Catchfence

Balances Racing Hard and Racing Smart

Statesville, N.C. (September 14, 2010) - Tony Raines knows his mission. The driver of the No. 34 A&W All American Food Ford is part of the three-car Front Row Motorsports team striving to end the season with all three of their entries in the top 35. As the veteran driver prepares for this weekend’s Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, he knows he needs to race hard but also avoid any trouble that might jeopardize a good finish. Raines and his A&W team aim for a good points day Sunday at the 1.058-mile oval – a track where he has run well his entire NASCAR career.

Raines has eight Sprint Cup Series starts at the Loudon, N.H., track, with a top finish of 20th. He also has three top-15 finishes in the Nationwide Series and a top-five in the Camping World Truck Series.

Comments from A&W All American Food Team Driver Tony Raines on New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Helping Front Row Get Three Cars in the Top 35:

“If you look at it, you probably do see me with a little better success on the flat tracks. I do like some banked tracks, like Charlotte and Texas, but I do tend to take to the flatter ones. I’m just comfortable with them. Loudon is like a big Martinsville, but it’s a little bit easier to pass because there’s a little bit more room.

“A lot of tracks, when you go to them for the first time and you have a good run, they just kind of stick with you that way. That’s kind of where I am with Loudon. The first time I went there in the Truck Series, we qualified third and had a really good truck. And ever since then, I often seem to get the car going well there.

“I knew my teammates Travis (Kvapil) and David (Gilliland) from the past. Being able to work together, I think we’re all competitive and similar drivers. I think that helps. I’m able to feed off them, and if we find something, they can use it as well. The more races you run, certainly the better and more familiar you’ll get with each other. Having two or three races in a row, I think, will be a plus, too. And hopefully we’ll get better each trip.

“I’ve been through a similar role with the No. 96 car when we started three or four years ago. Having no points, we had to race smart for the first half of the year until we were pretty solid in the top 35. So, there’s a time to race and there’s a time to not race. With trying to get back into the top 35, you’ve got to race really smart. You can’t put yourself in a jeopardizing situation, but you want to get all you can.

“It’s a fine line. If a guy’s a little faster than you, let him go. If there’s a guy you can get by, then get those points. It’s a race-long battle. You can’t just forget one lap and make a mistake. You have to race smart and run the whole race and try to avoid any trouble.”

About Front Row Motorsports with Yates Racing:
Front Row Motorsports was formed in 2005 by restaurant entrepreneur Bob Jenkins. Since that time the team has entered a car in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series. In 2010, Front Row Motorsports will partner with Ford and Roush/Yates Engines to field a three-car operation based in Statesville, N.C. The team fields the Long John Silver’s Ford driven by Travis Kvapil, the Taco Bell Ford driven by David Gilliland and the A&W All American Food Ford driven by Tony Raines.

- Breaking Limits Marketing for Front Row Motorsports with Yates Racing, Press Release