The “Drive to End Hunger” pre-race will kick off theFederated Auto Parts 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway this Saturday. In addition to the fan-favorite driver introductions, fans will be treated to:

·        Recognition of United States Olympians and Virginians: LaShawn Merritt (two-time gold medalist), Kellie Wells (bronze medalist), Francena McCoy (gold medalist), Terrence Jennings (bronze medalist), and T’erea Brown
·        Flyover by VAW-124 E-2 Hawkeyes from Naval Station Norfolk
·        Patriotic music and National Anthem performed by the 29th Division Band with the Virginia Army National Guard
·        “God Bless America” sung by “The Singing Policeman,” Danny Rodriguez
·        Pledge of Allegiance led by U.S. Marine Sgt. John Peck and aforementioned Olympians
·        Parachute team with American flag
·        American flag unfurled on the frontstretch by Virginia Army National Guard
·        Henrico County Fire Department truck displaying an American flag on the frontstretch

All of this precedes one of the most anticipated races of the season, the Federated Auto Parts 400, which is “One Last Race to Make The Chase.” Once the checkered flag drops, the field will be set for the 2012 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

“We’re proud to be a sponsor of this exciting race at Richmond International Raceway as we cheer on Jeff Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports; while at the same time engage fans across NASCAR nation in the fight against older adult hunger, an issue that impacts nearly 9 million people age 50 and older,” said Jo Ann Jenkins, AARP Foundation president.

Since AARP and AARP Foundation launched Drive to End Hunger, the initiative has donated nearly 13 million meals and driven corporate and individual donor commitments with an expected value of $17 million.

RIR PR

Million Dollar Quartet will make its second appearance of the season at Chicagoland Speedwayon Saturday, Sept.15, at as part of the Dollar General 300 Powered by Coca-Cola pre-race activities. After delivering a rousing performance at the Speedway this past July, the Quartet will return to deliver yet another stirring rendition of the National Anthem as well as a pre-race concert in Champions Park.

Million Dollar Quartet is a Tony-nominated musical inspired by the famed and impromptu 1956 recording session in Memphis, Tenn., that brought together legendary rock ‘n’ roll icons Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley.

Million Dollar Quartetfeatures a treasure trove of the greatest rock ’n’ roll, gospel, R&B and country hits from these music legends, including “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Fever,” “Sixteen Tons,” “Who Do You Love?,” “Great Balls of Fire,” “Riders in the Sky,” “Whole Lotta’ Shakin’ Goin’ On,” “Folsom Prison Blues,” “I Walk the Line,” and “Hound Dog.” Million Dollar Quartet captures the infectious spirit, freewheeling excitement and thrilling sounds of a singular moment when four of the music industry’s most extraordinary talents, all in their creative prime, came together for one of the most memorable nights in music history. For more information, fans canvisit milliondollarquartetlive.com.

Chicagoland Speedway PR

During his team’s magical run to the 1983 NCAA men’s basketball tournament championship, the late North Carolina State coach Jim Valvano first made famous the now-familiar phrase, “Survive and Advance”.

Since then, each and every March during the NCAA tournament, the phrase continues to be used by coaches and television analysts alike in describing the necessity of surviving each game in order to live on to play another day, ultimately accruing six consecutive wins to earn the grand prize: the national championship trophy.
 
In recent weeks, Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), has been doing his own version of “Survive and Advance” as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series has made its way toward Saturday night’s 26th and final race of the regular season at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway before the 12-driver, 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship starts.

Back-to-back sixth-place finishes at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway, respectively, have put Busch in position to clinch the second of two wild-card entries into the Chase, as he is the highest-ranking driver in points with one Sprint Cup win. But just 12 points separate him from Jeff Gordon, the next-closest competitor behind him in the standings also with a win this season.

While Busch’s position in points helps him control his own destiny by surviving and advancing Saturday night at Richmond, a win would guarantee him a spot in the Chase. The good news for Busch is that his Richmond record is not too shabby. In fact, he’ll head to Richmond for Saturday night’s Federated Auto Parts 400 as the winner of the last four spring events (2009 through 2012) at the .75-mile oval. This past April, the Las Vegas native brought home his fourth career Sprint Cup victory at Richmond to go with four runner-up finishes and an amazing 12 top-fives in just 15 career Sprint Cup starts in Virginia’s capital city.

