Bristol Motor Speedway 50th Anniversary

The main event in March, the Food City 500, which is the fourth Sprint Cup race of the season, takes place March 18. The IRWIN Tools Night Race, the sport’s most popular event, takes place Aug. 25.

“We’re coming off of another spectacular August race week,” said BMS executive vice president and general manager Jerry Caldwell. “Overall, it was a great year, but we’re already looking for ways to make it even better in 2012. Once again, fans will get to experience Bristol early in the season and as always, our goal is to make certain it’s an unforgettable weekend, just like our August event.

“Everyone knows that when it comes to supporting their sport, race fans have no equal. And I’ll take that a step further by saying that I believe Bristol Motor Speedway’s fans are the most loyal and passionate in NASCAR. We simply have the best fans in the world and we can’t wait to have them back next year.”

NASCAR kicks off the BMS March race weekend with Ford Fan Friday March 16, followed by the Nationwide Series event March 17, and the Food City 500 Sprint Cup race March 18.

August race week will begin with the Camping World Truck Series/Whelen Modified Series UNOH Perfect Storm 150 doubleheader Aug. 22. The Food City 250 Nationwide Series race is Aug. 24, followed by the IRWIN Tools Night Race Aug. 25.

Season tickets, as well as March race weekend only tickets, are now available. To purchase tickets, please contact the BMS ticket office at its toll free number 1-866-415-4158 or 423-BRISTOL (274-7865). Tickets also may be purchased at www.bristoltix.com.

Speedway Motorsports is a leading marketer and promoter of motorsports entertainment in the United States. The Company, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates the following premier facilities: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Infineon Raceway, Kentucky Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway. The Company provides souvenir merchandising services through its SMI Properties subsidiaries; manufactures and distributes smaller-scale, modified racing cars and parts through its U.S. Legend Cars International subsidiary; and produces and broadcasts syndicated motorsports programming to radio stations nationwide through its Performance Racing Network subsidiary. The Company also equally-owns Motorsports Authentics, a joint venture formed with International Speedway Corporation to produce, market and sell licensed motorsports merchandise. For more information, visit the Company’s website at www.speedwaymotorsports.com.

- Bristol Motor Speedway, Press Release

NASCAR Logo

Lally, a native of Northport, N.Y. on Long Island, has been able to expand his expertise in oval track racing without the additional pressure of a multiple driver rookie competition. He finished 25th in Saturday’s IRWIN Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, his fifth consecutive run in the top 30. More importantly, the 36-year-old Lally has been able to finish 20 of his 21 starts to keep Kevin Buckler’s TRG Motorsports organization among the top 35 in the owners championship standings, and currently guarantee the team a starting position.

Crew chief Doug Richert would be hard-pressed to find a more experienced tire specialist than Mike Harrold to keep Lally in the game – and the single-car team moving forward in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Harrold, a 48-year-old from York, Pa., has been in the series for nearly two decades after growing up working with his father and grandfather on the Pennsylvania sprint car circuit. He broke into NASCAR with the former Jasper Motorsports outfit and driver Robert Pressley with later stints at Hendrick Motorsports and Ray Evernham Motorsports. He’s been a Goodyear tire specialist since 1997.

What does a tire specialist do besides select tires from the Goodyear compound and make sure they meet Richert’s specifications? Just about everything according to Harrold, whose job might better be described as the team’s logistics chief. What goes to the track, how it gets there and when the equipment returns is Harrold’s responsibility.

“I’m one of those versatile people, said Harrold. “If it means changing a motor or gears or making pieces and parts; whatever it takes. They come to me and say, ‘can you do this?’ and I say, ‘done.’ I’m a little high strung and a morning person but that’s half the battle, to get up and do the job you enjoy.”

Harrold previously worked with teams that had near unlimited resources, Hendrick for instance. Looking back on his earlier years, he admits “selecting tires and keeping notes was simple: you could buy all the tires you wanted. You always had a helper, the truck driver, to fetch.”

