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Jason White Hits Lottery Again for Joe Denette Motorsports with Best Team Finish

With his Mega Millions lottery winnings in hand, Joe Denette has been living the NASCAR dream , creating his own Camping World Truck Series team, Joe Denette Motorsports, this season.

But Denette’s driver, Jason White, behind the wheel of the No. 23 BunBroker.com Chevrolet, hit the lottery again for him, scoring the team’s best finish ever at Kentucky Speedway this past weekend.

[media-credit name=”Photo credit joedenettemotorsports.com” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]After battling eventual race winner Kyle Busch in the final restart, White was able to score his first top-5 finish in 2011 and a career best finish for Joe Denette Motorsports.

“It’s huge,” White said of his finish. “To drive for Joe Denette Motorsports is awesome.”

“The guy was a huge NASCAR fan and hit the lottery and now for his first season to be able to come out and be competitive and to have a chance to win a race was big for him and us,” White continued. “It’s exciting for the team.”

White credits the career best team finish with testing that he and his crew did at Rockingham the week before, along with fellow driver and competitor Ron Hornaday.

“We went testing the week before with Ron Hornaday and we learned a lot, what not to do and what to do,” White said. “I ended up being just as fast as him so the team was all excited about that.”

“We took what we learned there and took it to Kentucky,” White continued. “So, with the setup we came up with at Rockingham, we just fine tuned it.”

White practiced in the top-10 and told his team that he thought they had at least a top-five truck and potentially could win the race.

“I ended up qualifying ninth and even took the lead, going back and forth with Austin Dillon,” White said. “So, that was pretty exciting.”

Unfortunately, White and his team had a problem with the jack during one of the pit stops later in the race and came out in seventh. He was, however, able to charge back to the front of the field, before the caution flew yet again.

“That last restart, we were fourth and so basically went to second in the first turn and came up to Kyle (Busch) and was about to pass him for the lead with three to go and the caution came back out for that big wreck,” White said. “I was like ‘oh, man, I didn’t need that.’

White also knew that the bottom of the track had limited grip and was very slick. On the restart, the young driver spun his tires, allowing Kyle Busch to go on to win the race.

“I would have been OK but Elliott (Sadler) made it three wide and that really hurt us bad,” White said. “He was doing what he had to do, but looking back, if he would have just pushed me or stayed in line, we could have both had a chance on Kyle (Busch).”

“We ended up fifth but it was a great weekend for the entire team,” White continued. “To be able to compete for the win was definitely exciting and we will be able to continue that throughout the rest of the season.”

White was also pleased that he got to lead a few laps at Kentucky Speedway. And, although he has led before, particularly at Bristol, this meant a lot to the young driver.

“I’ve led laps the last couple of years here and there but this year, we’ve got better equipment and better stuff,” White said. “We’re trying to be able to continue on with that for the rest of the season.”

As for race winner and competitor Kyle Busch, White and his team are just a bit tired of continuing to run behind him.

“I learned from him, but I’m just ready to beat him,” White said. “I’m at the point now that I can beat him.”

“If we could have restarted the race the time before, I think we could have gotten him,” White continued. “We had a lot of fun and we learned what we did wrong and will fix it for next time.”

White is definitely looking forward to his next chance, which will come this weekend in the Camping World Truck Series Coca-Cola 200 presented by Hy-Vee at Iowa Speedway.

“I always liked the track,” White said. “We’ve always been fast there.”

“I think we’ll be top-five and contending for the win,” White continued. “If we’re not, I’ll be disappointed.”

“I really believe that with what we learned last week, we should be able to go out and continue to do what we did last week.”

While Joe Denette most definitely feels like he won the lottery twice now after the team’s best career finish, White has reserved his judgment.

“I don’t necessarily feel like I’ve won the lottery yet,” White said. “I need to win a race first.”

“This weekend was a great shot in the arm, it was great for me and it was great for the team,” White continued. “But I want to be able to win. We need to win.”

“This is the momentum we needed to continue for the next few races so we can prove we can go out there and do it,” White said. “Once I win a race, then I’ll say ‘I’ve won the lottery.’

July 11, 2011
Kevin Harvick Incorporated Goes All-In For Nationwide Series Race at Daytona

With the idea of the two-car dance coming into play at the restrictor plate track, it’s no surprise that some teams are putting their forces together to make sure that they’ve got it set up.