That gives Busch an average finishing position of 4.7 at Richmond, tops among all active drivers including JGR teammate and native Virginian Denny Hamlin, whose average finish is 7.3. Busch has completed all 6,010 laps available to him in his 15 Richmond starts. Of those laps completed, Busch has run in the top-15 for 5,292 (88.1 percent) of them – second-most among active drivers at the track.

While he has always had strong runs at Richmond since joining the Sprint Cup ranks in 2005, Busch’s first Sprint Cup victory there came on May 2, 2009, when he became only the second driver in Sprint Cup history to celebrate a victory on his birthday, a feat first accomplished by Cale Yarborough, who did it twice. Yarborough won on his March 27 birthday at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway in 1977 and at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 1983. Since then, Busch has finished no worse than sixth at Richmond from 2009 to 2012, including his wins in the last four spring races, and finishes of fifth, second and sixth, respectively, in the fall races the past three seasons.

If Busch’s recent form at Richmond holds true this weekend – and provided neither fellow single-win drivers Gordon, Marcos Ambrose, Ryan Newman nor Joey Logano win on Saturday night – he’s a virtual lock to clinch the coveted wild-card berth into the Chase, needing to give up no more than 12 points to Gordon and no more than 40 points to Ambrose.

But while the motto for the weekend may be “Survive and Advance,” Busch knows he can make things a whole lot simpler by employing the “Win and You’re In” strategy Saturday night, which is certainly within the realm of possibility, the way things have been going there.

TSC PR

Sam Hornish Jr. had a huge smile on his face when he discussed this weekend’s return to Richmond International Raceway for Saturday night’s Federated Auto Parts 400.  Hornish, chatting with a group of sponsor representatives in the Shell-Pennzoil team transporter before last Sunday’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, almost had to bridle his enthusiasm.  After all, he had the tough Sunday night battle at AMS in front of him before he could turn his full focus on RIR.

“We’re really looking forward to getting back to Richmond,” Hornish said.  “I just fell in love with that track from the very first time we went there with the Indy cars.  I’ve enjoyed racing there since day one.  It just fits my style.  I’ve always loved the shorter and flatter race tracks.

“We had a lot of success there in the open-wheel competition and the momentum seemed to follow us on over when we started racing the stock cars,” Hornish said.  “We’ve had some strong runs and decent finishes at Richmond.  I always try to go into every track we race on with a positive attitude.  I’ve always said that I don’t dislike any race track – that I enjoy racing on every one of them.

“But, there’s always an extra big feeling of eagerness when we look at the schedule and see that we’re headed back to Richmond,” Hornish added.  “It’s another weekend with the busy schedule of running both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup races.  It can be challenging to keep on bouncing back from one garage to the other, but I’m loving it.  Running both cars has proven beneficial and I know that’ll certainly be the case again this weekend.

“We’re getting stronger as a group with Todd (Gordon, crew chief) and all the guys on the Shell-Pennzoil Dodge Team,” said Hornish.  “I am so thankful to continue to have the opportunity to drive that 22 Cup car.  We carried the Pennzoil colors to the winner’s circle at Richmond in the IndyCar race there 10 years ago.  We’ll be trying as hard as we can to take our Shell-Pennzoil Cup car to Victory Lane on Saturday night.”

Hornish competed in seven IndyCar races at RIR from 2001-2007.  He scored two wins (2002 for Panther Racing and 2006 for Penske Racing) and four top-five finishes before he turned his focus to stock cars in 2008.  Hornish holds the open-wheel series’ track qualifying record of 176.244 mph (15.320 seconds), a feat he accomplished in 2005.

In six NASCAR Sprint Cup starts (from 2008 through 2010) at Richmond entering this weekend, Hornish scored two top-10 finishes with a sixth in the May 2009 race his best result to date.  In four RIR NASCAR Nationwide Series races entering Friday night’s Virginia 529 College Savings 250, he has one top-five finish and two top-10s.  Hornish’s fifth-place finish in April’s most recent visit rates as his best tally.

Crew chief Todd Gordon was still thinking about his driver’s impressive performance in Sunday’s Atlanta race when reached on Monday evening.  “We had a fourth to seventh-place car there and had to settle for the 11th-place finish,” Gordon said.  “Sam did a tremendous job with our Shell-Pennzoil Dodge the entire weekend.  His ability to stay on top of the tire maintenance situation was impressive.  We were strong all the way to the finish, even after the unfortunate incident there toward the end where Sam was an innocent victim.
“I’ve said all along that having Sam racing in the Nationwide side is such a big bonus in helping our Cup program and the Atlanta weekend certainly was proof of that,” Gordon said.  “He got Saturday night’s race under his belt and we met up front in the transporter early Sunday afternoon to do a full review.  It was great because we were able to discuss everything from the tire wear situation to the frustrations he experienced there on Saturday night.
 