Such is not the case in 2011. “Obviously, (less) money is the No. 1 concern. We don’t have the budget so we only get 70, 80% of the tires the larger teams purchase,” said Harrold. “You have to make things last and you don’t waste products. You just don’t waste stuff.”

At TRG, he said, having the right personnel – just not a large staff – keeps the wheels turning. “We do have good, seasoned people and we accomplish a lot with very little,” said Harrold. “You do it because you’re a racer. Sure, you want to win. TRG is a good company and potential is there. We just need to show that to (potential sponsors) out there.

“It just takes time because it’s a tough business.”

Next on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule, with two races remaining before the 12 qualifiers for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup are determined in Sunday’s AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Official winners of this week’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Prize Money & Decal Program special awards include:

• · AMERICAN ETHANOL GREEN FLAG RESTART: Brad Keselowski
• · COORS LIGHT POLE AWARD: Ryan Newman (122.811 mph, 15.624 secs,)
• · DIRECTV CREW CHIEF OF THE RACE AWARD: Jimmy Fennig (crew chief for Matt Kenseth)
• · GOODYEAR GATORBACK BELTS FASTEST LAP AWARD: Ryan Newman (118.789 mph, Lap 2)
• · MAHLE CLEVITE ENGINE BUILDER OF THE RACE AWARD: Hendrick Motorsports, No. 24
• · MOBIL 1 OIL DRIVER OF THE RACE AWARD: Martin Truex Jr.
• · MOOG CHASSIS PARTS PROBLEM SOLVER OF THE RACE AWARD: Chad Johnston, 0.049 seconds (crew chief for Martin Truex Jr.)
• · O’REILLY AUTO PARTS POSITION IMPROVEMENT AWARD: Tony Stewart (14 places)
• · SUNOCO ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARD: Andy Lally

About the NASCAR Prize Money & Decal Program

The NASCAR Prize Money & Decal Program, commonly referred to as the contingency program, is administered by the NASCAR Automotive Group. The program strives to build strong relationships with high-quality, performance-driven brands that are leaders in their respective categories and award money to NASCAR teams via per-race and year-end postings. Competitors become eligible for awards money by displaying partner decals on the front fender of their race vehicles and, in some instances, use of a sponsor’s product. National series contingency sponsors will contribute over $8.4 million to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2011.

- NASCAR, Press Release

No 71 Interstate Moving Services Ford Fusion

Mooresville, N.C. (8/27/2011) -

TRG Motorsports leaves Bristol solidly locked in the top-35 of NASCAR’s Owner’s Point Standings. That margin is the largest of the season for an organization that has been red hot as of late. The team has welcomed many new team members to both its NASCAR and Sports Car programs as of late.

“We’ve added a few new key personnel as of late. We may not have 300+ employees as a team like Hendrick, but we’re a young team and we’re growing. Every week, we take a step forward. If you keep taking steps forward and work hard and work smart, you are bound to improve. Andy and the rest of the team are totally committed to making this happen. That’s what we’re doing at TRG Motorsports and I’m proud to see our progress.” said team owner Kevin Buckler.

Another contributing factor to the team’s recent progress has been the success of the team’s partnership with Ford Racing and the performance of Roush Yates Engines.

Crew chief Doug Richert commented: “Roush Yates is hands-down building the best engines in NASCAR right now. I joined TRG Motorsports right after we switched to Ford in April. It took us a little time to get our program in check. We’ve done that now and I can’t stress enough how much better our equipment is now than it was two months ago. We not only have better equipment, but a solid and growing group of employees. We are definitely an organization to keep an eye on as the season winds down.”

General Manager Harry McMullen is also happy to be a part of the growing organization.

“When I was offered the chance to join TRG after Daytona, I saw opportunity. I saw the opportunity to be a part of a growing race team. I saw a determined owner in Kevin, a solid core of individuals committed to a common goal and a young and dedicated driver in Andy. This organization has an unbelievable amount of potential right now. We have put a foundation in place and are continuing to build upon that establishment.”

