Category: XFINITY Series

Saturday, Feb. 25, 2012

Dodge PR

Daytona International Speedway

NASCAR Nationwide Series

Race Final Quotes

BRAD KESELOWSKI (No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger R/T) Finished 2nd YOU ALMOST HAD THE WIN.  “Almost, just got a little contact there in the door getting through that wreck.  I don’t know how we brought the Discount Tire Dodge home; there was a lot of swerving there to save it.  If I just could have gotten through that without that little bit of contact.  I’m proud to be in a position to win a race and have cars capable of doing that.  You know at some point, Daytona is a roll of the dice.  I think we were running like eighth or 10th there when that all happened.  We should be happy with a third (officially second), but I want to win this race at Daytona.  I want to win a race during Speedweeks.  Glad I got another shot tomorrow with the Miller Lite Dodge with the Cup side.  I’m just proud of this Discount Tire team.”

HOW DID YOU SEE THINGS UNFOLD ON THAT LAST LAP?  “Well, I didn’t see much.  I was pushing Cole Whitt in the 88 car.  I tried to let him go.  I don’t know how he ended up in all that.  I hope he’s alright there.  They all started wadding up and somebody just got me right in the door and I spent about 300 yards in the death wobble down the short chute.  James (Buescher) was able to get by me and bring home a win. That’s real exciting.  I was hoping that the yellow came out a little bit earlier than it did ‘cause he got by me and right after he got by me, the yellow came out.  You know that’s racing and I’m proud to have a great car, the Discount Tire Dodge team and we’ll just keep on going from here.  A lot to be proud of and thanks everyone for coming out. Great day here in Daytona.”

HOW CLOSE DID YOU COME TO WINNING THIS RACE?  “About a hundred yards, 200 yards, more than an inch, however you want to look at it, but just didn’t need to get as much contact on the right-side door.  That’s the way it is.”

COMMENT ON YOUR DAY AND THIS CRAZY FINISH.  “Yeah, crazy is an understatement (smiles).  I was working with Cole Whitt there and they all wrecked.  Just had that little bobble when I got that contact and Buescher was able to get by me and win the race.   That’s a credit to him.”

DO YOU PREFER PACK RACING OR TANDEM RACING?  “I like ‘em all, but none of ‘em are my favorite.  What’s my favorite was when Daytona was a handling track, that’s my favorite.  Big pack or tandem is about the same to me.”

KESELOWSKI PRESS CONFERENCE

TAKE US THROUGH THE LAST FOUR LAPS OF THAT RACE.  YOU HAD TO BE ON TOP OF YOUR GAME FOR SURE.  “Yeah, I don’t know if I was necessarily on top of my game.  I really haven’t figured this out.  I feel like when I run good, I fall ass-backwards (laughs).  I was fortunate enough to, obviously, the wreck was huge for us at the end, but there were several wrecks that we were fortunate enough to make it through.  I don’t know if that’s skill or blind luck.  When it happens to you, then you say it’s just bad luck but when you make it through, it’s all skill (laughs).  We made it through ‘em.  We made it through the wrecks and got there.  You know coming off of four, I saw ‘em all wrecking and got underneath it and I don’t know who got into my door and got me sideways.  Somehow I saved it, but that carried just enough momentum to get James by me.  We’ll see if Elliott (Sadler) got by or not.  I’m still waiting for the answer on that (smiles).  But you know that’s just what the racing is here.  Whether it’s good or bad, I don’t know, but that’s what it is.  I feel like I won the lottery just to finish third (officially second) but I also feel like I was that close to winning at Daytona.  I want to win a race at Speedweeks so bad.  And when you’re running all three series, the pressure, I was telling someone the other day, is cumulative because Speedweeks is going through and you’re thinking to yourself ‘Well, I’ve only got one more race left after this one.’  You feel that, but I’m still proud to have the efforts that we’ve had this Speedweeks.  I guess it’d be third in the Shootout, second or third or whatever it is today and not so good yesterday, but we’ll see how the Cup race goes tomorrow.  Like I said, I feel like a lottery winner just to bring home a third-place finish (actually second) and still took the efforts of Penske Racing and appreciate that.  I don’t know how to explain the racing any different than that ‘cause I don’t think anyone really can and I’d be lying to you.”

TWO CRAZY DAYS WITH WRECK-FILLED RACES WITH THE SHOOTOUT AND THE DUEL.  HOW DOES THAT PLAY INTO YOUR MIND FOR THE 500?  “You’ll definitely see less tandem, I think that’s for sure.  You’ll see a lot more pack racing.  The question is whether or not the field will single-file out.  I’m pretty confident you won’t see a lot of tandem racing.  I think the end will look very similar to what you saw today and we’ll see who wins the lottery (laughs).”

