The face of Michael Waltrip Racing’s social media engagement is getting a new look beginning Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

It should be an eye-catching debut.

Each NASCAR Sprint Cup race day, a team of digitally savvy models will roam the garage, infield, sponsor midway and hospitality areas to interact with NASCAR fans. The uniformed ladies will also lead a concerted social media effort from the track in 2013 in support of MWR’s team initiatives and sponsors. Fans can interact with them via twitter by using the handle @MWRGirls. Uniquely, one of the @MWRGirls is Miss Florida Latina, speaks fluent Spanish and will lead MWR’s effort to take the MWR/NASCAR experience to the Latino audience. 

“We’re always trying to be innovative when it comes to social media, marketing or anything that advances our partners interest,” said Waltrip. “We wanted to create some buzz around our teams and partners. These young ladies are not only attractive, but exceptionally smart and will give fans a taste of what goes on at the track away from just the competition.”

Waltrip said over the years he noticed almost all of the social media communication from race teams is about cars, pit strategy, and the drivers. Instead, the @MWRGirls will take fans to a variety of events on race day, share insider information and show the magnitude of NASCAR Sprint Cup races.

The @MWRGirls will also be available to sign autographs, pose for pictures and engage in contests where fans can win MWR related gifts.

Waltrip said over the last month MWR has interviewed almost 20 models to find ladies who will be active on Twitter, Facebook and other social mediums.

“We can’t sit still and expect our sport to grow, so we are trying to be creative and innovative. We think this will be fun and something the fans will enjoy.”

MWR PR

Parker Kligerman was running 11^th in the NASCAR Nationwide Series Sam's Town 300 at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway and charging towards the front of the field when a parts failure in the rear end of his No. 77 Toyota Camry led to a shredded left rear tire. After a quick stop in the garage and three subsequent visits to pit road to address the issue, Kligerman found himself several laps down and limped home to a disappointing 30^th-place finish.

"I'm really proud of the guys and all the effort they put in to have a fast car here this weekend, unfortunately our rear end started to fall apart and we had to just ride around to salvage what we could," said Kligerman, who was making his 21^st career Nationwide Series start. "Our Toyota Camry showed a lot of speed -- if it wasn't for the parts failure, I'm confident that we had a top-five car."

After rain washed out Friday's practice sessions, Saturday's qualifying was cancelled to allow the field to get in one practice before the start of the race. Kligerman spent the majority of the session ranked inside the top five on the speed charts before ending the tune-up seventh on the leaderboard.

With the field being set by last year's Nationwide Series owner's points, per the NASCAR rule book, the No. 77 team started the race from the eighth position based on the points Kyle Busch Motorsports' (KBM) entry earned in the 2012 season. By the time the first caution of the race occurred on lap three, the Connecticut native had advanced into the fifth position.

Kligerman communicated to crew chief Eric Phillips that his No. 77 Toyota was loose handling as he dropped to the back half of the top 10 as the race proceeded in the early stages. The talented youngster was scored in the 10^th position when the competition caution flew on lap 35. When pit road opened, he brought his Camry down pit road where the KBM over-the-wall crew administered a four-tire stop, which included a track bar adjustment to address the loose-handling condition. The crew returned their driver to the track scored in the 13^th position.

Shortly after the lap-36 restart, Kligerman alerted his crew of a big vibration coming from the underneath of his Toyota. He had subsided to the 15^th position when a two-car accident in Turn 2 slowed the field for the third time on lap 55. His crew took advantage of the caution, filling the No. 77 with fuel and making another large adjustment to the track bar.

As the race approached the halfway mark, the early-race adjustments had improved the handling of Kligerman's Camry and the 22-year-old driver began maneuvering his way back towards the top 10. With 70 laps remaining in the 200-lap event, he was running 11^th - tucked in behind the ninth and 10^th competitors - when he alerted the crew that smoke was making its way inside the cockpit of his Toyota. Two laps later, the issue had caused a blown left rear tire and he was forced to bring his No. 77 down pit road. With the crew believing the issue was more than just a flat tire, the young driver was instructed to take his car to the garage area.

