Catchfence

Ryan Gifford

Event: Heluva Good! Summer 125 – June 26, 2009

Venue: New Hampshire Motor Speedway – Loudon, N.H.

· This Week’s No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet at New Hampshire Motor Speedway … Richard Childress Racing developmental driver Ryan Gifford will pilot Chassis No. 167 from the Richard Childress Racing stable in this weekend’s Heluva Good! Summer 125 NASCAR Camping World Series East event at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Kevin Harvick drove this car to the Winner’s Circle in Sprint Cup Series competition in April 2006 at Phoenix International Raceway and again at Richmond International Raceway in September of the same year.

· Third Time’s a Charm … This weekend’s Heluva Good! Summer 125 will mark Gifford’s third-career start in a NCWSE event. Earlier this year, Gifford qualified 14th in his NCWSE debut at Tri-County Motor Speedway in Hudson, N.C. After working his way into the top 10, Gifford was spun out by another driver as the field attempted a green-white-checkered flag finish in the Tri-County 150 on April 25 and was credited with a 17th-place finish. At South Boston (Va.) Speedway, Gifford qualified 10th on his way to a runner-up finish in the Camping World 150 on May 30 in just his sixth-career start on an asphalt track.

· Big Time … When Gifford takes to the 1.058-mile track surface at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, it will mark the first time the 20-year-old driver will be competing on a track larger than a half-mile in length. At the same time, it will be the eighth time he will race on an asphalt surface.

· Season So Far … Gifford is running a combination of dirt track, asphalt Late Model and NCWSE events this season for Team Dillon Racing (owned by RCR vice president of competition, Mike Dillon) and Richard Childress Racing. Some of the highlights of the year to date include; a visit to the Alltel DIRTCar Nationals at Volusia (Fla.) Speedway, where Gifford posted five top-five feature finishes in seven nights of racing; a sixth-place finish In his first career start on asphalt at Tri-County Motor Speedway on April 22; and a 10th-place result in the FASTRAK Late Model Challenge race at The Dirt Track at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on May22.

· Race Broadcast Information … The Heluva Good! Summer 125 will air on SPEED on a tape-delayed basis Thursday, July 9 at 3 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

Ryan Gifford Quotes:

You’ve never competed on a track this large, have you?

“This is my first mile track, so I’m really excited. It’s the first time I’ve been on anything bigger than a half-mile, really. I’m ready to go out and learn and see what I can do. I’ve run a lot on my (video) simulator and played a lot of video games. I think that stuffs help, in a way, just to get accustomed to where you need to run on the track. I just want to go out there and try and get a top-five finish. If we can get our fair share of top fives, then we should eventually get our fair share of wins. It’s going to be twice as big as what I’m used to but I think it will be alright. It’s just another race track. I’ve just got to get out there and do it.”

You haven’t tested at any one-mile tracks, so what have you been doing to prepare?

“I’ve been watching tapes. I have some in-car footage from Clint (Bowyer) at Loudon in the Nationwide (Series) car, so I think it will be really close to what he was doing. I’ve watched and studied it to really get an idea of what’s going on there.”

There’s a lot of good competition that shows up to this event. Being relatively new to the series, is that intimidating at all?

“You’ve always got to respect your competitors, but I think we’ve got just as good a chance as anyone. I think our cars are just as good. I just have to adapt to the track and the high speeds and do what I have to do. There are some good guys there. There are some of the guys we race with on the short tracks that run a lot better there. Eddie McDonald won both races there last year, I think. He’s got it figured out there but I think we can do well. I just have to get focused and make everything come together.”

Was it a big confidence booster to post a second-place finish in just your second NCWSE start?

“It gave me tons of confidence. Like I keep saying, that finish was like a win to me. I always want to go the next step and get better, so now I’m looking to win. I’ve got a second, so now I want to win, but I realize a top five is a much more realistic goal.”

Crew Chief Wayne Orme Quotes:

You’re taking a young driver to a track he’s never visited. What are your expectations and what do you hope to achieve this weekend?

“The biggest thing is for him to get experience. If we come out of there with the car in one piece, it’s a good day. If we come out of there with a top five, it’s a huge win. The bottom line is for him to get experience and get exposure to these bigger race tracks. My biggest concern is the speed. He’s never gone that fast before in a race but I don’t think it will be a problem. He’s not afraid of speed at all, it’s just that it’s a tricky little race track and always has been. Fortunately for us, Mike Dillon is going to come up and spot for us and that’s a huge asset. He does a great job with Clint (Bowyer) and we’re looking forward to everyone going up there and having a calm, peaceful weekend and getting Ryan some track time.”

As a veteran in this sport, what do you see in Ryan that makes you think he can be successful at this level?

“He has a great deal of car control. His input and the quality of his feedback on what the car’s doing, for somebody that has done this for such a limited time, especially on asphalt, helps me by making my playbook a lot smaller. As a crew chief, your playbook is huge to start off with and, with bad input, the playbook isn’t worth anything. He gives such good input back at such a young age, it makes things a lot more simple.”

Is the quality of his feedback and his feel for the car something that you can teach or does it come naturally to drivers?

“That’s natural. I think you can teach it but I’ve worked with some guys who have been doing this for quite awhile and the actual input on what they feel and what they want out of the car is natural. It’s exciting. He’s been given a great opportunity with RCR and TDR. As someone who’s been doing this for 15 years, I have to say that with his overall ability with the race car and his personality, I can’t personally ask for anything better. If he can keep doing what he’s doing, I think the sky’s the limit for him.”

- Richard Childress Racing Press Release