Category: XFINITY Series

Joey Logano (fourth) was the highest-finishing Toyota driver in Friday night’s NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) race at Texas Motor Speedway.

Camry drivers David Reutimann (ninth) and Brian Scott (10th) also had top-10 finishes in the race. The race was Kyle Busch’s 100th NNS start in a Toyota since 2008. He was running second when he was involved in an accident on lap 88 and was relegated to a 34th-place result.

Camry drivers Steve Wallace (17th), Michael Annett (18th), Kenny Wallace (20th) and Joe Nemechek (24th) were also in the 200-lap race.

JOEY LOGANO, No. 20 GameStop Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Finishing Position: 4th Did you have a fourth-place car tonight or were you better than that? “At times we were the fastest and that was only for about four laps — when we were fast. Our balance changed too much from the beginning of the race to end. We were slow to take off, and then 10 or 15 laps in a run we were real fast. Then about 20 laps in a run we’d get too loose and start losing ground. I tried all I could to get by the 33 (Paul Menard) there — it was all I had. If you get clean air it helped a lot. It’s a really big deal today. Our GameStop Toyota was good for about five or 10 laps and then it went back the other way. Probably had the fastest car out there for five laps. And, then we got too loose and started losing what we made up. I had a small window to go fast and I had to make the most of it. Fourth-place is about where we were — had a fourth-place car.”

DAVID REUTIMANN, No. 99 Pastrana-Waltrip Racing Toyota Camry, Pastrana-Waltrip Racing Finishing Position: 9th How was your race? “Jerry (Baxter, crew chief) and the guys put together a really good car, just like they always do. I gave them some bad information near the end of the race and they adjusted the car too much and it was tight. Overall, it was a good run and to come out of Texas with a ninth-place finish — I’m pretty happy with that.”

BRIAN SCOTT, No. 11 Shore Lodge Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Finishing Position: 10th Are you happy with at top-10 finish? “It’s good that we stayed in the top-10. We gave up about 10 seconds on the race track by pitting under a green flag stop. As we were coming in, a car got into the wall and we thought a caution would come out, but I was already slowed down. So, I stayed out and caution never fell. We lost a lot of ground there, so it could have been a sixth or seventh-place finish and it ended up being 10th. That’s unfortunate, but still a top-10 is a good day for our Shore Lodge Toyota team. We’ll take it and move on. We have a lot of bright spots from this race. We were really fast at times, we just couldn’t capitalize on the finishing position.”

STEVE WALLACE, No. 66 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry, Rusty Wallace Racing Finishing Position: 17th

MICHAEL ANNETT, No. 62 Northland Oil Toyota Camry, Rusty Wallace Racing Finishing Position: 18th

KENNY WALLACE, No. 09 American Ethanol Toyota Camry, RAB Racing with Brack Maggard Finishing Position: 20th

JOE NEMECHEK, No. 87 NEMCO Motorsports Toyota Camry, NEMCO Motorsports Finishing Position: 24th

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 Z-Line Designs Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing Finishing Position: 34th How did your evening end tonight? “We crashed. That’s about it. That’s what it’s going to go down in the notebook. But, we had a good car. The guys did a great job from when we unloaded — we were a little off this weekend. And we made so many changes that we got lost at one point, but we got a lot better. Real happy with the way the guys worked together this weekend and we got the car going a lot better. This Z-Line Designs Camry was fast right there. We were running Carl (Edwards) down. Almost got him along side of him there one time and waited for the backstretch and we crashed back down into turn one and two. Oh well, that’s the deal.”

Did you experience the track changing from daylight to evening? “We started out a little bit tight and the track was actually coming our way a little bit. It started to free up a little bit that last run right before we wrecked. We felt pretty good about it. We were just biding our time. We were just running there — we were running hard, but we were just running. It felt like we were probably the only car that was going to give Carl (Edwards) a shot. It’s a shame that we didn’t have the chance to race it out the rest of the night. See what it would come down to toward the end and what team would make better adjustments. It seems like ours was a little better in the long runs.”

