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Category: Other Series Racing

Other series racing

  • Robb Brent Joins Eddie Sharp Racing For Michigan; Summer Pocono

    SHELBY TOWNSHIP, Michigan (June 7, 2011) – – Officials from Robb Brent Racing (RBR) confirmed today that 2010 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards race winner Robb Brent will join 2009 ARCA championship team Eddie Sharp Racing (ESR) for two upcoming events beginning with next Friday’s race at Michigan International Speedway.

    Brent who has spent much of the 2011 season dormant from the cockpit will pilot the No. 2 Eddie Sharp Racing Toyota Camry in The RainEater Wiper Blades 200, set for Friday, June 17.

    Additionally, the road racing ace will pilot a second ESR entry in the summer Pocono (Pa.) Raceway event on August 6th in the Pennsylvania ARCA 125 where Brent is the defending race winner at the 2.5-mile triangle. Last August, Brent whooped the ARCA field with a dominating late race charge to capture his first career ARCA win driving for Allgaier Motorsports.

    The announcement comes at a splendid time for the part-time NASCAR driver. Michigan International Speedway is two hours east of his hometown of Shelby Township, Michigan. And of course, Pocono (Pa.) Raceway signifies the thrill and taste of victory lane.

    The opportunity that lies ahead of Brent is an ideal situation, and the Michigander knows he wants to make the best of it.

    “To have the opportunity to drive for a high caliber operation like Eddie Sharp Racing is literally a dream come true,” said Brent. “I’ve come to know Eddie and what his organization is all about for the last three years or so and I know that he delivers nothing but a first class operation. I’m thankful to have won at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway last year, but I feel pairing with ESR for Michigan and Pocono definitely gives me a chance to potentially add two more tallies to the win column.”

    Not only will Brent align with one of the most successful teams in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, but the recent college graduate will reunite with former crew chief Dave Leiner, who will call the shots for Brent in his two contests.

    “To be able to work with Dave again just makes this deal that much sweeter,” sounded Brent. “Dave was an instrumental part of my victory at Pocono. He gave me a great handling race car. He knows what I’m looking for behind the wheel, so when we arrive in Michigan next week, we can unload and just go out there and try and set our sights on victory.”

    Team owner Eddie Sharp offered his thoughts on today’s announcement.

    “I’ve really missed being a part of the ARCA Racing Series and it’s good to be back after a brief absence from the garage, especially with talent like Robb Brent behind the wheel,” said Sharp. “We feel that Robb is a great fit for our organization and we’re excited to reunite him with his former crew chief, Dave Leiner, and provide him with the most competitive equipment possible to win these races.”

    Marketing partnerships for the two upcoming events will be announced at a later date.

  • Michael Dabney Jr. Prepares For Summer Shootout With Open Practice

    CONCORD, North Carolina (June 7, 2011) – – With the 2011 Summer Shootout at Charlotte (N.C.) Speedway now less than a week away, INEX Asphalt Legend Car Series driver Michael Dabney Jr. will prepare for a stretch of seven weeks of racing that includes 10 races by participating in an open-practice session at the quarter-mile oval Tuesday night.

    Dabney Jr., 22 recently competed in a Legend Car Series event at Concord Speedway last month. After initialing finishing second, Dabney Jr. was awarded the victory after the race winner failed to meet series requirements.

    Still, Dabney Jr. isn’t focused on the past, he’s set on the future where he hopes to make some noise and put his No. 5 automobile in contention and more importantly in victory lane.

    “I’m ready to go,” said a jubilant Dabney Jr. “I’ve been working hard on the car for the past week or so. The engine has been refreshed and I haven’t felt this good about going racing in a while, so I’m just anxious to get to the track and dial in the car for next week.”

    While Dabney Jr. admits that the Summer Shootout puts pressure on any young driver, especially since not knowing who is gleaming at their machine and performance from the grandstands or pit road, he won’t do anything that he wouldn’t normally do elsewhere.

    “The Summer Shootout is one of the main reasons I made the move from Texas to North Carolina last year,” Dabney Jr. explained. “I’m working hard on my future but I need to keep in the seat and this is a perfect way at doing that. I’m extremely thankful and appreciative for what I have, I’m just hoping I can deliver some results on the track that could spark some more interest.”

