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Other series racing

Baldwin Determined to Make the Most of Rookie Season in NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour

Photo Credit: daltonbaldwin.com

Dalton Dalton’s love of racing began as a young child. If there was a NASCAR race on the television, he stopped whatever he was doing to watch the action on the screen. His career began at the age of nine when he began racing go-karts with his father, Bobby.

He was a natural, winning 3 feature races and multiple heat races running a part time schedule at the East Bay Raceway Park dirt track. Dalton eventually progressed to modifieds at Desoto Super Speedway and became known for his hard charging, on the edge, aggressive racing style. In 2009, he won the Flyin’ 4 Rookie of the Year award.

Dalton’s father, Bobby, was known as one of the best Florida Modified drivers in the state. In 2010, he made the decision to step aside and put Dalton in his car. It was a bold move. His son would be moving up from a 100 horsepower car to a 600 horsepower open wheel modified. Much of the racing community thought Dalton was not ready for the transition. They were wrong.

Under his father’s guidance, Dalton was soon racing up front with the veterans. He finished the season third in points and won Rookie of the Year.

He found even more success in 2011. In only the second race, he started on the pole, led every lap and collected his first win. The season ended with an impressive four wins and the Florida Modified Championship at Desoto Super Speedway.

2012 would be a year of transition as the team prepared to move forward into the Modified Touring Series. In August, they drove to North Carolina and bought the necessary car. The remainder of the year was all about gaining experience and soaking up knowledge from more experienced drivers.

This year, Dalton will run a full-time schedule in the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour division. His goals are to win at least one race and to earn the Rookie of the Year award.

“But ultimately,” he says, “I’m really just trying to prove myself to everyone. So, I want to just be competitive and up front, showing that we can compete with these guys.”

Dalton also has another reason for wanting to succeed this season. He’s a proud advocate for the World Motorsports Breast Cancer Foundation and will donate part of his winnings to the organization.

“This is our first season together,” he said, “and I really hope we can make big things happen for the foundation.”

Dalton Baldwin Racing is a family owned and operated business without the resources of many other teams. When asked about the sacrifices his family had to make, Dalton offers a different point of view.

“Well, to us, racing is our lives. So, we don’t have to make many sacrifices, it’s just what we do. We don’t want to do anything else but racing. Anything we put towards this isn’t a sacrifice to us; it’s a way of life.”

What they lack in funds, they make up for with passion and the will to succeed.

“It’s taken a lot to just get here and we’re just scratching the surface,” Dalton told me. “We’re underfunded compared to a lot of these guys, especially the northern tour teams. But we make up for that with determination and integrity. I don’t believe any other team has a will to win as high as we do.”

More information on the UNOH Battle at the Beach can be found at hometracks.nascar.com.

For more information about Dalton Baldwin Racing including driver bio, race schedule, pictures and videos, please visit www.daltonbaldwin.com. You can also find his Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/DaltonBaldwinRacing and Twiiter at https://twitter.com/Dalton_Baldwin.

January 29, 2013
Ontario Short Tracks to Daytona High Banks, Andrew Gresel ready for ARCA race

Photo Credit: Joe Chisholm

From the Ontario, Canada short tracks to the high banks of Daytona International Speedway, Andrew Gresel is looking for success this February in Daytona. The second generation driver has teamed up with Wes Gonder Racing to run the ARCA Series Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 on February 16^th.

For Gresel, it’s all about qualifying well.

“Qualifying is a big day,” he said. You want to qualify good there; you don’t want to start mid-pack. If we have to, that’s just something we’ll have to deal with this. But qualifying is a major thing that we’ll have to deal with.”

Running a race at Daytona was a goal that Gresel had and the pieces came together with Wes Gonder Racing through success at New Smyrna Speedway during their Florida Speedweeks event.

“We have been running New Smyrna Speedway the last couple down years down near Daytona and we’ve had quite a bit luck down there, ran good down south,” Gresel said.