What did you see in front of you on the race track? “It didn’t happen that fast, but there was no time to react. You can’t just stomp on the brakes and turn left, you’re already maxed out with your tires. It’s real unfortunate — these guys did a great job working all weekend to get the car capable of running with Carl (Edwards) there. They unloaded a lot better than we did and we just worked really hard getting to that point where we could run with those guys. I felt like we were better on the long run with this Z-Line Designs Camry, just didn’t quite make it, obviously. It’s going to go down as a wreck, but I felt like we were fast enough to win.”

Did you feel you had a winning car before the wreck that took you out of the race? “I felt like there was an opportunity for us to win. I’m not going to say we were the winning car, Carl (Edwards) is definitely the winning car. We were making grounds on him to where we could get there and at least run with him. We probably could have put on a really good show with the fans out here in Texas.”

Was there anything you could do to avoid the wreck? “No. I kind of saw it coming and tried to turn left, but it was too late.”

Was there anything Tim Schendel should have done to prevent the accident that took you out of the race? “I don’t know how long his tire was going down, but if it was going down for the whole front straightaway he should have gotten to the slowest speed and ran the apron.”

[media-credit name=”Steven Iles” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Carl Edwards captured the pole for Friday night’s Nationwide Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway with a lap of 178.938 MPH (30.178 secs) for the third time this season.

Brad Keselowski qualified second, Elliott Sadler third, series points leader Ricky Stenhouse Jr. fourth and Paul Menard qualified fifth.

Qualifying Results
O’Reilly Auto Parts 300, Texas Motor Speedway
=============================
Pos. Driver Speed
=============================
1 Carl Edwards 178.938
2 Brad Keselowski 178.743
3 Elliott Sadler 178.554
4 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 178.489
5 Paul Menard 178.3
6 Trevor Bayne 177.86
7 Joey Logano 177.848
8 Kyle Busch 177.55
9 Kasey Kahne 177.096
10 Aric Almirola 176.765
11 Justin Allgaier 176.678
12 Reed Sorenson 176.655
13 Brian Scott 176.586
14 David Reutimann 176.303
15 Jason Leffler 175.787
16 Sam Hornish Jr. 175.439
17 Josh Wise 175.308
18 Michael Annett 175.273
19 David Starr 174.497
20 Blake Koch* 174.323
21 Tim Andrews 173.796
22 Kenny Wallace 173.779
23 Joe Nemechek 173.539
24 Steve Wallace 173.316
25 Scott Wimmer 173.316
26 Carl Long 173.049
27 Shelby Howard 172.861
28 J.J. Yeley 172.828
29 Mike Wallace 172.59
30 Jeremy Clements 172.436
31 Dennis Setzer 172.414
32 Jeff Green 172.035
33 Matthew Carter 171.87
34 Danny O’Quinn Jr. 171.554
35 Kevin Lepage 171.532
36 Mike Bliss 171.456
37 Jennifer Jo Cobb* 171.108
38 Timmy Hill* 170.584
39 Tim Schendel 170.352
40 Derrike Cope 170.234
41 Eric McClure 170.181
42 Robert Richardson Jr. 169.891
43 Brett Rowe 169.364
44 Morgan Shepherd 167.984

Rick Ware Racing(RWR) is proud to announce that Better Burning Charcoal will be featured on the #15 Ford driven by Timmy Hill. Their logo will be featured on the lower quarter panels and tv panel for the running of the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway, Saturday night.

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Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driver of the No. 6 Easy Feet Ford Mustang, currently sits atop the NASCAR Nationwide series point standings heading into Saturday night’s race at Texas Motor Speedway. Stenhouse is the fourth points leader in the series this season after taking home Rookie of the Year honors last year. Stenhouse took time to talk with media members Thursday. 

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE SEASON SO FAR?  “This is cool. I have never done this. I could get used to coming in here and doing this weekly. Last time we were here in the old style car we led some laps and ran well and we feel like we have a better handle on these Mustangs this year and have been running really well with them. Hopefully we can do the same and lead the last one. We feel like we have a really good shot at it. We have had a consistent start to the season. We evaluated during this past week that we had off some of the things we need to work on the rest of the year to run consistent top-five and battle for wins. I feel like we have a good handle on it and am glad to be here in Texas.”