    Following practice on Tuesday night, Dabney Jr. will catch his breath on Wednesday before making the trip up to Long Pond, Pennsylvania on Thursday to partake in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards activities on Saturday afternoon.

    “Thanks to my management team, I have some things cooking in a couple different divisions,” sounded Dabney Jr. “The ARCA Racing Series is a great stepping stone, eventually. I’ll be excited to participating in those races when the timing is right. Right now, it’s just about meeting people, opening doors and keeping my name and face out there.”

    Practice begins at 5:00 p.m. and concludes at 9:00 p.m. Tuesday. The first race in the 2011 edition of the Summer Shootout kicks off on Monday, June 13th and will conclude on Tuesday, July 26th.

    Cost-efficient marketing partnerships are still available for Michael Dabney Jr. in 2011. For further information, please contact 469.474.6507.

    Stay tuned for a new website highlighting Michael Dabney Jr. However, additional information is available by connecting with Michael Dabney Jr. and Dabney Racing through Facebook by clicking here. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Michael-Dabney-Jr-Racing/215134888516472?ref=ts

    Tweet with Michael Dabney Jr. through Twitter at @MichaelDabneyJr.

  • ARCA Messina Wildlife Animal Stopper 150: Ty Dillon Wins and More

    A day after graduating from high school, Ty Dillon won the Messina Wildlife Animal Stopper 150 at Chicagoland Speedway for the fifth win of his ARCA career that is only eight starts old.

    “That was our game plan, to stay patient all day,” Dillon said, as according to the ARCA Racing Network. “We came in that second or third stop, and we were really loose. Something was wrong with our left rear tire; it never gained any pressure or anything. I told (the crew) we were going to have to come in and pit, because we can’t win the race like this. Once we got fresh tires and got everything back to where it was supposed to, we came back through the field. By then, (Hackenbracht) was so far out front and it was his race. 

    “Unfortunately, that happened to him, but the caution helped us and put us where we needed to be. We had a really fast car.”

    For crew chief Scott Naset, it was an early birthday present as he turns 40 on Tuesday, though no surprise as he won at Chicagoland with Kevin Harvick in 2001 and 2002.

    “It’s Flash’s [Naset’s] birthday this week, so I’m just really happy for these guys,” Dillon said.

    The race looked to be Chad Hackenbracht’s as he had a nine-second lead on Dillon, though he blew a tire with 15 laps to go ending his shot at the end.

    “I told the guys probably 10 laps into us leading the race, ‘Thanks for this car. It’s a rocket ship,’” Hackenbracht, who would be scored 20th, said. “It really was. We had a nine-second lead when the tire blew, and I had no warning. I may have run over something. It sounded like it was in the center of the car so I didn’t think about it at all. I felt like we had it in the bag, almost.”

    For the family owned team of CGH Motorsports, it could have been the story of the year as they were the quickest car in practice and looked to be a strong contender for the day.

    Chris Buescher finished second, followed by two-time World of Outlaws Late Model Series champion Josh Richards, who was making his seventh start in the series with Venturini Motorsports.

    “We struggled for raw speed all weekend, but Wayne Carroll – the crew chief – and all our guys worked so hard on this thing,” McCumbee said. “They weren’t the least bit concerned that we weren’t going to be good on a long run; we were. Our ModSpace Ford was good. I felt we were a race-winning contender, especially on the first green flag run. We adjusted on it a bit…but we just needed laps. Those short runs were not what our car wanted, but I’ll tell you what: two top-fives in a row. That’s big for our Andy Belmont Racing team.”

    Chad McCumbee, meanwhile, kept up his consistency, as he has so far this season, with a fourth-place finish.

    “We knew the track was going to change when the lights came on,” Richards said. “We were really free early. I had to run the top to just keep up as much as possible. We made some changes there and got definitely a lot better, but that’s the first time I’ve ever run the top at an asphalt track, so I got a lot of experience and got to feel the air a little bit. The Venturini (Motorsports) guys did an awesome job.”

