Catchfence

Pizza Ranch Racing

· WELCOME TO JGR MR. McDOWELL: Michael McDowell is no newcomer to the NASCAR world, but Sunday’s event at Iowa Speedway will mark his first for Joe Gibbs Racing. McDowell will pilot the No. 18 Pizza Ranch Toyota at Iowa, taking the wheel of one of the best cars in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, a car that has already collected five wins in 2011 with Kyle Busch behind the wheel and a car that is the two-time defending NASCAR Nationwide Series Owner’s Championship ride. McDowell has 72 career starts in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, with a career-best finish of sixth coming in the third race of the 2009 season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. McDowell is also a veteran of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, where he’s made 61 career starts. McDowell also has experience in the ARCA Racing Series (finished second in points and crowed Rookie of the Year in 2007), Champ Car, Star Mazda, Daytona Prototype and various other road racing series.

· WELCOME BACK TO PIZZA RANCH: Pizza Ranch, the largest regional pizza restaurant chain in Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, will return as sponsor of the No. 18 Toyota this weekend at Iowa Speedway. Pizza Ranch and Joe Gibbs Racing formed their relationship in 2009 with Kyle Busch in the No. 18 Pizza Ranch Toyota at Iowa Speedway, where the Pizza Ranch team finished a strong second. Since then, Pizza Ranch has been a sponsor with JGR for a number of races and will continue that relationship into 2011, where they will sponsor the No. 18 in three events; two with Michael McDowell (both Iowa events) and one with Kyle Busch (Michigan). Pizza Ranch specializes in pizza and chicken and has grown steadily with franchises currently in nine states. Pizza Ranch offers a host of dining options to include a pizza/chicken/salad bar buffet, carry-out pizza, or delivery of chicken and pizza to the home. Pizza Ranch puts the customer first with extraordinary hospitality and service.

· IOWA IS TRACK NUMBER ONE FOR McDOWELL: Michael McDowell has had a lot of success at a lot of tracks in his stock car career, but Iowa Speedway would be near the top of the list. McDowell has raced in the NASCAR Nationwide Series twice at Iowa Speedway, starting 9th and finishing 8th in 2009 and finishing 13th in 2010. McDowell has also raced at Iowa Speedway twice in the ARCA Racing Series. In 2006, McDowell finished 4th in the ARCA event at Iowa, while in 2007, he finished 2nd after leading 74 laps.

· PIZZA RANCH IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS: Pizza Ranch would like to welcome all of the teams, drivers and crews to Iowa Speedway for the weekend’s event. And for those staying close, all are encouraged to stop by the local Newton, Iowa Pizza Ranch location. It can be found at 1500 West 18th St. in Newton or by calling 641-792-3447.

· CHASSIS: The JGR team will take chassis #112 to Iowa this weekend. The chassis was run at Nashville Superspeedway with Kyle Busch behind the wheel, where he started sixth and finished second.

· STAT OF THE WEEK: 10.5. Of all tracks in the NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule, McDowell has his best average finishes at Iowa Speedway. In two races, McDowell’s average finish at the .875-mile track is 10.5. McDowell’s next best track, statistically, is Milwaukee, where he has an average finish of 14th.

· THE RACE: The John Deere Dealers 250 at Iowa Speedway (Newton, IA; 0.875-mile banked oval) is set for Sunday, May 22, 2011. The race will be broadcast on ABC at 2:00 p.m. EST, with radio coverage on MRN starting at 1:30 p.m. EST.

Michael McDowell Quotes:

“Really, this is just a great opportunity to get to drive the No. 18 and to get to drive for Joe Gibbs and Joe Gibbs Racing. Joe is a guy that I’ve admired for a long time and his organization is one of the best in the business, especially in the Nationwide Series. So to get a chance to race with them is a little surreal. The last time I can say I was in a car this truly competitive was back in 2009 when I was in the No. 47 car in the Cup Series. So I know this opportunity is the opportunity of a lifetime and I’m getting the chance to drive a race-winning car. So I can’t thank Pizza Ranch, Joe Gibbs and everyone enough for this opportunity.

“Iowa has always been a good track for me. It’s a track where you can race two- and even three-wide at times. A lot of people try to say it’s a lot like Richmond, but honestly, it almost drives more like a 1.5-mile intermediate track. So it gives you that intermediate track feel, but it is in reality, a short track and gives you short track action. It is probably one of the coolest tracks to drive. It’s a lot of fun and thankfully, I’ve had a lot of success at the track.

“I’m really looking forward to working with Jason Ratcliff this weekend. I’ve tried to spend time at the shop with him and we went out to lunch recently to just talk things over. I’ve spent time on top of the hauler listening to them during practice, just trying to learn everything I can. I’ve went over data… I’ve done about all I can do to try and get prepared for the weekend. To get a chance to work with a proven crew chief and a proven winner like he is is great. I think we’ll work well together and we’ll be able to keep the Pizza Ranch Toyota competitive and hopefully near the front of the pack all weekend long.”

- Joe Gibbs Racing Press Release