Category: XFINITY Series

JUSTIN ALLGAIER QUICK FACTS

No. 31 BRANDT Chevrolet

Dollar General 300 Miles of Courage

Charlotte Motor Speedway

October 14, 2011

Justin Allgaier 2011 Season

Starts Poles Wins Top-fives Top-10s Avg. Start Avg. Finish DNFs

30 0 1 6 15 11.3 11.9 3

No. 31 BRANDT Chevrolet News and Notes

. Charlotte by the Numbers… The 25-year-old BRANDT Chevy driver has six starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway (CMS). He is credited with two top-five and two top-10 finishes, with a best finish of third, coming in October of last year. He has an average start of 15.0 and an average finish of 13.3.

. This Week’s Impala… The No. 31 BRANDT team will hit the track with chassis TMS-308 this weekend at Charlotte. This chassis has two top-10 finishes earlier this season at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where Allgaier came home sixth, and Nashville Superspeedway, where he finished in the fourth spot.

. Looking Back Where It All Began… Allgaier made his NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) debut at CMS in October, 2008. He started 14th and went on to finish in the 34th spot. Since his debut in the series, he has gone on to earn two wins, three poles, 17 top-five and 47 top-10 finishes.

. Story time with Justin… As part of Dollar General’s literacy initiative, Allgaier will spend Wednesday morning with kindergarten students from Charles E. Boger Elementary School’s in Kannapolis, N.C. The No. 31 Nationwide Series competitor will read the Dr. Suess classic “Go Dog Go!”

. In the Loop… Thus far in 2011, Allgaier ranks among the top-10 in several of NASCAR’s Loop Data statistics: Quality Passes (4th), Laps in the Top-15 (7th), Average Running Position (8th), Percentage of laps run on the Lead Lap (8th), Fastest on Restarts (9th), Fastest Speed in Traffic (9th), Fastest Early in the Run (10th) and Fastest Late in the Run (10th).

. Allgaier’s Better Half is Dashing…Saturday afternoon, prior to the Bank of America 500, Allgaier’s wife Ashley will sport the BRANDT colors as she races in the first ever “Better Half Dash”. The 25-lap charity race, supporting Motor Racing Outreach (MRO) and Speedway Children’s Charities (SCC), will pit NASCAR superstars’ significant others against each other in Bandolero cars provided by U.S. Legend Cars International on the speedway’s frontstretch quarter-mile oval.

Justin Allgaier on Charlotte Motor Speedway:

“I’m ready to get back to action at Charlotte. It’s where I made my Nationwide Series debut and we usually run pretty well there. We’re bringing a strong car that I really like. Hopefully we’ll unload well and be a contender all night,” said Allgaier. “I get to play coach as Ashley turns laps in her BRANDT Bandolero Saturday afternoon, which will be exciting to watch. She’s really competitive and has been around racing for a long time, so I think she is going to bring home the win for us!”

Follow the No. 31 team on Twitter!Twitter.com/No31TurnerNNS

Follow Justin Allgaier on Twitter! Twitter.com/J_Allgaier

Follow Turner Motorsports on Facebook!Facebook.com/TurnerMotorsports

Carl Edwards– Dollar General 300 Miles of Courage Advance

Team: No. 60 Fastenal Ford Mustang

Crew Chief: Mike Beam

Chassis: RK-639 – primary – last ran in Nashville-Finished first.

RK–621 – backup – new Nationwide chassis

QUOTES

Carl Edwards on racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway:

“Our Fastenal team is very excited to race at Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend under the lights. It’s always great for the team to race at home in front of their family and friends. We have been running really well and we have closed the owner’s championship to only 7 points. Our goal is to take over the lead and put our Fastenal Mustang in Victory Lane.”

Crew chief Mike Beam on racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway:

“We always love racing at Charlotte in our hometown. We are bringing the same chassis that we won with in Nashville. This track is super fast. The setup will be completely different than when we raced here in the spring because the temperature will be much cooler. I feel confident that we can get this No. 60 Fastenal Ford back to victory lane for the eighth time this season.”