Gresel hit the high banks of Daytona in December as part of ARCA’s pre-season testing, which marked a considerable jump up from the 1/3 to ¼ mile short tracks in Ontario.

“Hitting the track for the first time was very intimidating at Daytona,” he said. “Just being in the racecar and hitting the corners at a high speed around 180 mph, super fast and just the corners themselves are real intimidating.”

The 2011 Delaware Speedway Champion got started in racing as a teenager, helping his dad at Sauble Speedway with a pure stock.

“It wasn’t too long after that I had my own car and we were racing against each other,” he said.

Since then, Gresel has become a major threat to win across the province and is a two-time winner of the Beat the Heat 150 at Sauble and won the Great Canadian 200 at Delaware Speedway in 2011.

Beyond running the ARCA race this February, the plan right now for Gresel is keep their open late model program going, traveling to the different invitationals across Ontario. However, if they are also looking to sell the car.

“I’ve got the car – new body going on the car, everything like that,” he said. “Just getting it ready for anybody that is looking for a good car that can go out and win races.”

If they can sell the car, Gresel says the team is looking to step up their program by either running a super late or maybe some more ARCA races.

With regards to long term goals, Gresel says that it’s hard to say where he’ll be in five years.

“I just got to do everything I can do to improve myself and to make my way up to a bigger series,” he added.

To put together a huge program, it does take a lot of support from a lot of people.

“I would like to thank, right off the bat, my dad for supporting us – Sauble Falls Tent and Trailer Park is his company,” Gresel said. “Without him, we wouldn’t be racing at all. I’d like to thank him and his company. London Recreational, they’re helping us out quite a bit with this ARCA deal. Stewarts Farm Equipment. I also want to thank all my sponsors that help me out on the late model, all my sponsors that helped me out all year so CUSW, McRobert Fuels, Overland Heating and Cooling and Spira Fire Protection. I just like to thank everybody that helps us out.”

Beyond the sponsors mentioned, they are also receiving support for the race from Marvin Freiburger and & Sons, Andy Schmidt, Shear Metal Products and SpeedwayPhotos.ca.

The team is always interested in adding more sponsorship. Any interested sponsors can contact his promoter Joe Chisholm at motorpromotions@gmail.com.

January 25, 2013
Bill McAnally Racing Signs Sergio Pena

ROSEVILLE, Calif. (January 24th,2013) – Bill McAnally Racing announced today that Sergio Pena has been named to drive BMR’s No. 16 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West for 2013.

Pena, 19, of Winchester, VA., comes to BMR following three successful seasons competing in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.

“We welcome Sergio to BMR,” said BMR President Bill McAnally. “We have a strong program prepared for the 2013 season. We are confident Sergio will continue the winning tradition at BMR that has led to a record 50 series wins and five series championships.”

“We look to contend for the 2013 NASCAR K&N championship for our sponsors NAPA AUTO PARTS, Toyota, NGK, and our fans,” McAnally said. “This is going to be a fun season and I am excited to have Sergio become part of the team.”

Pena captured the spotlight when he made his debut in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series at the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown in 2010. He won the pole and led 52 laps, before finishing second to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular Joey Logano.

Pena has been a member of NASCAR’s Next9 program since 2011, a season in which he scored three wins in the K&N East.

He has been named one of the NASCAR drivers 25 and under to watch in 2013 by FoxSports.com.

“I’m honored to have this opportunity to join a top caliber team like BMR.” states Pena. “I couldn’t be more excited to be racing for such a professional team. From the second I walked into this amazing shop, I have felt right at home. I can’t wait to get 2013 started with BMR and try to bring home another NASCAR championship for NAPA, Toyota, our many sponsors, and fans.”

BMR also announced its NAPA-sponsored entry will return to the Number “16” for 2013. The brilliant blue and gold paint scheme on the No. 16 entry of car owner Bill McAnally was a familiar site in victory lane in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West for more than a decade, from 1997 to 2007. Its successful history featured such talented drivers as Sean Woodside, Brendan Gaughan, Austin Cameron and Steve Portenga.

