Category: XFINITY Series

St. Baldrick’s Foundation Head Shaving Fundraiser part of weekend’s events

CHINA GROVE, N.C.(June 21, 2011) – R3 Motorsports will have Alex “Kid” Kennedy in the No. 23 St. Baldrick’s/Media Master Dodge this weekend at Road America. The 19-year old resident of Aztec, N.M. is scheduled to make at least two other starts with the team in Watkins Glen and Montreal.

This will be his third start with the team in 2011 and second at the 4.048-mile, 14-turn road course in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. In last year’s event, Kennedy made his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut recording an eye-opening 15th starting position in the 43-car field.

Throughout the race, he kept earning positions and found himself in the top-10 with less than 10 laps to go when he was tagged from behind after a restart. This sent him sideways where he was a sitting duck for another car coming out around a corner and was t-boned in the driver’s door.

Four laps into the garage for repairs and he returned to finish 28th. This year, however, Kennedy knows what to expect and is looking forward to his return to Road America.

Included in the weekend’s events is a St. Baldrick’s Foundation Headshaving Fundraiser, scheduled to take place Friday evening at 6 p.m. on the Road America grounds. Word is a few of the R3 Motorsports team members might be donating their cranial follicles to the cause.

Fast Facts:Kennedy is making his ninth career NNS start, third of the season with R3 Motorsports and second at Road America. His best finish took place at Watkins Glen last year when he finished 16th at the Central New York road course.

Track Facts:In this race last year, Kid Kennedy’s 15th-place qualifying effort garnered him some good attention for his NNS debut race, which is still his best to date. After that late-race tap from behind sent him spinning, then t-boned on the left side sending him into the garage for repairs, he still managed a 28th-place finish.

Car Facts:Walter Giles and team are bringing chassis No. 50 to Road America. This is a new car to the R3 Motorsports stable taking to the track for the first time.

Close shave for St. Baldrick’s?: As part of his association with the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, Racing to Find a Cure, Kennedy will take part in the Headshaving Fundraiser on Friday night at Road America. Money is raised via donations and pledges by people willing to have their heads shaved for the cause. As of right now, two members of the R3 Motorsports crew hope to partake in the event if time allows. No word on Kennedy’s participation – yet.

Tune in for the Win:There are two practice sessions on Friday at Road America before qualifying takes place 3 p.m. ET on Saturday. Fans can catch the race action on ESPN for all 50 laps beginning at 5 p.m.

Alex Kennedy Quotes:“I am looking forward to getting back on the track at Road America. We had a great run in the No. 23 of R3 Motorsports last year before that deal at the end, so I’m looking for a little personal redemption in Wisconsin.

“The best part is I’m going back to a track I’ve run before and I know Walter and the crew have done a great job in building our Media Master/St. Baldrick’s Foundation Dodge for all the twists and turns. I’m going to use every lap to get better and better during practice and then the race.

“As far as me shaving my head for the St. Baldrick’s Headshaving Fundraiser, all I’m going to say is – I love watching them take place – and leave it at that. They do a great job and raising money for their cause for children’s cancer is incredible.”

Max Papis

No. 33 Menards Chevrolet Impala

NASCAR Nationwide Series Race 16 of 34 – Road America

PAPIS ON BOARD: Max Papis teams up with Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) for the second time in his NASCAR career this weekend behind the wheel of the No. 33 Menards Chevrolet Impala for the Bucyrus 200 at Road America. Papis made his first start with the team at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal last season in the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet. He qualified for the event in the ninth position and finished second.

ROAD COURSE RACING: Road America will be the first of three road course races for the NASCAR Nationwide Series this season. The Elkhart Lake, Wis., track made its debut on the series’ schedule last season. KHI competed in the inaugural event with four-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Champion Ron Hornaday in the No. 33 Chevrolet. The team started from the 12th position and finished 11th.