Team owner Kevin Buckler has always stressed the team’s status as a lean, nimble and efficient organization.

“We are a professional group of individuals that has a history of winning championships and putting drivers in victory lane. We’re not the biggest team in the garage area, but we most efficient team. People often think of TRG and the years of success we’ve experienced in sports car racing. They sometimes forget how short of a time we’ve been in NASCAR. If you look at what we’ve been able to do in that short amount of time, I think it’s quite impressive. For much of our NASCAR existence, we’ve had a talented, but skeleton crew. That crew has helped to lay the foundation for the organization I envision. We’re adding pieces to both the business and competition aspects of our organization. Those pieces are building blocks upon the foundation we’ve already laid and building blocks toward where I ultimately want this team to be in NASCAR.”

Buckler continued, “I think growth is a positive sign in any organization. While we are getting bigger, we are keeping our focus and not getting ahead of ourselves. That’s where our responsibility to be an efficient race team comes in. It’s not just about doing more with less, it’s about doing the most with what you have. That is true efficiency. Whether we’re preparing a car for the next big race or helping a sponsor maximize their ROI, we are striving to make the most of every opportunity that comes our way.”

The success Buckler is referring to is evident in the team’s most recent performance at Bristol Motor Speedway.

While Lally started the race towards the tail end of the field, in 38th,he raced his way to a 25th place finish. The finish marks the sixth consecutive week Lally has finished in the top-30. NASCAR’s top rookie continues a streak of impressive performances as he has earned an average finish of 25.8 over the past six races. He also ran as high as third and was in fourth at the race’s halfway mark.

The 25th place finish is also an improvement of seven positions over Lally’s Bristol debut earlier this spring. In every race this season where Lally has returned to a track for the second time, he has improved his finish over his performance earlier in the season.

The No. 71 team also improved its position in the top-35 of NASCAR’s Owner’s Points Standings for the fourth week in-a-row. They now hold a forty-nine point lead over 36th and are only eight points behind 34th.

“This is the best job we’ve done all year in terms of adjusting on our car and making it progressively better throughout the race. When you put forty-three cars on a half-mile track, track position becomes crucial. We didn’t have the best qualifying run, so we started further back than we had hoped too. However, we never quit and we never gave up. We worked on this car all race long and just kept making it better. That really seems to be our motto this season; to keep getting better. The past six weeks have been very encouraging for me. We’ve been able to leave each of those races with three or four good things to be proud of and build on. That’s our goal from here, to keep building on our recent success and continue our motto of constant improvement.” said driver Andy Lally.

“Not only are we locked in the top-35 by an entire race now, but we’re proving that we can be a consistent top-25 team. The performances we’ve put together over the past six races are exactly what I was talking about back in January during the NASCAR Media Tour. We’re a small team capable of doing big things. As a competitor, I want to keep getting better; and runs like this show that is precisely what we are doing. We keep talking about how we’ve earned an average finish of 25.8 over the past six races and I think that gets overlooked a lot. Consider the tracks we’ve raced at in that period: New Hampshire, Indianapolis, Pocono, Watkins Glen, Michigan and Bristol. In that group you have: a 1-mile oval, a 2.5 mile flat oval, a track that is pretty much a triangle, a 2-mile oval and a .5 mile oval. That shows that we’re not just getting better in one area, but that our entire program is getting stronger. Our team is firing on all cylinders right now and I’m excited for what the rest of the season holds.” said team owner Kevin Buckler.

Next week, the No. 71 Interstate Moving Services team heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the running of the Advocare 500. Coverage will begin Sunday, September 4th at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

# # #

TRG is a full-service motorsports company offering a total driver ladder approach. This approach starts with track days, goes to club events, up into street stock series and culminates in the ultimate goal of professional motorsports. With sports car focused facilities in Petaluma, California (Infineon Raceway) and Mooresville, North Carolina, the team can offer turn-key support as well as arrive-and-drive programs.