[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”227″][/media-credit]One of those teams is Kevin Harvick Incorporated as they’ll be entering four cars instead of their typical three for a restrictor plate.

Driving the No. 2 Chevrolet will be Elliott Sadler, who has driven the car all year long.

“At Daytona, it’s either feast of famine for me,” Sadler said. “We had a really fast car there in February, but got caught up in a wreck early and finished 38th. Of course, my team owner Kevin Harvick will be in another OneMain Financial car, so I’m sure that we will find each other and help each other throughout the whole race. I’m thrilled for the opportunity to help OneMain Financial to celebrate their brand launch this weekend, and I hope that we can bring home a victory for everyone! Daytona is a special place to a lot of people because it is the France family’s birthplace and where the roots of NASCAR started. I always look forward to going down there on the Fourth of July weekend. It’s a special race that kind of marks the middle of the season. When you leave Daytona, you have a feeling of how the rest of the season will go. It’s going to be a great race.”

The Emporia, Virgina native has had the least success of the group at Daytona as he has competed in the Nationwide Series there four times with a best finish of 15th in 1997. Though he’s not inexperienced by any means following 24 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at Daytona with four top-fives and nine top-10s.

Sadler is hoping to dance with his experienced teammates to jump from second to first in points as he sits second, five points behind Reed Sorenson.

Driving the No. 4 will be team owner Kevin Harvick, who is looking for more success in his own equipment. Harvick has captured two poles, one victory, 12 top-five and 14 top-10 finishes in his previous 17 starts at the 2.5-mile oval.

“It’s is going to be interesting heading into the race at Daytona because there are so many factors that play into your success at this track,” he said. “Racing Daytona in July is a lot different than racing there in February. The track gets hot and slick and the handling characteristics become exaggerated. With the new racing surface you also need a good drafting partner. KHI is fielding four cars for this race, so finding a partner shouldn’t be too difficult. I’m excited about our chances of success at this race, not only as a driver but as a team owner.”

Driving the No. 9 will be Tony Stewart, who returns back to the seat of a Kevin Harvick Incorporated car after his win back in February at Daytona.

“It’s a small team size-wise,” Stewart said. “But as far as equipment and everything, Kevin and DeLana [Harvick] prepare cars that are some of the best cars in the Nationwide Series.”

Stewart is the secret to KHI’s Daytona success it may seem as he has scored them all four of their wins.

“I think it’s because of the attention to detail that Kevin and DeLana put into their racecars. You see it in their Truck Series program,” he added. “You see it in their Nationwide Series program. They just do everything first class. I always have the confidence when I get in one of their cars that I’m in just as competitive a car as I could be with any other organization out there. They’re first class, and that’s the kind of group that you want to be with when you do a one-off race like this. You have that confidence. You don’t worry about anything. You know that they’re giving you the best equipment that you can get in that series. It’s always fun. It’s fun to drive for one of your good friends like Kevin and DeLana, but at the same time knowing that they’ve got really good racecars just tops it all off.”

Lastly, driving the No. 33 will be Clint Bowyer, who has also ran some races in the past with KHI. Back in February, it was Bowyer who finished second to Stewart’s win, only by the third closest margin in the series at 0.007 seconds.

“Daytona is what NASCAR is all about,” he said. “It started there, and it means so much to be able to go and compete and it’s just such an awesome race track. We were so close to winning in February with this No. 33 KHI team. We had some tough breaks and got involved in accidents while running up front at Talladega [Superspeedway] in April, and then at Dover [International Speedway] in May. I’m looking forward to being back with the KHI guys, and I really want to get this Menards Chevy in victory lane and get another win at Daytona.”

Bowyer is not a driver to underestimate as he has eight top-five and 10 top-10 finishes and won the race in 2009 after leading 48 laps for Richard Childress Racing.

Kevin Harvick Incorporated’s success at Daytona International Speedway is impressive as since 2005, KHI has four wins, two poles, eight top-five and 11 top-10 finishes. So as the race nears conclusion, don’t be surprised if one of the two KHI pairs are fighting their way for the lead.

June 28, 2011
Monster Crash in Dover Nationwide Race Leaves Carl Edwards as Survivor in Victory Lane

The Monster Mile lived up to its reputation, from a rain delayed start and a rain-induced red flag to one of the wildest endings ever during the second attempt at a green, white checkered finish.