DO YOU THINK FOR THOSE DRIVERS WHO AREN’T RUNNING THE WHOLE NATIONWIDE SERIES, DO YOU THINK IT’S GOING TO HURT THEM?  DOES THE CRAZY TWO-RACE WEEKEND SCHEDULE HURT MORE THAN IT HELPS?  “I think every weekend is different and I think you can measure how it helps or hurts you in numerous ways.  There are a lot of intangibles.  Obviously it’s a higher workload, there’s no doubt.  I think that’s what everybody sees, but there are other intangibles that you just can’t put a value to like having the Cup pit crew out here today for, I guess, a live dress rehearsal.  How do you put a value on that?  You don’t unless they have a bad day tomorrow and they didn’t do it.  There are a lot of those characteristics that I think you’ll see.  You’ve just got to really peel back the layers.  So, I think it’s really hard to define that, to answer that.”

CAN YOU ARTICULATE THE RANDOM MADNESS OF THE RACING HERE?  YOU CAN BE A GREAT DRIVER WITH A GREAT CAR AND AT END OF THE DAY, KABOOM, YOUR DAY IS OVER.  “I think that the thing that sticks out in my mind is you know if you try to create a template of what it takes to win on most every racetrack, I think you could get a pretty consistent answer from the driver base, obviously from having a fast car and great pit stops to making right moves, taking care of your tires, whatever that is, on any particular track.  And I think if you asked them what the template was for success is here, you couldn’t get a consistent answer because the process that I think we all take or the approach that we all take to win here is the same one that could net you a 35th and you don’t do anything wrong.  It’s the same approach and sometimes it can win the race and the next time it will run dead last you’ll be wrecked.  And

I think that’s really frustrating.  Obviously, but that’s just the way it is.  I think if you compare that to the mile-and-a-halfs and so forth, the same approach will get you a range of first to 15th if you’re a really good driver.  I think the same approach here could go anywhere from first to 43rd.  There’s no guarantee of success here, no matter what you have, no matter how good your pit crew is, no matter how good your driver is, no matter how good your car is.  Nothing guarantees your success.  I think sometimes, for us drivers, it can be hard to stomach.  It’s obviously frustrating, but it also leads to a lot of parity within the field, a lot of first-time winners, all those things.  Heck, I won my first race at Talladega under similar circumstances.  You know it could be debated until the cows come home if that’s good or bad.  I think that we’re all glad that there’s only four or five of these races a year (laughs) for that reason, but they are certainly different than what you’re going to see for the rest of the season.”

ON THE REPLAY IT LOOKED LIKE MAYBE IF THE CAUTION COMES OUT A LITTLE QUICKER, DEPENDING ON HOW THEY ENFORCE THE YELLOW LINE RULE, MAYBE YOU COULD HAVE WON.  “I didn’t even think about the yellow line (laughs). That’s really smart.  I never got that far.  We’re going to have to go to the tape again.  You know, I think that I walk a fine line with the comment there, obviously.  I think there is no doubt to me the most dangerous aspect of our sport that’s left is the yellow flag situation in the closing laps of a race.  And I make those comments not in regard to the fact that if the yellow came out a little earlier I would have won the race, in no way do I make those comments in that regard.  I make those comments in regards to the fact that if you’re running 25th, five or six seconds behind the pack when the wreck happened, the yellow didn’t come out for about six seconds from what I can estimate.  And obviously there was a lot of attention on that area so I’m pretty sure it was seen.  So the question is what is the appropriate amount of time?  I think it’s very much a judgment call. With the wreck, I think it was in the Shootout, I think I would rather lean to the cautious side.  It’s tough for NASCAR, obviously, to wave the yellow early and then take all the criticism from fans that didn’t see their driver win if the yellow wouldn’t have come out that early. So I can see that side of it, but I think that when I look at the sport and I look at the most dangerous frontier, it’s not the head and neck system or anything like that.  It’s getting hit from a car that is six or seven second behind a wreck, but has to keep going because the yellow is not out.  Eventually it will happen where they’ll hit a very, very slow car at a very high rate of speed and it will not be good.  So I think that that’s an area that is still loosely defined and I’m not sure how to define it because I understand the difficulties that remain in that area to make those decisions.  When I think of what I’m most nervous about, I’m most nervous about the last lap, being in the front pack, being wrecked and stopped in the middle of the field and some guy from 35th, knowing that the yellow is not going to come out for another six seconds, whales me going 180 when I’m going five or 10 or maybe stopped.  That’s certainly an area that I think about for sure.”

SAM HORNISH JR. (No. 12 Alliance Truck Parts Dodge Challenger R/T) Finished 20th CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE RACE UP TO LAP 113 WHEN THE MISHAP OCCURRED? “The car was really good.  It felt like we went to the front of the field whenever we wanted.  The Alliance Truck Parts Dodge felt good pushing and getting pushed.  We were just trying to get to the end without getting collected and then (the wreck) happened.  We got down to the end there and I was trying to push the 6 car up front.  He wanted to run a little bit higher and that allowed the 33 and 2 to get underneath us.  We headed into Turn 3 three-wide and was going to duck out a little bit to keep the engine cool.  The 27 thought that he could make it four-wide.  I don’t know if he got tight and just got into me off the corner.  He was getting pushed.  It was just one of those deals.  This is the kind of racing that we’re involved with on superspeedways.  It’s just unfortunate that we lost that lap when we had to pit and change four tires.  That cost us 10 positions.”