    Last week’s winner Andrew Ranger rounded out the top five, followed by Tom Hessert, Frank Kimmel, Grant Enfinger, Brent Brevak and Maryeve Dufault. Stefan Rzesnoiecky was 11th in his ARCA debut.

    Next up for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards is the first of two trips to Pocono Raceway for the running of the Pocono ARCA 200, round seven of 19 on the 2011 schedule.

  • Jason White Scores First Top 10 at Circuit ICAR in NASCAR Canadian Tire Series

    After having a frustrating weekend last week at Mosport, Jason White was ready to rebound strong this weekend at Circuit ICAR north of Montreal, Quebec. White did that as despite not having a lot of experience on the road courses, he brought home the No. 21 A&W Dodge in the top 10.

    “I knew there was going to be all kinds of carnage on those final two laps,” White said of the final green-white-checkered.  “I just kept my wits about me and stuck it in there when I had the chance and made a couple of passes in those last two laps.”

    This marks the first top-10 for White with his new crew chief Derek Lynch.

    “It’s been a long time coming” he said afterwards.  “My Crew Chief Derek Lynch and the whole team gave me a car I could drive and not have it drive me.  I’ve got to thank all the guys for their hard work this weekend.  This whole team is super excited to get back into our oval car and get to Delaware next weekend.”

    Following testing, White said he was just looking for a solid run on the 2.11 mile road course that was laid out on the Mirabel Airport.

    “It’s a very tight course and really technical,” White explained.  “Our team wanted to set the car up to run very consistently throughout the race” he added.

    Qualifying wouldn’t be as perfect as he would’ve liked as he’d qualify 17th for the 30-lap race.

    “I really wanted to get under a time of one minute forty for a lap and we just missed,” White said.  “But I was able to run those laps times all through practice and qualifying which set us up nicely for the race.”

    So when it came to the beginning of the race, White knew he had be patient and slowly work his way up front.

    “Through the first part of the race the #21 A & W Dodge Challenger was really consistent and we picked up a couple of spots and got up close to tenth and I thought we were in pretty good shape,” White said.

    The next event for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series will be this coming Saturday June 11th at Delaware Speedway near London, Ontario.  The race from Circuit ICAR can be seen on TSN Sunday June 12th at 11AM Eastern.

    Race fans can follow Jason White through his website http://www.jasonwhiteracing.com and on twitter @racinjasonwhite

  • Rod Johnson Jr. Picks Up Third Win of Season at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale

    [media-credit name=”Position One Motorsports” align=”alignright” width=”175″][/media-credit]It’s been 4 weeks since Rod Johnson Jr stepped into his #03 King Taco/Sunrise Ford Super Late Model entry at the Toyota Speedway at Irwindale, but from tonight’s result there was absolutely no rust that this 21 year old had to shake off.  The driver from Canyon Country, CA put on a race tonight that displayed his incredible driving talent. Johnson and the Position One Motorsports team had much to do during the 4 week break, namely repairing the #03 entry, which was heavily damaged at the last event when a part failure sent Johnson into the turn #3 wall.   Arriving Saturday, the team was confident that the car was fixed and race ready.

    While taking the car around the 1/2-mile track during the first practice session of the day, the team and RJ were confident that there were no remnants from the wreck and the speed proved that.  Johnson finished the session in first with a fast time worthy of 1st on the timesheets (18.151).  The team opted not to go out for the 2nd practice session as there was nothing to be gained by it and RJ was comfortable with the car as is. Qualifying came and Johnson took the # 03 car around the track, immediately put it at the top of the charts with a time of 17.719.  The #17 of Jason Patison would end up snatching the pole away by the slimmest of margins, but the race would eventually even that out.

    “Everything came together for the race.  We had a really fast car and managed to get to the front in the beginning and we were able to set our own pace from there on after and everything worked out, said Johnson after the win.

    Starting in the 3rd spot, Johnson  took the green flag and charged forward in blazing fashion and by lap #2 he had managed to snag the lead.  He never looked back.  Johnson’s nearest competitor at the beginning, Kevin Thompson, was 3 car lengths away and RJ began putting himself in a commanding lead.

