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Category: Truck Series

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series news and information

  • NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: Truckin’ in Talladega

    NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: Truckin’ in Talladega

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be bringing their high energy tail gate party to the massive Talladega Super Speedway for Saturday’s running of the Mountain Dew 250. In a racing environment where literally anything can happen within the blink of an eye, this race is expected to be yet another example of the close quarter action and dramatic finishes NASCAR’s truck brigade has treated its fans to all season long.

    THE STORY BREAKDOWN

    The official engraver of NASCAR may as well start the process of placing the name Todd Bodine on the series’ championship trophy. With four races left in the 2010 season, Bodine has an insurmountable 282 point lead which guarantees that second series championship his team, Germain Brothers Racing, has worked so hard for.

    But the real points battle in this series remains to be the owner’s championship. When it comes to coveted trophies, this title is second only to the driver’s championship. The principals are Steve Germain, owner of record for Todd Bodine’s #30 Toyota, and Kyle Busch, the owner/driver of the #18 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota. Germain left the last race at Martinsville 39 points ahead of Busch. With only four races left in the season this battle is still too close to call.

    Both drivers has enjoyed success at Talladega in the past. Busch is the defending race winner from last year. Bodine won the Talladega races in 2007 and 2008 and is the series’ only multiple winner there. By the way Bodine will be using the same race truck that went to victory lane following the team’s four super speedway wins.

    ***************

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series hasn’t been completely left out of the traditional silly season rumor mill. The hot garage topic this week surrounds rumors that states four time series champion Ron Hornaday Jr may be talking to other teams regarding the 2011 season. His 2010 tenure with Kevin Harvick Inc hasn’t exactly been a banner year for Hornaday. He only has one win, after six wins last year, and his currently seventh in the championship standings.

    Team sponsorship for the #33 KHI Chevrolet has also been an issue this year. The team began the year with a solid sponsorship program from Longhorn Smokeless Tobacco. But that ended last June with the implementation of a new federal law that prohibited tobacco companies from advertising their products during national sporting events. Since that time KHI has been forced to piece meal sponsorships on a race to race basis. There has been eight different companies on the hood of the #33 truck during a span of 20 races. But the same rumor mill also states that Hornaday would love to see a solution for this situation because he would much prefer to remain with KHI.

    Also from the series’ silly season comes word that Roush Fenway Racing may be looking at returning to truck racing following a one year absence. RFR pulled out of the series, at the conclusion of the 2009 season, following the Ford Motor Company’s decision to pull factory support from the teams.

    But the one thing that made the truck series so attractive to RFR still exists: it’s an excellent program for the operation’s driver development program. The latest garage rumor states that RFR will be returning with two truck teams in 2011.

    *************

    Long time fans of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will not be the least bit surprised to learn that their favorite form of truck racing has shown consistent increases in television ratings. It’s the only one of the three NASCAR national touring series to increase viewership according to figures released by Nielsen Media Research who monitors the ratings for television networks.

    The numbers from last weekend’s Martinsville race alone was up 41% while reaching a reported 536,000 households. Those numbers are especially impressive in light of the fact the Martinsville race was televised on a Saturday afternoon during the midst of a cornucopia of televised college football.

    There has only been two truck races this year that failed to show an increase in the television ratings. The first was the season opener at Daytona whose ratings were hampered by a postponement due to rain. The second one was the event at the Gateway International Raceway where a power failure caused a lengthy delay in the start of the race.

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    THE RACE BREAKDOWN

    The Mountain Dew 250 is 94 laps, 250.4 miles, around the Talladega Super Speedway’s massive 2.66 mile quad oval.

    The event is the series fifth race at the speedway.

    The race has 35 entries for an event that can start 36 trucks. That means that all entries will start the race and “knock out qualifying” procedures will not apply.

    The Mountain Dew 250 will be broadcast live by the SPEED Channel this Saturday beginning at 3 pm eastern time.

  • Toyota NCWTS Talladega Post-Qualifying Notes & Quotes

    5th, Aric Almirola 6th, Chris Fontaine 10th, Todd Bodine 13th, David Starr 15th, Timothy Peters 16th, Mike Skinner 17th, Justin Lofton 18th, Kyle Busch 19th, Craig Goess Jr. 20th, Max Papis

    ARIC ALMIROLA Starting Position:  5th Do you have a good truck? “Yeah, it’s a really good truck, man.  I’m proud of Richie Wauters (crew chief) and all the guys on this team.  They’ve been doing a really good job and our truck is really fast.  Qualifying fifth, it is what it is, but our truck in the draft is really good.”

    CHRIS FONTAINE, Starting Position:  6th TODD BODINE Starting Position:  10th How is your truck? “The truck is good.  It drives good, does everything we need and that’s the important thing.  We knew it wasn’t going to qualify that great, but we were willing to sacrifice that for the race.  I think we’ll be good tomorrow.”

    DAVID STARR Starting Position:  13th

    TIMOTHY PETERS Starting Position:  15th How was your truck in practice? “It was good in practice.  We have the same truck as Daytona in February.  We got pushed pretty good and we were able to push really good.  I’m really excited about coming back, especially with this truck, the way it ran in Daytona.  It picked up in practice where we left off in Daytona.  We ran better in qualifying when it counted than when we mocked up earlier today, so it’s going to be okay when we get our Toyota Tundra in race trim tomorrow.  We’ll be there at the end.”

