Catchfence

CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 00 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota driver Brett Moffitt races Saturday night in the K&N Pro Series East at Columbus (Ohio) Motor Speedway. Moffitt is second in the standings trailing Max Gresham by 94 points. The 18-year-old Grimes, Iowa native jumped from fourth to second after his second-place finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 15. Moffitt owns victories at Greenville-Pickens and Iowa Speedways in 2011 and has led twice as many laps as all other drivers.

Crew Chief Mike Greci leads Moffitt’s Michael Waltrip Racing team that won the East titles in 2009 and 2010 with Ryan Truex. Greci also served as Mike Stefanik’s crew chief winning the 1997 and 1998 titles. Both Truex and Stefanik were named to the top 25 all-time best East Series drivers.

MOFFITT QUOTES

COLUMBUS MOTOR SPEEDWAY:“Columbus is a new track on the schedule and with all of us going there for the first time I think it will level out the playing field for everyone. I don’t know what to expect so practice will be more crucial than normal. Those practice session will be about learning the track and coming up with a race setup. Practice is always important but even more so this weekend.”

2011 SEASON: “We’ve had a lot of highs and lows in our season this year, but I am very confident in our team and my crew chief Mike Greci. We ran into some bad luck midway but we’ve rebounded pretty well. One thing for sure, we are fast every time we race. I’m just focusing on each race and trying not to think about points. If we go out and try to win every race, the points will take care of themselves.”

GRECI ON HAVING TWO DRIVERS IN THE TOP-10: ”I had two in the top-10, it was pretty cool. It’s an honor to have just one, and now I have two. However, it’s not just myself that made it happen, we’ve always had good people around us and good equipment. Everyone around me has always stepped up, the crew, sponsors and everyone that makes it possible for us to be out on the track each week. But to have two in the top ten, it’s really neat.

NOTES

· Has six wins, four poles and 21 top 10s in 29 career East starts.

· Is second in points with a pair of wins and five top 10s through eight races.

· Has led 384 laps this year, nearly double the total of every other driver.

· Moffitt’s Crew Chief Mike Greci bids for his fifth East Series title in 2011. Greci won titles with Ryan Truex in 2009 and 2010 and with Mike Stefanik in 1997 and 1998.

- Michael Waltrip Racing Press Release