For more information on Bill McAnally Racing and our race partners, please visit our website at www.BMRNAPA.com. Become a fan of Bill McAnally Racing and follow us on our Facebook Fan page. We can also be followed on Twitter @BMR_NASCAR.

For more information on Sergio Pena, become a fan on his Facebook. You can also follow him on Twitter @Sergio_Pena1.

January 25, 2013
CHEVY GRAND-AM AT ROLEX 24: Three Corvette DP Drivers Qualified in Top-10 to Set Starting Field for 51st Running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona

Daytona Beach, FL (January 24, 2013) – Richard Westbrook led the Corvette Daytona Prototype (DP) entries in qualifying for the 51st running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The Englishman, who won the first-ever race for the Corvette DP, put the No. 90 Spirit of Daytona Corvette DP in the fifth starting position for the legendary race that begins Saturday at 3:30 p.m. E.T.

Additionally, Alex Gurney qualified the No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing “Red Dragon” Corvette DP in the eighth starting position, and Stephane Sarrazin was ninth in the final order behind the wheel of the No. 3 8 Star Motorsports Corvette DP.

The remaining Corvette DPs qualified as follows: Christian Fittipaldi, No. 5 Action Express Racing Corvette DP – 11th; Max Angelelli, No. 10 Velocity Worldwide Corvette DP – 12th and Joao Barbosa, No. 9 Action Express Racing Corvette DP – 13th.

In the Grand Touring (GT) class for the GRAND-AM Rolex 24, Robin Liddell qualified the No. 57 Stevenson Camaro GT.R in eighth position in-class. The No. 31 Marsh Racing Corvette, qualified by Eric Curran, will start 23rd in-class.

Matt Bell, No. 9 Stevenson Camaro GS.R, led the Team Chevy contingent in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge with an eighth-place qualifying effort.

Other Camaro GS.R qualifying results for the BMW Performance 200 2.5-hour race on Friday afternoon beginning at 1:45 p.m. E.T. were: Bob Michaelian, No. 00 CKS Autosport Camaro GS.R – 22nd; Lawrence Davey, No. 6 Mitchum Motorsports Camaro GS.R – 23rd and Eric Curran, No. 01 CKS Autosport Camaro GS.R – 24th.

Scott Pruett (BMW) won the pole for the Rolex 24. Nick Tandy (Porsche) was the fastest GT qualifier, and Jade Buford (Aston Martin) won the pole for the BMW Performance 200.

Connect with Team Chevy on social media. Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TeamChevy, follow us on Twitter @TeamChevy, and add +TeamChevy into your Google+ circles.

TEAM CHEVY DRIVER POST QUALIFYING QUOTES:

RICHARD WESTBROOK, NO. 90 SPIRIT OF DAYTONA CORVETTE DP – QUALIFIED FIFTH
HOW WAS YOUR QUALIFYING RUN?
“It’s a 24 hour race so qualifying is not as important as it normally is. The car felt really good. We are no match for the BMW’s at the moment, but I think we will be a lot closer in the race. It’s nice to be the first Corvette and it’s just good to start a 24 hour race at the right end. We didn’t really know where we were going to be after practice, but really happy. Really happy for our new sponsor Visitflorida.com and to be the first Chevy is good.”

HOW HARD IS IT TO GET YOUR CAR SET-UP FOR A 12-TURN ROAD COURSE LIKE THIS?
“The main problem is getting it set up for a 24 hour race because you need a car that is good over a distance not just for one lap. That is why qualifying you shouldn’t really take too much notice of the positions because it doesn’t necessarily mean that is the race is going to pan out. We are pretty confident.”