“The more Sam and this team have worked together, the better we get,” said Gordon.  “I am really impressed with how Sam has become such a ‘big picture’ driver all the way around.  He is such a pleasure to work with and we’re enjoying seeing all the hard work everyone is putting into our program starting to show up out there on the race track.

“We worked together a few times last season and just the eight races this year and I see Sam only getting better and better – regardless of if it’s racing the Nationwide car or in our Cup car,” said Gordon.  “From what I have heard and now what I have seen personally and experienced, there has to have been a ‘Sam Hornish Version 1 versus Sam Hornish Version 2.’

“People talk about what Sam’s record was in his past Cup experience and I have to stop and ask, ‘Am I working with that same driver?’  It’s like he has gotten a second shot at it and the light bulb came on.  I don’t know that much about the past, but I see a very talented and determined driver climbing into our Shell-Pennzoil Dodge these days.  He’s a guy who’s definitely on an upward spiral.

“We’re really looking forward to Richmond this weekend,” Gordon said.  “We had such a strong Shell-Pennzoil Dodge there during the spring race – ran in the top five and had good speed throughout the race.  Sam finished fifth there in the spring Nationwide race and it was a disappointing fifth because he ran stronger than that.  He’s coming back in there really hungry and I’m so glad he’ll be driving our car again this weekend.  We think we can have a really competitive weekend at Richmond.”

Hornish, Gordon and the Penske Racing No. 22 Team will be utilizing their “PRS-821” Shell-Pennzoil Dodge Charger this weekend at Richmond.  This is the same car that AJ Allmendinger raced in the April 14 Samsung 500 at Texas (started 12th and finished 15th).  The car was also raced again in the June 17 Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan (started 20th and finished 19th).  It has been completely updated since and will be making its third start this weekend at RIR.  The “PRS-807” will serve as the team’s backup.  It was in the 22 team transporter serving as the backup at Phoenix, both Bristol races and Martinsville, but has never seen any track time to date.

TRPR

Things are looking up for Landon Cassill's return trip to Richmond International Raceway. Cassill is coming off a string of four top-25 finishes, including a 20th-place run last week at Atlanta. In his most recent race at Richmond, he started 21st and finished 20th. He hopes all of the good performances culminate into another solid showing for his No. 83 Burger King/Dr Pepper team in this weekend's Federated Auto Parts 400.

Cassill has four previous Cup Series starts at Richmond. Two starts netted top-25 finishes. He has four starts to his credit in Nationwide Series competition. Three resulted in top-25 finishes. His best performance came in 2008, finishing 12th.

Cassill will have a special decal on his No. 83 car at Richmond in remembrance of 9/11. A decal of the American flag with the words "Never Forget" will be on Cassill's deck lid this weekend.

Comments from BK Racing driver Landon Cassill heading into Richmond:

"This weekend will be the cutoff for the Chase. You're going to have some guys that aren't in the Chase and trying to earn a spot. They'll be driving harder and more aggressive than ever. Some guys are going to try and be conservative to protect their spot. It could definitely have an impact the race. If guys are getting wild out there and tearing up equipment, it gives us an opportunity to have a better finish, but we've just got to go there and focus on our own deal. One thing we can't do is beat ourselves. If guys that wreck open the door for us to have a better finish, then that's good for us, but I don't think it changes our strategy. We'll take the same approach as always and hopefully we can capitalize when we get the chance.

"I know this much, it's going to be exciting. It's a great atmosphere at Richmond. Racing at a short track under the lights, it's tough to beat that. It's a great race track. I love going to it. I've run well there in the past, so I can't wait to get back there.

"I'm honored that we'll have a decal on our car in remembrance of 9/11. It's our way of saying how much we appreciate all of the sacrifices that our servicemen and women make every day, and paying tribute to the heroes and victims of that day."

BK Racing PR

The most significant development in the history of sports car racing in North America was announced today, with plans for a landmark merger of GRAND-AM Road Racing and the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) unveiled at Daytona International Speedway.

