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  • Paulie Harraka Back on Track and Working Hard for More

    Paulie Harraka Back on Track and Working Hard for More

    For Paulie Harraka, being back on track in the No. 44 ‘Buckle Up’ Toyota for TriStar Motorsports this past weekend was most exciting, especially after pulling off a 19th place finish in the Nationwide race at Dover International Speedway.

    But that taste of success simply served to further whet the appetite of the Duke University and Drive for Diversity graduate, who is now working hard on his next opportunity to get back behind the wheel of a race car.

    “It was a lot of fun,” Harraka said of his Nationwide TriStar Motorsports debut. “We had a really good car.”

    “I was able to move up fairly quickly in the early going but I had an unfortunate incident on pit road with just a guy stalling out and making a mistake and miscommunicating with his spotter,” Harraka continued. “We became the victim. And that hurt us. It bent the splitter down a little bit and it obviously hurt the front fender so we lost front down force. We’d land so hard in the corner that it would bottom out the splitter. So, it made the car a little bit of a handful.”

    “But I was able to move around and we made some adjustments and got the handling back,” Harraka said. “We were able to move back up and pass a lot of cars to get back in the top-20, which was our goal for the weekend.”

    “All in all, a good day, especially for my first time in the 44 car and working with this race team. We really enjoyed working with each other and I think we built a good foundation to go and do more and run better next time around.”

    Harraka was also very grateful to have the sponsorship from the Delaware Office of Highway Safety, focusing on seat belt education, a cause in which Harraka passionately believes.

    “I’m really grateful to the Delaware Office of Highway Safety and their ‘Buckle Up’ program,” Harraka said. “We really did a unique marketing package with them. It’s a relationship that we had that we were able to put together.”

    “It’s so important to make a habit of buckling up,” Harraka continued. “You should just do it every time you get in a car because you don’t get that second chance.”

    Harraka was not the only one pleased with the sponsorship deal.

    “The Office of Highway Safety is thrilled to have a new partner in traffic safety with Paulie Harraka and TriStar Motorsports,” Alison Kirk, community relations officer for OHS, said. “We had a great weekend with Paulie and the team to bring seat belt safety education and outreach to fans at the Monster Mile. We appreciated the support that they gave us to share the Buckle Up message in the racing community.”

    In addition to his sponsor, Harraka was also pleased to join the TriStar Motorsports team, one that is deep in veteran talent with drivers Mike Bliss and Jeff Green.

    “We felt like there was a great platform here for me as a driver having a race team that has a lot of their own equipment, a beautiful race shop, and teammates that I can really lean on like Mike Bliss and Jeff Green, champions with multiple wins,” Harraka said. “We were joking around and saying that Mike Bliss probably has more laps run at Dover than I have in my whole racing career. So, to have those guys to lean on, we have a great bunch with the 44 crew and it all came together well.”

    In addition to his teammates, Harraka has yet another tool in his belt that he utilized this past weekend at the Monster Mile and at all the tracks where he races.

    “Ted Musgrave (2005 Truck Series Champion) comes with me to all that races that we do,” Harraka said. “Ted is a coach and a mentor to me. He’s great because he’s seen almost every scenario there is to see. He’s been there, he’s driven it himself, and he has a tremendous amount of knowledge about the race car as well.”

    “He’s really good at helping us when I need to be doing something differently or when we need to adjust the cars. He can watch what the other cars are doing in a way that is different because he has been in those situations so many times. He helps with information and helps us work through optimizing our race car.”

    Harraka admitted that he learned quite a few lessons from his novice run with TriStar Motorsports and the No. 44 team at the Monster Mile, the track that he considers his ‘home track’ as a Wayne, New Jersey native.

    “The first time you work with a new team and a new crew chief you have to figure how you fit into that and how I can best enhance the race team,” Harraka said. “So, when my crew chief Greg Connor and I sit down, we’ll run through everything that happened this weekend and what we can do better as a race team and how we can improve our communication.”

    “They know a little bit better now what I look for in a race car. I know a little bit more about what to expect from them. Obviously, being in a Nationwide car, you learn who you can be around, who you can expect to give you room and who not. All in all, it was a good day.”

    So, what are the plans for the future for Harraka and do those plans involved the No. 44 car and team?

    “We are working on a few different things to have me in the 44 this year,” Harraka continued. “So, it’s a step by step process and certainly the run we had yesterday was helpful to that.”

    “Without a doubt, I’m excited to be back in the car,” Harraka said. “Racing is a bug that bit me when I was seven years old.”

    “You work your butt off to have opportunities to drive race cars and you are grateful when you have them. And then you work your butt of to have more,” Harraka continued. “I’m really excited about the prospect of working with this race team, being with them more, and being in this 44 car again.”

    Harraka summed his feelings up about being back in the race car with great passion and enthusiasm.

    “It’s great to be back in a race car,” Harraka said. “It’s great to be back working with a race team and spending time in the shop with the guys.”

    “It’s fun to work again on the challenges of optimizing your race car,” Harraka said. “I’m in my element.”