ROBIN LIDDELL, NO. 57 STEVENSON AUTO GROUP GT.R – QUALIFIED EIGHTH
TALK ABOUT QUALIFYING OUT THERE TODAY:
“Well it’s never easy qualifying here at Daytona in this car. At the end of the day we kind of set the car up very heavily towards the race. When we put new tires on we typically struggle with a lot of understeer in the infield. We are quite a long wheel based car, so we struggle with getting the car rotated and powered down. But then the car is very good in the fast section through the bus stop and through the kink on the infield, so we made some time up there and braking into (turn) one. Overall the car felt pretty good. It was pretty much what we expected. Not the fastest car for a qualifying situation, but over the race distance it’s pretty much what we are looking for. I was quite fortunate to get a good tow, a good draft, so I was able to pick up a few spots. I think without the tow we probably wouldn’t have been where we are. I think we are happy because at the end of the day there are a few cars behind us that probably on our right pace should be ahead of us. Right now we are happy, but obviously going into the race the car I think we are in good shape for the 24 Hours we have a good reliable car, a good crew, good teammates, nobody is slow to put in the car. I think in the end that will all play to us over the course of the race.”

MATT BELL, NO. 9 STEVENSON AUTO GROUP GS.R – QUALIFIED EIGHTH
HOW WAS QUALIFYING OUT THERE?
“Well…short (laughs). I think considering our car is pretty much new from the driver’s seat forward, the car was really close to what we need. Maybe not for qualifying, but for the race, we are probably not going to do a lot of changes to it. It was a little bit pushy in certain places. I never really got loose so it’s stable and that is kind of what you want in a race car for an endurance race. I think we are in a pretty good position. We would have liked to have used this session a little bit more for some tuning and tweaking because we haven’t had too many laps in the car. Again, considering what the car has been through and what the team has been through, they really nailed it on set up. Kind of a shot in the dark, but they got it right.”

IS THIS A REALLY TOUGH TRACK TO GET THE CAR WHERE YOU WANT IT ALL THE WAY AROUND IT?
“It is a pretty difficult track. It’s a complex place. There is an oval, not a lot of people tune for the oval here, but there are still a lot of high speed sections. The high speed bus stops, high speed braking, high speed into turn one that goes down to a very slow corner. There are the two horseshoes that are very low minimum speed so it can be tricky. Our Camaro is usually very good in the infield. We are a little bit off there we are going to nail it tomorrow I’m sure. That is our cars kind of high point is braking for the infield and pretty much the whole infield. The problem is these newer cars; especially the European imports are just so fast in a straight line that we really have a hard time. It’s a lot easier to make passes with your foot pinned to the floor than it is to try to dive bomb into the bus stop or into turn one. It’s complicated to set up the car, but I think we are pretty close.”

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 140 countries and selling more than 4.5 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature spirited performance, expressive design, and high quality. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

January 24, 2013
50th ARCA Race Coming to Daytona February 16

(TEMPERANCE, Mich. – January 24, 2013) – The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards will kick off its 2013 season Feb. 16 with a significant milestone event in the series’ 60-plus years.

The Lucas Oil 200 presented by MAVTV American Real at Daytona International Speedway will be the 50th anniversary ARCA race at the “World Center of Racing”‘ in Daytona Beach, Florida. The series held its inaugural race there in 1964. And, just as it did in 1964, the 200-mile ARCA race will jump start the 2013 stock car racing season for Daytona Beach and the rest of the stock car nation.

“If you had to list the most significant occurrences in ARCA’s 60-year history, the first ARCA race at Daytona in 1964 would be in the top-five,” said ARCA President Ron Drager.

The annual ARCA event at Daytona has helped launch the careers of some of the biggest names in the sport, including drivers like 1969 winner Benny Parsons, 1979 winner Kyle Petty and 2004 winner Kyle Busch.

“The entire ARCA community is just very proud and appreciative of the opportunity to race at Daytona,” Drager said. “It’s been a great relationship, and it’s evolved into the longest-running annual race on our schedule.”

Drager said having the ARCA race launch the stock car racing season each year has been a tremendous boost to the series and to stock car racing in general.

“Bill France, Sr. foresaw that inviting John Marcum’s Midwest-based stock car tour to Daytona would be mutually beneficial, providing unique inventory to his vision of February ‘Speedweeks’ and carrying the Daytona brand into a distant region of the country throughout the ARCA season,” Drager said.