WITH THE NEW POINTS SYSTEM THIS YEAR IN THE NATIONWIDE SERIES, DO YOU FEEL IT IS DOING WHAT IT WAS MEANT TO DO, SHED THE SPOTLIGHT ON YOUNG GUYS LIKE YOURSELF?  “I think it is. I think Nationwide Insurance and the Nationwide series have done a great job with it. I almost feel like it is a Nationwide regulars competition. We have more regulars in the top-five and running up there with the Cup guys. I think it is definitely giving us a lot more spotlight than what we had last year.”

DOES IT BOOST YOUR CONFIDENCE AS WELL?  “Definitely. Knowing that you are leading the points is cool. Everybody is saying we have an opportunity to win the championship and technically we had the same chance last season but just couldn’t do it. I feel like it is a little more of a reality to go in there and not have to compete with Kyle Bush and Carl Edwards for the championship. The way we are running this year though I feel like we could be in the hunt with those guys a little more than we were last year.”

HOW MUCH PRESSURE DO YOU FEEL BEING IN CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENTION TO GET A RACE WIN AND LEGITIMIZE YOUR SPOT THERE?  “I have thought about that. Coming into this year I wanted to win some races. I didn’t think we would be leading the points this early or ever after last year. Definitely I think we need to get some wins so that we can say that this was a legitimate championship effort. If we can get those wins with the Cup guys there, that is what we want to do. Not just on stand-alone races, we want to do it with the Cup guys racing.”

WITH THE RICKY VS. TREVOR WEBSITE, WHO IS ACTUALLY BETTER AT COMPETITION IN GENERAL, YOU OR TREVOR?  “I feel like I am. We have a lot of fun doing that. I guess I would say I am better and so far this year I have been better at the ones that really matter and those are on the race track. We have a lot of fun doing that. We kind of step each other’s level up. I feel like after I do something and then he does it and if we go back and do it again the level just keeps stepping up. It should be a lot of fun. Once we get in the summer and can go out and do some wake boarding and golfing and some other things I think it will be a fun website to keep checking out.”

CAN YOU EXPLAIN THAT SITE TO EVERYONE IN CASE THEY AREN’T AWARE OF RICKY VS. TREVOR?  “It started last year. Kevin Woods had a Mark Martin doll and when Trevor came over to Roush Fenway last year I forget where we were but we beat Trevor and he put my face on there and Trevor’s on the back of it. Trevor didn’t like it and it kind of became a competition. Trevor and I do a lot of competitions no matter what we are doing. We were playing basketball in Phoenix this year and it got pretty competitive. By the way, I did win that even though we didn’t get it on film. We just have fun doing everything. Everybody at Roush decided they wanted to put it on the website and get us doing all the things we like to do.”

WHAT ABOUT THIS TRACK. IT IS FAST AND THE TURNS ARE TRICKY, HOW DO YOU BALANCE PUSHING THE CAR HERE WITH TRYING TO BE CAREFUL TO NOT DO SOMETHING STUPID EARLY IN THE RACE?  “That is the key, to get it to the end. This race track is one that I have liked since I first got here. I think it is the first 1.5 mile track that I ran wide open last year an felt comfortable at. Obviously we have to navigate the bump in one and two but after Las Vegas with the bumps we went over in our Mustang there I think we have a good handle on that. I feel like it is a drivers track and you really have to stand up in the seat and use a lot of throttle. That is the kind of track I like. We have to be careful at the beginning of the race but if you are running top-five it is easier to keep your car in one piece for the end of the race.”

WHY HAVE THINGS STARTED SO MUCH BETTER FOR YOU THIS YEAR?  “A year of experience definitely helps. We are coming to places for the third and fourth time which has been a big help. We kept the same group of guys together from the end of last year and we were kind of on a roll last year. Everything was clicking and I felt like the chemistry between myself and my crew chief has gotten a lot better. Mike Kelley has done a great job organizing a team with a lot of confidence and really paying attention to the details when they are building our race cars to make them lighter and faster. I feel like I am focused a lot more and have more confidence and am just trying not to make the mental mistakes that can kill you.”