    “And I’m working hard for more.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Sonoma Toyota Save Mart 350

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Sonoma Toyota Save Mart 350

    Under unexpected cloudy skies and even some rain drops, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the 25th annual Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway.

    Surprising:  Martin Truex Jr. was in surprisingly esteemed company with his 218-race winless streak, the second longest in the Cup Series to Bill Elliott’s 226-race winless streak.

    But Truex managed to avoid that number one winless record spot by grabbing the brass ring on the road course, attaining his second career victory, his first at Sonoma, and his first of the season.

    And according to the driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing, the win marks the beginning of the new winning Truex.

    “I can’t even put it into words,” Truex said in Victory Lane. “I have so many people to thank who have stuck with me.”

    “The team is just phenomenal,” Truex continued. “It feels damn good to get one finally.”

    “Today was just our day and our time,” Truex said. “Our car was flawless.”

    “We’re going to get a bunch of them now, I can tell you that much.”

    Not Surprising:  The remainder of the MWR Race team also had a good day at the race track, with Clint Bowyer, defending Sonoma winner, finishing fifth in his No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota and Brian Vickers, fresh off his sixth place Nationwide finish at Road America, finishing 13th in the No. 55 RKMotorsCharlotte.com Toyota.

    “We had a fast car all weekend long,” Bowyer said. “We got close but we pitted and nobody came with us.”

    “A long time coming for Martin and happy to see him in Victory Lane.”

    MWR driver Vickers may not have had quite the finish he wanted but he got something even more important, a ringing endorsement from his team owner Michael Waltrip after the race.

    “We want Brian Vickers to be a part of this organization in the future,” Waltrip said after the race. “He’s our guy.”

    “We’re trying to put the pieces together.”

    Surprising:  Jeff Gordon, who had an eventful day of having to overcome a pitting too early penalty, also achieved a surprising record of his own.

    This was the Gordon’s 302nd career top-five finish, breaking the tie he had for third with Hall of Fame driver David Pearson.

    “This is one of those crazy types of races where pit strategy goes all over the place and you never know what might happen,” the driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet said.  “The way things have been going on the track for me haven’t been great and they way things have been going with the calls haven’t been going his (crew chief Alan Gustafson’s) way either.”

    “But wow, we finally had a race car that was fantastic,” Gordon continued. “We had a lot of fun out there.”

    This was Gordon’s 17th top-10 finish in 21 races at Sonoma.

    Not Surprising:  Carl Edwards started where he finished, third and third, in his No. 99 Aflac Ford. This was his fourth top-10 finish in nine races at Sonoma and he was officially the highest finishing Ford in the race.

    “I would have liked to have made a couple spots up,” Edwards said. “It feels weird to race that hard all day and finish in the same spot you started.”

    “That’s the true story,” Edwards continued. “It was a pretty dynamic race.”

    “Eventually we will win one of these races.”

    Even with his third place start and finish, Edwards remains in the second place in the point standings, 25 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson.

    Surprising:  Kurt Busch was, by his own admission, surprisingly fast both on and off the track. He endured not one but two pit road speeding penalties , and in spite of that managed to claw his way back to the fourth finishing position in his No. 78 Furniture Row Racing/Sealy Chevrolet.

    “Yeah, we were fast, even on pit road, twice,” Busch said. “I messed up, flat out.”

    “I didn’t hit my tachometer right and I was speeding both times,” Busch continued. “I just put myself in a position that was poor trying to get too much on pit road.”

    “But man this Furniture Row Chevy was fast.”

    Not Surprising:   Juan Pablo Montoya had a fast race car but that was not quite enough to finish the Sonoma race. The driver of the No. 42 Target Chevrolet needed some additional gas in his vehicle, running out on the last lap and dropping from the front of the field to a 34th place finish.

    “It’s just heartbreak,” Montoya said. “Our Target Chevy was really good today.”

    “You’ve got to defend them in the way they do the fuel calculations,” Montoya continued. “It should have been a little smarter.”

    “We’ve got tools to prevent things like that from happening.”

    Surprising:  Kyle Busch, who finished 35th in his No. 18 M&Ms Toyota after contact with both Montoya and Edwards sent him spinning, took to Twitter to battle those who were criticizing him.

    His first tweet of “Awww. My heart melts for @jpmontoya who ran out of gas. Only thing I got for Carl is “aww crap,” sent the tweet war off and running with some of his followers.

    After a few barbs back and forth, however, Busch showed his more jovial side, ending the Twitter visit with “Brought to u in part by mms. LOL” in response to this tweet @queers4gears: Does @KyleBusch’s twitter feed come with popcorn? #Entertainment.

    Not Surprising:  Most likely the two most disappointed drivers at Sonoma were those that started on the front row. Jamie McMurray had a great pole run only to finish 25th due to a flat tire and damage, while Marcos Ambrose, who had tested at Sonoma and qualified on the outside pole, salvaged a seventh place finish.