    MIKE SKINNER Starting Position:  16th JUSTIN LOFTON Starting Position:  17th How was your truck in practice? “The truck was good.  We unloaded pretty good and we picked up about three-tenths between practice and qualifying, so that’s always a good sign, especially at this type of speedway race.  Other than that, it’s really hard to tell.  The power felt good and the handling felt good.  It is what it is.”

    KYLE BUSCH, Starting Position:  18th How was your truck in race trim? “The truck has been fine in race trim.  It hasn’t quite sucked up as well as we wanted it to.  Qualifying for Toyotas isn’t necessarily our strong suit, so we’ll take what we get here and just go onto the race.”

    CRAIG GOESS JR., Starting Position:  19th

    No. 46 Greenville Toyota Tundra, Team Gill RacingNo. 18 Traxxas Toyota Tundra, Kyle Busch Motorsports, No. 7 visitPIT.com Toyota Tundra, Red Horse Racing, No. 5 Exide Toyota Tundra, Randy Moss Motorsports, No. 17 Red Horse Racing Toyota Tundra, Red Horse Racing, No. 81 Zachry Toyota Tundra, Green Light Racing, No. 30 Valvoline Toyota Tundra, Germain RacingNo. 84 Glenden Enterprises Toyota Tundra, Glenden Enterprises, No. 51 Billy Ballew Motorsports Toyota Tundra, Billy Ballew Motorsports

    MAX PAPIS, No. 9 GEICO Toyota Tundra, Germain Racing Starting Position:  20th How did your truck draft in practice? “It drafted really good in practice and we didn’t do any qualifying laps because here it is useless to do qualifying laps.  It was as I was expecting.  Maybe a little slow by itself, but it’s gonna be a good pusher and it’s going to be hiding its nose and go to the front.  I really think that we’ve got a good piece for the race.”

  • NASCAR: Just another Dysfunctional Family

    NASCAR: Just another Dysfunctional Family

    Recently I was listening to my father-in-law talk about his Daddy who grew up in a small rural town in the south.

    “Things were different back then,” he said.

    With five brothers and one sister, there was always some kind of drama. He’d put up with a lot and let the kids work things out between themselves.  However, if they crossed that line, he stepped in and you better believe everyone listened.

    “Daddy’s word was law.”

    The last thing anyone wanted to hear was, “Meet me out in the woodshed after supper.”

    As I was listening, I couldn’t help but smile and think about how many times we hear a similar phrase in racing. 

    Doesn’t this sound familiar?

    “Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski have just been invited to the NASCAR hauler for a talk after the race.”

    And then there’s my Uncle Glenn who happens to be a big racing fan. He knows something about everything and loves the sound of his own voice.  Every once in a while when he’s going on and on about what’s wrong with Dale Earnhardt Jr, my eyes glaze over and I could swear I’m listening to Jimmy
    Spencer.

    Too bad people don’t come with a mute button.

    And is it just me or do you laugh every time you hear that Scott Speed will probably lose his ride with Richard Petty Motorsports because of performance problems?  It’s not that I want to see anyone lose their job but because I can’t help but think of my cousin Sarah who just divorced her husband for the same reason.

    I could go on to tell you about my nephew Mike who has a knack for putting his foot in his mouth and how he bears a striking resemblance to Denny Hamlin. But you get the idea.

    Admit it. Don’t you have an Uncle Glenn or a cousin Mike in your family?

    NASCAR may be just another dysfunctional family but it’s not so different from yours or mine.

    Just do like I do. Embrace the quirks and enjoy the ride. You won’t be disappointed.

    *Names changed to protect the dysfunctional.

  • Toyota NASCAR Notes & Quotes II Talladega

    TOYOTA TALK: Hamlin Happy Chasing Chase Leader Busch Talks Talladega Reutimann Recalls Talladega Intensity Bodine Believes in Racing for Wins

    NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) NEWS, NOTES & NUMBERS: This year, Toyota drivers have combined for 11 wins, 36 top-five results, 73 top-10 finishes and six poles after 32 of 36 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) races … Toyota drivers Denny Hamlin (second in points) and Kyle Busch (fourth) are currently competing in the 2010 NSCS Chase … Hamlin is six points behind leader Jimmie Johnson after six of 10 races — the closest margin between first and second-place in the Chase battle after six races since the inception of the Chase in 2004 … Hamlin’s win at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday marked the 11th NSCS win for Toyota this year matching the most wins (2009) for the manufacturer since entering the series in 2007 … Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Busch, Hamlin and Joey Logano have all finished together in the top-10 five times this season, including four of the last seven NSCS races.

    DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing How has your strategy for the Chase played out to this point? “Obviously, we ’d love to have a huge lead right now. I think given how I raced and things like that over the course of this Chase so far, this is about the best-case scenario for us. I like being behind and chasing a guy. I do not like playing defense at all. So, to play offense all day at Martinsville, going through adversity to get the win — it’s a huge boost going forward. Right now, I feel like we ’re in a great position going to Talladega. We’ve been extremely strong at Talladega for the last two to three years. So, I ’m pretty confident.” Can you get into Jimmie Johnson’s head at Talladega by staying behind him in the race? “I don’t think so. I have actually worked a lot with Jimmie (Johnson) on superspeedway races. I totally agree with him that you’re strictly playing odds. You look back at the races that I don’t wreck — I finish in the top-two or three every time, but the ones that I don’t, I’m usually 20th or something. Jimmie’s had his fair share of crashes and we’ve had our fair share of crashes at Talladega. Honestly, I feel like we have a be tter Talladega package than what those guys have had. We’ve been very, very strong on superspeedways, especially Talladega. We’ve been able to lead a ton of laps there — we’ve got a good finish there last year. I would like to just worry about winning the race and if I do get shuffled though, I would like to just put myself in a safe spot.”

    KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing What is the best case scenario at Talladega with five laps remaining? “You just want to be leading and protect what you’ve got and try to keep the rest of the guys behind you. You know it’s going to be tough, you know it’s going to be crazy and guys are going to be trying to go three-wide, four-wide and everywhere trying to get a push draft going and everything. If you were leading and you had a teammate behind you or something like that, obviously that would make it pretty good.” Who is your favorite drafting partner at Talladega? “I drafted well with a lot of people over the past, but I would say (Juan Pablo) Montoya helped me win the race that I won at Talladega a couple years ago. Jimmie (Johnson) is always pretty good to draft with. My brother (Kurt Busch) as well.”

    DAVID REUTIMANN, No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing Is it difficult to race at Talladega? “There’s not anything really difficult about driving Talladega. You have to have a good car and then you can hopefully get out there and get in the right line and get with the right guys and work with the right people to try to make your day go as good as you can. A lot of times you’re trying to get yourself in a position where you’re trying to let things shuffle out and see what happens. At Talladega, you would like to be able to qualify up front, but you’re really not all that worried about it because you know that in a matter of a couple laps you could be up there leading the thing.”

    DAVID REUTIMANN, No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing (continued) Are you surprised at how intense the closing laps are at Talladega? “It seems like it only takes one guy to start running up through there and then everybody thinks they have to do it. The closer it gets to the end of the race, the more you have to get yourself in good position. It’s not hard to pass early on in the race, but the later in the race it goes, unless you have somebody behind you that will really help you, it’s hard to pass. You’re trying to get yourself in position to be in the right place at the right time when things cycle out. It’s crazy — you see everybody behaving so well early in the race and everybody is giving plenty of room and nobody is even close to each other. Then with 15 or 20 laps to go, it just gets really, really crazy and it gets pretty intense. In the end you’re out there racing and trying to win. Sometimes you need to take chances and make crazy moves and that’s what you see at the end of that race.”

    NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) NEWS, NOTES & NUMBERS: This year, Toyota drivers have combined for 16 wins, 67 top-five results, 133 top-10 finishes and 16 poles after 32 of 35 NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) races … Kyle Busch remains third in the NNS point standings, despite starting just 26 of 32 races . . . Jason Leffler (eighth), Joey Logano (ninth) and Steve Wallace (10th) are also in the top-10 in points with three races remaining … The NNS will take the weekend off before returning to action at Texas Motor Speedway, Nov . 6.

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) NEWS, NOTES & NUMBERS: This year, Tundra drivers have combined for 12 wins, 50 top-five results, 103 top-10 finishes and 10 poles after 21 of 25 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) races … Todd Bodine (first), Aric Almirola (second), Timothy Peters (seventh), Mike Skinner (eighth) and David Starr (ninth) are in the top-10 in the NCWTS point standings with four races remaining … Bodine leads second-place Almirola in the point standings by 282 points … Toyota is currently 10 points ahead of Chevrolet in the NCWTS manufacturer’s point standings.

    TODD BODINE, No. 30 Germain.com Toyota Tundra, Germain Racing Is your team focused more on ‘points racing’ or winning races? “We prepare every week to go win the race. If we can’t win, we get the best points race that we can. That’s the way you have to look at it. I’ve had a lot of people asking me, ‘Are you going to go on the defensive — are you going into points racing mode?’ My answer is, ‘No, we’re in points racing mode every week.’ We still go to win the race, but if we can’t win then we just worry about getting the best points day we can and that’s what’s got us to this point, and that’s what we’re going to keep doing. If I was in points racing mode, I wouldn’t have tried to pass Kyle (Busch) at Kentucky for the lead. I would have ridden behind him and finished second.”