Live on SPEED, the 50th Anniversary Lucas Oil 200 gets the green flag shortly after 4:30 p.m. Saturday, February 16. The Sprint Unlimited for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series immediately follows the ARCA race on the same night, providing race fans with the excitement of the season-opener at the legendary 2.5-mile superspeedway.

The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) is among the leading and most diverse auto racing sanctioning bodies in the country. Founded in 1953 by John and Mildred Marcum, the organization administers more than 150 events each year in multiple racing series, including the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, the ARCA/CRA Super Series, the ARCA Truck Series and the ARCA Midwest Tour, plus weekly racing at Toledo and Flat Rock Speedways.

For more information about the ARCA Racing Series, to set up interviews with series officials or drivers, contact ARCA Communications Director Doug Donnelly or ARCA Communications Manager Don Radebaugh. More detailed series and race information can be found on www.arcaracing.com and www.arcaracing.com/media for members of the media.

January 24, 2013
Shell and Pennzoil Extend Penske Alliance

January 23, 2013
Chip Ganassi Racing Teams Set to Take-Off in Multi-year Partnership with Cessna, a Textron, Inc. Company

Partnership will encompass all three series in which Chip Ganassi Racing Teams compete – the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the IZOD IndyCar Series and the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series, predominately using the Cessna Brand

CONCORD, N.C. (Jan. 23, 2012) – Chip Ganassi Racing Teams (CGRT) announces a multi-year partnership with Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron, Inc. company, to sponsor cars across all three series in which CGRT competes. The world’s leading general aviation company will sponsor multiple races on the No. 1 Chevrolet SS of Jamie McMurray in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) sharing assets with sister Textron companies Bell Helicopter and E-Z-GO golf carts. Cessna will also sponsor one race on the No. 10 Honda with Dario Franchitti in the IZOD IndyCar Series and one race with Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series on the No. 01 Dinan-Prepared BMW.

Each of Textron’s brands can be and often are, incorporated into every race event where CGRT competes. From a team’s air travel to and from the host city, helicopter transport from airport to venue and ground transportation onsite, Cessna and Textron have options for all of it. The partnership offers a new connection to an industry that relies heavily on private aircraft travel.

Notes of Interest:

· About the Partnership: In addition to the full primary sponsorships, a Textron brand will have placement on every team, race car, driver uniform and transporter, across all of CGRT’s diverse reach of racing assets. Those assets including each of the seven full-time drivers; NSCS drivers McMurray and Juan Pablo Montoya, IZOD IndyCar Series drivers Franchitti, Scott Dixon and Charlie Kimball and GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series drivers Pruett and Rojas.

· Cessna: Cessna is the world’s leading general aviation company. Since its inception in 1927, Cessna has designed, produced and delivered more than 193,500 airplanes around the globe. This includes more than 6,300 Citation business jets, making it the largest fleet of business jets in the world. Today, Cessna has two principal lines of business: aircraft sales and aftermarket services. Aircraft sales include Citation business jets, Caravan single-engine utility turboprops, single-engine piston aircraft and lift solutions by CitationAir. Aftermarket services include parts, maintenance, inspection and repair services. In 2011, Cessna delivered 689 aircraft, including 183 Citation business jets.

· E-Z-GO: E-Z-GO is the preferred light transportation solution for golf courses, companies and consumers worldwide with innovative, reliable and energy-efficient vehicles. Headquartered in Augusta, Ga. E-Z-GO manufactures more than 50 different vehicle models under the E-Z-GO, Cushman and Bad Boy Buggies brands. Its products range from the E-Z-GO RXV fleet golf car, with its innovative, highly energy-efficient AC Drive technology, to the Bad Boy Buggies Ambush, a “parallel hybrid” utility vehicle with dual independent gas and electric powertrains, either of which can power the machine in two-wheel-drive, or which can work in tandem for four-wheel-drive operation.