    “It’s OK,” the driver of the No. 9 Stanley Ford said. “We got a top-10 out of it.”

    “The weather cooled down and lot and we just didn’t anticipate that when we set the car up,” Ambrose continued. “Of course I wanted to win but that’s the way it goes.”

    Surprising:  There were two surprising engine issues right at the start in the race. Bobby Labonte, in the No. 47 Kingsford Toyota, did not even make a lap before his engine expired.

    Joining him was Jacques Villeneuve, who made it to Lap 19 before having his No. 51 Tag Heuer Avant-Garde Eyewear Chevrolet pushed into the garage with gear and engine woes.

    Not Surprising:  While Danica Patrick supposed that she was comfortable at Sonoma in that she at least knew where the ladies’ restrooms were, she finished a very uncomfortable 29th in her No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet.

    “It was a long day – a long weekend,” Patrick said. “We just couldn’t get the car to the point where I was comfortable with it.”

    “Having the cut tire and going into the tire barrier was just sort of salt in the wound,” Patrick continued. “Hopefully we have a better weekend next week at Kentucky.”

    Surprising:  Rookie Paulie Harraka, attempting his first Cup start in his No. 52 Hasa Pool Products Ford, had a surprisingly difficult start to the race, wrecking as the cars went out on track for the pace laps.

    “I don’t know what to say except that stuff happens,” Harraka said. “Somebody two cars ahead of me decided to stop in the go lane and why he did that I have absolutely no idea, but these cars don’t stop very well on the wet asphalt.”

    “Sometimes crazy stuff happens.”

    Not Surprising:  While Dale Earnhardt Jr. may not have scored a top-ten finish, he was still smiling after Sonoma with a 12th place finish at a road course which admittedly is not his forte.

    “It was a pretty good day,” the driver of the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet said. “This is definitely my worst race track, my least favorite track.”

    “We will take a top-15 here any week.”

     

  • Paulie Harraka Goes Back to School with Tutor Ted Musgrave

    Paulie Harraka Goes Back to School with Tutor Ted Musgrave

    [media-credit name=”Gary Buchanan” align=”alignright” width=”231″][/media-credit]He may have just graduated from Duke, but the young racer from New Jersey, Paulie Harraka, is now going back to school, this time under the tutelage of veteran driver Ted Musgrave.

    Harraka recently parted ways with Wauters Motorsports in the Camping World Truck Series and made a run at his first Nationwide race at Richmond last weekend, all under the watchful eye of mentor and spotter Musgrave.

    “Building off of the first half of the season, we felt this was the most logical next step for Paulie’s development,” Musgrave said. “Paulie’s got the talent and work ethic and now we need to get him the experience.”

    Both Harraka’s and Musgrave’s goal was for the young driver to learn at Richmond and finish in the top-25. Harraka achieved that goal, running all the laps and finishing 25th in the Randy Hill Racing Ford.

    “I really enjoyed working with the team,” Harraka said. “It was something that we put together at the last minute and so we set some modest goals.”

    “Ted Musgrave has been spotting for me and mentoring me and guiding us as we decide what races I should do,” Harraka continued. “He felt like this was a good one for me to do.”

    “I had never been to Richmond before but it was similar to many that we had been to in the past,” Harraka said. “The weekend went as we planned and as we hoped.”

    While Harraka is unsure of when his next race will be, he most certainly enjoyed his time in the Nationwide car and at Richmond. In fact, he found it even more comfortable that his truck ride, especially since it was more like the K&N Pro Series cars that he has grown up racing and in which he had so much success.

    “There is definitely potential that we will run more races in the Nationwide Series this year,” Harraka said. “Nothing has been decided yet.”

    “But Richmond helped us build some positive momentum.”

    “I definitely enjoyed being in the Nationwide car,” Harraka said. “It does drive different than the truck and I definitely enjoyed it.”

    “It is closer to the K&N Pro Series cars that I’ve run in the past so I definitely enjoy the Nationwide cars even more.”

    What Harraka appreciated most about running the Nationwide race, however, was the opportunity to continue going to school on the race track, with the voice of Ted Musgrave in his ear.

    “This year is very, very much a learning experience for me,” Harraka said. “We knew that going into it.”

    “The best thing that we’ve done is bringing Ted in,” Harraka continued. “He is serving in a lot of roles, not just coaching at the race track, but really helping guide our decisions about what’s best for me and for my development.”

    “He was the one who said we needed to run the Nationwide race at Richmond and so we went and did it,” Harraka said. “We are following what he is advising.”

    “Ted is leading the charge as to what races we run.”

    Harraka first partnered with Musgrave when he raced for his first time at Dover. And the partnership has flourished ever since.

    “Ted happened to be spotting for Ron Hornaday at the time,” Harraka said. “He mentioned that Ron was only running a few laps in practice.”

    “Since it was my first time at Dover and my normal spotter wasn’t going to be there on practice day, I asked him if he would mind giving me some critical feedback,” Harraka continued. “Ted, being a great guy, was cool with that and he was really helpful to us at Dover.”