FAST FACTS

So far in 2011, Edwards has seven wins, 19 top-fives, and 23 top-10s.

Edwards captured his 36th career Nationwide win at Dover International Speedway.

Edwards has captured seven Coors Light pole awards so far in the 2011 Nationwide Series season.

The No. 60 Mustang is seven points out of first place in the NNS owner’s championship.

Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. – Dollar General 300 Miles of Courage Advance

200 laps/300 miles

Team: No. 6 Blackwell Angus/Cargill Ford Mustang

Crew Chief: Mike Kelley

Chassis: RK-670– primary – last raced in Atlanta – finished third.

RK–635 – backup – last raced at LOR- finished third

QUOTES

Stenhouse, Jr. on racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway:

“I am really looking forward to racing under the lights at Charlotte in our Blackwell Angus Ford. We sat on the pole there in the spring and had a strong fourth place finish. We are bringing the same chassis that we raced in Atlanta and got a third place finish. Charlotte is a fast race track and is extremely fun to race. I feel pretty confident that we can get this Blackwell Angus back to victory lane this weekend.”

Crew chief Mike Kelley on racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway:

“Charlotte is one of my favorite tracks because you get to race in front of your family and friends. We had a strong Mustang in the spring and I am confident that we will have a strong performance here again in our Blackwell Angus Ford. The key for us in this race and in our championship hunt is to stay out of trouble, execute on pit-road, and finish in the top-five.”

FAST FACTS

So far in 2011, Stenhouse, Jr. has two wins, 14 top-fives, 22 top-10s, and three poles.

Stenhouse, Jr. is the current Nationwide Series point leader with a 20 point advantage over Elliot Sadler.

Stenhouse won the Nationwide Dash 4 Cash in Richmond. He is now qualified for the Dash 4 Cash at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

JASON LEFFLER QUICK FACTS

No. 30 AccuDoc Solutions Chevrolet Impala

Charlotte Motor Speedway

Dollar General 300 Miles of Courage

October 14, 2011

No. 30 AccuDoc Solutions Chevrolet Impala News and Notes

. Number Swap… As in 2010, Jason Leffler is sharing seat time in the No. 38 with Kasey Kahne, jumping behind the wheel of the No. 30 machine for eight events throughout the season. The number swap proved lucky for Leffler and his team in 2010, bringing home three top-five and seven top-10 finishes in eight starts in the No. 10. The streak seems to be continuing in 2011, with the team capturing five top-10s in seven starts in the No. 30.

. In the loop… Leffler has had a consistently solid season and is listed in the top-10 in several of NASCAR’s season-to-date loop data statistics including:average running position (9th), fastest drivers early in a run (9th), fastest drivers late in a run (8th), fastest drivers on restarts (8th), green flag speed (9th), laps in the top-15 (9th), percentage of laps run on the lead lap (9th), quality passes (5th) and fastest speed in traffic (7th).

. Charlotte Motor Speedway: By the numbers… In 16 starts at Charlotte Motor Speedway (CMS), Leffler has one top-five and four top-10 finishes with 80 laps led. His best finish of fourth came back in the May race at the 1.5-mile oval in 2004.

. This week’s Impala… This weekend at CMS the No. 30 AccuDoc Solutions team will unload chassis TMS-127. This is the team’s “go-to” chassis as it has more seen more track time than any other car in rotation. Leffler drove TMS-127 last weekend at Kansas Speedway (13th), as well as at Chicagoland Speedway (12th), Kentucky Speedway (13th), Michigan Int’l Speedway (10th), Dover Int’l Speedway (11th), CMS (21st), Darlington Raceway (9th) and Atlanta Motor Speedway (9th).

. Scan It… If you are trying to hear Leffler’s team communication this weekend, remember to tune your scanner to the No. 38 primary frequency (466.9250). When you want to hear Kahne’s communications with the No. 38 Great Clips team tune your scanner to the No. 30 primary frequency (460.8875).