    Patison eventually got around Thompson for 2nd but would never really pose a threat to Johnson throughout the 75-lap race.  By lap # 20 Johnson’s lead had increased to 6- car lengths, where it would stay for most of the race.

    “Well today this team showed that it’s a championship caliber team.  We came back from a big wreck at the last event and dominated today, said John Schuetze Johnson’s crew chief. Schuetze also added that, “We missed qualifying a bit, but came back for the race and Johnson did an excellent job and showed what this team is capable of.

    “We were the fastest car and came home in one piece and I’m pretty sure we could have gone another 75 laps and been just as good.  The team did an excellent job as well, so my thanks to everyone”.

    Over the radio Johnson conveyed to the crew that the car was smooth and with every lap RJ smoothly hit his marks and would eventually take the checkered flag in first place, putting an exclamation point on his weekend’s performance.  This marks Johnson’s third race win of the season.  In addition to the win, RJ also had the distinction of running the race’s fastest lap of 18.022.

    Johnson also took time to thank those around him, “My thanks to the team and our sponsors King Taco, Sunrise Ford, Eibach Springs, DJ Safety, Bell Helmets, Jan’s Towing, Ron’s Rear Ends and Wilwood Brakes”.

  • Matt Merrell; Win-Tron Racing Endure Tough Luck At Chicagoland

    JOLIET, Illinois (June 6, 2011) – Matt Merrell and Win-Tron Racing had high hopes for Chicagoland Speedway and much like the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards has seen all season long, the No. 32 Champion Oil Toyota Camry was set to be a contender. Unfortunately, a blown tire early in the Messina Wildlife Animal Stopper 150 resulted in a 24th place finish.

    Returning to an intermediate track for the first time since 2008 at Kentucky Speedway, Merrell was optimistic about his Chicagoland Speedway debut since the tracks share similar characteristics.

    In practice on Friday, Merrell and his Mike Chaffee led group maneuvered the 11th quickest lap. Not exactly thrilled with their performance in the lone session of the weekend, the team including Merrell, Chaffee and car chief Mike Resop went back to the drawing board hoping to find some speed for qualifying on Saturday.

    Menards Pole by Ansell qualifying saw a nice turnaround for the Lakeville, Minnesota-based team. Merrell mounted a lap of 30.886 seconds at 174.837 miles per hour lining up the No. 32 Champion Oil Toyota Camry sixth on the starting grid.

    An hour before the sixth race of the season was to take the green flag; Mother Nature invaded Chicagoland Speedway and completely drenched the facility, ultimately forcing officials from ARCA, NASCAR and Chicagoland Speedway to postpone the start of the event until the conclusion of the NASCAR Nationwide Series’ STP 300.

    Taking the green flag completely in the dark and almost 20 degrees cooler, Merrell quickly marched into the top-five by lap two.

    An early race caution would keep the No. 32 Champion Oil Toyota Camry at bay but on the restart, Merrell continued his charge through the field as he negotiated himself into the fourth position by lap 22.

    Checking out from fifth place competitor Josh Richards – Merrell would set his sights on the top three which included Kyle Fowler, Ty Dillon and Hal Martin.

    As green flag racing continued Richards would chase Merrell back down and move the No. 32 back into fifth by lap 26. A hard-charging Chad Hackenbracht passed the No. 32 Japanese nameplate by lap 30 moving Merrell back into the sixth position.

    The team’s night took a dramatic turn on lap 37 when the right front tire blew on the No. 32 Champion Oil Toyota Camry sending Merrell hard into the turn four outside retaining wall. The 26-year old was able to leave the scene under his own power but the team’s night would be cut short and posting their worst finish of the 2011 season thus far.

    “You cannot describe that,” said a disappointed Merrell. “We were really just biding our time in the No. 32 Champion Oil Toyota Camry. The car was good, we were going to make a few small adjustments during the first pit stop, but unfortunately, we never made it there. I really had no warning that the tire was going to go, I just went into the corner and up to the wall I went.

    I hate it for Champion Oil and these guys on the Win-Tron Racing team. I feel like we easily could have produced another top-five if not a win. All we can do is pick up and move on to Pocono next weekend and try again.”