[media-credit id=26 align=”alignright” width=”201″][/media-credit]After Joey Logano, who was running in the second spot during the overtime session, hit the wall, sending Clint Bowyer airborne and Steve Wallace hard into the wall as well, Carl Edwards, in the No. 60 Fastenal Ford, remained the survivor, claiming the checkered flag in the 5-Hour Energy 200.

In deference to the carnage on the track, Edwards declined to do his traditional celebratory back flip. He instead went to hoist the ‘Miles the Monster’ trophy in a subdued victory lane.

This was Edwards’ 32^nd career NASCAR Nationwide Series win, breaking the tie with NASCAR Hall of Fame Nominee Jack Ingram. Edwards now is fourth alone in that ranking for career Nationwide wins.

“It was an amazing race from my seat,” Edwards said. “A lot was going on. We were playing a strategy with the rain, our pit stops were really good. I thought that rain was going to finish us.”

“When we were coming to the white flag, Joey had a little advantage being on the outside,” Edwards said. “I thought I touched him but I saw the replay and it looked like he got loose and smacked the fence and the bottom fell out of it.”

“It was a very different feeling than what you should have in a race car when you win a race,” Edwards said. “It’s just very fortunate that nobody was hurt.”

“That’s why they call it the Monster Mile.”

Although involved in the wreck himself, Kyle Busch managed to navigate his way through the pile up, claiming the second place for his No. 18 MAC Tools Toyota.

“Well overall the weekend for us just wasn’t quite what we expected,” Busch said. “We unloaded and we weren’t very good off the hauler.”

“The guys dug in and did a great job,” Busch continued. “We caught on some damage on pit road and mashed in the front end, which made it even worse. We passed a lot of cars but then we stalled out.”

“The last lap got awfully crazy there,” Busch said. “I’m not sure if Carl touched him or not but Joey got a little loose and then tried to correct it and at that speed and at this kind of place, there’s not much you’re going to do besides spin out.”

“Joey took a hell of a hit and I’m hoping he’s alright and not too sore for tomorrow,” Busch continued. “There with Clint climbing over him, it just got ugly. That was pretty crazy.”

Reed Sorenson, behind the wheel of the No. 32 Dollar General Chevrolet, finished third in spite of a damaged race car. This was Sorenson’s ninth top-10 finish in ten races at the Monster Mile.

“We were in fifth before the caution came out,” Sorenson said. “It usually gets dicey on green, white checkereds. I saw the 20 get into the wall and I was able to get up high and fortunately miss it for a good finish.”

Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., in the No. 6 Mississippi Flood Relief-NASCAR Unites Ford, finished fourth and David Reutimann, driving for Rusty Wallace Racing, rounded out the top five in his No. 63 5-Hour Energy Grape Toyota.

The final wreck of the race was not the only craziness that occurred in this Nationwide event at the Monster Mile. There was another melee that occurred on Lap 88 when Alex Kennedy, driving the No. 23 St. Baldrick’s/Funny Dan Racecar Man Dodge, spun and hit the wall, bringing out the fifth caution of the day.

During the caution, however, Kennedy, trying to get his car re-fired and into pit road, drove back up the race track, slamming into the No. 16 Roush Fenway Ford. Kevin Swindell was called at the last minute by the team to substitute for the ailing Trevor Bayne, giving him the chance of a lifetime behind the wheel.

“I don’t know what happened,” Swindell said. “We were just talking on the radio and whoever was wrecked just drove straight up the hill.”

“This may have been my only opportunity,” Swindell continued. “And it gets ruined by somebody being an idiot.”

Kennedy, when interviewed after coming out of the infield care center, explained that he was unable to turn the wheel.

“All of a sudden, it stopped turning,” Kennedy said. “I just tried to stop. I feel horrible for Kevin and I ruined his day. I can’t apologize enough for that.”

Points leader coming into this race, Justin Allgaier also had a monster of a day at Dover. He blew a right front tire and hit hard into turns three and four, causing his first DNF in 21 starts.

“This was just a rough day,” Allgaier said. “Definitely not the way we wanted to leave Dover. Hopefully this is just a speed bump on the way to the championship.”

Elliott Sadler, by virtue of his sixth place finish in his No. 2 OneMain Financial Chevrolet, assumed the points lead from Allgaier. Sadler is currently ten points ahead of Reed Sorenson, with Allgaier falling to fifth in the point standings.

“Our goal was to lead the points and be competitive and consistent,” Sadler said. “At Daytona, we started in a hole but that shows how good our race team is.”

