Catchfence

PINELLAS PARK, FL (April 18, 2012) – Like those who have entered NASCAR races before him, Stephen Nasse will be living out a life-long dream when he walks through the gates of Richmond International Speedway in Virginia next week. Since he first got behind the wheel of a racecar, he has been eating, sleeping and breathing the sport, and now he will be making his first foray into its upper levels.

Nasse has entered his first NASCAR K&N Pro Series East event, the Blue Ox 100, at Richmond on Thursday, April 26th. When he fires up his All-American Concrete No. 51 Toyota at RIR, it will be the culmination of a lifetime of preparation for that moment.

“It’s going to be great,” said Nasse. “I’ve been thinking about it every day and every night before I go to sleep. It’s just been on my mind 24/7 and it’s going to be awesome to be able to go out there and race with all of those guys that have been racing the series for so long. I know they have a lot of experience so I’m pumped to go out there and compete with them.

“Plus, it’s going to be cool to have all of the NASCAR people there racing the same weekend. It will be cool that they will be able to watch me. Then, if I win, that would be even bigger in front of all those people.”

While the K&N Pro Series East travels to some of the most intense and historic facilities on the East Coast, very few tracks carry the same weight as Richmond International Raceway. The Blue Ox 100 will kick off the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series weekend at RIR, shares a date with the all-star Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown and will be featured on a live SPEED broadcast, so plenty of eyes will be on Nasse at the three-quarter-mile facility on race weekend.

“I’ve been watching NASCAR races at Richmond for a long time and I think it’s a cool racetrack,” said Nasse. “It’s got some grip on it and I think that’s going to be my type of racetrack, just being able to get at it the whole time. I was talking to my crew chief, Buggy Pletcher, and he said the track as a lot of grip so you can pretty much just get into it, so I think we’re going to be really good going into the race.”

Although this will be his first time behind the wheel of a NASCAR K&N Pro Series car, it won’t be Nasse’s first time behind the wheel of a heavier racing vehicle or on a track of this nature. Nasse previously ran a USARacing Pro Cup event at Iowa Speedway, which was modeled similarly to Richmond.

“I think of everything I learned at Iowa, in the laps we did run before we were taken out in a wreck on the first lap of the race. Everything I learned in practice and everything like that, I think will be very similar. They carry a lot of speed coming out of the corner and you’ve got to have the car just right coming out of the corner when you lay the gas down or else you’ll slide up into the wall. That was the hardest thing when we went to Iowa, just trying to keep the car down off the corner.”

Although he’s faced some tough fields in his Pro Cup and Pro and Super Late Model racing in recent years, this will be the most competitive field of racers Nasse has faced yet. He will be going up against veterans with years of experience in the series as well as teams with NASCAR Sprint Cup team affiliations and resources.

“You’ve got teams like Hendrick with Chase (Elliott),” said Nasse. “Chase is a great racecar driver and we’ve developed a great friendship. We even borrowed a motor from them at Gresham a few weeks ago. But you’ve got people like him that I’ve been around and Darrell Wallace, Jr and all of those guys. Now just being around them will make me pick up very quickly. I think we have just as good of a shot as anybody to go out there and win the race. I saw Ryan Blaney go out to Phoenix and win the race last year in the K&N West Series, so it can be done. I don’t think we’ll be dominant or the best right off the truck, but it’s not always the fastest car that wins the race. There’s a lot that goes into it.”

After several years of working his way up through the ranks, in just a few short days, Pinellas Park, Florida’s very own Stephen Nasse will be a NASCAR driver – a dream he’s been reaching for since he was just four years old.

“It’s been going through my head and I’ve been talking to all my friends and family about it,” said Nasse. “It’s a big jump for us. Everything we’ve done has sort of been a big jump though. We went from a little go-kart with no power on dirt to a full-size truck to a Crate Late Model and then to a Super Late Model. Coming from the Super Late Model to the K&N car, it’s going to be a big jump also just because of the big weight difference. But it’s been going through my head that I’m going to be a NASCAR driver and that’s always been my dream since I was four years old. It’s been my dream for myself and my family’s dream for me so I’m just ready to go out there and make my family proud and hopefully come out with a win.”

Nasse and his family team plan to compete in several NASCAR K&N Pro Series East events this season, beginning at Richmond.

For more information on Stephen Nasse contact check out his website at www.stephennasse.com and be sure to follow Stephen on Twitter, @StephenNasse.

- 51 Sports Press Release