· Bell Helicopter: Bell Helicopter is a world-leading manufacturer of vertical lift aircraft. Bell Helicopter currently produces a wide variety of transport and executive aircraft which includes the Bell 429, 412, 407 and 206L-4, in addition to military programs including the AH-1Z, UH-1Y, OH-58D and the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor. Globally recognized for world-class customer service, innovation and superior quality, Bell Helicopter’s global workforce serves customers flying a combined total of more than 13,000 commercial and military Bell aircraft in more than 120 countries.

· McMurray on the Track: McMurray began his NSCS career with team owner Chip Ganassi in 2002 when he filled in for an injured Sterling Marlin and won his first NSCS race in just his second start at Charlotte Motor Speedway. In 2010, the Joplin, MO, native became one of only three drivers to ever capture both Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 in the same season. In his 12th season driving in the NASCAR premier series, McMurray has six victories, eight poles, 41 top-five and 99 top-10 finishes.

· Franchitti By the Numbers: Franchitti, a four-time IZOD IndyCar Series Champion (2007, 2009, 2010, 2011) and three-time Indianapolis 500 Winner, returns to Target Chip Ganassi Racing in 2013 for his fifth season alongside two-time Champion and 2008 Indianapolis 500 Winner Dixon.

· Pruett and Rojas: The GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series tandem of Pruett and Rojas is the most-successful driving duo in GRAND-AM history. They will compete for their seventh consecutive season with Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. The pair has won four GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series championships together (2008, 2010, 2011, 2012) and two wins in the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Quote Board:

Scott Ernest, Cessna’s President and CEO:

“We have been impressed with CGRT’s scope and success across all components of racing and are partnering to demonstrate how closely the concepts of speed, precision and performance bridge both the aviation and racing industries. Just like CGRT, Cessna is a demonstrated leader and is in the market to win.”

Chip Ganassi, Owner, Chip Ganassi Racing Teams:

“I am very pleased about this partnership with Cessna and Textron. It is always significant when big brands choose auto racing as a vehicle to market their products and Cessna is not only choosing NASCAR but also INDYCAR and GRAND-AM as well and we couldn’t be happier. Their products are vitally important to me. I have used their airplanes for a number of years and their performance is second to none and that is the same level of performance that we expect from our race teams.”

Jamie McMurray, Driver, No. 1 Chevrolet:

“I am really excited to have Cessna come on board with our team. I know that speed is an important part of their business, just like ours. We have a lot of excitement with the upcoming season and the new Gen 6 race cars. I am ready to get the 2013 season started, and I am looking forward to Cessna being a part of our entire organization.”

For more information log onto www.earnhardtganassi.com

About Chip Ganassi Racing Teams

Chip Ganassi has been a fixture in the auto racing industry for over 25 years and is considered one of the most successful as well as innovative owners the sport has anywhere in the world. Today his teams include three cars in the IZOD IndyCar Series, two cars in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, and one Daytona Prototype in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series. Overall his teams have 15 championships and 150 victories, including four Indianapolis 500s, a Daytona 500, a Brickyard 400 and four Rolex 24 At Daytonas. Ganassi boasts state-of-the-art race shop facilities in Indianapolis and Brownsburg, Ind. and Concord, N.C., with a corporate office in Pittsburgh, Penn.

January 23, 2013
AF Waltrip Racing Rolex 24 Preview

AF Waltrip Racing
Rolex 24 Preview
Michael Waltrip, Rob Kauffman, Rui Aguas & Clint Bowyer

CORNELIUS, N.C. — Sports car racers from around the world gather this weekend at Daytona International Speedway for the 51st annual Rolex 24. The 24-hour endurance race takes the green flag Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on SPEED-TV. Making its second start on the 3.56-mile road course is the AF Waltrip Racing team featuring drivers Michael Waltrip, Rob Kauffman, Rui Aguas and Clint Bowyer driving the No. 56 Ferrari 458 GT. The entry is a joint project of the Italian sports car team AF Corse and Michael Waltrip Racing.