. Turner Motorsports: In the Hunt… In 30 NationwideSeries events in 2011, Turner Motorsports-prepared entries have notched three wins, 21 top-five and 58 top-10 finishes. Both of Turner Motorsports’ championship-contending drivers are inside the top-10 in the driver point standings with Justin Allgaier in fifth and Leffler in sixth.

Jason Leffler on racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway

“Racing in Charlotte is always fun because we are racing at home. Being on the road so much, it’s a big deal for everyone to be able to sleep in their own beds and race in front of all their friends and family. With that said, it is a tough race because everyone wants to win in front of the home town crowd. Knowing you are racing in front of so many friends and family you have that extra push to win as a driver, for yourself and for your team. We are getting down to the end of the season and we only have four more chances left to get to victory lane, and I really want to get this AccuDoc Solutions team there this weekend.”

Follow the No. 30 team on Twitter!Twitter.com/No30TurnerNNS

Follow Jason Leffler on Twitter!Twitter.com/JasonLeffler

Follow Turner Motorsports on Facebook! Facebook.com/TurnerMotorsports

Richardson set for return to No. 23 Chevrolet of R3 Motorsports at Charlotte

CHINA GROVE, N.C. (October 11, 2011) – When the NASCAR Nationwide Series activities begin this weekend at the 1.5-mile oval of Charlotte Motor Speedway, Robert Richardson, Jr. will be back in the seat of the No. 23 North Texas Pipe Chevrolet.

While it’s a home “game” for most everyone in NASCAR, Richardson will be making the trek from his home in Texas. The family-owned team of R3 Motorsports has entered and made every race this year with the No. 23 entry.

The 29-year old native of McKinney, Texas used the recent off-weeks from racing to take an extensive tour of Colorado and New Mexico utilizing his minor in photography from Southern Methodist University. To see some of his photos, he has them on is Facebook for viewing.

Fast Facts: This will be Richardson’s 20th start of the 2011 season and 89th of his NNS career. Throughout this year, he’s completed 2,946 of 3,740 laps contested and led one lap, at Talladega. His best finish took place at Richmond in May where he was 20th.

Track Facts: In his five previous starts at CMS, the former quarterback has a best start of 28th in 2008 and finish of 23rd in the spring race last year. He’s completed 617 of 975 laps during his handful of starts.

Where’s Robert? The NASCAR Nationwide Series drivers have a scheduled autograph session from 1 p.m. ET until 2 p.m. on Friday afternoon at the track.

Tune in for the Win: This will be an easy one for the TV fans this weekend; just lock into ESPN2 and keep there. There will be two practices on Thursday afternoon from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. for the first practice, then 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. for the final one. On Friday, qualifying takes place at 3 p.m. and race action starts at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2, PRN Radio and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio Ch. 90.

NEXT! The NNS will have two weeks off before racing at Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday, November 5.

Robert Richardson, Jr. Quotes: “This 1.5-mile track is pretty much like the others when it comes to the layout. But, this one is a lot faster than a Chicagoland or Kansas when it comes to how you handle in the turns.

“We need to get ourselves dialed in real good during the two practices sessions so we know what we have to deal with during the race. If we start to get in some of those long, green-flag runs like we have been lately, then we need to know what to expect.

“I’m liking this race for our guys because they get to spend some time at home instead of traveling a long distance to go to work. They will have a lot of family and friends at the track, so we want to put on a good show for them.”