WAS THERE A SENSE OF SURVIVAL BEHIND THE WHEEL?  “We weren’t close to any of the wrecks until we were down to seven laps to go and we were in it.  I was happy with how the car was running and was just trying to watch the people around us and make good decisions.  It gets down to those last eight laps and everybody wants to run hard.  It wasn’t time to “go” yet.  Guys that had the big opportunities to win the race got collected on the last lap, not the sixth or seventh lap.  There was definitely time to wait.  We didn’t have to make it four-wide when we wrecked.”

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 6 Kellogg’s Pop Tarts Ford Fusion (Finished 19th) – NOT THE WAY YOU WANTED TO START YOUR TITLE DEFENSE I SUPPOSE “Yeah, that’s not the way we wanted to start. I feel bad for Kyle (Busch), I got into Kyle there a little bit it looked like as we were all trying to get to the bottom to miss the melee at the top. I feel bad for those guys. We had a fast Mustang. We put ourselves in position at the right time and I thought we had a good chance at it but that is just one of those days. We are going back to Phoenix next week and we are pumped up to go. We have some good stuff for the 2012 season.”

CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE RACING OUT THERE TODAY? “It was crazy. You could hang for awhile by yourself and it was crazy. It was a lot of fun. You just had to make sure you were in the right place at the right time. I thought we were there and I made a mistake and came down too far and got into Kyle there.”

Trevor Bayne, No. 60 RFR 25th Ford Fusion (Finished 11th) – TELL US ABOUT THE FINISH OF THAT RACE. “Our craziest thing was coming from two laps down. We lost a spark plug wire earlier in the race and they figured it out, got it fixed and we made a big run there at the end. We got hooked up to the 20 car and I thought we had a shot on the top. I thought we would clear the 1 car but unfortunately those guys have been packing air on everybody all day long. Kyle (Busch) and Kurt (Busch) had been working hard at that and they started packing air on us and it slowed us down enough that the 33 could get outside. I haven’t seen it yet but I know it was a really tight squeeze. We still finished 11th, which is a great run for our 60 car. We are trying to make the most out of these first three races and hopefully be leading the points so we can keep racing. We have to get some funding so we can keep doing it. That finish was crazy. I thought for sure Joey and I were going to have a shot to win that thing.”

TALK ABOUT THE RACING OUT THERE. “As long as there was a big pack in front of a single car you could catch up. If there were two cars that got out front it was a little harder to come up through there because those two cars out front could really go. For me, that was one of the craziest races I have ever been in because you have to time it. You have to be hooked up but the question is when to do it and how is it going to look. I really enjoyed staying in the pack because our car was fast after we fixed the plug wire and we could pump through the crowd of cars. You would come off one car and go below and then get the next one. You had to really work the air and I enjoyed that. It was fun.”

YOU WERE TWO LAPS DOWN AND THERE WERE SOME GREAT CALLS THERE TO STAY OUT RIGHT? “Chad Norris did a great job of calling that race. We were going to check the spark plug wires before the green flag dropped when we lost our cylinder but we didn’t have time. We came down later and fixed that, lost our two laps and at the same time cut our rear tire. The guys did a great job fixing my car up, getting under the hood and finding the problem and fixing it. His call to stay out and get the wave around and then later get the lucky dog; he did a great job calling that thing.”

David Ragan, No. 27 Certain Teed/Mercury Ford Fusion (Finished 26th) – “It was a great day for our number 27 Ford. We had a shot to win the race at the end. This is a product of tough, hard racing here at Daytona. We want the best of both worlds. We want to push, we want to pack race and when you do both that is usually when trouble happens. I feel like that if I could have had Trevor on my radio we could have talked some. He was pushing me hard, which I wanted him to because we wanted to win the thing, I just couldn’t drag the brakes hard enough to keep from running over the 12. I wish we had the communication back cause I don’t think that would have happened.”

WE HAVE SEEN TWO STRAIGHT DAYS OF CRAZY WRECKS. WILL WEE SEE THIS TOMORROW? “Not as crazy tomorrow I don’t think because 500 miles will tame it. The Nationwide race was really tame until the last 20 laps and I think you will see that in the 500. I think it will be tame until the final 20 or 30 laps and then all hell is going to break loose.”

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (February 25, 2012) – – One year ago yesterday, Randy Hill, a serial entrepreneur was invited to a meeting with NASCAR to discuss his dream and envision to start a NASCAR Nationwide Series team. This might not seem out of the ordinary for the executives at NASCAR but as the great Paul Harvey has often said, “you need to know the rest of the story.”

43-year old Hill had never ever watched a NASCAR race on television until November 2009 when some friends invited to him to Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) for the fall NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Not only was Hill hooked, he immediately started developing his business strategy and within a few short weeks of his first race and now 24 months later, Randy Hill Racing (RHR) is set for their biggest NASCAR start ever by competing in today’s DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.

