite Martinsville memory?

    TB: There’s so many good memories and a few bad ones, like when Richie Evans got killed. It’s so much apart of the history of our family; it’s hard to name one. I think Geoff’s got 16 wins there and Brett has four or five. That’s a lot of good times, a lot of great memories. It’s hard to pinpoint just one.

    AM: What is your first racing memory that you can recall?

    TB: As a kid, I remember little bits and pieces of everything from watching my brothers race. The first time I ever drove a racecar was at my dad’s track on a Wednesday afternoon when I was 13 years old. Some guys had a car there, practicing, and let me drive it and that was the first time I ever drove a racecar.

    AM: What is some advice that you’d have for people trying to get into racing?

    TB: Well, you got to live it and sleep it. It’s got to be everything you want and you got to be willing to sacrifice to get it. Racing is a tough business and it’s a long hard road, so there’s no easy way to get there. You got to work hard and not let the disappointments get you down.

    AM: What are some of your hobbies away from the track?

    TB: Well, I don’t have a lot of hobbies. Racing is pretty much it. I’m actually trying to build a hotrod, and that’s about it.

  • Sam Bass Partners with Richard Petty To Do Good with Goody’s

    Sam Bass Partners with Richard Petty To Do Good with Goody’s

    NASCAR artist Sam Bass and the ‘King’ Richard Petty are partnering with Goody’s and BC Powders to do good for two charities, the Wounded Warrior Project and Victory Junction Camp. The special promotion, ‘Pick a Powder’ will culminate at the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 Cup race this weekend at Martinsville Speedway.

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”275″][/media-credit]Throughout this month, fans have had the opportunity to get involved by voting on which powder provided the fastest relief, Goody’s or BC Powders. Richard Petty championed the Goody’s cause benefiting the charity nearest to his heart, Victory Junction Camp, and county singer Trace Adkins was the cheerleader for the BC Powders team with his charity being the Wounded Warrior Project.

    Artist Sam Bass got involved in this special promotion as he was asked to design the paint schemes for each charity that will be displayed on two cars during the Martinsville race. Even more special was that two individuals, one representing each charity, worked with Bass to craft the designs.

    “Well, it’s going to be a very exciting weekend,” Bass said. “These are two tremendous causes brought together by Goody’s and BC Powders.”

    “It’s a unique pairing of a lot of different things,” Bass continued. “BC Powders and Goody’s have been around the sport of NASCAR for a long, long time. Victory Junction Gang Camp and Wounded Warriors Project have been as well.”

    “The idea was what could we do to represent these two charities and make people happy and tie it in to Sam Bass and NASCAR design work.”

    “What I got to do, which was really, really special, was that I got to work with a gentleman named Cory Collins on the Wounded Warrior Project and I got to work with a little girl named Eleanor Bolton from Victory Junction Camp,” Bass said. “Both of them are tremendous NASCAR fans and basically what they did was to work with me to design their race cars.”

    Bass began his collaboration with the two at the first race in Daytona. His work started with phone calls to pick their brain about their interest in the sport and their respective relationships to their charities.

    Eleanor Bolton, a Victory Junction camper, is an eight year old with Spinal Muscular Atrophy. She and her family first attended Camp for a family weekend in February 2010.

    “She is as sweet as she can be,” Bass said. “She sent me some drawings she had done and I just took all of her information, all of her colors, all of her family photos, all of her drawings and then kind of took the logo of Camp and Goody’s.”

    “Her car number was 43, of course with Richard Petty,” Bass continued. “And I just designed a car with her input and came up with something that she would like.”

    “She had peace symbols and hearts and photos of her and her family,” Bass said. “That’s how her car was.”

    The other participant with whom Bass worked was Cory Collins. On his first tour in Iraq in 2005, Collins was injured 27 days after arriving. He and his unit ran over a 500-pound IED  and he was the sole survivor of the attack.

    “Cory is a veteran of the armed forces and had been injured serving this country and ultimately it cost him his left leg,” Bass said. “I could sympathize because I lost my lower left leg to diabetes a few years ago. He and I hit it off from the very beginning.”

    “I worked with him and got his favorite colors and learned that he was a Jeff Gordon fan,” Bass continued. “So, having designed for Jeff since he came into the sport of NASCAR, I quickly related to Cory.”

    Bass took Collins’ favorite color, which was black, and put some flames into the mix a la Jeff Gordon. Bass then featured Collins’ car number, 101 for his unit, the 101st Airborne.

    “We came up with a couple of designs that mirrored the tattoo that he had gotten on his arm over there,” Bass said. “It’s got a flaming skull that looks really cool. And of course the Wounded Warriors logo is prominently featured on the hood.”

    “To keep the cars in symmetry, I had Cory send me photos of his family and his friends,” Bass continued. “So things are meaningful on both cars for both participants.”

    Both Collins and Bolton will get to ride in their respective cars during the pace laps of the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville.

    “Over the weekend they’re going to get to meet Richard Petty and Trace Adkins,” Bass said. “It’s just going to be a blast and I’m going to get to be a part of it.”

    “From dealing with the child in Eleanor to the adult experiences of Cory was very meaningful to me.”

    “It’s going to be a great day for both of them,” Bass said. “To see their reactions and to spend the day with them will warm my heart and I feel very proud to participate in this project.”

    Fans can also get in on the action as Goody’s and BC Powders will make donations to each charity on every box of either product sold. During the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 race at Martinsville Speedway, both charities will be presented checks by their respective powders to continue their missions.