Catchfence

“Driver of the No. 23 Aaron’s Dream Machine Chevrolet continues learning curve”

CHINA GROVE, NC (April 28, 2009) – Ken Butler III is once again going to school the hard way this weekend when he takes to a track he’s never logged laps on before.

With four starts to his credit already this year, Butler will be taking to the historic .75-mile oval of Richmond International Raceway in Friday night’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race. His last race was at Phoenix International Raceway and that, too, was a first-time endeavor for the Raybestos’ Rookie of the Year candidate.

With the experience of ARCA, Late Model and Legends races on his racing resume, a trip to the short track of RIR should be welcomed by the Lilburn, Ga. native. Most of those series races are on short tracks giving Butler somewhat of a comfort level for a place like Richmond. This will be Butler’s fifth NNS start for the R3 Motorsports team in the No. 23 Aaron’s Dream Machine Chevrolet.

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO LEARN BEHIND THE WHEEL LIKE YOU DID IN PHOENIX: “I learned one thing from Phoenix, you can play video games and watch as much video of past races as you want to prepare. But, when it comes to actually getting in the car and making laps on the track, it’s a whole new ball game. The videos do prepare you for some aspects of the track, but once you get behind the wheel and feel the car underneath you it’s a totally different experience. Everything from bumps in the track, to how the car reacts to the throttle and how it rolls into and out of the turns gets realized quickly.”

HOW WILL YOU PREPARE FOR RICHMOND: “I’m going to do what I did last time once I get in the No. 23 Aaron’s Dream Machine Chevrolet. I’m going to make a few laps on my own and see how it feels and how the car reacts. Then, I’m going to go back out there and follow some veterans around the track and see their braking and acceleration points. The most important things to work on are finding out how your car reacts to those important points on the track. We have one long practice on Friday to do that, so we need to make the most of that time.”

YOUR THOUGHTS ON NIGHTTIME RACING: “I love it. There is nothing cooler than racing under the lights of any track. There seems to be a whole new mindset for the drivers when we race under the lights. That same level of excitement we feel is probably four times as intense for the fans in the stands. I’m looking forward to my first race at Richmond and hope to represent Aaron’s and the R3 Motorsports team well in the end.”

TALK ABOUT YOUR SPECIAL APPEARANCE ON FRIDAY: “Yeah, the folks from Kevin Harvick Inc and Rheem are hosting 100 military people from Walter Reed Hospital. I took part in a visit up there a few weeks ago with some other Aaron’s athletes and I can’t even begin to tell you how much gratitude you have for what those soldiers have gone through for our freedom. If myself and a bunch of other drivers can show them a good time and have them come out and enjoy a race; then I’m all for them visiting.”

TUNE IN FOR THE WIN: SPEED will carry Qualifying at 4 p.m. (ET) on Friday. But, you need to switch over to ESPN2 at 7 p.m. later that night for the pre-race show and the green flag at 7:30 PM for all 250 laps of the race at “The Action Track”. MRN Radio and Sirius/XM NASCAR Radio Ch. 128 will carry it live, as well.

- R3 Motorsports Press Release