Sadler’s day at Dover, however, was not without its challenges. On lap 141, Sadler was penalized for speeding entering the pits and remanded to the tail end of the lead pack.

“We did get the pit road speeding penalty and we fought our way back to the finish,” Sadler said. “It’s special to leave here with the points lead.”

Unofficial Race Results
5-Hour Energy 200, Dover International Speedway
May 14, 2011 – Race 11 of 35
====================================
Pos. Driver
====================================
1 Carl Edwards
2 Kyle Busch
3 Reed Sorenson
4 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
5 David Reutimann
6 Elliott Sadler
7 Kenny Wallace
8 James Buescher
9 Aric Almirola
10 Mike Wallace
11 Jason Leffler
12 Brad Keselowski
13 Joey Logano
14 Clint Bowyer
15 Mike Bliss
16 Steve Wallace
17 Josh Wise
18 Ryan Truex *
19 Joe Nemechek
20 Michael Annett
21 J.R. Fitzpatrick
22 Timmy Hill *
23 Danny Efland
24 Jeremy Clements
25 Eric McClure
26 Morgan Shepherd
27 Derrike Cope
28 Dennis Setzer
29 Justin Allgaier
30 Brian Scott
31 Tim George Jr.
32 Alex Kennedy
33 Donnie Neuenberger
34 Carl Long
35 Scott Wimmer
36 Tim Andrews
37 Jennifer Jo Cobb *
38 Kevin Lepage
39 Brad Teague
40 Brett Rowe
41 Jeff Green
42 Charles Lewandoski *
43 Blake Koch *

May 14, 2011
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. on the Pole for Scott’s EZ Seed 300

Carl Edward’s jumped to the provisional pole as he went out 22nd qualifying for Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race with a speed of 125.052 mph. But the idea of Edwards grabbing both poles was short lived.

[media-credit name=”Joe Dunn” align=”alignright” width=”106″][/media-credit]Two cars later, Edwards’ teammate Trevor Bayne pushed Carl to the outside as he posted a lap of 125.461 mph, .050 seconds faster. A few spots later, it was Jason Leffler hitting the top spot with a speed of 125.939, but the very next car out would be Edwards’ and Bayne’s teammate Stenhouse Jr. who took the top spot for the day with a speed of 126.071 mph. This will be Stenhouse Jr’s second pole of his career, the first one coming at Iowa in 2009. This will be his third top 10 start in 2011 and his third race at Bristol.

When the qualifying session was complete, Edwards was bumped back to 7th. Start on the outside of the front row will be Leffler, followed by last year’s winner Justin Allgaier, Bayne, and Kyle Busch starting 5th. Rounding out the top 10 will be Elliott Sadler, Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne and Joey Logano.

Only one car will miss the race, Chris Lawson who crashed during his qualifying run. It should also be noted that these cars did qualify on the tires from yesterday as they had no practice on the new tires.

March 19, 2011
Kevin Harvick Incorporated Looks To Tame The Lady In Black This Saturday Night

On Saturday night, three trucks will be taking the green flag looking to win for car owners Kevin and Delana Harvick.

For Kevin Harvick Incorporated, there are only eight tracks that they have yet to win at in the Camping World Truck Series in their 10 year history and Darlington is one of them. With Darlington marking the team’s 300th Camping World Truck Series start, it’d certainly mark a good way to celebrate.

[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”294″][/media-credit]Leading the way for them will be four-time Camping World Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday, driving the No. 33 Sherwin-Williams Chevrolet.

“I’m really looking forward to having another solid finish at Darlington,” Hornaday said. “We finished third here last year and it was a best for KHI. We hope to set another best for KHI and bring home a victory. This track can be a beast if you aren’t careful. The track is pretty narrow so there is a lot of rubbin’ that goes on during the race.

“With all of the tracks on the Truck Series schedule today, there are eight that I have yet to grab a win at. Darlington is one of those. Hopefully this weekend the No. 33 team will help bring that list down to seven and prove that we can tame the track.”

Hornaday has enough experience as he has made over 1700 laps at Darlington, including 147 laps in the truck series. Last year marked the time he took a truck to Darlington, where he finished third-place. In the last race at Phoenix, Hornaday found himself finding third and that is the same truck that they plan on taking to Darlngton. The third place finish at Phoenix allowed Hornaday to go from 28th to 10th in points so certainly a win would help in Hornaday’s chances at a fifth title.