Joey Logano / No. 20 GameStop Toyota Preview

Dollar General 300 Miles of Courage at Charlotte Motor Speedway

No. 20 GameStop Toyota News, Notes & Paint Scheme:

. “BEAST OF THE SOUTHEAST” A FEAST (OR FAMINE) FOR LOGANO: Joey Logano has said it before. Ask him on any given weekend and he’ll tell you the same answer. What is his favorite track? It’s Charlotte Motor Speedway. Logano will make the seventh NASCAR Nationwide Series start of his career at Charlotte on Friday night in the Dollar General 300 Miles of Courage. Logano’s previous track record at Charlotte has been feast or famine. In six previous starts, Logano has scored three top-five finishes and three top-10s. His best career finish came in the spring race last season where he crossed the line in third place. Logano also has finishes of fourth and fifth at the track. In the spring race this season, Logano started 11th and finished 11th. His other two finishes at the track have both been 14th place efforts.

. “BIG GAME HUNTER” FOR THE BIG RACE: Cabela’s Big Game Hunter 2012 will ride with Logano and primary sponsor GameStop on track at Charlotte Motor Speedway. With the world as their playground, players will explore a vast expanse of mountains and valleys with unprecedented choices in direction never before seen in a Cabela’s hunting game. Players can climb an area to get a better angle for the shot but risk being spotted, or they can take a low elevation route with poor visibility but plenty of concealment. In order to bag the trophies, players will have to avoid detection through cunning, skill, and deception. They must also utilize master hunting skills such as advanced stalking techniques so they can quickly move through cover and close in on their targets. With new multiplayer modes, gamers can enjoy playing with friends and family. Up to four people can take turns, work together or challenge each other in different arcade shooting galleries. With new modes such as Reflex and Target Shooting, Cabela’s Big Game Hunter 2012 has enough fun to keep players hunting with friends for a long time! The game was released on Sept. 27 and is available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Wii video game consoles.

. EPIC REWARD FOR GAMESTOP EPIC REWARD WINNER: Joey Logano and the No. 20 GameStop team will have a special guest this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Shari and George Stettner of Texas will head to Charlotte for winning the NASCAR experience as part of GameStop’s PowerUp Rewards program. The PowerUp Rewards program rewards the most passionate of GameStop gamers by offering savings on purchases while also providing members-only specials, discounts and news emailed directly to users. Shari and George will come to Charlotte, have a private tour of the Joe Gibbs Racing shops, go go-karting with Joey and the entire No. 20 GameStop team, visit the NASCAR Hall of Fame, attending Joe Gibbs Racing’s Fan Fest, and get a chance to watch the Dollar General 300 Miles of Courage up close by sitting on the pit box of the No. 20 team for Friday night’s event. Other Epic Reward winners have gotten tank driving experiences, trips to Rome, a behind the scenes look at Comic-Con and private tours of various video game companies.

. BACK HOME AGAIN. WITH THE No. 20: Logano spent the last three NASCAR Nationwide Series events behind the wheel of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in an effort to help that team win the Nationwide Series Owner’s Championship. This weekend, Logano returns to the seat of the car he’s most accustomed to driving in the Nationwide Series, the No. 20 GameStop Toyota. He will also be back with his regular crew, led by Crew Chief Adam Stevens, who last week guided rookie Ryan Truex to a 10th place finish at Kansas Speedway.

. CHASSIS: The JGR team will bring chassis #127 to Charlotte for the Dollar General 300. The car has raced just one other time this year, coming back at Michigan International Speedway, where Logano finished sixth. Chassis #132 will serve as the team’s backup.

. STAT OF THE WEEK: 17,000. In all likelihood, Logano will surpass the $3,000,000 career earnings plateau this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Logano needs a little more than $17,000 to become a $3,000,000 man.

. THE RACE: The Dollar General 300 Miles of Courage at Charlotte Motor Speedway (Concord, NC; 1.5-mile tri-oval) is set for Friday night, Oct. 14, 2011. The race will be broadcast on ESPN2 at 7:30 p.m. ET, with radio coverage on PRN starting at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Joey Logano Quotes:

“Charlotte is always a crazy week. Not only is there a lot going on at the track, but being ‘home’ for everyone, there are plenty of things going on away from the track and that really keeps you busy. This is one of those weeks that you need to find a good balance between doing your stuff away from the track and also focusing on the job at hand when you get in the car. And it’s not just like that for me, it’s like that for all of the guys. It’s a lot of fun to be close to home and to get to sleep in your own bed at night, but you’ve got to focus more this week than any other really.