    TOYOTA DRIVER ROSTER – Talladega Superspeedway

    NASCAR Sprint Cup Series David Reutimann, No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Camry Kevin Conway, No. 7 Extenze Camry Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Freight Camry Casey Mears, No. 13 GEICO Camry Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M’s Camry Joey Logano, No. 20 Home Depot Camry Marcos Ambrose, No. 47 Kleenex-Clorox Camry Michael Waltrip, No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Camry Martin Truex Jr., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Camry Landon Cassill, No. 64 Gunselman Motorsports Camry Johnny Sauter, No. 66 Prism Motorsports Camry Scott Speed, No. 82 Red Bull Camry Kasey Kahne, No. 83 Red Bull Camry Joe Nemechek, No. 87 NEMCO Motorsports Camry Jeff Fuller, No. 97 NEMCO Motorsports Camry

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Mike Skinner, No. 5 Exide Tundra Justin Lofton, No. 7 VisitPit.com Tundra Max Papis, No. 9 GEICO Tundra Timothy Peters, No. 17 Red Horse Racing Tundra Kyle Busch, No. 18 Traxxas Toyota Tundra Todd Bodine, No. 30 Germain.com Tundra Craig Goess, No. 46 Greenville Toyota Tundra Aric Almirola, No. 51 Billy Ballew Motorsports Tundra David Starr, No. 81 Zachry Tundra

  • David Starr Loves Racing in the Draft

    David Starr loves racing. It doesn’t matter if the surface is fast or slow, the Texas native just wants to be at the track each week to face the stiff competition of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. This week David and the rest of the competitors in the series travel from the smallest track at Martinsville to the largest track at Talladega, Alabama for the Mountain Dew 250.

    “Whatever track we are going to next is my favorite track,” Starr said with his trademark smile. “I love all the tracks the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series visits, but this week Talladega is my favorite track.”

    “I really do love racing at Talladega. It’s fast and you are wide-open all the way around. I love to feel the truck move in the draft,” he continued. “I have so much fun racing in the draft, It’s a new challenge each race because you never know who will run with you, while you’re trying to figure out who you can run the fastest with.”

    “It’s just really intense racing and a great show for the fans in the stands. We are going to have some folks from Zachry coming to the race so I’m really looking forward to putting the Zachry Toyota up front for them.”

    Starr and the SS Green Light Racing team are prepared for this week’s race at the 2.66-mile high-banked track. “I feel we gained a lot of momentum last week, we had a really strong truck. Our speedway truck should be just as good; the guys have worked really hard on it. We need to keep building our momentum over these last four races.”

    David has four career NCWTS starts at the Talladega Superspeedway with one top-five finish, which came last year with his Crew Chief Jason Miller on top of the box. David’s average start is 16.8 and his average finish is 14.8. David has finished on the lead lap in each of the four races the NCWTS has run at Talladega.

    Starr concluded, “There is no place in the world I would rather be on a Saturday afternoon than driving a truck at Talladega.”

    The Mountain Dew 250 is the 242nd consecutive NCWTS start for the SS Green Light Racing team and the 262nd career start for Starr in the Truck series.

    There are only 34 trucks are on the preliminary entry list for the Mountain Dew 250.

    Practice for the NCWTS Mountain Dew 250 will be Friday, October 29th from 10:00 a.m. to noon Eastern with qualifying at 4:40 p.m. The race will be shown live on SPEED TV Saturday, October 30th at 4:00 p.m. Eastern. It will also be broadcast live via radio worldwide on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and on SIRIUS Satellite Radio NASCAR Channel 128-XM104.

    Zachry Holdings, Inc. is engaged in the planning, building and renewing of the world’s most critical industrial facilities. As the largest direct-hire, merit-shop constructor in the United States, Zachry provides a range of engineering, construction and maintenance services to top industrial companies. The 85 year-old privately held organization is based in San Antonio. Visit www.zhi.com for more information.

    For more information about SS Green Light Racing visit www.SSRacingonline.com or email pr@ssracingonline.com.

  • Jason White Pumped-up for Talladega

    Jason White is pumped-up and ready to go. He’s ready to get to the Talladega Superspeedway and prove the strength of the speedway program the SS Green Light team showed at the season opener at Daytona.

    Back in February, White won his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Pole and finished fourth in the NextEra Energy Resources 250. The team is bringing the same truck to Talladega this week. Jason is ready to show the early-season run was no fluke and he plans to put the GunBroker.com/Pursuit Channel No. 23 Ford back up to the front of the field.

    “We think we’re going to be just as good or better than we were at Daytona,” a confident White said. “We are bringing the same Ford that we ran at Daytona, but we just didn’t let it sit in the shop. We worked on it to try to make it even better. We know everyone else is going to be better. You can’t stand still in this sport or your going to get beat.”

    “We should have some great horsepower again and I am just so excited to get to the track and see what we’ve got. I think we should have a great shot at the Pole again and we should be strong for the whole race. To many things can happen at that track, so I’m not going to make a prediction but we’ll have a truck good enough to win. We just need to be smart and be there at the end of the race.”

    White has three previous starts at NASCAR’s largest and fastest track, however the high-banks have not been kind to him in the past as he has failed to see the checkered flag at any of the events, suffering mechanical failures each of the last two seasons. Jason had a very strong qualifying run of fourth in 2009, but an engine failure ended his day after only 29 laps.

    Following his impressive fourth place run at Martinsville last week, Jason moved back in the top-ten in the NCWTS standings behind fellow SS Green Light driver David Starr.

    “We had a great truck last week at Martinsville, but all the restarts at the end really cost us. Man, we were right there. We were good enough to win and I think we can be right there again with the GunBroker.com/Pursuit Channel Ford this week at Talladega. I not only plan on finishing a race there, but I plan to finish up front.”

    The Mountain Dew 250 is White’s 101st NCWTS start and also the 242nd consecutive NCWTS start for the SS Green Light Racing team.

    There are only 34 trucks are on the preliminary entry list for the Mountain Dew 250.