After a quick stop in the garage and three subsequent stops on pit road, the KBM crew was able to provide a temporary solution to the broken part and return their driver to the track. Kligerman was able to limp to the finish, but ended the race 11 laps down to the leader in the 30^th position.

Sam Hornish Jr. picked up his second career Nationwide Series victory. Kligerman's owner, Kyle Busch, drove his Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) entry to a runner-up finish, crossing the stripe 1.1 seconds behind Hornish Jr. Busch's JGR teammates, Brian Vickers and Elliott Sadler finished third and fifth, respectively, and Trevor Bayne came home in the fourth spot.

There were eight caution periods for 37 laps. Nine drivers led a lap, exchanging the lead 19 times. Six drivers failed to finish the race.

Kligerman heads into next week's Jeff Foxworthy's Grit Chips 300 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway ranked 12^th in the Nationwide Series championship standings. Live television coverage of the 300-lap event begins with NASCAR Countdown at 1:00 p.m. ET on ESPN 2.

KBM PR

Race Highlights:

• Richard Childress Racing teammates finished sixth (Austin Dillon), ninth (Brian Scott) and 11th (Ty Dillon).
• Scott is tied for second in the Nationwide Series driver championship point standings, trailing point leader Sam Hornish, Jr. by 19 points, while Dillon ranks sixth, 27 points back.
• The No. 2 Chevrolet team ranks fourth in the Nationwide Series owner championship point standings, with the No. 3 team seventh in the standings and the No. 33 team 11^th.
• According to NASCAR's Loop Data Statistics, A Dillon ranked third in Average Running Position with an average running place of 4.222 during the 300-mile race, while Scott maintained an average running position of 7.345, ranking him seventh, and T. Dillon maintained an average running position of 10.100, ranking him ninth in the 40-car field.
• Each of the RCR drivers spent 100 percent of the laps running in the top 15.
• Scott earned his third consecutive top-10 finish of the 2013 Nationwide Series season.
• Hornish earned his first victory of the 2013 Nationwide Series season and was followed to the finish line by Kyle Busch, Brian Vickers, Trevor Bayne and Elliott Sadler.
• The next Nationwide Series race is the Bristol 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 16. The fourth race of the 2013 season is scheduled to be televised live on ESPN2 beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern Time and broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network and Sirius XM NASCAR Satellite Radio.

Brian Scott Scores Third-Consecutive Top-10 Finish of 2013  

at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

 

Brian Scott drove to his third-consecutive top-10 finish of 2013 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday afternoon. Scott brought the No. 2 Whitetail Camaro home in ninth position, after battling a loose-handling condition throughout the day. Rain showers washed away track activities on Friday forcing the field to be set by the rulebook. The 25-year-old NASCAR Nationwide Series driver took the green flag in third position, but quickly reported his Chevrolet was loose on exit of the corner. An early caution gave Scott the opportunity to drive down pit road for adjustments, allowing the Phil Gould-led team to make necessary adjustments. Upon restarting ninth, the field quickly spread out and set in for lengthy green-flag runs, Scott climbed as high as sixth through the course of the 200-lap event. A late-race caution set the field for a dash to the finish with eight laps remaining. The Boise, Idaho, native ultimately brought his No. 2 Chevrolet home in the ninth position. Scott has not finished outside the top-10 in the last five Nationwide Series events (Phoenix 2012), and is currently tied for second in the Nationwide Series driver championship point standings.

 

Start - 3         Finish - 9          Laps Led - 0          Points - 2

 

BRIAN SCOTT QUOTE:

"We had to fight all race, I felt we had a really fast Whitetail Camaro but couldn't get going on restarts like we wanted. We were really strong during the middle of the run, but it was really hard to pass. All-in-all, for our third race together as a team, we have three straight top-10 finishes. Phil [Gould, crew chief] and all the guys are doing a great job and we'll keep building."