KAUFFMAN: “We had a really good test a few weeks ago and are quite optimistic about the 24 Hours. Clint (Bowyer) took to the Ferrari very quickly and was up to speed. He’ll have a great time. If we can keep it on the black stuff (pavement) and out of the garage, I think we have a good competitive position. This is just such a great event, we are all very please to be able to participate.

BOWYER “I got talked into the Rolex deal. What a deal. I went down there and tested and I was struggling to find where I needed to be on the race track. There was cars that were way faster than me and that’s something that was new for me. It was a lot of fun to be able to race with both bosses — Rob Kauffman and Michael Waltrip were my teammates. It’s just kind of an enjoyable weekend to be able to test down there. Looking forward to the race and hanging out with the guys for a long time. Twenty-four hours is a long time to stay focused. There’s going to be plenty of 5-hour ENERGY used during the race.”

WALTRIP: “Last year was a lot of fun to get to race in that historic famed event. I always grew up admiring the guys that got to run in that race, and it was quite an honor to be part of it. It’s pretty dramatic as far as the way the cars perform. The Cup cars have so much horsepower. That’s their main commodity is all the power that it has. They don’t stop real well, and honestly they don’t handle too well. And the Ferrari is the opposite. It has a significant amount of power, but nothing like a Cup car. But when you go to hop on the brakes, that baby comes to a stop, and you can really whip it through the infield. So that’s what’s so fun about getting to drive the Ferrari. It’s diversely different than the discipline that I’m accustomed to racing, and it makes it a lot of fun.”

Notes:
· AF WALTRIP DRIVERS: Waltrip and Kauffman are co-owners of Michael Waltrip Racing that fields three Sprint Cup teams in NASCAR. Bowyer was a three-time winner and runner-up finisher in the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Aguas is one of the top GT drivers in the world.

· TWITTER: Follow the AF Waltrip team’s fortunes on twitter at @mwrteam

January 21, 2013
Donovan Price to Raise Money for Breast Cancer while racing Legend

How would you like the opportunity to do something you love, while doing something to help other people? That is exactly what Donovan Price is doing. For his 2013 racing season, he will be racing in the Legends series across Ontario while raising money for breast cancer awareness.

“I decided to give back to the fans that have supported local short track racing and what better way to do it by racing for a cause – breast cancer,” Price said. ”One in nine women have a chance in their life to be effected by this so every Saturday night of racing, there are fans in the stands that have been effected by this one way or another.”

The goal is to raise money to help researchers find a cure so we can lower that number. Price has also been affected by breast cancer personally, as he knows two ladies that have had cancer and what they went through.

The idea came about when Price thought about painting his legend pink.

“You don’t see to many hot pink race cars on the track every weekend but I’m a bit of a goof ball so it suits me,” Price jokes. “I also tape my hockey stick with pink hockey tape and people always tell me ‘only Donovan can get away with it’. I also am trying to get a pink racing suit; nothing like a 6″2 250 lbs guy wearing a pink driver suit.”

Price has been in contact with the Canadian Breast Cancer foundation, receiving approval for the idea. The Canadian Breast Cancer foundation will be posting a page on their website about it, while being supportive to Price in his goal.

Price is set on raising over $5000 and if he can get enough sponsorship money, he will donate his winnings as well. Currently, he has five sponsors, but is looking for more as racing isn’t cheap and the more money he gets, the more he will be donating to charity. 50% of the sponsorship money goes to the racecar, while the other 50% goes directly to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

Beyond collecting sponsorship money, when he races at Peterborough Speedway, they are letting him put donation jars at the gates to raise money. He will also be selling t-shorts with 100% of the proceeds going to breast cancer research.

“I figure if I can get enough media exposure on this neat way of raising money, people will donate more money and more companies will come forward and help me reach my goals and maybe raise more than $5000,” Price said.

With 12 years of racing experience, Price is hoping that it equals to success on the track while raising over $5000 for research.

Fans can follow Donovan Price’s progress by following him on twitter @donovanprice and by liking his ’96 Racing’ facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/96Racing?fref=ts).