    Practice for the NCWTS Mountain Dew 250 will be Friday, October 29th from 10:00 a.m. to noon Eastern with qualifying at 4:40 p.m. The race will be shown live on SPEED TV Saturday, October 30th at 4:00 p.m. Eastern. It will also be broadcast live via radio worldwide on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and on SIRIUS Satellite Radio NASCAR Channel 128-XM104.

    GunBroker.com is an informative, detailed, secure and safe way to buy and sell firearms and hunting/shooting accessories. GunBroker.com promotes responsible gun ownership. Aside from merchandise bearing its logo, GunBroker.com sells none of the items listed on its Web site. Third-party sellers list items on the site and Federal and state laws govern the sale of firearms and other restricted items. Ownership policies and regulations are followed using licensed firearms dealers as transfer agents. Currently GunBroker.com has over 1.5 million registered users, with 400,000 auctions running at any time and has over 3 million unique monthly visitors to the site.

    Pursuit Channel is the most widely distributed, pure hunting and fishing network featuring many of the industry’s top names. It is the only outdoor network delivered in satellite provider DIRECTV’s basic package. Pursuit Channel, through its Agency of Record – Performance One Media, has secured distribution across all 14 million Dish Network subscribers starting 2011. It is owned and operated by people who understand the vibrant outdoor industry. Founder and CEO Rusty Faulk has produced Rusty Faulk Outdoors for over 20 years and co-founder Merrill Sport, a partner in Rusty Faulk Outdoors, has worked with over 300 sporting goods manufacturers during his 25-year career. To learn more about the Pursuit Channel’s way of life and its programming, visit www.pursuitchannnel.com

    For more information about SS Green Light Racing visit www.SSRacingonline.com or email pr@ssracingonline.com

    MOOSE Media is the Agency of Record for the Pursuit Channel, contact 662-492-4000 or query www.moosemedia.tv

  • Bodine and No. 30 Valvoline Seeking Third Talladega Win

    Bodine Leads Truck Series Championship Battle by 282-point margin

    Has Earned Four Wins this season, 21 in his Truck Series Career

    Germain Racing has 22 Truck Series Victories and Nine Pole Awards

    October 26, 2010 (Mooresville, N.C.) – Talladega Superspeedway will be a welcome sight for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series points leader, Todd Bodine, and the No. 30 Valvoline Tundra crew of Germain Racing. Bodine cleared one of the two remaining unknowns on the 2010 Truck Series schedule as he seeks his second championship title. He and the Germain Racing team left Martinsville Speedway with a third-place finish and a 282-point lead and turned their sights on the last big variable in the championship puzzle—Talladega.

    “Talladega is the last big unknown on the schedule for this Germain Racing team. We have been to victory lane at Talladega twice, we’ve sat on the pole there, but, we know that when we unload the No. 30 Valvoline Tundra at Talladega, there’s a lot about how it finishes that’s beyond our control. As a crew chief, I’ve got even less control than the man behind the wheel,” said crew chief Mike Hillman Jr.

    Truck Series champion Todd Bodine, who continues to lead the 2010 standings by a record-setting margin after racking up four wins and two pole awards to add to his NASCAR career totals, calls Talladega a wild card.

    “We saw it at Daytona, how close we came to winning that race and how we missed out at the very last second. Talladega is an even bigger wild card than a Daytona or a Martinsville. It’s a track where you have to be as lucky as you are good. This No. 30 Valvoline Tundra team is really good at Talladega. We have two wins there. With the right luck this week, we’ll get our third win at that track,” said Bodine, who has finished fourth or better in each of the four Truck Series events at Talladega, including two wins and one pole award. Further, Bodine has finished fifth or better in each of the 10 superspeedway races.

    While Talladega is a wild card on the schedule as far as the final result, Hillman Jr. explains that this team knows what to expect when they unload in the Alabama infield.

    “The truck we are racing is the same truck we’ve used for all four of our superspeedway wins. We know this truck. We know that the No. 30 Valvoline Tundra will be one of the top trucks right off the trailer. A lot of that confidence comes from all of the hard work put into this truck by the guys in the paint shop, the fab shop, and by our team members. And, a lot of our confidence comes from the guy behind the wheel – Todd Bodine. He has a unique talent for tracks like this and it kind of makes my job from the pit box a little bit easier,” said Hillman, whose team has chosen chassis TRD-058 for Talladega duty.

    Watch Bodine the No. 30 Valvoline Tundra on Saturday, October 30th, at Talladega Superspeedway. You can watch the action on SPEED beginning with practice at 10:00 AM Eastern on Friday, followed by qualifying that afternoon at 4:40 PM and racing on Saturday at 3:00 PM. If you won’t be by a TV, set your DVR, and tune your radio dial to your local MRN affiliate Follow Germain Racing on Twitter @GermainRacing or on the web at Germainracing.com or become a Facebook fan.

    About Valvoline: Valvoline, a brand of Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH), has been serving American motorists longer than any other motor oil. The Valvoline family of products includes Eagle One® appearance products, Car Brite® car restoration products, Zerex® antifreeze, SynPower® performance products and MaxLife® products created for higher-mileage engines. With more than 850 locations throughout the United States, Valvoline Instant Oil Change® is a leader in serving the quick lube market.