    “I knew then that we wanted to get him more involved,” Harraka said. “Fortunately, he was willing to jump on board with us for the rest of the year and he’s been a huge asset.”

    While Musgrave may not be physically training with the up and coming driver, he certainly is training Harraka as to how to approach his racing mentally and strategically.

    “Ted’s not one to go on a two mile run with me,” Harraka said with a chuckle. “It’s definitely conversational more than anything else.”

    “A lot of what he’s taught is how to think about different scenarios and different situations and how to prioritize what you worry about and what you don’t worry about,” Harraka continued. “He helps to think about how to position yourself throughout the race.”

    “There are so many situations that you have to deal with and he’s been in those different scenarios at all levels,” Harraka said. “So, being able to draw from that experience, it’s just huge.”

    What Harraka appreciates most in his schooling with Musgrave is his honest feedback, his consistency and his ability to help him grow and develop based on his past mistakes and successes.

    “I’ve got other people that I can learn from and do lean on, but having someone who is there with you week in and week out is huge,” Harraka said. “Ted knows my strengths and my weaknesses as good as anybody.”

    “He knows what I need to learn to get better,” Harraka continued. “To be able to have that continuity allows us to keep building on the things we’ve done.”

    “He reminds me of what we did weeks ago so I can build on that.”

    One of the biggest lessons that Harraka has been learning is that the path to racing success is often filled with twists and turns, on and off the track.

    “One of my favorite quotes is that some of the best laid plans are changed often,” Harraka said. “When I got to Duke, I was engineering major, but when I graduated Duke, I was a markets and management major.”

    “While I am a goal-directed person, you also have to be smart enough to be flexible and make changes when they are necessary,” Harraka continued. “And that’s what we’ve done.”

    “The goal remains the same but we’ve just changed some of the action steps along the way.”

    “The good thing is that we’re still moving forward,” Harraka said. “I have a fantastic group of people supporting me both on the business side.”

    “And with Ted, we’re growing, learning and moving forward, just as you’d want to be.”

     

  • NASCAR Drivers Are Athletes According to New Research

    [media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”240″][/media-credit]A recent, first of its kind study published in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research proved definitively that not only are athletic skills needed behind the wheel of a stock car, but also that there is a significant correlation between performance on the track and the length of resistance training sessions.

    The study also revealed that those stock car drivers who assessed their own fitness positively performed better on the track. Their conditioning also correlated with less fatigue and less susceptibility to injuries.

    “The sport is actually more demanding now than it used to be,” four-time NASCAR Cup champion Jeff Gordon stated. “We’ve gotten smarter on the physical side of it, working out more.”

    “So, I think the drivers are in a little bit better physical shape than what they used to be as far as preparing for the races.”

    The study also showed that “upper body strength was identified as the most important physical ability for driving stock cars by 100% of the subjects in the study.”

    “I do a lot of strength training,” Danica Patrick, NASCAR Nationwide driver, said. “I work with a trainer and he sends me programs every four or five weeks.”

    “The most important thing is performing in the car so that is what I’m weight training for,” Patrick continued. “I feel that weight training is very beneficial for your physique.”

    “I do two days upper and one day lower,” Patrick said. “The program changes throughout the year.”

    “I take a month off at the end of the year to recover so I don’t get injured,” Patrick continued. “As the year goes on, I work on peak strength so what I do in the car is easy.”

    “I think working out has to help and I’ve always felt that it helped me,” Patrick said. “I’ve always worked out since I started in racing and I work out as hard as I ever had right now.”

    “I’m in as good a shape as I’ve ever been,” Patrick continued. “I think being prepared physically and mentally is a big part of racing for me. For myself, I know it helps me.”

    The study revealed that “62.5% of the subjects reported cardiovascular endurance as one of the top physical demands of driving a stock car.” According to the research, this is consistent with the reports of the drivers who often feel intense fatigue, elevated heart rate and shortness of breath as a result of the physicality of their racing.

    “I work with weights four days a week – just the different muscle groups and trying to get more endurance and strength,” five-time NASCAR Cup champ Jimmie Johnson said. “The mindset being that I’ll have more energy and perform better at my job.”

    One important aspect of racing that the study highlighted was the need for strength training in order to assist in thermoregulation and heat tolerance. In fact, being able to cope with the temperatures in the race car was found to be the third most important physical demand of stock car racing.

    “I don’t know if there’s a direct correlation but I think you might have a little bit of an edge if you can stay in shape,” NASCAR Nationwide Series reigning champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. said. “I do work out. We have a great trainer at the shop.”

    “When you’re in the seat every week, you work out every muscle,” Stenhouse Jr. continued. “The main thing is to stay hydrated in the cars and that’s what I really focus on.”

    NASCAR Camping World Truck Series rookie driver Paulie Harraka agrees with his racing compatriot, especially as far as working out to deal with the heat. Harraka also added the element of dealing with the gravitational forces in the race car as another reason to include strength training in preparation for being on the track.