While in Daytona, Hill had the distinct pleasure of meeting former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) driver Ken Ragan who introduced him to Lawrenceville, Georgia native Casey Roderick who catapulted himself into the limelight across the nation with over 25 wins between the INEX Legend Car Series and various Late Model events throughout the country. Hill overwhelmed by the maturity and drive from Roderick’s passion without hesitation asked the now 19-year old to become the driving force behind Randy Hill Racing.

Together, the duo competed in three ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards events where the team glistened into the spotlight with speed and presence before raising the bar and inching up into the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Starts at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International, Dover (Del.) International Speedway and Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway had RHR looking for bigger and better things in 2012.

The first weekend of the season hasn’t started so hot for the rookie team, but always in racing, there’s light at the end of the tunnel. With a motor failure just two laps after the first practice session on Thursday morning, the team led by crew chief Paul Andrews and car chief David Ingram quickly formulated a plan to get a back-up motor in the No. 08 Randy Hill Racing Ford Mustang to prepare for Friday’s qualifications.

Roderick was the seventh car to handle Daytona’s 2.5-mile superspeedway on Friday afternoon and after jumping to the top of the board, the team would anxiously have to wait for a few more competitors to qualify before being assured a starting position. Four cars later, the wait was over, Randy Hill Racing and Roderick had locked themselves into the Nationwide’s annual DRIVE4COPD 300 with the 32nd fastest speed overall in a stout field of 50 teams.

Daytona’s known for making dreams come true. Last night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) season-opener proved that. That furthermore gives the team motivation to potentially pull off another Cinderella story when the NASCAR Nationwide Series takes the green flag shortly after 1:30 p.m. today on ESPN.

The DRIVE4COPD 300 (120 laps / 300 miles) is the first of 33 events on the 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule. The field will take the green flag on Saturday, February 25th just after 1:00 p.m. with live coverage on ESPN, the Motor Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Satellite Radio, Channel 90). Pre-race coverage of the anticipated thriller is tentatively scheduled to lift off at 12:30 p.m. also on ESPN.

For more on Randy Hill Racing, please visit randyhillracing.com.

Join the team on Facebook by clicking here (Randy Hill Racing).

Tweet with us through Twitter at @RandyHillRacing and @CaseyRoderick.

Friday, Feb. 24, 2012

Dodge PR

Daytona International Speedway

NASCAR Nationwide Series

Qualifying Quotes

BRAD KESELOWSKI (No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger R/T) Qualified 9th “I think our Dodges are pretty fast.  We were fast here last year with the Discount Tire Dodge Challenger and so far, we had pretty good pickup from where we were earlier in practice today.  Sam (Hornish) looks like his car is plenty fast which is good.  It’s a good start for the team.  It’s not the race, but we’ll take that effort heading into tomorrow.  It’s nice to know that we have some good speed.”

THE TEMPERATURE WILL BE MUCH COOLER TOMORROW.  HOW WILL THAT AFFECT THE HANDLING OF YOUR DODGE?  “I’m sure the car will tighten up for sure.  It can be slick out there in this heat and I think everyone would welcome cooler temperatures.  We’ll see how it goes.”

JEREMY BULLINS (Crew Chief, No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger R/T) HOW WAS YOUR QUALIFYING LAP?  “The Discount Tire Dodge his good. We’ve made some nice gains on it since practice in race and qualifying trim.  The car was good in race trim yesterday and think that it’s only going to get faster as the temperatures cool off.”

SAM HORNISH JR. (No. 12 Alliance Truck Parts Dodge Challenger R/T) Qualified 6th As long as you’re in the race, you’ve got a chance to win it.  Our big thing is just knowing that when we come here, we’ve got the points to be in the race.  The big thing for us is to just to get through the first 95 percent of the race tomorrow so that we can race for the win in our Alliance Truck Parts Dodge Challenger.  I feel really good about going into the season.  If we can get out of here with a top 10 starting spot, that wouldn’t be bad.  We’ll see where we end up at and go racing tomorrow.”

HOW BIG OF A FACTOR WAS THE WIND?  “It’s huge.  It doesn’t really affect us as far as what the car really does, but how much wind you have during a run is the bigger factor so going out at the right time, I’m sure the guys will plot a map and find out who had the most wind and who had the least.  The biggest gust going down the back straightaway with the least gust going up the front is going to be the person who had the best opportunity.  You can win from anywhere you start here.  The biggest thing is just getting towards the end so that we can have the opportunity to race it out there at the end.”

IS IT ODD HERE AT DAYTONA THAT THERE IS SO LITTLE EMPHASIS ON QUALIFYING?  “Well, last year we had a lot more practice time and we didn’t have enough, yesterday I think we only ran eight laps combined.  We felt really good.  We felt like we had good horsepower from my Dodge Challenger.  The car handled well and we just wanted to make sure that the cars looked as pretty as they could be going out there and just make sure we didn’t take any chances to where somebody got into a problem ahead of us and we ended up in it.  Brad and I worked together a little bit yesterday and hopefully we’ll able to get a 1-2 (finish) for Dodge.”