January 18, 2013
OSCAAR releases 2013 Tentative Super Late Model schedule

Photo Credit: Ashley McCubbin

As teams continue to prepare for the upcoming season ahead and fans begin planning the events they’re going to attend, OSCAAR has released their 2013 tentative Super Late Model schedule. The schedule includes 13 dates at seven different tracks, spanning from the beginning of May till the beginning of October. The Super Lates will also be accompanied by the OSCAAR Modifieds at 11 of the 13 stops on the schedule.

“It took a bit longer than expected to get everything finalized,” OSCAAR president Dave Gainforth said. “The end result will be well worth the wait. OSCAAR fans are going to be treated to great Super Late Model and Modified racing action at their favourite track throughout the entire summer.”

As revealed earlier this year with the release of Sunset International Speedway’s schedule, the OSCAAR Super Late Model season will begin on Sunday May 19th, Victoria Day weekend, on the 1/3 mile oval located in Innisfil, Ontario. The speeds that they reach on this oval with the side-by-side racing throughout the field always puts on a show for the fans. ho could forget last year’s Velocity 250? Jeff Hanley and George Wilson made contact while battling for the lead with Wilson in the inside wall, with Hanley driving his way through the field to take the win.

The season opening night will be known as Lucie Alywin Memorial Night. Alywin was the finance of Gary Grendron, a crew member for driver George Wilson, who was tragically killed in the collapse of the Algo Centre mall in Elliot Lake, Ontario on June 23, 2012.

Following opening night, the series will head to the oval at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park on Saturday June 1st. Formally known as Mosport, CTMP has gone through changes over the past two years. However, the oval still offers the same classic racing as always.

On June 15th, the Super Lates will be at Barrie Speedway, which is where Jesse Kennedy scored his first OSCAAR win.

Then to complete the month of June, they will return to Sunset International Speedway on June 29th and 30th for Don Biederman Memorial weekend. Instead of a one-night 75-lapper for the Super Lates, they will run a 50 lapper on Saturday and then a 50 lapper on Sunday, each having their own qualifying heats and counting for points seperately. They will combine the two days to crown a Don Biederman Memorial Champion. The exact formula to determining the Don Biederman Memorial Champion has yet to be determined, but will be released to fans once it is.

To begin July, the Super Lates will be at the beach, Sauble Speedway on July 13th. Last year saw George Wilson pick up the victory.

They will then make their return to Flamboro Speedway on July 20th. It will mark the first race for the Super Lates there since 2008, when Derrike Tiemersma picked up the victory.

July will finish off with a return visit to Sunset International Speedway on July 27th. The Super Lates will be joined by the OSCAAR Modifieds and the CANADA-USA Pro 4 Modified Shootout.

August will begin with a trip to Peterborough Speedway on the 3rd. This will mark an important race for the season as it is the OSCAAR Chase for the Colors event. The driver that finishes first on August 3rd will start the coveted Autumn Colors Classic 50-lap feature on the pole in October. The driver that finishes will start that race from the second position. The drivers that finish third and fourth will start no worse than 13th and 14th come October.

Then on August 11th, the Super Lates will be at Kawartha Speedway for a special Sunday afternoon show. It will mark only the second show on Kawartha’s 2013 calendar as they cut back their schedule.

The end of August will see OSCAAR return back to Peterborough Speedway where they started the month for a Saturday night show on August 24th.

The second last event of the season for the Super Lates will be at Sunset International Speedway on Sunday September 29th, part of Sunset’s Velocity 250 weekend. The three-day weekend is meant to see seven different divisions compete, putting the top drivers from across the province against each other on one track.

The season will finish off at Peterborough Speedway on October 12th and 13th as part of the 21st Annual Autumn Colors Classic weekend. The 2013 OSCAAR Super Late Model Champion will be crowned as part of this weekend long event. Last year, Brandon Watson took home his second AC win on his way to his first OSCAAR Championship.

January 18, 2013