    “Certainly as a driver, you’ve got to train for the g-forces that you feel,” Harraka said. “One lap is tough but it’s when you get to lap 150 and you’ve been in there and not able to move that you get fatigued.”

    “You have to deal with that and with the heat inside the race cars.”

    Finally, the study revealed that one of the major physical demands of stock car racing included hand/eye/foot coordination, reflexes and reaction time. In fact, 30% of the drivers indicated that “hand, eye, and foot coordination was an important physical demand associated with stock car racing.”

    Two NASCAR drivers, Kasey Kahne and Carl Edwards, have taken this aspect of training to heart, using Dynavision™ D2, a machine that tracks and improves reaction time, peripheral awareness, hand-eye coordination and other visual-motor skills.

    The D2 has a sphere of buttons that light up in random succession and the drivers have to call out the random flashing numbers in the midst of noises simulating those on the track.

    “That’s the kind of environment that we race in,” Edwards said. “There is a lot of noise; you are focusing on different things.”

    “You’re having to verbalize something a lot of times about the car,” Edwards continued. “So, that’s actually a good test.”

    Whether strength conditioning, cardiovascular exercising or improving reaction times, the study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research proves once and for all the athletic component of NASCAR racing and the correlation between working out and improving on-track performance.

     

  • Paulie Harraka: Graduate, NASCAR Truck Series Driver, and Entrepreneur

    [media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”223″][/media-credit]In spite of being just 22 years old, Paulie Harraka is already wearing many hats, including graduate, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver of the No. 5 Wauters Motorsports Ford, and entrepreneur.

    One of Harraka’s most prized hats to wear is that of graduate, recently completing his walk for his college diploma from Duke. Harraka graduated with a double major in marketing management and sociology and a minor in history.

    “It’s amazing that it’s over,” Harraka said. “When you’re a freshman, it seems so far away.”

    “Four years just go by,” Harraka continued. “I look back and I got to do so much that I took advantage of. It’s been awesome.”

    “It’s exciting not to have to write papers and to not have to take exams anymore,” Harraka said. “But at the same time, I miss not living with all my closest friends within a quarter of a mile.”

    Now that he has had a chance to reflect on his college career, Harraka said that he learned so many lessons. In fact, there were so many, yet each and every one has made him the driver that he is today.

    “So much of what I did at Duke was about supporting my racing career and augmented what I do at the race track, whether that was networking with Duke alumni or leadership classes or marketing classes,” Harraka said. “There is no question that I would not be here right now without my Duke education.”

    Although Harraka had a double major, as well as a minor, he selected his college course with just one thing in mind, how they would impact his racing career.

    “Racing was really my focus at Duke,” Harraka said. “I took engineering classes, leadership classes, business classes, marketing classes and anything that would help me at track.”

    “If you looked at my Duke transcript not knowing that I race, you would think that’s a pretty random grouping of classes that don’t go together,” Harraka continued. “But understanding that they fit together into a racing context, it all makes sense.”

    As a race truck driver, Harraka is wearing another hat, that of debutante at Dover International Speedway, known as the ‘Monster Mile.’ And while he is looking forward to it, he acknowledged that the track is indeed a bit monstrous.

    “This is a tough place,” Harraka said. “Dover is different. You drive right off the straightaway and down into the corner and it’s like a three story drop.”

    “Matt Crafton described it as the best roller coaster ride you’ll ever have and I definitely understand what he means,” Harraka said. “It’s big. It’s fast. It’s a lot of fun, but it will be a challenge with 30 plus other trucks.”

    Harraka may be making his debut at Dover, but his Truck is sporting sponsorship from Phoenix International Raceway. Because of a close relationship between the PIR track president and Harraka, the two decided to do a special promotion for the Phoenix fall race.

    “Today is June 1st and the day that the tickets go on sale for the Phoenix fall race,” Harraka said. “So, they wanted to do a promotion around the first day of their ticket sales.”

    “Anyone that buys their tickets online or by calling today or this month gets a discount,” Harraka said. Second, anybody that tweets #GoPaulie during the race gets entered into a drawing and if we win, they get a whole package at the track.”

    While Harraka has Phoenix Raceway on the car, the Truck race driver is also sporting the familiar puzzle piece for the charity Autism Speaks for his Dover debut, calling awareness to the full spectrum of the disease which affects so many.

    “What Dover does with the whole weekend is great because they tie in Autism Speaks to the entire weekend,” Harraka said. “Everybody has met someone or has a friend or family member with autism.”

    “To be a part of that, in a micro way, is cool.”

    Harraka’s final hat, but probably one of the most important, is that of entrepreneur. And that hat is most critical as it is the basis for funding for his racing career.

    “A number of the investors will be at the race, which I’m excited about,” Harraka said. “That part of the business is going really well and I’m excited about that.”

    “A number of our investors have really become engaged in coming to a number of the races,” Harraka continued. “Our Executive Chairman, this will be his fourth race this year.”