 

 

  

Dillon Earns a Sixth-Place Finish in No. 3 AdvoCare Chevrolet  

at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

 

Austin Dillon drove Richard Childress Racing's No. 3 AdvoCare Chevrolet to a sixth-place finish in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday afternoon. Dillon started the 200-lap affair from the fourth position and looked strong from the start of the race, taking the lead in the black No. 3 Camaro on lap eight before settling into the third position. A series of quick pit stops under caution periods helped Dillon and the AdvoCare team maintain their track position and the Danny Stockman-led team spent the entire race running in the top-10. Dillon was scored in the seventh position for a lap-193 restart and worked his way into the sixth spot in the final seven laps of the event, to post his second consecutive top-10 finish of the season.

 

Start - 4         Finish - 6         Laps Led - 1         Points - 6

 

AUSTIN DILLON QUOTE: 

"It was not too bad of a day today at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. I am proud of the No. 3 AdvoCare team. I feel like we have some work to do to make sure we can run in the top three, but overall we can't complain about a sixth-place finish."

 

 

 

  

    

Ty Dillon Earns 11^th-Place Finish in Sin City

 

Despite battling a tight-handling Chevrolet for the majority of the 200-lap affair, Ty Dillon and the No. 33 WESCO team finished in the 11^th place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Inclement weather on Friday forced NASCAR to cancel Nationwide Series qualifying. Thus, Saturday's field was set by 2012 owner's points standings resulting in a fifth-place starting position for the Welcome, N.C., native. After the initial start, Dillon made contact with another competitor while he was caught in a three-wide battle for position. With minimal damage to the right-front fender, Dillon remained on the racing surface. He soon reported to the Richard Childress Racing team his WESCO Chevrolet was tight all the way around the 1.5-mile speedway. Crew chief Ernie Cope issued chassis adjustments during routine four-tire pit stops to combat the ill-handling machine. The 21-year-old driver continued to battle a tight Chevrolet relegating the WESCO team to an 11^th-place finish.

 

Start - 5         Finish - 11          Laps Led - 0          Owner Points - 11

 

TY DILLON QUOTE:

"I learned a lot racing with the NASCAR Nationwide Series regulars this afternoon. I had some trouble on a few of the restarts, but I picked up on a few things that will help me for the next race. The No. 33 team did a great job getting the car ready with the little bit of practice that we had this morning. I have to thank WESCO and their partners for coming on board this year and allowing me to compete in the Nationwide Series."

 

RCR PR

Coming off his first NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) victory of 2013, Kyle Busch continued a strong season start on Saturday by earning a second-place finish at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway, a track he calls “home.” The second-place result by Busch tied his best NNS performance at the 1.5-mile desert facility – equaling a runner-up result in 2007. He also has one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) victory at Las Vegas in 2009. In three weeks the No. 54 Monster Energy team owned by J.D. Gibbs has moved from 32^nd to 11^th and now to fifth in the series owner’s points standings, 23 points from the lead.

Due to a set field on 2012 owner’s points, brought on by bad weather that prohibited qualifying, Kyle Busch and the Toyota Camry team started from the 23rd position in the Sam's Town 300. Busch made quick work of the pack, reaching the top-10 by lap 23 and then driving to within the top-five on lap 60. He eventually led the field at 140 of the 200-lap race, going on to hold the lead position three times over 13 laps. His black Camry was fast but not quite as sleek around the track, often battling both tight and loose car-handling conditions as the race progressed.  The No. 12 of Sam Hornish Jr., who regained the lead from Busch on a last caution restart, led the pack to the checkered flag.

Busch commented afterwards, “It was a really good run for us. All the guys on this JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) Camry did a great job. The Monster Energy car was fast -- just came up a little bit short today. Pit stops were great and the car was great. We unloaded a little bit off, but they worked on it and made some good changes through 45 minutes of practice today and then came out here and raced, starting deep in the field, but coming back up through there was good. I learned some things for tomorrow. Hopefully, we’ll use some of that to our advantage. It stinks to see a car that fast in front of you when you’re running second and know that you’re that close but there’s only one guy in front of you that’s beating you. I’ve been that guy before plenty of times.