    Nate Thiesse, co-owner of Win-Tron Racing commented on the night’s activities. “It was a tough break. You hate to have bad luck in any race. It just wasn’t our night. Matt, as always did a superior job. We really couldn’t ask for anything more. He was fast and in contention. Sometimes in racing, you just can’t explain circumstances and this was a true definition of that scenario.”

    Next up for the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards is the first of two trips to Pocono (Pa.) Raceway for the running of the Pocono ARCA 200, round seven of 19 on the 2011 schedule. Merrell will make his third career start at the 2.5-mile triangle on Saturday, June 11 and look to better his runner-up finishing position in 2009 and claim his first stock car victory. Exiting Chicagoland, Merrell has 19career starts in the ARCA Racing Series presented Menards. In those 19 outings, Merrell has eight top-fives including runner-up finishes of second at Berlin (Mich.) Raceway and Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (August) in 2009 and 10 top-10s. His best start position for Win-Tron Racing occurred at the tricky triangle of Pocono (Pa.) Raceway where he qualified his No. 32 CollinsHope.org Dodge Charger second in June of 2009. Further information including driver opportunities with Win-Tron Racing is available by visiting win-tronracing.com or contacting Nate Thiesse at 952.469.1839.

    For more on Champion Oil, Champion Brands LLC and their products, please logon to championbrands.com or championsusechampion.com.

  • Robin Buck Scores First NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Win at Circuit ICAR

    In the final laps, Alex Tagliani and Andrew Ranger made contact, which opened up the door for Robin Buck to capitalize and score his first career NCTS victory in the inaugural visit to Circuit ICAR.

    On lap 28, Tagliani and Ranger made contact as they battled for the lead heading into turn 11 on the 15-turn, 2.113-mile road course. The incident caused Tagliani, who had led a race-high 24 laps after winning the Keystone Light Pole Award, to hit the guard rail, which brought out the caution. NASCAR then penalized Ranger a pass-through penalty for aggressive driving.

    Ranger had made his way through the field after starting at the back after missing qualifying yesterday due to another racing commitment. The penalty caused Ranger to finish 21st, while Tagliani worked is way back to eighth on the final green-white-checkered.

    Scott Steckly, last week’s race winner, finished second, followed by Don Thompson Jr., L.P. Dumoulin and Mark Dilley. Jeff Lapcevich finished sixth while JR Fitzpatrick fought his way back to seventh after having a flat tire on lap 26. Tagliani was eighth while John Farano and Jason White rounded out the top 10.

    The race was slowed by a total of four cautions as the first came out on lap seven for debris in turn 13. The second caution was for Isabelle Tremblay stopping in turn 11 on lap 14 while the third was on lap 24 for debris in turn three.

    The race will air on TSN at 11 a.m. ET on Sunday June 12th while the next Canadian Tire Series race is Keystone Light 200 at Delaware Speedway on Saturday June 11th.

  • Race #2 For NASCAR Canadian Tire Series: Grand Prix ICAR

    This weekend’s race on June 5th marks the second race of the season for the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, though the first ever visit for the series to Circuit ICAR in Mirabel, Quebec.

    While the Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series drivers only visit two or three road courses a year, the Canadian Tire Series competes on a number of different road courses across Canada. The 2.113 mile course marks the sixth different road course, joining Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Circuit de Trois-Rivieres, Edmonton City Centre Airport, Mosport International Raceway and Toronto’s Exhibition Place.

    The series has competed on road courses for a total of 17 times, with only four drivers accounting for wins – Andrew Ranger (9), J.R. Fitzpatrick (5), Kerry Micks (2) and Alex Tagliani (1). With all four entered into this weekend’s race, it’s no question that it’s going to be a fight down to the checkered.

    Ranger is the driver that most fans focus on when it comes to choosing a winner as he has nine road course wins, including three last year at Montreal, Toronto and Trois-Rivieres. He knows how to compete well in the series as he is a two-time series champion and has won eight of the last 10 Canadian Tire Series road course races that he has ran. Ranger has experience beyond the Canadian Tire Series as he won a K&N Pro Series West race on a road course and won the ARCA New Jersey Motorsports Park road course race earlier this month.