THE FORECAST IS FOR COOLER TEMPERATURES FOR TOMORROW’S RACE.  “We’re set up the same today as we were yesterday and as we will be for tomorrow.  We’re going to take as much drag as we can off the car and felt like the car handled well.  The cooler conditions are only going to make us a little bit more stuck to the ground.  That’s obviously good.  And then from there on out, we’ll see what we can do.  Just be smart about getting towards the end of the race.  Cooler temperatures are going to make the cars handle better.  Hopefully, it’ll allow us to draft a little bit better and not have to worry about overheating the car as much.”

WAS HIGH WATER TEMPERATURE A CONCERN FOR YOU IN DRAFTING PRACTICE? “No, but I only spent a lap and a half pushing.  The other four laps I was out there, I was getting pushed or by myself.  We only got to 235 and that was right now in qualifying.  We taped it up as much as we could.  It’s only the guy that’s pushing that has to really worry about it.  It’s going to take some heads-up there between myself and whoever I work with to make sure that we’re making good decisions about how long we push and switching off, so that we don’t get the car too hot before we get the opportunity to switch out.  Brad and I know there’s no point in fighting until the end here, because we’d love to go up there and lead every lap between the two of us.  We’re going to try to be as smart as we can about how we approach it.  If we have to make a switch on the straightaway and we lose a little bit of time, so be it.”

CHAD WALTER (Crew Chief, No. 12 Alliance Truck Parts Dodge Challenger R/T) “I think we have a good idea of where we stand because one of the things we do here is just make a single-car run to make sure that you have no vibrations and there’s no body rubs and things like that. Everybody does it.  So I felt like we were in pretty decent shape to be somewhere up there when we were practicing yesterday in the first practice.  It probably is kind of odd really just the testing in what the engine shop, the chassis shop, and the guys that hang the bodies back in the shop do because we don’t have a chance to test.  We really don’t do a whole lot of things to change the car and here we are sitting in pretty good position to start the race.”

HOW BIG OF A FACTOR WILL WATER TEMPERATURE BE DURING THE RACE?  “Well, you know, we don’t really know what this race is going to look like. I mean, if it’s going to end up being like the Cup race is going to do, there’s nothing that we can do.  We’ve got their rules applied to our car and we’ve maximized everything just like everyone else, so it’s really just a matter of the driver paying attention and managing his distance and getting clean air to the radiator.  How important is it?  With two laps to go, it’s time to go.  It doesn’t really matter what the water temperature is anymore.  We just have to make sure that we get to that point.”

TOYOTA NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) Post-Qualifying Notes & Quotes Daytona International Speedway – February 24, 2012

13th, MIKE BLISS 26th, KENNY WALLACE 17th, DENNY HAMLIN 27th, JOE NEMECHEK 19th, BRIAN SCOTT 30th, JOHNNY SAUTER 22nd, JOEY LOGANO 33rd, BENNY GORDON 24th, KYLE BUSCH 41st, JEFF GREEN 25th, TAYLER MALSAM

MIKE BLISS, No. 44 Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports Starting Position: 13th How was your qualifying lap? “Our Toyota Camry was pretty good out of the trailer. We just nut and bolted and put a body on the thing and put a motor in there from PMP (Pro Motors Plus). That’s all we’ve done to get here, so we’re excited to be here. We had to get in on time and I hadn’t done any drafting, so that’s the next step. As far as being happy, I’m as happy as I get right now.”

Did the wind impact your lap? “The wind is blowing a lot harder than yesterday. Down the backstretch it helps you, but coming off of (turn) four it kind of stalls you out. I didn’t do any drafting yesterday, so I really can’t say a whole lot about what it’s going to be like, but what I’ve seen in the racing from practice it really doesn’t look any different from last year. You’ve got to find a partner and hang on.”

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 18 Z-Line Designs Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Starting Position: 17th How was your car in qualifying? “We’re off — it just seems like we’re really fighting for speed. I’m not sure where the other Toyotas are, but we’re there with them. Just need some more speed, but once we get in the draft it doesn’t seem to really affect us too bad. It should draft better — we did in the Shootout and in the Duel yesterday. It was no issue at all. It seems like we need to get these RPMs higher for our stuff to really kick in.”

BRIAN SCOTT, No. 11 Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Starting Position: 19th How was your qualifying lap? “The wind was really blowing, so you could feel the tail wing down the back really pick up your RPMs and when you came across it was like you were trying to drive through pudding or something — something slowing you down. The guys worked really hard all off-season and brought a really great Dollar General Toyota to the race track and qualifying is just a small step to win this race. A much bigger step is how you tandem draft. We feel like we draft really well with our teammate Denny Hamlin. We feel like we’ve got great speed and good handling and we’re just going to go out there and run our own race tomorrow and be smart and be there at the end. I think we’ve got a car that has enough speed to win this thing.”