The company’s NASCAR operations are headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina. The team fields a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series entry and has the capacity to run ARCA, Nationwide and the Camping World Truck Series.

The Racer’s Group was founded in 1993 and has been competing at the top level of motor racing. The team boasts Rolex Series GT championships in 2005 and 2006 and holds the record for the most wins in Grand-Am with 32. The team’s resume is highlighted by five championships, four Rolex 24 Hour at Daytona victories and a Le Mans 24 Hour win.

Detailed team info can be viewed at www.trgmotorsports.com and www.theracersgroup.com.

- TRG Motorsports, Press Release

No. 11 Boise State Broncos Toyota Camry (Brian Scott)

No. 11 Shore Lodge Team Notes of Interest

· Brian Scott and the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Team will be running the colors of the Boise State Broncos during Saturday’s Atlanta 300 in NASCAR Nationwide Series competition at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Scott is a Boise, Idaho native and is a lifelong fan of the Boise State Broncos. The special paint scheme is the product of a special promotion between Joe Gibbs Racing and Boise State as the Broncos football team will be taking on the University of Georgia a few miles north of Atlanta Motor Speedway the same time as the NASCAR Nationwide Series race.

· The Boise State paint scheme developed through the school’s relationship with the Albertson Foundation and the “Go On” campaign which promotes college attendance by high school students in Idaho.

· Scott has one career Nationwide Series start at Atlanta Motor Speedway and that was during the 2010 event in which he scored a 28th-place finish after starting from the 30th position.

· In addition to the lone Atlanta start in Nationwide Series competition, Scott has competed in three NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events at Atlanta. Scott’s best truck series finish was during the 2009 event at Atlanta in which he led one lap and finished the race in 10th place.

· Prior to race activities at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Scott will participate in the Reed Sorenson Charity Golf Classic on Thursday, Sept. 1. The tournament benefits Speedway Children’s Charities and is taking place at Crystal Lake Golf Club in Hampton, Ga.

· Chassis #128 is the car Scott will race this weekend in Atlanta. This will be the third race the team has used chassis #128 during the 2011 season. Scott scored a pair of 17th-place finishes in Chassis #128’s previous two starts. The car made its debut at Michigan International Speedway in June and was raced again at Nashville Superspeedway in late July. The backup car for this weekend is Chassis #106 which still has not been used in 2011.

· Last Race: Scott picked up his fourth top-10 finish of the 2011 season during last weekend’s Food City 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway. After starting from the 11th position, Scott ran a consistent race and finished the night with a 10th-place effort.

· Scott remains ninth in the NASCAR Nationwide Series driver standings following his 10th-place finish at Bristol. He is 14 points behind Steven Wallace in eighth place.

· To access information on Brian Scott and No. 11 Team visit: www.joegibbsracing.com and follow twitter.com/bscottracing and twitter.com/joegibbsracing.

Brian Scott

“I like Atlanta a lot. It’s one of the fastest tracks we go to and it’s probably one of the most worn out surfaces which will really place a premium on handling. We should be good. We’ve done well at the one-and-a-half mile tracks this year. We had top-10 finishes at Charlotte and Texas and had a great run going at Chicago until we run out of gas so I feel pretty good about our intermediate program going into this weekend’s race. I also think you will see some guys that start off really well at the beginning of a run and there will be some guys that are better on a longer run. Personally I think the longer run will be the way to go and those long, green-flag run situations have been where we really exceled this year.”

Talk about the Boise State paint scheme for this weekend.

“There has been a lot of excitement with this paint scheme and we’ve gotten a great response from people in Boise and the media there. This is obviously a big honor for me because I was raised in Boise and my dad went to school at Boise State. The Boise State football program has really grown in popularity during the last several years and that’s been a lot of fun as a fan to watch that and their success on the football field. I’m just really looking forward to the weekend and the race and being able to represent my favorite team in this capacity.”