    ###

    ® Registered trademark of Ashland or its subsidiaries

    Notes: Bodine, No. 30 Valvoline Tundra

    Talladega Superspeedway

    Bodine has owned the lead in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship points since Charlotte and his margin is a record-setting 282 points over second-place

    Chassis TRD-058 will race at Talladega. It is the only chassis Bodine has ever raced at Daytona or Talladega in the Truck Series

    Bodine has raced 21 NASCAR races at Talladega spanning each of NASCAR’s three national divisions. He’s led laps in each division, scored top ten finishes in each division, top-five finishes in NNS and NCWTS, and wins in Trucks

    Bodine has four wins this Truck Series season, including two consecutive victories coming last week at Darlington and the week prior at Nashville and two pole awards

    Bodine’s two Talladega victories were part of a four-race streak where Bodine was undefeated on the two superspeedways—Daytona and Talladega. The streak ran from 2007 at Talladega through 2009 at Daytona

    In four races at Talladega, Bodine has led laps in each event and finished fourth or better in each event

    Germain Racing is only the second team in Truck Series history to earn multiple wins in seven consecutive season—22 wins, nine pole awards, one championship

    Bodine has earned 21 wins and seven pole awards of Germain Racing’s Truck Series total of 22 wins and nine pole awards

    In five full-time seasons in the Truck Series, Bodine has scored championship finishes of fourth or better, including one championship title in 2006

    Germain Racing competes in NASCAR’s three premier, national series, and has earned top-ten finishes in each as well as consecutive top-ten points finishes in the NNS division. Germain Racing expanded its competition portfolio to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East this year

    Follow Germain Racing @GermainRacing on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook

    Germain Racing is seeking team sponsors. Visit www.GermainRacing.com

    Germain.com is the central website for the Germain Motor Company, a top-25 automotive retail network with locations in Ohio, Florida and Arkansas. Shop Germain.com for your next car or truck purchase.

  • Ricky Carmichael: Talladega Race Preview

    PREVIEW: RICKY CARMICHAEL (NO. 4 MONSTER ENERGY CHEVROLET)

    VENUE: TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY (2.66-MILE TRI-OVAL)

    CIRCUIT: NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES (RACE 22 of 25)

    EVENT: MOUNTAIN DEW 250 FUELED BY FRED’S (94 LAPS, 250.4 MILES)

    DATE: OCTOBER 30, 2010

    CARMICHAEL AT TALLADEGA: Ricky Carmichael as made three previous starts at Talladega Superspeedway – twice in the ARCA Series and once in the Camping World Truck Series. In his 2008 ARCA race, he started ninth and finished 30th, and earlier this year he started 14th and finished 31st. His only NCWTS start came in 2009, when he began the race in the 15th-position and finished in 20th.

    CARMICHAEL ON TRUCKS: Carmichael’s last race came at Martinsville Speedway, where he began the race in the sixth-position and secured another top-10 by finishing in ninth. So far this season, Carmichael has scored two top-five and seven top-10 finishes.

    CARMICHAEL ON COMPETING AT TALLADEGA: “The goal this weekend for me is to finish the race! I’ve been there three times and was involved in a wreck each time, so just making it to the end will be an accomplishment for me. It’s nothing like Daytona as far as handling goes – it’s just hoping you’re in the right place at the right time and putting yourself in the right position to finish the race. The rest will take care of itself.”

    BEHIND THE WHEEL: Crew chief Doug Randolph has chosen chassis No.16 for Carmichael to pilot at Talladega. This is a brand new Leavitt chassis for Turner Motorsports and the Monster Energy team.

    MEET THE DRIVER: NASCAR fans at Talladega Superspeedway will have the chance to meet Ricky Carmichael this weekend. The 2009 series Most Popular Driver will be signing autographs at the NCWTS Autograph Session on Friday from 2 – 3 pm.

    RIDING WITH RICKY: The Monster Energy Chevrolet will be hosting Kangaroo convenience stores on the rear quarter panels this weekend at Talladega. Fans can sample new Monster Energy products and get a first-hand look at the Monster Energy Chevrolet when the show truck appears at the Pantry convenience store (199 Main St. in Trussville, Ala.) on Thursday from 4 – 8 pm and at the Pantry convenience store (1601 Hwy 21 South in Oxford, Ala.) on Friday from noon – 4 pm.

    HIT THE POLLS! Fans only have a few more weeks to vote for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ Most Popular Driver! Carmichael won the award last season and is hoping his fans will help him win a repeat. Go to NASCAR.com (http://www.nascar.com/news/features/2010.truck.mpd/index.html) to cast your votes today.

    MONSTER MANIA: Fans can log onto www.monsterenergy.com for a chance to win race tickets, garage passes and a meet & greet with Ricky Carmichael during the 2010 season. The promotion will run throughout the remainder of the season and a winner will be awarded at each venue the Truck Series visits. Fans can always stay up to date with Ricky and the Monster Energy team via Twitter @RickyCarmichael, @MonsterEnergy and @TurnerMotorspts or online at www.rickycarmichael.com and www.teamturnermotorsports.com.