“As a driver, you always get asked by fans and media what your favorite track is and Charlotte is always my answer. A lot of guys will say it’s a track they’ve won at a lot or a track they are always running up front or maybe a track that is close to their hometown, but I just love Charlotte. The track is unique and it changes so much during the course of a race. There are always several different lines and grooves that work their way in during the race and you’ve got to be able to move your car around to match the way it’s handling. It’s fast, but you really need to focus on handling here. The restarts can be crazy too. Overall, it’s just a fun track to race on and we have such great fan support here.

“One of my off-track activities this week will be visiting with the GameStop Epic Rewards winner which will be a lot of fun. Last year, the guy that was here had a blast doing all of the stuff they got to do. This year, we’re doing the same thing. Getting to race against them in go-karts is a lot of fun. Plus, I love racing karts and I’ll take all of the extra track time I can get. But really, it’s just great to be able to bring someone to the track who doesn’t really get the chance to see what goes on behind the scenes and watch them enjoy it all. It’s a great reward if you ask me. When I was a kid, I would have loved to have won something like that.”

No. 20 GameStop Toyota / Joe Gibbs Racing Team

Driver – Joey Logano Crew Chief – Adam Stevens Car Chief – Mike Sibley Race Engineer – Curtis Ratzlaff Shock Specialist – Joel Weidman Front-end – Dave Rudy Rear-end – Chris “Yoshi” Jones Tire Specialist – Glen Wheeler Engine Tuner – Roger Purcell

Truck Driver – Tim Clancy Jackman – Jason Tate Gasman – John Eicher

Front Tire Changer – John Royer Front Tire Carrier – Brett Morrell

Rear Tire Changer – Coleman Dollarhide Rear Tire Carrier – Eric Groen

[media-credit name=”Track ” align=”alignright” width=”241″][/media-credit]Ryan Truex

No. 99 Pastrana Waltrip Racing Toyota

Charlotte Motor Speedway

CORNELIUS, N.C. – Ryan Truex returns to the No. 99 Pastrana-Waltrip Racing Toyota for Friday night’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Truex and three other drivers will fight for a chance to earn the $100,000 bonus in Nationwide’s Dash 4 Cash program. The 19-year-old qualified for the program by finishing fourth at Richmond last month. He pockets the $100,000 if he’s the highest finisher among Kenny Wallace, Elliott Sadler, or Ricky Stenhouse Jr. at Charlotte.

RYAN TRUEX ON THE $100,000 BONUS: “It’s a neat program that NASCAR and Nationwide have put together for us. I qualified for the Dash 4 Cash program in Richmond, and I know winning this $100,000 would mean a lot. I’m going to be working with Pastrana Waltrip Racing this weekend at Charlotte. We didn’t decide to run Charlotte until last Thursday so the guys back at the shop have been working around the clock to get the cars ready. I was told my primary is a new car that performed well at the wind tunnel so I am excited to see how it handles. I am feeling pretty confident in our chances of winning the bonus money this weekend.”

TRUEX RACING AT CHARLOTTE: “Charlotte is fast, high-banked and is a lot of fun to race at. It’s going to be good to work with (Crew Chief Mike) Greci again. We communicate well and have good results when we work together. Pastrana Waltrip Racing always gives me fast Toyotas, and I know that this combination will give me a good shot to do well at the track, and keep me in contention for a win as well as for the Dash 4 Cash. ”

MIKE GRECI ON TRUEX: “I think Ryan has stepped it up a lot in the past few months. Ryan has been in the MWR gym almost every day since his wrist surgery to try and make himself stronger. He has been able to go out there and get some good finishes lately on the track, and I think that has given him confidence to go out there and win the $100,000 bonus. We had a good run with Martin (Truex Jr.) last year so we are going to bring the same set up this race and hopefully it equals the same results.”