Under terms of the merger, the following entities will combine with GRAND-AM: the American Le Mans Series; the International Motor Sports Association, which sanctions ALMS events; the Road Atlanta race track facility in Braselton, Ga.; the Chateau Elan Hotel and Conference Center in Sebring, Fla.; and Sebring International Raceway, via a reassignment of the lease agreement with the Sebring Airport Authority to operate the raceway.

Both sanctioning bodies will continue to operate separate schedules in 2013 before racing under one banner in 2014 beginning with North America’s premier sports car race, the 52nd annual Rolex 24 At Daytona. A board of directors has been formed to operate the new combined organization with GRAND-AM founder Jim France as chairman and ALMS founder Don Panoz as vice chairman. Other members: NASCAR Vice Chair/Executive Vice President Lesa France Kennedy, GRAND-AM President/CEO Ed Bennett, ALMS President/CEO Scott Atherton and NASCAR Vice President/Deputy General Counsel Karen Leetzow.

“Today’s announcement will transform sports car racing on this continent, along with having world-wide industry implications,” said Bennett. “Aside from the organizations involved, everybody wins: drivers, teams, manufacturers, sponsors, tracks – and most all, the fans.

“This new approach is going to be revolutionary, as we take the best components from two premium brands, combine them and then benefit mutually from the considerable resources both sides will bring to our efforts. This is a bold move – and the right one – for the long-term, optimum growth of sports car racing.”

Added Atherton: “This merger will blend the best assets and attributes of each organization in terms of technical rules, officiating, marketing, communications, personnel, scheduling and broadcasting. The result will be one of the strongest, most competitive and powerful motorsports marketing platforms in the world.”

Post-merger branding still is being determined for the new organization and its principal series, as are specifics regarding the 2014 schedule. Also, the competitive class structure and technical rules beginning in 2014 have yet to be finalized.

The ALMS began operations in 1999, with GRAND-AM debuting in 2000. Both organizations were created in the aftermath of the late-’90s departure of the highly popular IMSA Camel GT circuit in North America. IMSA was founded in 1969 by John Bishop and then-NASCAR President Bill France Sr.

“This merger will strengthen professional sports car racing beyond what either of our organizations could have achieved separately,” said Panoz. “The American Le Mans Series was founded for the fans and I’m personally gratified that they will benefit greatly as we now work together with GRAND-AM to take this sport to the level at which it belongs in the North American and international motorsports landscapes.”

France said the merger was exciting both “on a professional and a personal level, with me being a long-time sports car fan. This merger was achieved through a true spirit of cooperation. Moving forward, that same spirit will drive our day-to-day efforts.”

Collectively, this merger involves a total of eight sports car series racing throughout North America. GRAND-AM sanctions and operates the Rolex Sports Car Series, the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge and the TOTAL Performance Showcase. GRAND-AM also sanctions the Ferrari Challenge that is operated by Ferrari North America. IMSA is the sanctioning body for the ALMS, the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama Series, the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda Series and the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin.

“This looks good from a business standpoint but it also ‘feels good’ from a historical standpoint,” Bennett said. “Both GRAND-AM and the ALMS have lineages tied to Daytona Beach, Daytona International Speedway and the France Family. This announcement is a proud moment for all involved, as we now look forward to a bright future for sports car racing.”

NASCAR PR

STATEMENT FROM FORD RACING

"This is an epic moment for sports car racing in America," said Jamie Allison, director, Ford Racing.  "The opportunity to take the best of ALMS and GRAND AM and create a strong, unified professional road racing series is what the fans have wanted, the teams have wanted, and the manufacturers have wanted for many years.  We at Ford congratulate the GRAND AM and ALMS leadership and all those involved in helping put the merger together for the good of the sport.

"While we await further details on the homologations and rules for the individual classes, the new, unified approach has a lot of appeal to Ford due to the potential international alignment.   We are a global auto manufacturer, and will look for this new series to align well with our global OneFord platform of vehicles and technologies.  As a manufacturer and stakeholder in the sport overall, we look forward to working with the new unified management team to frame our involvement going forward."

STATEMENT FROM IMS

GRAND-AM Road Racing, which made its Indianapolis Motor Speedway debut in 2012, will have a new look starting in 2014 after a landmark merger between GRAND-AM and the American Le Mans Series was announced Sept. 5 in Daytona Beach, Fla.

The new, unified series will debut with the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona in 2014. GRAND-AM and ALMS will continue with their respective schedules in 2013, including the GRAND-AM Brickyard Grand Prix and Brickyard Sports Car Challenge races during the Kroger Super Weekend at the Brickyard on July 25-28.