- Joe Gibbs Racing Press Release

2011 NSCS Casey Mears Thumbnail

Casey Mears and the GEICO team were excited for short track racing under the lights. After two practice sessions and qualifying on Friday, the 500-mile race was at center stage the following night. As the green flag waved shortly after 7:30 pm ET, Mears looked to move forward quickly from his 29th starting position. However, a loose handling condition on entry and exit plagued the driver.

The first caution slowed the field on lap 33, as debris was spotted on The World’s Fastest Half-Mile. Mears reported that the GEICO Toyota was “faster than these guys, but the car is just really loose.” Crew chief Bootie Barker brought Mears to pit road for four tires, fuel, and an air pressure adjustment. Varying pit strategies began early, placing Mears in 31st-place on the lap 38 restart.

By lap 60, Mears had driven up to the 27th position, but contact with another competitor forced the GEICO machine to lose a couple spots on the track. The second caution was shown on lap 105 with Mears holding 29th-place as the California native still faced a very loose handling condition. Barker brought his driver down pit road for four tires, fuel, and adjustments. Mears restarted from the 31st position on lap 111.

Twenty laps later the third caution for debris was displayed as Mears told his GEICO team that the Toyota was a lot looser than the first two runs. Barker took the opportunity to bring Mears back down pit road for four fresh tires, fuel, and air pressure adjustments. Mears took off from the 34th position on lap 136.

The next 165 laps were caution-free, forcing teams to pit under green flag conditions. Mears, who clocked his fastest lap times of the race during the long run, moved all the way into 16th-place before coming to pit road on lap 253 for four tires and fuel.

Mears drove his way into the 28th position by lap 299, when the fourth caution came for a multi-car accident. Barker and the GEICO team decided to take the wave around instead of pitting to regain one lap. As the field went back racing on lap 311, Mears quickly began to move forward. In a short 50 laps, the GEICO Toyota Camry was inside the top-25.

Another multi-car accident took place on lap 362, forcing the fifth caution to slow the field. This was the break the GEICO team was looking for in order for Mears to come to pit road for fresh rubber. The veteran driver did just that, pitting for four tires and fuel. Mears restarted from 23rd-place on lap 369.

By lap 400, Mears had moved into the 22nd-place and was battling David Ragan for the Lucky Dog position. Just as Mears was a car length from completing the pass, the sixth caution came for a competitor hitting the wall. As tires played a key role the entire race, Barker called the GEICO machine to pit road for four tires and fuel, despite others behind Mears taking the wave around to return to the lead lap.

Mears took off from the 24th position on lap 421. Within 15 laps, the No. 13 GEICO Toyota had moved up to 23rd-place and was in the Lucky Dog position if a caution were to come out. However, the final 80 laps went caution-free and Mears crossed the finish line in the 23rd position, recording his eighth Top 25 of the 2011 season.

“The guys on this GEICO Racing team did a great job during the race,” said Mears. “Bootie made a really good call for us to take the wave around. The car had a lot of speed and I think we would have been able to move up even more if we would have gotten a caution. But nonetheless, the pit crew did a nice job and my spotter Jason Jarrett really let me know everything that was happening around me.”

Aside from netting yet another Top 25, Mears and the GEICO team jumped to the 32nd position in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Owner Point standings.

Next Sunday, September 4th, Mears and the GEICO team will head to Atlanta Motor Speedway for another race under the lights. The green flag will wave shortly after 7:30 pm ET and all the action can be seen live on ESPN. PRN Radio and Sirius XM Satellite Radio will also have the live broadcast.

To learn more about the GEICO Racing program, please visit: www.geicogarage.comYou can also follow GEICO Racing on Twitter: www.twitter.com/geicoracingPlease visit the Casey Mears Facebook fan page: www.facebook.com/caseymearsracing

- Players Management International, Inc., for GEICO Racing, Press Release

Roush Fenway Racing

BRISTOL, Tenn. (August 27, 2011) –

Kenseth led 110 laps en route to a sixth-place finish in Saturday night’s Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway to clinch the spot. He was joined in the top 10 by teammate Edwards, who started on the outside of the front row and finished ninth. David Ragan battled back onto the lead lap to finish 20th and Greg Biffle finished 31st, after having to pit under green with a tire issue early in the race.