NOTES OF INTEREST

. Owners: Michael Waltrip Racing, Gary and Blake Bechtel and Travis Pastrana own Pastrana-Waltrip Racing that fields Toyota Camrys out of the MWR shop in Cornelius, N.C. The Bechtels have owned cars in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series since 1990. The Morgan Hill, Calif. residents’ teams have visited victory lane 10 times in the Nationwide Series.

. Season Stats: In 15 NASCAR Nationwide Series starts this season Truex has one top-five and four top-10 finishes. He has an average starting position of 12.7 and an average finishing position of 15.9.

. Champion: Truex is the only teenager to win back-to-back K&N Pro Series East titles (2009 & 2010), and he is the first driver to bring a championship to Michael Waltrip Racing.

. Atop the Pit Box: Longtime crew chief Mike Greci will serve as Truex’s crew chief on the No. 99 Pastrana Waltrip Racing Toyota this Friday night at Charlotte. Greci won titles with Truex in 2009 and 2010 and with Mike Stefanik in 1997 and 1998.

. Meet the Driver: Truex will sign autographs 1-2 p.m. Friday on pit road at Charlotte.

[media-credit name=”Track ” align=”alignright” width=”241″][/media-credit]Paul Menard

No. 33 Rheem/Menards Chevrolet Impala

NASCAR Nationwide Series Race 31 of 34 – Charlotte Motor Speedway

MENARD READY FOR CHARLOTTE: This weekend’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway will mark the final time this season driver Paul Menard will climb behind the wheel of the No. 33 Rheem/Menards Chevrolet Impala. In six starts with the Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) team this season, Menard has captured one pole (Michigan International Speedway in June), four top-five and six top-10 finishes. His average start is 4.3 and average finish, 4.7.

BY THE NUMBERS: Menard has eight starts in the Nationwide Series at Charlotte with one top-five and one top-10 finish. KHI has 20 series starts to their credit at the Concord, N.C., facility with one top-five and eight top-10 finishes. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Tony Stewart posted KHI’s best finish of fifth in 2004.

CHECK YOUR HEADLIGHTS: During the race weekend at Dover International Speedway, Rheem launched “Chasing the Cure,” a month-long program created in support of National Breast Cancer Awareness month, and to raise awareness of the Young Survival Coalition, a group dedicated to supporting women diagnosed with breast cancer that are under 40 years old. Check out Rheem Racing’s Facebook page to learn more, http://www.facebook.com/rheemracing.

PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: The No. 33 KHI team headed to Kansas City for the Nationwide Series event at Kansas Speedway last weekend. Menard climbed behind the wheel of the Rheem/Menards Chevrolet Impala where he started and finished the race in the fourth position.

CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 33 Rheem/Menards team will unload chassis No. 071 when they arrive at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Menard competed with this chassis last weekend at Kansas. Chassis No. 071 has been used eight additional times this season with a best finish of third twice (KHI co-owner Kevin Harvick at Auto Club Speedway in March and Menard at Texas Motor Speedway in April).

THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: PAUL MENARD

“Racing at Charlotte is always great because it’s a home race for most of us in the sport. Charlotte is a fast, 1.5-mile track, and KHI’s 1.5-mile program is solid so I expect we’ll do well on Friday night. This will be my last start with the team for the season. We’ve had some great runs and it’s been a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to another great race and hopefully getting this No. 33 Rheem/Menards Chevrolet into victory lane.”

About Menards:

With 263 stores in 13 Midwestern states, Menards has the tools, materials and supplies for all your home improvement needs whether just needing a light bulb or can of paint to building a deck or new home. Menards is known throughout the home improvement industry as the low price leader; it’s no wonder their famous slogan – “SAVE BIG MONEY” – is so widely known and easy to remember. Menards does things right – the company’s strength and success can be seen in the well-stocked and maintained stores, the lowest prices in town and the way guests are always treated like family in a hometown hardware store atmosphere.