Will engine temperatures come into play in the race? “Well, you’re going to have to watch temperatures. You’re definitely going to play it conservative leading up to the end of the race and then once the end of the race goes I think everyone is going to say, ‘Forget the temperatures.’ People will be spewing water out. People will push motors to 300 degrees — push them right to the ragged edge. JGR’s (Joe Gibbs Racing) Mark Cronquist and all the guys — they do a great job at out engine shop at Joe Gibbs Racing. We’ve got good horsepower and we’ve got really great engine life and we know that we can push them to edge and they’re going to survive and our Toyota is going to have a good shot at winning this race tomorrow.”

ERIC MCCLURE, No. 14 Hefty/Reynolds Wrap Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports Starting Position: 20th

JOEY LOGANO, No. 20 GameStop Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Starting Position: 22nd How was your qualifying lap? “It was okay. Really windy, so the back straightaway was going pretty fast, but the front straightaway was like hitting a wall. You just stop and slow down a lot. Nothing too exciting there for me, so it’s kind of a pretty average run. Not very fast though, so that’s kind of a bummer, but besides that we’ll be fine. She raced good yesterday in practice, so I’m not worried about it.”

How will the Nationwide race compare to the Cup race? “You’re going to be able to push a lot longer than the Cup cars, so you’ll see a lot more push. A little bit more of the old school, but we will have to switch more compared to what we used to have. Hopefully, everyone’s smart with the amount they push and how they push and all that, so we’ll see what happens.”

KYLE BUSCH, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry, Kyle Busch Motorsports Starting Position: 24th What were you struggling with in qualifying? “Speed — unfortunately. The wind was real heavy, but it’s heavy for everybody. We were just awfully slow. It’s unfortunate, but the Monster Energy Camry will be good in the draft so I’m feeling good about the race.”

How has the transition been for the team from the Truck Series to the Nationwide Series? “It’s been a growing experience with Kyle Busch Motorsports. The guys have really taken to the Truck Series stuff — we really run well there and we’ve built that into an organization that wins races every year. We’ll see how it does this year with Jason Leffler behind the wheel. Ultimately, now having the opportunity to run the Nationwide Series with Monster Energy — that’s essentially the reason why we’re in the boat that we’re in. Without them, we wouldn’t be here, but also we feel like we’re strong contenders and have a lot of good people behind us.”

TAYLER MALSAM, No. 19 G-Oil Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports Starting Position: 25th

KENNY WALLACE, No. 09 Family Farmers Toyota Camry, RAB Racing Starting Position: 26th

JOE NEMECHEK, No. 87 D.A.B. Constructors Toyota Camry, NEMCO Motorsports Starting Position: 27th

JOHNNY SAUTER, No. 97 Toyota Camry, NEMCO Motorsports Starting Position: 30th

BENNY GORDON, No. 24 Kentucky Antler Company & VFI Toyota Camry Starting Position: 33rd

JEFF GREEN, No. 10 Toyota Camry, TriStar Motorsports Starting Position: 41st

“Hill To Miss Receiving Award To Race Daytona’s High-Banks”

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (February 24, 2012) – – Randy Hill Racing (RHR) one of the newest additions to the NASCAR scene overcame an engine failure upon the conclusion of the first practice yesterday to earn a starting berth for tomorrow’s DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.

The No. 08 Randy Hill Racing Ford Mustang piloted by 19-year old Casey Roderick posted a lap of 50.532 seconds at 178.105 miles per hour which placed the team in the 32nd starting position for the first NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) race of the year.

RHR, led by veteran crew chief Paul Andrews completed just two laps in yesterday’s practice session before the engine seized in the No. 08 Randy Hill Racing Ford Mustang forcing the crew to change motors which ultimately hampered the team from competing in final practice just a short time later.

“Everything happens for a reason,” said owner Randy Hill. “While we were disappointed in the engine failure in yesterday’s practice session, the team wasn’t prepared to go down without a fight. Casey did a great job getting the No. 08 Randy Hill Racing Ford Mustang into the field and now we’re ready for our biggest NASCAR race yet.”

Roderick, the Lawrenceville, Georgia native talked about his qualifications lap.

“I knew I just had to pedal it to the floor and hope for the best,” Roderick explained. “I knew even though it was only two laps that our Ford Mustang was handling well, we were just hoping that the backup motor would be just as strong. We just have to play it smart and be around for all 120 laps tomorrow and hopefully we can have a finish that we’re all extremely happy with.”

In other team news, Dallas Christian School will present Randy Hill with its prestigious Distinguished Alumnus Award on Saturday, February 25.  Hill, a native of Garland, Texas and a 1986 alum of Dallas Christian School. He was an outstanding athlete in high school and played on the 1985 State Championship Football Team.

With all of Hill’s success from launching his first company Advanced Trailer Leasing and Sales LTD. to most recently forming Randy Hill Racing, he continues to support the advancement of education.  His vision allowed Dallas Christian School to purchase iPads to be given to faculty in December 2010.  The gift initiated DC’s ChargerTech program that has been a leader in mobile learning.  Later Hill continued the trend by doing the same at Abilene Christian School.  But his support of education doesn’t stop there. He has also promoted Abilene Christian University and Texas Tech University logos on his race cars at various events.  He continues to be a part of many organizations and is interested in furthering the educational landscape.