WERE THERE EVERY POINTS LAST YEAR WHERE YOU THOUGHT YOU MIGHT NOT EVEN HAVE A RIDE THIS YEAR?  “Sure, there were times I started to question things. When I got pulled out at Kentucky I really started to question it. Jack (Roush) has done a great job of getting me to realize what is going on and where I need to put my focus and he has been doing this for a long time. I feel like he has helped me mature as a driver and get pretty fast. This sport is all about performing and I am glad we have the performance going now.”

ARE YOU A BIG BELIEVER OF MOMENTUM BECAUSE YOU HAVE BEEN HOT SINCE MIDDLE OF LAST YEAR? DO YOU BELIEVE IN THAT?  “I think momentum is a good thing. When you are running well and showing up every week with fast race cars in practice and fast cars in qualifying and the race. Momentum is a big thing and you try to keep on that roll. I am glad we are on the nine race stretch we are about to be on now. It was broken up the first part of the year but I feel like you don’t make as many mistakes when you get on a roll. I definitely like momentum.”

quick facts.

EVENT: O’Reilly Auto Parts 300, Round 6 of 34 in the 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series

DATE / TIME: Friday, April 8, 2011, 7:30 PM CT

VENUE: Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, TX (1.5-Mile Oval)

DISTANCE: 200 Laps, 300 Miles

TV (PRE-RACE): NASCAR Countdown with Rusty Wallace-ESPN (Live-8:00 PM ET)

TV (EVENT): ESPN (Live-8:30 PM ET)

RADIO: MRN Radio / Sirius NASCAR Radio (Live)

news and notes.

THE STORY: Despite a slower than expected start to their 2011 campaign, Steve Wallace and his fellow 5-Hour Energy bandoleros ride into the Lone Star state this weekend with a spot in the Nationwide Series top-ten set squarely in their crosshairs. They currently stand in 11th position overall, a mere nine points behind tenth.

A HELPING HAND: The No. 66 and No. 62 cars-along with the other factory Toyota teams-will carry graphics supporting the American Red Cross’s Japan Disaster Relief efforts again this weekend in Texas. Texas is the home of Toyota’s award-winning Tundra and Tacoma lines of trucks, which are manufactured in San Antonio.

STEVE WALLACE AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY: Wallace heads into the season’s first night race seeking both his third-straight top-ten finish and third-straight top-ten start at Texas Motor Speedway. He started eighth and finished ninth in last year’s running of this event.

the machines.

TEAM 66 PRIMARY: RWR-064–With RWR’s COT vehicle production now in full-swing, Wallace’s 5-Hour Energy squad will debut a new car–for the second straight race–this weekend.

TEAM 66 SECONDARY: RWR-052–Rebuilt as an intermediate car for 2011, RWR-052 has yet to make its 2011 on-track debut. It scored a top-15 finish in its first start at Daytona last year.

your weekly energy shot.

SHOWING SOME LOVE’S: 5-Hour Energy Racing welcomes Love’s Travel Stops and Country Stores as a partner for the Texas event. Love’s branding will appear on the television panel of Steve Wallace’s No. 66 car on Friday night.

UNITED WE STAND: 5-Hour Energy Racing welcomes United Supermarkets as a partner for the Texas race. United branding will adorn the lower rear quarter panel of Steve Wallace’s No. 66 car for Friday’s race.

STEVE WALLACE LIVE: 5-Hour Energy Racing’s Steve Wallace will appear for autographs at a Valero Cornerstores location near TMS–at 18501 IH 35 W in Northland, approximately a mile from TMS–on Thursday from 12:00 PM-1:00 PM.

from the cockpit.

Q: You’re heading to Texas this weekend; what’s it going to take to two-step into Victory Lane?