    DON’T MISS A LAP: The Mountain Dew 250 will take the green flag this Saturday, October 30th at 3:30 PM Eastern. Viewers can watch the race live on SPEED. Additionally, Motor Racing Network (MRN) and Sirius XM NASCAR Radio (Channel 128) will have the live radio broadcast.

  • Hornaday Records First Career Win at Martinsville Speedway

    MARTINSVILLE, Va. (October 24, 2010) — After a three-week break in the Truck Series schedule, Ron Hornaday was ready to get back to the race track and ready to get back to victory lane. Martinsville Speedway had long proved to be Hornaday’s achilles heel, and in 16 starts at the 0.526-mile oval, the four-time champion had yet to place a mark in the win column. Hornaday brought a new crew chief, Butch Hylton, and more determination than ever this go around at Martinsville. A solid qualifying effort placed the No. 33 team exactly where they needed to be. Biding their time all day, Hornaday was in position when it counted, passing Kyle Busch on lap 196 to take the lead. Hornaday never looked back, winning his first race at Martinsville in a green-white-checkered finish. The win marked Hornaday’s 47th trip to victory lane.

    “This is so cool,” said Hornaday in victory lane. “To get a win at Martinsville is awesome. I can’t thank Butch Hylton and the No. 33 truck team enough. We’ve had a tough season and this has to be one of the highlights. We made some big changes at Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) over the break and this is cool that they still believe in the old man and I get to do this. Now I have to figure out where I’m going to put my grandfather clock. This is Martinsville, this is a big win.”

    Hornaday began the Kroger 200 from the third position and immediately began to fight for position among the leaders. Once the beating and banging stopped, Hornaday rode in the fourth position until the first caution of the day waved on lap eight. Hornaday reported to Hylton that the truck was pretty good, but had developed a wheel hop. Hornaday added rear brake from inside the cockpit of the No. 33 truck to help the hop. For the restart on lap 14, the top four trucks battled for position, and by lap 17, KHI teammates Kevin Harvick and Ron Hornaday ran one-two. The second caution of the day waved on lap 24. Again, Hylton made the call to stay on the race track, feeling it was too early to take on tires and fuel. Under the third caution period on lap 39, Hornaday made his first scheduled stop of the day and came down pit road for four tires, fuel and an air-pressure adjustment. Half the field had pitted under the previous caution period, leaving Hornaday to restart in the 14th position. Immediately following the stop, Hornaday reported that he was now too tight through the center of the corner. Hylton reminded him to turn on all of his tire fans to try and build up more pressure and help his handling condition. By lap 53, Hornaday had moved back into the top 10.

    Hornaday continued to make his way back toward the front of the field as the laps clicked by. The caution waved again on lap 90 and Hornaday reported to the No. 33 team that he was still way too tight. Hylton decided to bring the No. 33 truck back down pit road for four tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment. Following the stop, the team told Hornaday that he was good to go to the end of the race on fuel. Hornaday restarted the race from the 12th position on lap 98. Wasting no time, Hornaday motored up through the field, taking over the third position on lap 111. Minutes later, Hornaday was knocking on Todd Bodine’s bumper for the lead. Even though he was able to catch Bodine, he told the crew he was too tight to pass him. Hornaday continued to work on Bodine for the lead when a string of cautions led to a red flag period on lap 167 to clean up an incident involving Timothy Peters. Following the red flag, Hornaday restarted third behind Bodine and Kyle Busch. As the laps wound down in the 200-lap event, Busch and Hornaday were able to pass Bodine. Hornaday, hungry for a win, knew what he had to do to beat Busch. The caution flag flew again on lap 181. Hornaday restarted on the outside of Busch on lap 186. It was a side-by-side battle between the two drivers as Hornaday made a power move to the outside, and he was able to inch by Busch for the lead. Before Hornaday could complete the pass, the caution waved for the final time on lap 197. NASCAR determined that Hornaday was ahead of Busch at the last timing loop, giving Hornaday the lead for the first time in the race. The race finished under a green-white-checkered, and Hornaday was able to hold off Busch and score his first-career win at Martinsville.

    The victory marked Hornaday’s second of the season and 47th in his Truck Series career. Hornaday has now won on 30 different race tracks in his NASCAR career. Following Hornaday across the start/finish line were Busch, Bodine, Jason White and Aric Almirola. The Truck Series returns to action next weekend at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway at 3:30pm, EST.

    About Pinnacle Foods:

    Pinnacle Foods Group LLC, with offices in Mountain Lakes and Cherry Hill, New Jersey, is a leading producer, marketer and distributor of high-quality branded food products in the frozen foods and dry foods segments. The dry foods segment consists primarily of Duncan Hines® baking mixes and frostings; Vlasic® pickles, peppers and relish; Armour® canned meats; Open Pit® barbeque sauce and Mrs. Butterworth’s® and Log Cabin® syrups and pancake mixes. The frozen foods segment consists primarily of Aunt Jemima® frozen breakfasts; Swanson® and Hungry-Man® frozen dinners and entrees; Van de Kamp’s® and Mrs. Paul’s® frozen seafood; Celeste® pizza; Lender’s® bagels; and Bird’s Eye ® vegetables and dinners.