Since Hill will be attending Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series event, his parents will accept the award on his behalf back in Texas.

“I am extremely humbled to be receiving the Distinguished Alumnus Award,” sounded Hill. “I’ve always had a mission about helping people and I felt this was one of the right things to do. I’ve very grateful to Dallas Christian School for thinking so much of me and presenting me with an award of that magnitude. I’m saddened that I won’t be able to be there in person to graciously accept the award but we’ll try and see if we can be a threat to win the race for them and all of our supporters on Saturday afternoon.”

The DRIVE4COPD 300 (120 laps / 300 miles) is the first of 33 events on the 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule. The field will take the green flag on Saturday, February 25th just after 1:00 p.m. with live coverage on ESPN, the Motor Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Satellite Radio, Channel 90). Pre-race coverage of the anticipated thriller is tentatively scheduled to lift off at 12:30 p.m. also on ESPN.

For more on Randy Hill Racing, please visit randyhillracing.com.

Join the team on Facebook by clicking here (Randy Hill Racing).

Tweet with us through Twitter at @RandyHillRacing and @CaseyRoderick.

About Dallas Christian University:

Founded in 1957, Dallas Christian School is a nationally recognized blue ribbon school of excellence.  It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the National Christian School Association.

TOYOTA NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) Travis Pastrana — Notes & Quotes Daytona International Speedway – February 24, 2012

TRAVIS PASTRANA, No. 99 Boost Mobile Toyota Camry, Pastrana199 Racing What is the news about your NASCAR schedule? “We were looking to get 20 races in the Nationwide Series, but with the sponsorship — we’ve got it really good through K&N, Boost Mobile and Samsung — they’ve agreed to do seven rounds. We were going to try to do the best that we could with that seven rounds. I said, ‘You know what, we need to get out there and we need to get racing. So let’s announce the schedule, let’s start in Richmond.’ We’ll hit seven rounds and still have the goal of hitting 20 races. Basically, just throwing it out there that we’re definitely in 100 percent. We’re not doing any of the freestyle motocross or any of that stuff. This is where I want to be. With the help of Waltrip Racing — those guys are putting me in good cars and we’re ready to get out there and really try to do the best that we can in this sport. We’re starting at Richmond and we’re trying to go through as much as we can after that.”

Were you disappointed not to race in the Nationwide Series last year? “Last year, definitely shot myself in the foot for sure and had a lot of sponsors and a lot of people relying on me to show up. Unfortunately, I shattered my ankle and my foot at the X Games. I will still be going back to the X Games for Rally Cross. I think Rally Cross program actually working really closely with the NASCAR tracks now so I believe they just announced that series, which we were also waiting for. Really looking forward to being able to be at the race track as much as possible – – be driving as much as possible, but we’ve been starting with Matt Crafton as the main driver coach for me. He’s out here running today in the Truck Series. Doing the entire K&N Series, minus one that unfortunately conflicts with Rally Cross. Obviously, the main focus is to be out there. Bristol is the first race. We actually have a test at Bristol here Monday — directly following the Daytona 500. Just basically want to put it out there that NASCAR is definitely my future and definitely where I want to go. Instead of waiting for the sponsors to come to us, we’re going to get out there and show them that we’re ready to go race. We’ll see what we can get for the rest of the season. Definitely big thanks to the Michael Waltrip Racing guys and everyone that’s trying to guide me in the best direction possible. This is going to be a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to spending a lot of time with the guys. Even on a side note — we’re pretty much done with all the other stuff as far as the shenanigans with Freestyle and everything. Last year we did a filming for a movie that’s going to come out in theatres mid-summer. Nitro Circus and Michael Waltrip Racing guys actually helped me with building a bus that we jumped with seven people and ended up going almost 200 feet in a bus over a huge gorge. They made it safe and made it fun so I would like to thank the guys for getting that bus to safely fly that gap. Hopefully, we’ll be able to showcase NASCAR is that movie as well. We will be able to showcase NASCAR in that movie because we’ve already filmed it and with the help of these guys, it’s been a lot of fun.”

Why did you pick these races to run? “The reason that we’ve chosen the races we have is just to get as much diversity as we possibly can. I’m definitely looking forward to running a road course — trying to get the funding to at least do a K&N West as well. Trying to get on as many different tracks as possible. Of course, tracks like Darlington is something that I’ve looked forward to running for a very long period of time. Indianapolis — last year I thought it was going to be a lot of fun because it was more of a flatter, shorter track, which I can slide a car — I’ve been doing that my whole life. I just have to figure out how to not slide a car now and we’ll see how that works out. Just trying to get as much diversity as we can in the races that we’re guaranteed to do. Have great sponsorship lined up for the start, but I said, ‘Let’s try to pick the best tracks we can, let’s do the best that we can with what we’ve got guaranteed and let’s keep looking.’ I want to be racing every single weekend. If we get 20 races or 25 races, that’s what I need to get seat time.”