    “We’re bringing this whole group of people as NASCAR fans that in the past have never had a connection to the sport,” Harraka said. “They are interested in getting involved both in my racing career and helping us improve our whole program.”

    “They’re not just silent cash,” Harraka continued. “They are people that are not intrusive or invasive but want to help however they can.”

    Harraka acknowledges that his business model may just be working a bit better than his on-track performance. And in many ways, he might just be the Jeff Gordon of the Truck Series, having just as much bad luck as the four-time champion.

    “At some point performance will affect the business model,” Harraka said. “But, we’re still moving forward and improving and as long as we are, we’ll be in good shape.”

    “Some of it’s been bad luck but some of it’s been self-inflicted,” Harraka acknowledged. “Some of it is situations that we’ve been put in, but at Charlotte, I screwed up.”

    “It happens,” Harraka said. “It’s the beginning of the season. It’s a new race team with a rookie driver. It’s a lot of things we need to work through.”

    “The worst thing you can do is to just put your head down,” Harraka continued. “You’ve got to keep your head up and look at what went wrong and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

    “Eventually, we’ll fix all the problems and have a good day.”

    One other hat that the young driver is wearing is that of perpetual learner.

    “You just got to keep learning,” Harraka said. “I was pulling in to the track and my phone rang and it’s Ricky Rudd, who has been a long-time mentor of mine.”

    “So, we start chatting and he said that he just wanted to remind me of something,” Harraka continued. “And he reads down the list of Sprint Cup drivers and how many cars they wrecked at the beginning of their careers.”

    “And the moral of the story is that Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch topped that list,” Harraka said. “So, he said that is what I needed to think about and work on.”

    The last hat that Harraka is wearing at the Monster Mile is that of hometown hero. In fact, a whole busload of family and friends are heading from Wayne, New Jersey to Dover, Delaware to watch their boy make his debut.

    “I have friends and family that are coming down,” Harraka said. “In fact, a whole busload with Paulie T-shirts will be filling the front stretch.”

     

  • Nelson Piquet Jr. Wins the Camping World Truck Series Pole at Rockingham Speedway

    Nelson Piquet Jr. Wins the Camping World Truck Series Pole at Rockingham Speedway

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photography” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]After four practice sessions, the trucks took to the track Saturday afternoon to qualify at ‘The Rock.’ Nelson Piquet Jr. captured the pole driving his No. 30 Chevrolet Silverado. It was his first pole in 33 career starts.

    He described the track as difficult and said the last couple of days have been tough. He doesn’t necessarily expect the pole position to translate into a win because of the unpredictability of tire wear at the track.

    Paulie Harraka qualified in the second position, calling it a “solid” run. Timothy Peters will start the race in third position after fighting “a tight condition.”

    Jason Leffler and Brad Sweet (qualifying for Kasey Kahne) round out the top five.  Kahne, who will compete in the Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway Saturday, will start the truck race from the back of the field Sunday afternoon.

    The Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200 begins at 1:00 pm Sunday and will be televised live on Speed. Speed coverage will begin at 12:30pm with ‘NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Setup.’  It will mark NASCAR’s first return to the track since 2004.

     

    Starting Lineup
    Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200, Rockingham Speedway
    http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Cup/qual.php?race=3
    ===========================================
    Pos. No. Driver Make Speed Time
    ===========================================
    1 30 Nelson Piquet Jr. Chevrolet 144.387 24.933
    2 5 Paulie Harraka* Ford 144.381 24.934
    3 17 Timothy Peters Toyota 143.937 25.011
    4 18 Jason Leffler Toyota 143.73 25.047
    5 4 Brad Sweet Chevrolet 143.392 25.106
    6 29 Parker Kligerman Ram 143.147 25.149
    7 11 Todd Bodine Toyota 143.033 25.169
    8 88 Matt Crafton Toyota 142.976 25.179
    9 60 Grant Enfinger Chevrolet 142.885 25.195
    10 13 Johnny Sauter Toyota 142.693 25.229
    11 98 Dakoda Armstrong* Toyota 142.642 25.238
    12 3 Ty Dillon* Chevrolet 142.535 25.257
    13 33 Cale Gale* Chevrolet 142.349 25.29
    14 8 Ross Chastain* Toyota 142.298 25.299
    15 24 Max Gresham* Chevrolet 142.259 25.306
    16 31 James Buescher Chevrolet 142.158 25.324
    17 22 Joey Coulter Chevrolet 142.034 25.346
    18 92 Chad McCumbee Chevrolet 141.989 25.354
    19 6 Justin Lofton Chevrolet 141.766 25.394
    20 9 John Wes Townley* Toyota 141.682 25.409
    21 81 David Starr Toyota 141.06 25.521
    22 9 Ron Hornaday Chevrolet 140.658 25.594
    23 32 Miguel Paludo Chevrolet 140.488 25.625
    24 275 Caleb Holman* Chevrolet 140.455 25.631
    25 7 John King* Toyota 140.384 25.644
    26 202 Tyler Young Chevrolet 140.362 25.648
    27 27 Jeb Burton* Chevrolet 140.203 25.677
    28 23 Jason White Ford 139.969 25.72
    29 2 Tim George Jr. Chevrolet 139.654 25.778
    30 214 Brennan Newberry Chevrolet 139.373 25.83
    31 99 Bryan Silas* Ford 138.648 25.965
    32 39 Ryan Sieg Chevrolet 138.206 26.048
    33 93 Chris Cockrum+ Chevrolet 134.133 26.839
    34 7 Johnny Chapman+ Toyota 131.536 27.369
    35 57 Norm Benning+ Chevrolet 131.411 27.395
    36 170 Jeff Agnew Chevrolet 139.346 25.835
  • Paulie Harraka Takes Martinsville Truck High Tech