    Meanwhile, a lot of people believe that Fitzpatrick is a stronger oval driver, however some would argue that his stats showcase him as a better road course driver. He has six wins in the series to date, in which five of those have come on road courses – Mosport, Edmonton and Montreal. He is also very consistent as he has finished in the top five nine times in his 16 Canadian Tire Series road course starts, with four of those starts coming from the pole position. He also has experience beyond the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series level as he scored two top 10s last year for JR Motorsports in the Nationwide Series on road courses.

    Though one of the most talked about drivers coming into this weekend is Alex Tagliani after he qualified on pole for the Indianapolis 500 last month. The Quebec born driver has had a good season to start as he currently sits ninth in IZOD IndyCar Series Championship points and look to continue that success this weekend. He has made eight Canadian Tire Series road course starts, with one lonely win coming at Edmonton City Centre Airport in 2008.

    The last past road course winner to watch is Kerry Micks, who is a driver with probably the most experience. He is one of seven drivers who has competed in all 52 series races to date and has two wins, eight top-fives and 12 top-10s in 17 starts on the road courses. He also was one of the most consistent drivers last year on the road courses as he finished inside the top five in four of the five events and has top 10s in six of his last eight starts dating back to last year.

    Beyond those who have tasted champagne at a road course before, eyes will also be on Scott Steckly, who won the race at Mosport last weekend and currently leads the point standings, 15 points over Pete Shepherd III. Like Micks, Steckly has ran all 52 races in series history and in 17 road-course starts, he has nine top-fives and 11 top-10 finishes.

    While the race is set to be run on Sunday, practice and qualifying will be run on Saturday. The race will be shown on TSN on June 12th at 11 a.m. ET while live updates will be available through http://hometracks.nascar.com.

  • PASTRANA TO KICK-OFF SUNOCO FREE FUEL 5000 IN VEGAS, PLANS TO JUMP MOTORCYCLE OVER SUNOCO LOGO AND BARRELS

    PASTRANA TO KICK-OFF SUNOCO FREE FUEL 5000 IN VEGAS PLANS TO JUMP MOTORCYCLE OVER SUNOCO LOGO AND BARRELS

    LAS VEGAS – Travis Pastrana helps launch the seventh annual Sunoco Free Fuel 5000 promotion this Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at the Las Vegas MGM Hotel in a style fitting for the action sports star embarking on a NASCAR career in 2011.

    The 11-time X Games gold medal winner plans a 75-foot, ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jump over the familiar Sunoco logo and barrels, representing 5,000 gallons of Sunoco gasoline to kick off Sunoco’s Free Fuel 5000 promotion. The promotion officially began on June 1 and ends on August 31.

    Taking part in the Sunoco Free Fuel 5000 promotion is easy. Simply visit any participating Sunoco station, pick up a free Sunoco decal, put it on your car, or your motorcycle transportation, and visit Sunoco stations on a regular basis for a chance to be “spotted” for your chance to win. There will be spotters at every Sunoco station at least once this summer, and there is no limit on how many times you can win. Winning is easy as well. In fact, 17,000 people won last year.

    If you are at a Sunoco station and the Sunoco Prize Patrol sees a Sunoco decal on your car, you instantly win one of thousands of $10 Sunoco gift cards, and you are automatically entered to win 5,000 gallons of Sunoco fuel. To put this much free fuel in perspective, if a customer drives 12,000 miles each year and averages 20 miles per gallon, 5,000 gallons of Sunoco fuel would last for more than eight years.

    “Sunoco is looking forward to another summer of rewarding our loyal consumers with free gas as well as providing one lucky Sunoco customer with 5,000 gallons of free fuel,” said Sunoco brand marketing manager Drew Kabakoff.

    Pastrana will enter seven Nationwide races beginning in Indianapolis on July 30 driving the No. 99 Boost Mobile Toyota. He plans to run at least 20 races in 2012 driving for Pastrana-Waltrip Racing, which is owned by Pastrana, Michael Waltrip Racing along with Gary and Blake Bechtel.