What is the 3D movie about? “With the 3D — it was a challenge last year for sure. I knew last year was going to be a challenge — we still had freestyle motocross, we still had best trick, we still had filming for the movie — there was a lot of stuff that came up. On a positive note, when that 3D film comes out this year, the Waltrip Racing guys in that shop really put a lot of time into developing a lot of the stunts that we did. It actually starts out in the Waltrip Racing shop. Just trying to really promote myself and the sponsors and give myself the best opportunity as well as the fans from action sports to understand what this sport is about.”

TRAVIS PASTRANA, No. 99 Boost Mobile Toyota Camry, Pastrana199 Racing (continued) What is your impression of Daytona? “Daytona has so much history. It’s just absolutely awesome. Even back from my motocross days — got my first win here and then just raced the 24 Hours (of Daytona) here — so it has a lot of special memories. It’s kind of neat actually to be able to go as a fan. I definitely would rather be out there driving. I wish I was driving all year last year, but to get to go to a lot of the races and spend some time with the drivers and actually listen. Just yesterday I was watching the two heats in the spotter’s stand. I really had no idea on the restrictor plate races how much chaos — it was like a drama series. I thought I was going to get hit over the head with a couple things. Those guys were yelling back and forth and making deals. It’s been really a fun deal to learn a lot more about the sport. Motocross, when I got into it — it was all I would eat, breathe and sleep. Then I went to Rally cars and that was all you did for literally seven years — that was the focus. Coming over here, there’s a lot of history that I need to learn. There’s a lot of history — I actually did the rookie seminar and they showed a whole video on basically how NASCAR got started. It makes you smile and makes you really want to get out there and try to represent these guys the best you can. Bottom line is that you can bring in whatever media, you can bring in whatever fans, but you have to race well. That’s the main goal. Just trying to learn from everybody out there. The really cool part is the drivers have all been more than helpful. Every single guy that I’ve gone up to literally has gone out of their way to try to send me in the right direction or say, ‘Hey, you should talk to him or you should talk to this track guy or this guy that builds cars.’ It’s been a great experience. Now I just want to get in the car. Definitely, it’s been a fun week.”

How difficult is the transition from action sports to NASCAR? “For sure, no matter what you drive or what you ride, no matter what you’ve been successful in the past — if you switch sports you’re starting not from square one. You understand the balance, you understand the dedication and you understand what it takes to get to the top of a sport. It’s still unique. Motocross was all about aggression on two wheels. Rally cars was listening to the co-driver and having to understand that and very aggressive with all-wheel drive. Now there is a lot of roll speed. It’s completely different — not to say it’s a waiting game, but you’re trying to be right on that edge without going over that edge which is something that’s completely different. I’m part owner in the team and I’ve always said that you can’t be both a business owner — I always thought you couldn’t be a business owner and a driver. I’ve put really great people around me to basically guide me. I said, ‘Look, these guys may be paying your paycheck, but you’re technically still my boss, you tell me what to do. I’ve hired you because you’ve got a better understanding of this sport than I do and I’m just really excited to be here.’ Having said that, when I didn’t show up to the race after Indianapolis, I had to go and basically tell a whole crew of people that they didn’t have a job for the rest of the year. That’s something that was very difficult and something that I definitely never want the responsibility to do again. Something where I messed up. Everyone knew the risk when they got into it, but it really had me take a step back and say, ‘Are you serious about this? Is this really where you want to go? Is this where you want to be in your future? Are you willing to have these people that are going to get on your bandwagon — are you willing to take them all the way? Are you willing to have these guys believe in you and not let them down?’ That’s been the toughest part about being responsible for more than just yourself. Whereas action sports, you might have one team manager and that’s pretty much it or maybe a mechanic.”

What were your expectations coming to NASCAR? “For me the perception of NASCAR was never that it was going to be easy for sure. I’ve done a lot of different sports and every sport, no matter how similar it is or seems, there’s always been challenges that as a spectator you’ll never really understand. Coming to NASCAR, I was surprised that the harder that I tried to drive, the worse my results ended up. It wasn’t necessarily that my lap times weren’t as good, but the tires fall off, especially in the short track stuff. With Matt Crafton, in testing we did a lot of 10 lap runs. I was like, ‘Alright, our times are right there, we’re pretty consistent.’ What we didn’t realize until just going to the test this last year and after the races, my tires fall off a lot faster than his do because I’m slipping and sliding a lot more than he is. He’s really consistent with his braking marks. He backs the car up and the tires get warmer and really understands what the car is going to do on the long run. For me, I need to get in that car now and I need to understand how far I can push it. With the roll speed, if I mess up my corner, I’m not going as fast as everyone else and I want to get on the throttle. With all wheel drive, the front tires pulled it right around. With rear wheel drive, it either steps out sideways and then you’re burning the tires off and going slow or it pushes the front end because it takes all the weight off the front. That’s been a difficult part just switching from all wheel drive to rear wheel drive.”