    About Kevin Harvick Inc.:

    Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI), established in 2001 by Kevin and DeLana Harvick, is an 80,000 sq. ft. facility located in Kernersville, N.C. Home of the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship team, KHI enters 2010 in its seventh full year of competition with two full-time Truck Series teams and one full-time Nationwide Series team. Four-time Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday returns to the helm of the No. 33 Truck team looking for his fifth title and third championship for KHI (2009 and 2007), while Sprint Cup series stars Kevin Harvick and Elliott Sadler guide the No. 2 Truck team. Two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Harvick will again shine as the lead driver of the No. 33 Nationwide Series team as he continues to make his mark in motorsports and establish KHI as one of the top teams in NASCAR competition. For more information about KHI and its teams, please visit www.KevinHarvickInc.com.

  • Kevin Harvick Rallies Back From Brake Issues and Contact to Finish 15th at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway

    MARTINSVILLE, Va. (October 24, 2010) – After demonstrating his truck’s strength in practice and qualifying and leading 35 laps, brake issues and subsequent contact led to a disappointing 15th place finish for Kevin Harvick at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. Harvick experienced brake issues while leading early in the race, then made contact with multiple trucks, which ruined his chances of winning his fourth Truck Series race of the season in the No. 2 Kroger/Tide Chevrolet Silverado.

    Harvick qualified fourth for the Kroger 200 after running second and seventh in the first and final practice sessions, respectively. Taking the green flag, Harvick quickly began his move to the front, taking the lead on lap eight before the first yellow flag of the race waved on lap 10 for an accident in turn three. Remaining on the track, Harvick restarted in the lead on lap 15 and maintained the first position through a caution for a spin on lap 26. Opting to remain on the track once again, the race restarted on lap 29 and Harvick continued to pace the field until the yellow flag waved for a spin on lap 41.

    Feeling that the truck was turning too loosely in the middle and exit of the corners, Harvick and crew chief David Hyder called for four tires, fuel and a track-bar adjustment. The No. 2 Kroger/Tide Chevrolet restarted in the13th position after several trucks chose not to pit, but Harvick proceeded to march back toward the front when the green flag waved on lap 47. Harvick navigated up to third by the time a caution came out on lap 92, but as the field slowed, he keyed his radio. “I think we’re in trouble, boys,” said Harvick. He informed Hyder that the brakes were fading fast and that the pedal was going to the floor without stopping the truck.

    Hyder called Harvick to the pits to take the tape off the grille of the truck, perform a track-bar adjustment and change four tires and fuel. Harvick pumped the brakes on the truck and was unsure if they’d hold out through the remainder of the 200-lap event, but adjusting the brake bias from the back to the front gave Harvick some extra stopping power when green flag racing resumed on lap 99.

    Restarting in 16th, the No. 2 initially slid back to 18th, but Harvick was able to advance to seventh before he felt the brakes fading again on lap 127. He earned one more position before the caution would wave for debris 20 laps later. Hyder told his driver that his lap times were still very good and that his brakes were not glowing. Harvick continued to adjust his brake bias from inside the truck to do what he could to preserve his braking ability.

    Harvick restarted from the fourth position on lap 155. As the green flag waved, Harvick made contact with the No. 17 of Timothy Peters, and within four laps Harvick felt that he had a flat left-rear tire. Before he could ease the truck to pit road, the flat tire caused Harvick to spin. At the same time, two other trucks collided, bringing out the caution. Harvick brought the No. 2 to pit road for four tires, fuel and to repair the rear bumper bar that had become damaged prior to the spin.

    Racing resumed on lap 164 and Harvick was mired in 25th, one lap down. One lap later, Peters made contact with another truck on the restart, causing his own tire to go down, resulting in a damaging spin which brought out the red flag. When racing restarted on lap 174, Harvick was in 24th and one position away from being the free pass beneficiary. Harvick fought for position, taking over 23rd before the caution came out for a spin on lap 183, earning the Lucky Dog which allowed him to return to the lead lap.

    Restarting 21st on lap 187, Harvick was on a mission to fight his way back to the front. He maneuvered up to 19th before a multi-truck melee erupted in front of him and the No. 7 of Justin Lofton made contact with him, causing Harvick to spin for the second time, damaging the rear end of the truck. Restarting with four laps remaining in the 18th position, Harvick made it through one final caution on lap 198 for a spin by the No. 24, which set up a green-white-checkered finish and allowed Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) teammate Ron Hornaday to take the checkered flag. Harvick crossed the finish line in 15th.

    “I hate it for our Tide ride today, but I’m so happy that we were able to finally get Ron [Hornaday] into victory lane at Martinsville,” said Harvick after the race. “We had some brake issues that put us behind, and you never want to have to come from the back at Martinsville. We had some contact later in the race which made it an eventful day, but that’s all part of it at this track.”

    Ron Hornaday earned his first-career victory at Martinsville Speedway and second of 2010, followed by Kyle Busch, Todd Bodine, Jason White and Aric Almirola rounding out the top five. The No. 2 remains fifth in the Owner’s Point Standings, 380 points out of first place.

    The Truck Series hits the track again on Saturday, October 30th for the Mountain Dew 250 fueled by Fred’s at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway where Ken Schrader will be behind the wheel of the No. 2 truck. The race can be seen live on SPEED at 3:30 p.m. ET.