    “This is a pretty cool way for Sunoco and I to begin our relationship,” said Pastrana. “I’m really looking forward to the jump on Saturday as well as all the ways we’ll be promoting the Free Fuel 5000 over the next few months. Coming to NASCAR has been a lot of fun so far and it’s only just starting. It’s cool to see my fans turn on to NASCAR and to see the NASCAR fans take a look at some of the stuff we do with Nitro Circus.”

    Sunoco and Pastrana plan to wage an aggressive social media effort through Pastrana’s and PWR’s Facebook, Twitter and websites reaching more than 25 million fans. Fans can visit Sunoco’s Facebook page this month to view Pastrana’s exclusive Vegas jump. Additional behind-the-scenes videos of Pastrana and his Nitro Circus team as well as other exclusive activities will continue to be rolled out during the summer.

    Sunoco will also be giving away Pastrana autographed items on its Facebook page

    Pastrana is in Las Vegas this weekend performing with the Nitro Circus Live Show at the MGM Grand. No fewer than 10 world-firsts are planned to be attempted Saturday night. With sold-out shows in Australia and New Zealand, the international tour is being billed as the “greatest live action sports show of all time” for its stunning choreographed displays in FMX, BMX and skate, as well as world-first stunts and crazy contraptions launched off the infamous 50-foot high Nitro Giganta Ramp, all performed by the best action sports stars on the planet.

    Sunoco is a leading transportation fuel provider with operations located primarily in the East Coast and Midwest regions of the United States. The company sells transportation fuels through more than 4,900 branded retail locations in 23 states. APlus convenience stores are operated by the company or independent dealers in more than 600 of its retail locations. The retail network in the Northeast is principally supplied by Sunoco-owned refineries with a combined crude oil processing capacity of 505,000 barrels per day. Sunoco is also the General Partner and has a 31-percent interest in Sunoco Logistics Partners, L.P., a publicly traded master limited partnership which owns and operates 7,600 miles of refined product and crude oil pipelines and approximately 40 active product terminals.

  • Hal Martin ARCA Racing Chicagoland Preview

    Ragin’ Cajun Returns to Chicagoland

    Hal Martin, Driver of the No. 55 NOLA Motorsports/US Forensic Toyota Camry

    Mooresville, NC – Hal Martin, driver of the No. 55 NOLA Motorsports/US Forensic Toyota Camry for Venturini Motorsports, returns to Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. for his second start in the Messina Wildlife Animal Stopper 150 on Saturday, June 4th.  The Louisiana native, nicknamed “Ragin’ Cajun,” continues primary sponsorship with NOLA Motorsports Park – and adds associate sponsor US Forensic this week.

    “I’ve had this race marked on my calendar and have been looking forward to it since February in Daytona.  I had success the first time I raced here, finishing third in my first start on an intermediate track.  I know the Venturini Motorsports team has a great mile and a half program, and the boys have been putting in a lot of hard work at the shop – dialing in this Chicago chassis.  If we can stay out of trouble and position ourselves up front at the end of the race, we’re hopeful to come home with a win.”

    Martin previously ran the Chicagoland Test Session in May of this year.  “It’s a bottom-feeding track, but if you need to you can work up a line.  You have to work the air here, and it’s a hot, slick racetrack in the summer.  You carry a lot of speed in the corners, and I really love to race that way.”

    Crew chief John Quinn will be on board for the Chicagoland race, with car chief Jonathan Davis assisting on the No. 55.  Chassis 84, previously used in Pocono last year, will be used for the race. NOLA Motorsports Park (www.nolamotor.com) continues as the primary sponsor for the hood and quarter panels with a black paint scheme. New associate sponsor US Forensic (www.USForensic.com) will be on the tailgate and upper quarter panels.

    SCHEDULE: Friday, June 3, 2011 Practice: 3:30pm-5:00pm

    Saturday, June 4, 2011 Menards Pole Qualifying presented by Ansell: 2:30pm The Messina Wildlife Animal Stopper 150 at 6:00pm

    (All Times Eastern)

    FACT SHEET: Race: 150 miles/100 laps Track: 1.5-mile paved tri-oval Chassis: 84

    FIND HAL MARTIN ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook: Hal Martin Twitter: @HalMartinRacing