"We congratulate and celebrate this historic merger of North American sports car racing," said Jeff Belskus, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation president and chief executive officer. "It has created an even more exciting future for this thrilling form of motorsports, which was met with a very enthusiastic reception from our fans during the IMS debut of GRAND-AM in July."

More than 100 cars competed in two GRAND-AM series - the Rolex Sports Car Series and the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge - on the 13-turn, 2.534-mile Grand Prix circuit at IMS during the Kroger Super Weekend in July 2012.

The merger involves eight sports car series racing throughout North America. GRAND-AM sanctions and operates the Rolex Sports Car Series, the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge and the TOTAL Performance Showcase. GRAND-AM also sanctions the Ferrari Challenge that is operated by Ferrari North America. IMSA is the sanctioning body for the ALMS, the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama Series, the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda Series and the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada by Michelin

STATEMENT FROM GM RACING

“This is an exciting moment in sports car racing. This merger combines the best attributes of GRAND-AM Road Racing and the American Le Mans Series to create a singularly focused series. Congratulations to Jim France and Dr. Don Panoz on having the passion for sports car racing and the vision to take it to the next level. The joining of these two series will provide a foundation for Chevrolet to develop technologies and race cars with tremendous relevancy to the production vehicles we sell today and in the future.”

Thirty-one caution laps in Sunday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Advocare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway netted a donation of $6,200 to the American Cancer Society on behalf of Chevrolet.

Chevy pledged to make a donation to the American Cancer Society in the amount of $200 for every caution lap that the specially themed ‘Making Strides Against Breast Cancer’ pink Camaro SS paced the field during Sunday night’s race at AMS.

“We are very proud to partner with the American Cancer Society, and carry the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer logo on the pace car,” said Jeff Chew, Chevy Racing Marketing Manager. “Hopefully, the pink Camaro SS helps to remind race fans of all of the upcoming events in October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We all can do our part in helping in the fight against cancer.”

Six caution flags produced the 31 laps during the 327-lap event on September 2, 2012.

Along with its dealers, Chevrolet is supporting the American Cancer Society’s efforts to save lives by helping people stay well, helping people get well, and by finding cures and fighting back against breast cancer

GM Racing PR

This weekend's Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway will mark Travis Kvapil's 200th Sprint Cup Series start. The 2003 Truck Series champ got the call into the big leagues in October, 2004 when Roger Penske asked him to pilot the No. 06 car at Martinsville. Since then, he has gone on to capture six top-10 finishes and one pole. Kvapil looks back on his career with reverence, but knows he has a lot left to accomplish in NASCAR's top series. He sees progress and improvement in his BK Racing squad and aims to position them for their first win.

Kvapil has made 11 Cup Series starts at Richmond. His best finish is 11th, which came in 2005. In Truck Series competition, he's made four starts. He has one pole and one top-10 finish.

The No. 93 team has created a special decal to commemorate Kvapil's 200th start. It will ride above the windows on Kvapil's Burger King/Dr Pepper Toyota. The team will also carry a decal in remembrance of 9/11 on its deck lid. It has an image of an American flag with the words "Never Forget."

Comments from BK Racing Driver Travis Kvapil heading into Richmond:

"It's pretty cool to think about making my 200th start. I don't look at the numbers too much. Just thinking back to racing in Wisconsin, when I started racing locally at the quarter-mile and half-mile tracks, I never believed I'd be racing in NASCAR. I definitely didn't expect to make 200 starts in the Cup Series. Not many people get an opportunity to do that, so I'm pretty proud and thankful to be in this position. On the flipside, I've got 200 starts, but zero wins. The racer side of me is disappointed that I haven't had the success that I wanted to at the Sprint Cup level. It's pretty neat, though. There aren't a lot of guys that get this opportunity. I feel like the team I'm with now is growing and developing and we'll be in position to contend for the win before long.

"I clearly remember making my first Sprint Cup start at Martinsville. I ran some Truck Series races for a couple of years and got the opportunity to do that. My very first Cup start, I qualified fifth. I remember thinking that I might have a chance to make it. Overall, the things that stand out are driving for Roger Penske. Driving for Doug Yates was special. I was driving the famed 28 car for a year. We had some good runs at Yates Racing. We sat on a pole at Talladega (2008). That was a neat deal. Just thinking of all the people that you work with over the years and the relationships you build, that's what means the most. It's cool to look back, but I'm looking forward, too. I'm thinking about what we need to do to get BK Racing better and how to get the Burger King/Dr Pepper team into Victory Lane.