There at the end I wanted to make sure that we got a good start. The restart before, Sam (Hornish Jr.) spun his tires really bad and I spun my tires a little bit. There on that last restart, I just wanted to make sure we didn’t get passed or go three-wide into the first corner with guys behind us that are pretty hungry, too. It was a good run. Sam and I, we battled hard side-by-side there. I almost had

him cleared in turn three and felt like if I could have done that, I might have had something to hold him off with, but he was fast – really, really fast. This Monster Energy Camry was good -- the guys did a great job on pit road. Pit stops were good. Solid day -- just not good enough.”

Sam Hornish Jr. recorded his second NASCAR Nationwide Series victory, the first win for him in 2013. Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Brian Vickers and Elliott Sadler finished 3^rd and 5^th respectively. Busch, Vickers, Trevor Bayne and Sadler completed the top-five finishers. There were eight caution periods for 37 laps of the race along with 19 lead changes across 9 drivers. Six drivers failed to finish the race.

KBM PR

Race fans from around Northeast Tennessee, Southwest Virginia and Western North Carolina came out in huge numbers for the 2013 season-opener at Kingsport Speedway on a beautiful, sunny Saturday afternoon in the Model City.

Chad Finchum of Knoxville chauffeured the A-1 Finchum Heating & Cooling/Texas Roadhouse/ Finchum Paint & Body/Creekside Grill/Loveland Baptist Church/Robbie White Race Engines/Leavitt Race Cars/No. 19 Chevrolet SS to his first-ever NASCAR Whelen All-American Series “Dalton Direct Carpets” Late Model Stock victory after getting to the inside of Hayden Woods with five laps remaining in the 60-lap feature to take the lead, and then withstanding a couple of challenges from Woods over the closing laps.

“I was digging as hard I could,” Finchum said. “Hayden and I were running hard, and I spun the tire coming off (turn) two. He gave me a shot going into (turn) three, but I wouldn’t expect anything less from him. That’s just good short-track racing and I loved every minute of it. Once I saw that white flag come out, it was like I’m going to get this one”

The 18-year-old Finchum led a parade of teenagers across the finish line. Woods, a 17-year-old who attends Providence Academy in Johnson City, came home in the runner-up position and 16-year-old Blake Jones of Sevierville finished third.

Woods passed Jones for the lead on lap 31, and was closing in on a first Late Model victory until Finchum made the winning pass.

“We had the lead up to the mid-50’s, but Finchum had a great car,” Woods said. “I was following him and he could just turn down at the center of the corner. He just turned below me. We had a strong car too. If we had two more laps, we might have had him back. When I hit him, it actually unsettled my car and I couldn’t get below him. It didn’t work like I thought it would.”

It was rough-and-tumble action throughout the race, slowed by seven cautions over the first 23 laps. Jones’ No. 80 Chevrolet Camaro SS looked worse for wear, with sheet metal damage to both the front and back of his car. Emergency crews gave him oxygen after the race as the damage led to overheating in the cockpit and being overcome due to high levels of carbon monoxide.

“It definitely wasn’t the race we were looking for,” Jones said. “We were looking to win without even tire marks on our race car. But, we didn’t get the qualifying run we were used to, and I was stuck without rear brakes for most of the race. We charged up there and led, and I was proud of that. We’ll be back next week looking for a checkered flag.”

Zeke Shell, a 25-year-old from Johnson City, appeared to have the only car to outrun the wild band of teenagers. His No. 97 Ford led the first 23 circuits until his right front tie-rod came loose as the cars were ready to take the green flag on a restart.

“We knew we had something in practice, but we didn’t want to show how fast we were,” said Shell after a 17th-place finish.

“When the race began, we let the big dog eat. I feel real bad for my team. They deserve a lot better than this, but we know what we’ve got and what we can come back with.”

