Catchfence

Michael McDowell / No. 20 Pizza Ranch Toyota Preview

Alliance Truck Parts 250 at Michigan International Speedway

No. 20 Pizza Ranch Toyota News and Notes:

• ·         ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS: Joe Gibbs Racing made NASCAR history two weeks ago with their one-two-three sweep in Dover International Speedway’s 200-mile Nationwide Series event. The three-car organization was the first NASCAR Nationwide Series team to ever accomplish this feat. Joe Gibbs Racing’s one-two-three history-making sweep included Joey Logano (No. 18 Dollar General Toyota) earning the win, Ryan Truex (No. 20 Grime Boss Toyota) in second and Brian Scott (No. 11 Dollar General Toyota) finishing in third.
• ·         MCDOWELL BACK IN THE SADDLE WITH PIZZA RANCH: Michael McDowell will be back behind the wheel of the Pizza Ranch Toyota Camry this week in Michigan International Speedway’s 125 lap Nationwide Series event. Midwest-based sponsor Pizza Ranch will be onboard the No. 20 car for their second of four races with Joe Gibbs Racing in 2012. In his first Nationwide Series start of the season, McDowell drove the Pizza Ranch Toyota to an impressive third-place finish at Iowa Speedway, but he’s still got his sights set on victory lane. The 27-year-old driver is also slated to pilot the Pizza Ranch Toyota at Road America on June 23 and at Iowa Speedway on August 4.
• ·         JOE GIBBS RACING AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY: Joe Gibbs Racing’s Nationwide Series program has 25 starts at Michigan International Raceway with one win, eight top-five finishes and 16 top-10 finishes. Of laps contested in their 25 attempts at Michigan’s two-mile oval, JGR Nationwide Series entries have completed 98.9 percent (3046 of 3079 laps) while leading 144 laps of competition. A victory at Michigan this weekend would be Joe Gibbs Racing’s first Nationwide Series win there since 2007.
• ·         FEATURED PIZZA RANCH LOCATION: In conjunction with their partnership with Joe Gibbs Racing, Pizza Ranch selects one of their restaurants to be featured on their car each race weekend through various internal contests. The restaurant winner for the Michigan International Speedway race is Rock Rapids, Iowa. The Rock Rapids, Iowa location was opened in 1986 and is located in Lyon County in the northwest corner of Iowa. This restaurant is owned by Schuyler and Amber Noteboom and Adrie Groeneweg. As part of the prize package for the winners, they will have the opportunity to sit on the No. 20 Pizza Ranch pit box during Saturday’s race and have a private meet and greet with McDowell while at the track.

• ·         RACE INFO: The Alliance Truck Parts 250 at Michigan International Speedway kicks off at 3:45 p.m. ET. Watch and listen live on ABC, Sirius XM Channel 90 and MRN Radio starting at 3:30 p.m. ET.

McDowell’s 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Series Season Stats:

Starts	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Poles	Laps Led	Earnings	Avg. Start	Avg. Finish
1	0	1	1	0	5	$47,418	4.0	3.0

McDowell’s Career NASCAR Nationwide Series Stats:

Starts	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Poles	Laps Led	Earnings	Avg. Start	Avg. Finish
78	0	2	11	1	74	$1,952,399	23.8	22.5

McDowell’s Career NASCAR Nationwide Series Stats at Michigan International Speedway:

Starts	Wins	Top 5	Top 10	Poles	Laps Led	Earnings	Avg. Start	Avg. Finish
2	0	0	0	0	36	$45,411	31.0	22.5

From the Cockpit:

Michael McDowell: “I’m very anxious to get back behind the wheel of the Pizza Ranch Toyota Camry. Iowa was great and we had a really quick racecar. My crew chief Matt Lucas and the boys are bringing me the best car they have for this weekend’s race. Michigan will be new for everyone out there with the repave. Having an organization like Joe Gibbs Racing behind you makes you feel confident that you’ve got a good shot at contending for a win.”

From the Pit Box:

Matt Lucas: “Being from Ohio, I always enjoy racing in the Midwest. We’re really looking forward to going to Michigan with the Pizza Ranch car and having Michael McDowell back onboard. We’ve finished third there twice with Kyle since we started running the new Nationwide Series car, and we’re hoping to improve on that with Michael this weekend. We’re anticipating fast speeds with the new pavement. Michael will be coming off of a race week at Pocono, another newly paved, fast track, so I’m hoping that he will acclimate to Michigan quickly. The whole team really likes working with Michael. He’s got a great attitude, a good personality and he’s a very talented driver.”

No. 20 Pizza Ranch Toyota / Joe Gibbs Racing Team:

Driver - Michael McDowell                               Crew Chief - Matt Lucas                                   Car Chief -Charlie Brock

Race Engineer - Josh Noll                               Shock Specialist - Brad Rothlin                     Mechanic - Todd Brewer

Mechanic - Eddie D’Hondt Jr.                          Tire Specialist - Matt Sauer                             Setup Specialist - Kevin Kelley

Engine Tuner - Roger Purcell                         Truck Driver - Bennie Stevens Jr.                  Spotter - Chris Monez

Jackman - Jeff Fender                                      Gasman - Tom Lampe                                      Front Tire Changer - Nick O’Dell     

Front Tire Carrier - Brad Donaghy                Rear Tire Changer - Jake Seminara             Rear Tire Carrier -Kenny Barber

About Pizza Ranch:

Pizza Ranch’s vision is “To glorify God by positively impacting the world we live in”. Founded in Hull, Iowa, in 1981 by Adrie Groeneweg, Pizza Ranch is a prominent regional restaurant chain that offers a wide selection of pizza, salad, chicken with hot mashed potatoes and gravy, vegetables, potato wedges and desserts in a unique buffet-style environment. The brand’s great tasting food is also available through carry-out and delivery service. Currently, the company boasts more than 160 locations throughout nine states in the Midwest and is currently executing an aggressive growth plan to more than double its presence in key U.S. markets. In 2012, Pizza Ranch was included in Entrepreneur magazine’s “Franchise 500” list. For more information about Pizza Ranch and available franchise opportunities, visit www.pizzaranchfranchise.com.

Source: Joe Gibbs Racing, Press Release