"Going to Richmond for our second time is going to be a huge plus for us. The second half of the year has been much better than the first half. We've had an opportunity to look at our notes from the first time and figure out what did and didn't work. I felt like our first time there was OK, but we've learned a lot that we can apply and be stronger there for our return. It is a great race track. It's got a couple of lanes for racing. If you have a fast car, you can pass. There's always some side-by-side action with a little beating and banging. Night racing is always a plus. I'm looking forward to it."

BK Racing PR

The day before the fred’s 250 Powered by Coca-Cola roars into action at Talladega Superspeedway, the stars of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be signing autographs for the fans.  The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will host an autograph session at Talladega Superspeedway in the OV Hill South Grandstand from 2:15 to 3:00 p.m. on Friday, October 5.  The event is free and open to all fans with a Friday race ticket.

“Talladega Superspeedway has always prided itself on getting fans as close to the racing action as possible, and with an autograph session they’re closer than ever,” said Talladega Superspeedway Chairman Grant Lynch.  “The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is a great combination of veteran drivers and up-and-coming stars. This is a fun way for our race fans to interact with these wonderfully talented drivers.”

Fans will need to pick up wristbands before the session at the main Guest Services Office located at the O.V. Hill South Grandstand Section L.  Each fan that has a wristband will be guaranteed a spot in the autograph line.  The autograph session will be held on the Concourse Area behind the O.V. Hill South Grandstand Sections D & E.  The session will run from 2:15 to 3:00 p.m. on Friday, October 5th.

Talladega Superspeedway PR

Wallace and his JD Motorsports w/Gary Keller teammate, Jeremy Clements, are looking to have a great night of racing at Richmond International Speedway in this Friday night’s NASCAR Nationwide Series.

While the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will be battling it out for final positions in their Chase for the Championship at RIR, the NNS will be doing what they do best– race hard for points and positions. Adding to the heightened fun factor on Friday is the fact they’ll be racing under the lights.

Short track racing, Friday night hype, hard core and expressive fans with 43 drivers looking for a trophy – certainly makes a great recipe for Richmond racing.

Wallace and the No. 01 Chevrolet team will be looking to add their part to the story. After earning seven top-20 finishes in the last eight races, they’re looking to pad their stats and move up in the Driver’s Points standings.

Clements will wheel the No. 4 Chevrolet this weekend; which is his second start with the JD Motorsports w/Gary Keller team in 2012. He’s started every NNS race this year, with two different teams, and has also his sights set on earning some points.

Mike Wallace Info

• · This will be his 441^st career NNS start
• · The St. Louis native is making his 25^thstart of 2012
• · During that span this season, he’s completed an impressive 94 percent (3,929 of 4,176) laps contested
• · With one top-10 finish to their credit (Montreal), Wallace and team head to RIR with seven top-20 finishes in the last eight races
• · That has moved them to 12^th in points trailing 11^th by 23 markers
• · Friday night’s start will be the 28^thfor Wallace at RIR
• · During the first 27 starts, he’s completed 5,861 of 6,661 laps (87.1 percent) contested and led a total of 28 circuits
• · He has a best start and finish of fourth, which he achieved in 1996

Jeremy Clements Info

• · This will be the Spartanburg, S.C. native’s 95^th NNS start
• · He’s raced the entire 2012 season, and during his first 25 starts he’s completed 3,904 of 4,178 laps (93.1 percent) contested and led four circuits
• · Clements has two top-10 finishes
• · For RIR, this will be his fifth start at the .75-mile oval
• · In the first four, he completed 97.1 of the laps contested and earned two top-10 finishes
• · He’s currently 15^th in Driver’s Points, trailing 14^th by a mere seven markers

Mike Wallace Quotes

“I always look forward to racing at Richmond, especially on a Friday night. This JD Motorsports team has been putting in some solid runs lately and I want to see that continue for this race.

“The small track that RIR is, you have to be good out of Turn 2 to get down that backstretch and then through 3. As you come out of Turn 4, it’s a dog leg to get you back into Turn 1 again.

“I like the layout, it produces some great racing. We just have to be careful of other teams coming out of Turn 2 and Turn 4, keep our game plan in place and run our race

“The fans in Richmond are very much into it when NASCAR comes to town, and we – as drivers and teams – feed off their enthusiasm. I just want to get another good finish for our team and keep going forward like we have recently.”

JD Motorsports PR