Paul Nogradi Jr. paced qualifying with a track-record lap of 15.060 seconds in his Dodge. He was involved in a wreck on lap 23 with Adam Long on the backstretch while battling for position and finished 18th in the 20-car field.

For his part, Finchum was glad to avoid most of the contact.

“Everybody was moving around and skating,” Finchum said. “That first corner, they went three-wide and the No. 02 spun up. Everything was happening so fast here. It really was ‘The Concrete Jungle’ today.”

Finchum was chased to the checkers by Woods, Jones, followed by Lee Tissot and Anthony Anders to round out the top five. Completing the top 10 finishers were Long, Daniel Pope II, Kres VanDyke, Austin Peters and Tyler Goodwin.

Allen Rich jumped into the lead over Rob Austin at start of the 30-lap Street Stock feature. Austin got around Rich for the lead on lap 9 and remained there until John Harrell of Surgoinsville powered past him on lap 21. Once out front, Harrell then set the cruise control to easily win over Austin, Rich, Tony Vance and Marvin Green Jr.

Johnson City driver Amber Abram, making her Pure 4 debut at the track, made contact with leader Keith Helton on lap 16 in an accident which sent her pink No. 97 Ford in a barrel roll down the backstretch at “The Concrete Jungle.” Emergency personnel were quickly on the scene and while the 20-year-old Abram was momentarily shaken following her wild ride, after catching her breath she was able to climb from her badly damaged machine to cheers from the crowd.

Back under green Helton remained in the lead until lap 21, when he was teamed up on by the father-son duo of Jason and John Ketron. Jason Ketron, defending divisional champion, pulled into the lead with his father in tow. They finished that way ahead of Helton in a 1-2-3 finish of Kingsport drivers. Dan Hall and Kenny Absher finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

Zack Walton of Blountville, a Sullivan Central High School student, made his way to the front on lap 5 and never looked back en route to winning the Legends race over Drew Shortridge, Jacob Owens, Derek Lane and Hubert Whitehead.

Chris Steadman of Kingsport won in Rookie Pure 4 action over Billy Byington and Brandon Sutherland.

NASCAR WHELEN ALL-AMERICAN SERIES “DALTON DIRECT CARPETS” LATE MODEL STOCK (60 laps)

Showing Finish Position, Starting Position In Parentheses, Driver Name, Car Number, Hometown

1. (10) Chad Finchum #19-Knoxville, TN
2. (3) Hayden Woods #87-Piney Flats, TN
3. (7) Blake Jones #80-Sevierville, TN
4. (6) Lee Tissot #7-Asheville, NC
5. (13) Anthony Anders #36-Easley, SC
6. (8) Adam Long #3-Pounding Mill, VA
7. (1) Daniel Pope II #16-Smyrna, TN
8. (5) Kres VanDyke #15-Claypool Hill, VA
9. (12) Austin Peters #66-Kingsport, TN
10. (16) Tyler Goodwin #64-Kingsport, TN
11. (11) Royce Peters #38-Kingsport, TN
12. (9) Ryan Stiltner #22-Grundy, VA
13. (18) Rick Pannell #33-Kingsport, TN
14. (20) Dean Barrett #82-Abingdon, VA
15. (19) Erika Schmidt #14-Greenback, TN
16. (14) Taylor Coffman #30-Bean Station, TN
17. (2) Zeke Shell #97-Johnson City, TN
18. (4) Paul Nogradi Jr. #02-Clinton, TN
19. (17) Bruce Blessing #00-Gate City, VA
20. (15) Joey Trent #26-Gray, TN

STREET STOCK (30 laps)

1) John Harrell #19; 2) Rob Austin #25; 3) Allen Rich #03; 4) Tony Vance #07; 5) Marvin Green Jr. #15; 6) Nick Cole #63; 7) Sam Hurd #11; 8) Rick Smith #33; 9) Tony Ward #7; 10) Alonzo Henderson #08; 11) Dan Smith #05; 12) Jared Broadbent #74; 13) Jeff Counts #11; 14) Roger Neece #22; 15) Chris Tunnell #6; 16) Paul Shull #48