“ROOKIE VETERAN” AT ROAD AMERICA: While this Saturday’s event will mark Papis’ first Nationwide Series start at Road America, it will not be his first time to compete at the 14-turn road course. The Italian-born driver competed in the Champ Car Series for eight seasons collecting several podium finishes at Road America.

PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Paul Menard joined KHI for the third time this season for the Alliance Truck Parts 250 at Michigan International Speedway. Menard qualified the No. 33 Menards Chevrolet on the pole, his third-career Nationwide Series pole and the team’s second pole award in 15 races, and brought home a solid fourth-place finish. The No. 33 team is fifth in Owner’s Point standings, 41 points from the lead with 19 events remaining in the season.

CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 33 Menards team has prepared chassis No. 075 for this weekend’s event at Road America. This chassis, new to KHI’s inventory this season, was tested at Virginia International Raceway in May with Papis.

THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: MAX PAPIS

What are your thoughts going into this weekend at Road America?

“I am really looking forward to racing this weekend at Road America. This will be my first NASCAR race there so I will be considered a rookie, but it will not be my first race at the track. I spent a lot of time at Road America and in the Milwaukee and Green Bay area when I raced in the Champ Car Series. It is a great track and the area is beautiful. They have awesome fans. I can’t wait to get there and race.

“I am looking forward to joining the KHI team this weekend. I am going there with one goal: be the first Italian in the modern era to win a NASCAR race. I know in this No. 33 Menards Chevrolet I will have a good chance of winning the race.”

This is the first road course event of the year. Is Road America similar to the other courses on the schedule?

“Road America is different than Montreal and Watkins Glen [International]. It is very unique and one of the longest courses that you will run on. It presents a lot of challenges. Road America is one of the most technical and traditional tracks here in America. It has a lot of fast corners. It will be a very technical race.”

About Menards:

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FIRST TIMER: Although Elliott Sadler is a 14-year veteran in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, the Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) driver will take on the Wisconsin road course for the first time in the No. 2 OneMain Financial Chevrolet Impala. The Bucyrus 200 at Road America will kick off the first of three road course events on the Nationwide Series schedule this season. The series will head to Watkins Glen International on August 13 and Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada on August 20.

ROAD COURSE VETERAN:Sadler is an experienced driver turning left…and right. In the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Sadler has 24 starts at road courses, 12 each at Watkins Glen and Infineon Raceway with a total of six top-10 finishes at the road courses. In the Nationwide Series, Sadler has made only three starts at road courses, including two starts at Watkins Glen and one start at Autodrome Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, Mexico.

KHI AT ROAD AMERICA: This will be the second time the Nationwide Series has hosted event at the Elkhart Lake, Wis., track. Last season, Ron Hornaday piloted the No. 33 KHI Chevrolet to a 12th-place finish. Sadler is looking to bring the organization their first victory at the 4.048-mile road course track.

TO THE POINT: For the second-straight week, the No. 2 OneMain Financial team remains in the second position in the Driver’s Points standings. Sadler is two points behind leader Ricky Stenhouse Jr. with 19 events remaining on the schedule this season.

PREVIOUS RACE RECAP:Sadler fought back to an eighth-place finish at Michigan International Speedway after the No. 2 OneMain Chevrolet Impala fell a lap down late in the race. The KHI team pitted under green-flag conditions only to have the caution flag wave a few laps later, putting the team at the back of the pack for the restart. The team battled their way to the top-10 finish, the team’s 10th so far this season. 

CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 2 OneMain Financial team will unload chassis No. 074 this weekend at Road America. The team took this new chassis to Virginia International Raceway for a test in May with Sadler behind the wheel.

ARE YOU A CODE SPOTTER?Last month kicked off the Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) segment of the Nationwide Insurance Code Spotter Sweepstakes. Fans can play the Nationwide Insurance Code Spotter Sweepstakes for a chance to win a one-of-a-kind Race Weekend Road Trip VIP Experience with Elliott Sadler and the No. 2 team. To play, enter the code KHICREW now at CodeSpotter.com.

THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Elliott Sadler How do you feel heading into next week’s race at Road America? “I’m really excited to get to Road America. It will be my first time on the track, so I’m interested to see what it is like in person. I’ve seen it on television, and I’ve been watching a lot of tape from last year’s race to mentally prepare the best I can. We have a great teammate with Max Papis, who has a lot of experience on that track, so we are going to rely on him a lot. It is my first time at Road America, but I have a really good record on road courses, and I feel like it is going to be a really great race for us.”     CitiFinancial CitiFinancial, soon to be OneMain Financial, is the premier community lender in North America. With more than 1,300 locations across the United States. CitiFinancial has been serving communities since 1912.  Additional information may be found at www.citifinancial.com.

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kevinharvickinc.com  kevinharvick.com   Fast Facts:  Elliott Sadler Nationwide Series Statistics at Road America-No Previous Starts-  Race Info: June 25, 2011 Road America Bucyrus 200 4.048-mile Road Course/14-turns 50 Laps/ 202.4 Miles

Broadcast Info: TV: ESPN will broadcast live at 5:30 p.m. ET Radio: MRN will broadcast live at  5 p.m. ET

Car Specs: Chassis: 074 Engine: Earnhardt-Childress Racing (ECR)

Mooresville, NC (June 20, 2011) – Carl Edwards took his Roush Yates powered FR9 to Victory Lane in front of Ford country on Saturday at Michigan International Speedway. With 9 laps to go, Edwards passed Ford teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to win the Alliance Truck Parts 250 and give Roush Fenway Racing three cars finishing in the top five. Edwards, Stenhouse Jr., and Bayne dominated the race, leading a combined 101 of the 125 lap event. Other Roush Yates engine drivers showcasing their power this weekend were Ryan Grubaugh and Chuck Hebing in the Sprint Car series and Josh Richards in the World of Outlaw Late Model series.

“Ricky drove his heart out — that guy is unbelievable,” Edwards said in victory lane. “I didn’t think I was going to be able to get him, but it was like his car got tightened up. Man, he did a good job. … I thought Ricky was setting sail. He’s someone I’m a little nervous about in the future.”

Stenhouse held on to second place, crossing the finish line 1.669 seconds behind Edwards, and took the lead in the series standings by two points over eighth-place finisher Elliott Sadler.

“We just got too tight there at the end,” said Stenhouse. “It was a good one-two finish for Jack and everyone at Roush Yates Engines. This track definitely needs a motor and we have it. This was a great day for Ford, we wanted a one-two-three finish, but three cars in the top-five and one-two is pretty good.”

Roush Yates experienced success on the dirt tracks as well this weekend. Ryan Grubaugh won at Cherry Raceway on Friday night in the Engine Pro ASCS Sprints on Dirt series. Grubaugh is currently second in the series points for 2011 and races a Roush Yates Sprint 360 engine. Chuck Hebing won at Lebanon Valley Speedway on Saturday night, earning his first Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints win of the season.

Josh Richards found Victory Lane in the Ernie Davis Roush Yates powered Ford at Winchester Speedway in the World of Outlaws Late Model Series. This is Richards’ 29th career World of Outlaws triumph, breaking his tie with Steve Francis of Ashland, Ky. and becoming the circuit’s winningest driver since 2004.

Anyone can get the same power and performance shown by Carl Edwards and Josh Richards for their own race car by purchasing Roush Yates proven performance products. Check out their new and improved website at www.roushyatesparts.com or call 1-877-RYPP.

–5-Hour Energy Pilot Scores Sixth Top-15 in Last Seven Starts–

BROOKLYN, MI (June 18, 2011)-Following a 14th place qualifying effort, Rusty Wallace Racing’s Steve Wallace (No. 66 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry) battled ever-changing track conditions and potential engine woes, for a 14th place finish in today’s 250-mile NASCAR Nationwide Series event at Michigan International Speedway.