Joining Hornaday as a teammate at Darlington will be Sprint Cup Series veteran Elliott Sadler for his second Camping World Truck Series race of the year. Sadler drove the No. 2 back at Daytona, where he finished second to Michael Waltrip in a nailbitter. Sadler looks to improve that by one position in his No. 2 Armour Vienna Sausage Chevrolet. The Pinnacles Food brand has been a lucky brand for KHI as the four previous times they have run their colors, whoever has been driving the car has found victory lane. Harvick got his first win as a owner/driver with them at Bristol in 2009 and then backed that up with wins at Nashville and Richmond, while Hornaday took them to victory lane at Martinsville last year.

“I really enjoy racing at Darlington Raceway,” Sadler said. “I have had a lot of success there in the past and think it is important anytime that you can go to a track and get some extra track time. I have had a lot of fun competing in the Truck Series and I’m ready to try and tame the track they claim is ‘Too Tough to Tame’ as we try and get our first victory of 2011.”

Despite no truck starts at Darlington for Sadler, you can’t count him out as he won the pole for the 2003 Sprint Cup event and has two top-fives and four top-10 finishes in the Cup Series. He also seen seven Nationwide races at Darlington, which have earned him a top-five, two top-10s and a pole in 1997. The chassis will also be familiar for Sadler as it is the same chassis he drove to win at Pocono last July and the truck Hornaday finished second with at Homestead last year.

The team will also be taking Camping World Truck Series newcomer Nelson Piquet Jr. in the No. 8.

“I think the learning curve is going to be a lot like it was in Phoenix,” Piquet said. “It’s going to be another weekend where I’m learning the track and trying to gain as much experience as I can. I hope that some of what I learned in Phoenix will apply when we get to Darlington, but they’re obviously different tracks with different characteristics and different challenges. I think the best thing I got out of Phoenix was the experience of racing so closely with the other drivers and having the opportunity to bump and push and make contact with the other trucks. That’s definitely going to come into play this weekend.”

“I think this track is really going to suit Nelson,” crew chief Chris Carrier said. “With his natural driving ability, truck control and fast reflexes, I feel that this could be a really good weekend for him.”

While the track may not familiar, the truck will be as it will be the same truck he drove to a 13th-place finish in the last race two weeks ago at Phoenix. This is also the same truck that Harvick won a pole and visited victory lane at Gateway in 2010 with,

“The biggest thing you need is a well-balanced, well-driving truck,” Carrier went on to say. “The truck needs to handle so well that it gives the driver the resolve to be bigger than the challenge that the track presents to him. The track is extremely fast and narrow since it was repaved a few years ago, and the trucks reach speeds way beyond what the track was originally designed for. If your truck drives really well and the driver can predict what it’s going to do, it allows him to drive the racetrack without having to focus on driving the truck. It also doesn’t hurt to have some good fabricators and some big hammers on hand, because no matter how experienced your driver is or how good your truck is, it isn’t a question of if, but more a question of when you’re going to hit the wall and earn that Darlington stripe.”

The Too Tough To Tame 200 will be run on March 12, 2011 at Darlington Raceway, a 1.366-Mile Egg-Shaped Oval. The race is set to be 147 laps, or 200.8 miles. SPEED will broadcast the race live at 5:00 p.m. EST with the Set-up at 4:30 p.m. EST while the Motor Racing Network will be live at 4:45 p.m. EST.

March 9, 2011
Parrott named Sadler’s crew chief

Richard Petty Motorsports announced that Todd Parrott, who was replaced as the crew chief of Matt Kenseth two weeks ago, will become the crew chief for Elliott Sadler and the No. 19 Ford team.

The duo previously worked together in the 2004 Sprint Cup Series season. That season, Sadler finished the season ninth in Sprint Cup Series points — his best career points finish in the series. Two of Parrott’s 29 wins in the Sprint Cup Series as a crew chief came in the 2004 season with Sadler.

[media-credit id=2 align=”alignright” width=”400″][/media-credit]“We are happy to welcome Todd to our team and reunite him with Elliott,” Robbie Loomis, Vice President of Competition for RPM, said. “We appreciate all of Wally Rogers’ hard work with this team for the first half of the season. He will continue to be a valuable member of RPM.”

Parrott has 15 years of experience as a crew chief in a major, national touring NASCAR series.

July 6, 2010