    Paulie Harraka Takes Martinsville Truck High Tech

    [media-credit name=”Photo Credit: Scott Hunter” align=”alignright” width=”226″][/media-credit]Paulie Harraka is not only competing in the Camping World Truck Series and finishing his senior year at Duke but, this weekend, the Rookie of the Year candidate will be taking his Truck high tech at Martinsville.

    The native New Jersey driver has a new sponsor partner for his No. 5 Wauters Motorsport Ford F-150, the high tech company MC10. This company reshapes electronics to create thin systems that stretch, bend and flex, including body-worn sensors for high quality data collection.

    “We’re really excited,” Harraka said. “MC10 is certainly a company that is at the fore front of high tech development and has such wide reaching applications.”

    “When you think about what you could do if you could take all these electronics that we use and make them flexible, you realize there are applications pretty much everywhere.”

    MC10, a new company based in Boston, was looking for an innovative marketing platform for their products. After meeting Harraka, they decided that NASCAR would indeed match their company’s needs and agreed to go racing with him at Martinsville, including using him as a bit of a guinea pig for their products.

    “MC10 sensors have huge capabilities, from measuring heart rate to anything that we have a way to measure,” Harraka said. “I’ll actually have a sample of their electronics on me during the race.”

    “So, the possibilities are almost endless,” Harraka continued. “I know this is the beginning of a long partnership.”

    The partnership between MC10 and Harraka actually began at a conference and flourished from there. Although the company was not familiar with NASCAR, it was not a ‘hard sell’ once they reviewed the statistics of the reach of the sport and the loyalty of the fan base.

    “When I was up at the Sports Analytics Conference, I met with the CEO of MC10 and he expressed an interest,” Harraka continued. “We explored ways that MC10 technology is applicable to NASCAR.”

    “When they began to see how their technology applied to the sport of racing, that’s how the discussion turned to how to promote this,” Harraka said. “And the sponsorship discussion began.”

    “While the CEO was not generally a fan of the sport himself, people are generally familiar with the sport and how big the fan base is, how loyal the fan base is and what the reach is,” Harraka continued. “You can bring somebody in and they get it pretty quickly.”

    Marrying his business savvy with his racing acumen has been just one of the elements that has made Harraka unique in the NASCAR racing world. And through his education and connections made at Duke, the young driver has been committed to exposing new corporations to the sport.

    “One of the hallmarks of what we’ve done is to bring in a lot of business partners,” Harraka said. “And without a doubt, this is a unique way to approach motorsports.”

    “On one hand, it’s a great way to raise capital initially,” Harraka continued. “But on the other hand, the big pro to it is to bring these different businesses, with all their accolades, from marketing to venture capitalists, in to learn about NASCAR.”

    “They understand very quickly the opportunities and ways to bring their businesses into the sport,” Harraka said. “It’s unique and the payoff is just starting.”

    With his new sponsor in hand and planning to attend the upcoming race at Martinsville, Harraka cannot wait to get back to racing after the month-long break since Daytona.

    “Daytona was kind of a tease and then you have a lot of time off,” Harraka said. “I would much rather be racing every weekend.”

    “But the guys have been hard at work building trucks and getting us ready,” Harraka continued. “After Martinsville, we have a week off but then we go to Rockingham and then, boom, we head to Kansas.”

    “So, we go into a little stretch of racing, which is exciting,” Harraka said. “I’m excited to get into the meat of the racing season starting at Martinsville.”

    Harraka acknowledged that nothing he learned on the high banks of the superspeedway of Daytona will apply to the paper-clip shaped track at Martinsville. Yet he also feels that he will be returning to his roots, racing on a short track.

    “Daytona is most certainly a unique place,” Harraka said. “But all that we learn at Daytona really only applies there and Talladega, so Martinsville will be a completely different animal.”

    “But it is definitely one that is more in my element and where I have my experience base,” Harraka continued. “So, I’m excited to get back to a nice little half mile.”

    Harraka has no different expectations for his upcoming race weekend than he ever does when he gets behind the wheel. He expects to be in victory circle at the end of the race.

    “I expect us to run well,” Harraka said. “I expect that we can run up front and lead laps and that we can bring home a good finish.”

    “We’re going to the race track to win and I really do believe that we can come home with a great finish.”