Wallace’s finish marked his sixth top-15 finish in the last seven NNS events and his best career NNS finish at MIS. The effort also allowed him to maintain his eighth-place ranking in the NNS driver standings, expanding his lead over JGR’s Brian Scott to 22 and chopping the gap to seventh-place Kenny Wallace to 26 markers.

“We had a decent 5-Hour Energy Toyota today from a handling perspective,” said Wallace, “The track changed an awful lot and we were off a bit on our last round of adjustments. Our car was just too loose on that last run and it probably cost us a few spots.

“Michigan is a real horsepower racetrack and it definitely showed today. Our biggest problem wasn’t handling; it was that we were getting killed down the straightaways. I went hard as I could, but it was so bad at one point that I almost thought the engine was blowing up.

“The Fords and Chevrolets really have an advantage on us right now from an engine perspective. After today though, I hope that our engine company is going to be working non-stop to get more out of these Toyota powerplants. We’ll even be willing to get them some 5-Hour Energy Extra Strength to help out! If we’re going to contend for wins and top-fives, it’s going to take more steam, especially on these big tracks.”

# # #

About Rusty Wallace Racing, LLC

North Carolina-based Rusty Wallace Racing (RWR) is a professional auto racing team steeped in the legendary racing history of its founder, Rusty Wallace. The team currently campaigns the No. 66 and No. 62 Toyota Camrys-driven by Steve Wallace and Michael Annett, respectively-in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. RWR will also campaign the No. 64 Camry in select 2011 events. RWR entries have finished among the top-ten in the Nationwide Series driver or owner standings in each of the last three seasons. For more on Rusty Wallace Racing, please visit the award-winning rustywallace.com.

About Living Essentials, LLC

Farmington Hills, MI-based Living Essentials, LLC, is the maker of 5-Hour Energy, the category leader in 2 oz. liquid energy shots. 5-Hour Energy is available nationwide at major retailers in the Grocery, Drug Store, Mass Merchant, Warehouse and Convenience Store classes of trade. Living Essentials sells over seven million bottles of 5-Hour Energy per week. For more information, please visit 5hourenergy.com.

Stenhouse reclaims Nationwide Series points lead; Three Roush Fenway Fords finish top five at MIS

BROOKLYN, Mich. (June 18, 2011) – Carl Edwards passed teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr. with only nine laps remaining to post the victory in a dominating Roush Fenway effort in Saturday’s Nationwide Series race at Michigan International Speedway. On the day, Roush Fenway led 101 of 125 laps, with all three of its Ford Mustangs leading during the event. Stenhouse went on to finish second and Trevor Bayne finished fifth.

“I can remember the first win here (at Michigan),” said team owner Jack Roush. “It only seems like yesterday, but it’s great to win here in Ford’s back yard. Ford gave me my first job out of college and we had all the Ford exposure and the CFO here today. We also have 3,000 Roush Industry folks located in Livonia, Mich. and there were a lot of them here today.”

“I have to thank Fastenal; they have really stepped it up this year and they are a great company to be partnered with,” said Edwards after the race. “Ricky (Stenhouse) drove his heart out – that guy is unbelievable, just and unreal driver. I didn’t think I was going to be able to get him, but it looked like his car got a little tight there at the end.

“I also have to thank Ford,” added Edwards. “We are here in their back yard and it was a huge day for Ford Mustang. It’s very cool to be here in victory lane with a Ford Mustang. I have great sponsors and a great team. This car was very, very fast and I had a lot of fun.”

Edwards and Stenhouse combined to lead 100 laps in the event, as Roush Fenway scored its 21st NASCAR win at its ‘home track’ of Michigan. It was the fifth win for the organization at MIS and the fifth win for Roush Fenway this season in the Nationwide Series. It is Edwards’ third NNS win this season.

The finish marked the third time in the last five NNS races that Roush Fenway has finished one-two. Roush Fenway now holds the points lead in both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series’.