PURE 4 (25 laps)

1) Jason Ketron #28; 2) John Ketron #26; 3) Keith Helton #9; 4) Dan Hall #88; 5) Kenny Absher #11; 6) Chris Neeley #94; 7) Dylan Bates #6; 8) Jay Holland #06; 9) David Trent #57; 10) Danny Pless #5; 11) Bill Coleman #15; 12) Kevin Hubbard #18; 13) Todd Cross #41; 14) Travis Light #18; 15) Darrell Whitehead #44; 16) Glen Hughes #75; 17) Amber Abram #97; 18) Tim Abelseth #96

LEGENDS (15 laps)

1) Zack Walton #38; 2) Drew Shortridge #32; 3) Jacob Owens #8; 4) Derek Lane #9; 5) Hubert Whitehead #3; 6) Tony Wiggins #4

ROOKIE PURE 4 (12 laps)

1) Chris Steadman #14; 2) Billy Byington #11; 3) Brandon Sutherland #22 – *** Remainder of results to follow on Monday, March 11)

Kingsport Speedway PR

Elliott Sadler, driver of the No. 11 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR), earned a fifth-place finish in the Sam’s Town 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The top-five finish was the 48^th of Sadler’s Nationwide Series career and it came in his milestone 200^th start.

Steady rain on Friday forced the cancelation of Saturday morning’s qualifying session, with NASCAR opting for a 1-hour practice session instead. As a result, the 40-car field for the 200-lap race around the 1.5-mile oval was set per the NASCAR rule book. That placed Sadler’s No. 11 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry 15^th on the starting grid.

From the drop of the green flag, Sadler was able to work his way forward, despite a loose-handling racecar. Crew chief Chris Gayle called for a track bar adjustment, along with routine service of four tires and fuel on the team’s first pit stop. Lightning-quick work by the Interstate Batteries crew advanced Sadler to eighth.

As the race continued under green-flag conditions, Sadler continued to make his presence known, recording lap times equal to and sometimes faster than the race leaders. A strong charge over the final quarter of the event saw Sadler running as high as third at lap 187. While Sadler was able to get to the position, he wasn’t able to hold onto it for the finish.

“I think Chris (Gayle) is learning a lot about me and what we need to do with these cars between practice and the race,” said Sadler, who finished fifth a week ago at Phoenix International Raceway. “He made good adjustments today as the race went on. We’ll continue to learn and move on. But, we’re not going to complain with two top-five finishes this early in the season. I really had a chance at a third-place finish, I just couldn’t get cleared of the No. 6 car (Trevor Bayne). But, we’ll take it and learn.

“I’m just so proud of everybody on this Interstate Batteries team. I really wanted to get that win for these guys. We’ll take a top-five. I think we’ll keep learning and we’ll try to improve on it next week at Bristol.”

Sadler’s JGR teammates – Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 54 Toyota Camry, and Brian Vickers, driver of the No. 20 Toyota Camry – finished second and third, respectively.

Sam Hornish Jr., won the Sam’s Town 300 to score his second career Nationwide Series victory, his first of the season and his first at Las Vegas.

Busch finished 1.1 seconds behind Hornish in the runner-up spot, while Vickers, Bayne and Sadler rounded out the top-five. Austin Dillon, Regan Smith, Alex Bowman, Brian Scott and Travis Pastrana comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were eight caution periods for 37 laps, with six drivers failing to finish.

With round three of 33 complete, Sadler leads the JGR contingent in the championship point standings. He advanced one spot to third and has 108 points, 19 back of series leader Hornish. Vickers gained five positions to climb to seventh and has 96 points, 31 behind Hornish. Busch is a full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver and does not earn points in the Nationwide Series.

The next event on the Nationwide Series schedule is the March 16 Jeff Foxworthy’s Grit Chips 300 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. The race starts at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by ESPN2 beginning with its pre-race show at 1:30 p.m.

