Catchfence

Statham, GA (April 21, 2009) – Traditions in Alabama are numerous but one that stands out is the side by side racing at Talladega Superspeedway. Cunningham Motorsports is prepared for an exciting weekend at the action packed track. The Cunningham Motorsports organization has worked tirelessly throughout the 2009 season and has been successful along the way with veteran driver, Ken Weaver, and outstanding young talent, Parker Kligerman.

Ken Weaver is still looking for a break this season. “The race cars have been really good but we just can’t get a break. We are getting where we need to be, it will just take a little time,” stated Weaver. Coming off his 24th place finish at Rockingham, Weaver is looking to be up front at the infamous Talladega Superspeedway.

Weaver has competed at Talladega numerous times and knows that it requires 50% talent and 50% luck to be up front when the race is over. Chaos is synonymous with Talladega Superspeedway and being lucky enough to not get caught up in the commotion is a big factor in winning or losing. Weaver hopes to have lady luck back on his side this weekend and get out of the slump the team has been in since their fifth place finish at Daytona at the beginning of the season.

Parker Kligerman is ready to race at Talladega. Coming off a strong 5th place finish at Rockingham, Kligerman is tied for first place in the overall point’s standings with Patrick Sheltra. Kligerman is establishing himself very rapidly as a contender to win going into his fourth race this season.

Parker stated, “We are taking a good car and hopefully what we have learned at Daytona we can apply at Talladega. The track is wider so that will make the race a lot more interesting. We just need to a good qualifying effort for the race. That will allow us to avoid a lot of the melee that happens on a superspeedway. Our strategies are qualifying up front and lead or stay in the front of the field, get a good finish. I am looking forward to a great race this weekend at Talladega.”

Cunningham Motorsports teams were strong at Daytona, both coming up with top ten finishes. Dayton International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway are similar but definitely different. Both tracks are similar in that they are equally super fast speedways, but that is about as far as the similarities go. Daytona has a real rough surface and drivers fight the bumps all race long. Talladega, on the other hand, has a nice, smooth surface where you can focus more on speed than the next bump in the road. Talladega encounters a lot of great three-wide racing also.

There is no safe zone at Talladega; the “Big One” that everyone is waiting for can happen at any point. Talladega is such a fast track that drivers can be there own worst enemy by pushing the limits and at times push to far thus causing or being caught up in the “Big One”. The Cunningham teams hope to stay out of the mess that is so famous at Talladega Superspeedway and be up front when it is over.

- Mountain Empire Sports Marketing Group Press Release