“We just got too tight there at the end,” said Stenhouse. “It was a good one-two finish for Jack and everyone at Roush-Yates Engines. This track definitely needs a motor and we have it. This was a great day for Ford, we wanted a one-two-three finish, but three cars in the top-five and one-two is pretty good.”

“They have definitely picked their game at Roush Fenway Racing,” said Bayne after the race. “Jack (Roush) told me that last year when I came over and he’s keeping his promises, because these things have been pretty much unstoppable. Hopefully we’ll be the one sitting in victory lane soon, but I had a front row seat watching Ricky and Carl battle it out for the win there. We had three cars in the top five and a great team effort by Roush Fenway.”

The win is Roush Fenway’s eighth NASCAR win of the season. They will look for number nine in tomorrow’s Sprint Cup Series race, where the team will look for its 12th win at Michigan in the series. Tomorrow’s race will be televised live on TNT, with the green flag set for 1:00 p.m. EDT.

The Race Recap: Joey Logano and the GameStop team had a strong run on Saturday afternoon at Michigan International Speedway, but fell one-spot short of earning their first-career top-five finish at the 2-mile oval. Logano brought the No. 20 GameStop/Cars 2: The Video Game Toyota home in the sixth position following the 250-mile NASCAR Nationwide Series event, his seventh top-10 finish during the 2011 season.

Logano started the day in the ninth position and raced his way up to seventh in the opening laps. A succession of three pit stops over a 20-lap span put Logano and the GameStop team as high as third and as low as 10th, but each time Logano was able to fight back to race his way into the top-five. Logano fought having a loose car for most of the day, but Crew Chief Adam Stevens made a number of positive adjustments and got the car working as good as it had all weekend long by the end of the event. With just 25 laps to go, Logano restarted the race from the fifth-position, but got shuffled to the back in the middle of several three-wide battles. After falling back to 11th, Logano raced his way back to the front over the final 20 laps, passing Mark Martin for sixth coming to the checkered flag.

Joey’s Quotes: “We had a solid day with the GameStop Toyota but unfortunately just missed getting that top-five. This is one track that I’ve struggled with in the past. We’ve always been a top-10 car, but we’ve never quite been a top-five car. Today, at the end of the race, I would say we were a top-five car for sure. That last restart just killed me though. We started on the bottom and a couple of guys got under us and we got stuck in the middle. When that happens, you just lose all momentum and we ended up 11th or 12th. Thankfully though, we had a good enough car at the end that I was able to make those positions back up. We had a great battle with Mark Martin and Elliot Sadler there at the end of the race for sixth, seventh and eighth. I had quite the drag race with Mark and I was able to nip him at the line and get sixth. But I would say our car was better than sixth today.

“I’m really proud of the pit crew and Adam (Stevens). The guys did awesome in the pits. We didn’t lose one spot and we were able to make up a few as the afternoon went on and that is big, especially on tracks like this where track position is so very important. And Adam made some great calls in the pits. At the start of the race, the car was just too loose and I couldn’t get into turn three at all. I would have to back my entry up and I lost a ton of speed in the middle and off. But Adam made adjustments on every stop and every one of them made the car better. By the end of the race, the car was the best it has been all weekend long. I thought we had a shot to maybe get a top-five or even get up there and race those Fords, but I just didn’t have a great restart.

“We are getting better, but we need to find a little more speed in our cars and in all of the Toyotas I think. The Fords just have all of us covered right now. We are gaining on it and we are getting better and better each week. Hopefully here in a few more races, we’ll be running up front and battling for wins. I’m ready to get the 20 car and GameStop back into Victory Lane. We’ve got Kentucky coming up and we’ve got a quite the streak going there. If we can get back into Victory Lane anywhere, it will be there at Kentucky.”

What’s Next: The No. 20 GameStop Toyota and Logano will be back in action in at Kentucky Speedway on Friday night, July 8th. Logano has won the last three NASCAR Nationwide Series events at Kentucky Speedway, all coming from the pole.