TSC PR

Roush Fenway drivers Trevor Bayne and Travis Pastrana finished fourth and 10^th respectively in Saturday’s Nationwide Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The finishes marked the 31^st and 32^ndNNS top-10 finishes in 42 series starts at LVMS for RFR.

Trevor Bayne started second and led 21 laps early, before making contact with the outside wall on lap 88 after getting hit by the No. 32. Still, the team furiously battled back to a top-five finish. 

“These guys never got down on me all day,” said Bayne. “They built me a racecar that should be sitting in victory lane, but still we are sitting here in fourth and I’m so thankful to have racecars that are so fast. These guys never gave up and we got the World Financial Ford back inside the top-five.”

Pastrana started the race 31^st after rain forced the cancellation of Friday’s qualifying. Exhibiting the poise of a veteran, he patiently maneuvered his way through the field for his second top-10 finish in three races in 2013.

The Nationwide Series returns to action next weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, where Roush Fenway has won five times in Nationwide Series action.

RFR and the Sprint Cup Series return to action for tomorrow’s 400-mile Sprint Cup event. The race is set for 3:00 p.m. EDT and will be televised live on FOX.

RFR PR

Las Vegas turned out to be a fitting place for the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team to have a little luck at the race track.

With qualifying and practice for the Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway rained out on Friday, the starting line-up was set by last year’s owners points, and since the Wood Brothers team wound up 36th in the 2012 standings despite running a limited schedule, Trevor Bayne will line up 36th on Sunday.

If that washout had come at Texas Motor Speedway, the next scheduled event for the team, the Woods’ limited schedule could lead to all the available starting spots going to teams running the full schedule, which includes two races they are not entering.

“I’m glad we’re getting to race on Sunday instead of loading up and going home,” team owner Eddie Wood said. “But even if we fall victim to the weather somewhere down the road, we’ll just add another race to make up for it.”

Despite the lack of practice and qualifying on Friday, Wood and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team feel they’ll be well prepared for Sunday’s race, thanks to a rare Thursday test session at Las Vegas.

Bayne and his Motocraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion were 14th fastest in the second practice session on Thursday, and Wood feels that the lessons learned with their back-up Ford Fusion will transfer to the primary car, which is now in race trim and ready to hit the track for race practice on Saturday morning.

“We’re happy with what we had in practice,” Wood said.

Two brief practice sessions are set for Saturday, at noon and 2:35 p.m. eastern time, and

The Kobalt Tools 400 is scheduled to get the green flag just after 2:30 p.m. Eastern with TV coverage on FOX.

Wood Brothers Racing PR

Officials from Win-Tron Racing announced today that DOC 360 will partner with NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (NKNPSE) rookie Matt Tifft (@matt89tifft) for the entire 2013 season beginning with next Saturday’s Bristol 125 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.

Last month, Win-Tron Racing and the 2012 ARCA Midwest Tour Rookie of the Year, Matt Tifft, officially announced that they would unite and run for the championship with their No. 89 Chevrolet Impala under the leadership of Shane Tesch. The addition of DOC 360 completes the puzzle and allows the team to centrally focus on winning races and ultimately the championship.

"DOC 360 is very excited to partner with Matt Tifft and Win-Tron Racing,” said Tim
Preston, Director of Business Development for DOC 360. “Matt is a perfect fit for the DOC 360 brand as both are rising stars in their respective business. When you speak to individuals from the racing community, they all speak very highly of Matt as a young man and his future in racing. We feel he will connect well with our core demographics and be a great representative for the DOC 360 brand as we move toward national distribution. Most importantly, we feel the Win-Tron Racing and the DOC 360 partnership can help Matt reach his goal of a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship someday."

Tifft, the Hinckley, Ohio native shows equal enthusiasm about the partnership.

“I’m very excited to be representing DOC 360 on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Tour this season,” he said. “It’s great to welcome a new sponsor into Motorsports and I feel the partnership will be very rewarding. We cannot wait to get the season started next weekend at Bristol.”

Win-Tron Racing PR