A: “First of all, you’re going to have to quit using all of the bad Texas analogies! Seriously though, as far as the track goes, it’s obviously super-fast. At the same time, the surface there has really aged and it’s very abrasive. You’ll see guys wide open all the way around the track in qualifying trim, but once the tires wear a bit in the race, you’re definitely lifting and even having to use some brake if your car’s not handing very well. As the track has aged, it has also gotten really bumpy, especially in turns one and two. You’re going so fast here that you have to be really careful not to let those bumps upset your car. If you don’t, well, there’s no such thing as a soft hit at Texas. It’s going to hurt. We’ve run pretty well at Texas over the past couple years though, so hopefully we’re not going to have to worry about it.”

# # #

About Rusty Wallace Racing, LLC

North Carolina-based Rusty Wallace Racing (RWR) is a professional auto racing team steeped in the legendary history of its founder, Rusty Wallace-one of NASCAR’s top-ten drivers of all-time. The team currently campaigns the No. 66 and No. 62 Toyota Camrys in the prestigious NASCAR Nationwide Series, driven by Steve Wallace and Michael Annett, respectively. RWR entries have been among the top-ten in the final 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.

Dodge Motorsports NNS Race Advance

O’Reilly Parts 300 Texas Motor Speedway

Friday, April 8, 2011 www.media.chrysler.com www.twitter.com/teamdodge

BRAD KESELOWSKI, – No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger R/T

Career Starts: 144

Wins: 12

Top Fives: 60

Top 10s: 85

Poles: 8 Career Highlights:

· Has five-consecutive top-five Nationwide finishes at TMS.

· The defending NASCAR Nationwide Series champion.

· Earned Penske Racing its first NASCAR champion last season.

· Set career-best results in 2010 in wins (6), top fives (26), top 10s (29) and poles (5).

· Set a NASCAR record 102 consecutive Nationwide Series races without a DNF (Did Not Finish) that ended at this year’s season-opening race at Daytona Int’l Speedway.

· First Nationwide victory came at Nashville Superspeedway (2008).

SAM HORNISH, – No. 12 Alliance Truck Parts Dodge Challenger R/T

Career Starts: 21

Wins: 0

Top Fives: 0

Top 10s: 0

Poles: 0

Career Highlights:

· Made his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut with Penske Racing at Phoenix Int’l Raceway in the fall of 2006.

· From 2007 to 2010, Hornish made a total of 108 starts in NASCAR’s premier division scoring two top-five and eight top-10 finishes.

· Will be making his third-career Nationwide start at Texas Motor Speedway.

DID YOU KNOW

· Dodge’s Brad Keselowski clinched his 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series championship last fall at Texas Motor Speedway. His last Nationwide win came at Gateway in October (seven races). His last pole came at Michigan in August (17 races).

· Dodge’s Sam Hornish will be making only his second Nationwide start of the season (Daytona).

· Only one of the 20 Nationwide races at TMS has been won from the pole and only three from the front row.

“Texas is an extremely fast track in any kind of car, but no stock car gives you the sensation of speed that the Nationwide Series car does. It actually feels faster than a Cup car. You enter Turn 1 at around 190-195 mph, depending on whether you are in race trim or qualifying trim. If your car is handling the way it needs to, you’ll go through that corner without lifting, or barely lifting, out of the throttle. You’re on the edge the entire lap and if you don’t hit your marks you can easily end up in the wall. I’m excited about the car we’re bringing and I think we can run up front and contend for the win.” Brad Keselowski, No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge Challenger R/T

“I always love going to Texas. I was able to celebrate two of my IndyCar Championships there, as well as my last IndyCar race victory. The track is very fast and has multiple lanes, which makes the racing great. We’ve had the Sam Hornish Jr. Celebrity Bowling Tournament there and have raised over $500,000 for North Texas Children’s Charities, which is another reason why I love heading back to Texas. I am looking forward to having a strong run this weekend. I am really excited about driving the No. 12 Alliance Truck Parts Dodge in this race. It’s a sharp-looking car and I expect to have a good race.” Sam Hornish Jr., No. 12 Alliance Truck Parts Dodge Challenger R/T