Making Friends at 200 MPH

Last weekend’s Capital City 400 was monumental for Landon Cassill. He recorded his best starting position (21st) and best finish (20th) of the 2012 season. It was BK Racing’s second top-20 finish since its formation in February.

Cassill hopes this weekend’s Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway will yield another top showing for his No. 83 Burger King/Dr Pepper team. He has two previous NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts at the 2.66-mile race track and has a best finish of 16th place (October 2011).

The No 83 team’s Richmond performance moved them up to 34th in the owner point standings.

Comments from BK Racing Driver Landon Cassill heading to Talladega Superspeedway:

“Talladega (Superspeedway) is one of the most intense tracks that we go to. It’s wide open the whole way. There’s never a moment of rest. As long as it’s green, you better be focused and alert. It’s definitely a great show for the fans. They get to watch a freight train going 200 miles per hour that could go off the rails at any second.

“Like it or not, you can’t win this race by yourself. You and your crew determine your fate at most of the tracks we go to, but not Talladega. With restrictor plates, you need a push from someone to take the lead or you need a car in front of you that you can follow through the field. You’ve got to make some friends along the way. That adds a whole new dimension to the race. You spend 498 miles plotting how you’re going to get to the front and who you’re going to take with you, and hope that in the last mile of the race, you’re the one fighting off the cars behind you.

“We had a great race last weekend. It was our best qualifying effort and finish of the season. This Burger King/Dr Pepper team is coming along. The cars that we’re unloading are getting faster each week. Doug (Richert, crew chief) is getting a good feel for what I need in a race car. I’m getting a better grasp of communicating how the car’s handling and what improvements it needs. I’m excited about our progress. Everyone, from our GM Harry McMullen to all of our crew, has worked really hard. Richmond was a good shot in the arm to our guys and a nice reminder that we’re on the right track.”

BK Racing PR