    While Harraka may be confident about his race expectations, he is reserving judgment on one Martinsville tradition. He is just not sure about having one of those infamous Martinsville hot dogs.

    “We’ll see,” Harraka said. “I’m not sure how my stomach will do with those. So, I make no predictions there.”

    Most of all, Harraka looks forward to returning to racing with his new sponsor MC10 on the race truck and cheering him on in the pits.

    “I think everyone in this sport recognizes that the best thing for our sport is to bring in more companies that haven’t been involved in our sport,” Harraka said. “To expose them to the power of NASCAR is just exciting.”

    “To go outside the reach of a normal motorsports sponsorship and bring in a company totally outside of that to show the value of the sport is great for them,” Harraka continued. “And it’s great for us and for the sport as a whole.”

    “I expect that the relationship will grow into a lot of partnerships moving forward,” Harraka said. “We already have some cool things cooking post-Martinsville.”

  • Jersey Boy Paulie Harraka Set to Make Debut in Camping World Truck Series

    Jersey Boy Paulie Harraka Set to Make Debut in Camping World Truck Series

    [media-credit name=”Photo Credit: Scott Hunter” align=”alignright” width=”104″][/media-credit]With Jersey Boys continuing its strong run on Broadway, another born and bred Jersey boy is set to make his debut on another stage, this one in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

    Paulie Harraka, from Wayne, New Jersey will be taking his show on the road with Wauters Motorsports, a new team spearheaded by veteran NASCAR crew chief Richie Wauters. And for Harraka, this is a role that he has been preparing for since he was in elementary school.

    “Having the opportunity to jump into the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is an opportunity I’ve worked for since I was seven years old,” Harraka said. “I am fortunate to see it coming to fruition.”

    Harraka, who has participated in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West as well as the Drive for Diversity program, is more than ready to make his Truck debut, especially with championship crew chief Richie Wauters as his team owner.

    “To race with a championship crew chief like Richie Wauters and with the team he’s assembled is exciting,” Harraka said. “I’m the kind of driver that will put in whatever time, effort or work that is needed to win races and I know that Richie is the same kind of crew chief.”

    “Together, we’ll hold nothing back and that makes me confident that we’ll find the winner’s circle in short order.”

    Wauters, who as a crew chief in the Truck Series has secured 18 victories with drivers such as Shane Hmiel, Kyle Busch and Aric Almirola, shares his new driver’s enthusiasm for the team and for the competition.

    “It is something I’ve thought about for awhile,” Wauters said. “I had the opportunity to buy some trucks and have a great driver headlining the team.”

    “We’re really excited about the season,” Wauters continued. “I’m certain Paulie and the guys on this team will be in the thick of that competition.”

    Harraka, who ran just a handful of races last year, is ready to step back onto the competition stage. Although full of confidence, the young driver acknowledges that he does indeed have a few things yet to learn.

    “It’s a big step and the next logical step for me,” Harraka said of his advancement to the Truck Series. “It will come with a lot of challenges for me.”

    “I’ll be learning a new race vehicle and going to a lot of tracks that I’ve never seen before,” Harraka continued. “So, there’s certainly a number of challenges but I believe strongly in my own abilities and the group that I’ve surrounded myself with.  We will most certainly contend for wins.”

    Harraka is especially excited to kick off his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut at Daytona in just a few short weeks. While he has tested at that historic superspeedway, he has never actually raced there in competition conditions.

    “I’m really excited,” Harraka said. “I get to race in one of NASCAR’s top level series and the opportunity to do something that’s extremely exciting to me. I want to make the most of it.”

    Jersey boy Harraka is also excited to be able to take the Truck Series stage at tracks that are closer to home, enabling his family and friends to finally be able see him race.

    “Mom is really excited that I get to race close to home,” Harraka said. “Obviously home for me is still North Jersey but I haven’t gotten to race in the northeast for years.”

    “The opportunity to race an hour or so from home is certainly exciting for me, especially at storied tracks like Dover and Pocono,” Harraka continued. “It will be fun to see a lot of home-town fans that have rooted for me since my karting days who can finally come to see me in a stock car.”

    While Harraka is making his Truck Series debut, he is also completing his final act at Duke University, where he is a senior and will graduate in a few short months. Harraka will exit stage left from Duke with a degree in markets and management.

    “This is my last semester at Duke,” Harraka said. “I’ve got one class and one other paper and then I’m done.”

    “When I got into Duke, lots of people thought of it as a great back up,” Harraka continued. “But I’ve never looked at it that way.”

    “I’ve always looked at Duke as a way to differentiate me from other drivers as far as marketing and branding,” Harraka said. “It’s also an opportunity to connect with alumni and others associated with the University.”

    “So, my Duke experience is already paying dividends.”

    Whether walking across the stage to collect his diploma at Duke or taking the stage in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Harraka has just one emotion.

    “I’m really happy,” Harraka said. “This is the opportunity that I’ve been waiting and working for my whole life.”