“We had good pit stops and good strategy and we locked into the Chase, which is huge,” said Edwards, who has led the Sprint Cup point standing for much of the season. “That’s the first mission of the season and we accomplished that and we are looking forward to Atlanta (next week).”

Kenseth is now third in the Sprint Cup point standings, with two victories. Edwards is fourth in the points, with one win.

Roush Fenway’s Biffle and Ragan remain in the hunt for a playoff berth in this year’s field. Biffle is 16th in the point standings, while Ragan is 21st, with a victory at Daytona.

With just two races remaining before the “Chase” cutoff, the Sprint Cup Series returns to action next weekend for a Labor Day Weekend Showdown at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Roush Fenway has won six times in the Sprint Cup Series at AMS.

- Roush Fenway Racing, Press Release

Team Chevy Logo

Jimmie Johnson, No.48 Lowe’s/KOBALT Tools Chevrolet, had a solid night and ran consistently in the top-five of the Irwin Tools Night Race, even reeling off a 76 lap run at the front of the field early in the race. Johnson came home with yet another top-five at Bristol and is the first Team Chevy driver to clinch a spot in the “Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup”.

Jamie McMurray, No. 1 Bass Pro Shops/Realtree Chevrolet, looked like the surprise of the night when he fought his way to the front and looked like a late contender for the win, but lost track position on the final stop and was not able to recover. McMurray brought his Chevy home with a respectable fifth-place finish.

Ryan Newman, No. 39 Bass Pro Shops/Realtree Chevrolet, earned the pole for tonight’s race but struggled with handling before a late rally to score an eighth-place finish. It was a good points night for Newman who maintains seventh-place in the overall point standings with two races before the Chase.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr., No. 88 AMP Energy/Bristol 50^th Anniversary/National Guard Chevrolet, struggled with balance and grip but brought his Chevy home in 16^th and maintains his 9^th place standing overall in points.

Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Realtree/Bad Boy Buggies Chevrolet, had a rough night at the half-mile track where he has had much success – even winning in Wednesday night’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event, but came home in 22^nd position and dropped from third to fifth in the standings.

Tony Stewart, No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Office Depot Chevrolet, had one of his toughest weekends at Bristol this week. After qualifying in 42^nd position, he fell behind three laps and was only able to rally to a 28^th finish but clings to 10^th overall in the point standings with two races to go before the Chase cut-off.

Clint Bowyer also struggled with the handle of his No. 33 Hamburger Helper Chevrolet. He finished 26^th and sits 12^th in points.

Chevrolet continues to lead the standings for the 2011 Manufacturers’ Cup with 24 races in the books.

Brad Keselowski (Dodge) was the race winner. Martin Truex, Jr. (Toyota) was second to complete the top-five finishers.

Next on the Series’ schedule is Sunday night, September 4, 2011, at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET – FINISHED 3^RD

POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT:

THE MODERATOR: Our third place finisher is Jeff Gordon. He drives the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.

Jeff, talk about the race out there this evening. Certainly you had a car that was up front just about the entire evening.

JEFF GORDON: Yeah, it was an awesome night for us with the Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet. We started up front. We had a great pit stops, and man, we just had a fun night. It just felt so good to be that competitive.

I mean, we’ve been competitive like that for several weeks now, and I’m just having a blast. Can’t wait for the next race when you’re running good like this and you have a team that has confidence in you and you have confidence in them and you’re getting along the way that we’re getting along, it’s a lot of fun out there. Yeah, it was an awesome performance.

I hate we came up short. We just couldn’t quite get after it the way we needed to being on the inside lane on that last restart, and you know, I almost was clear of Martin when we were running hard there together. It was a great race between me and him and couldn’t quite clear him. And I knew at that point we just didn’t have enough laps to get back by him or get up to the 2 car.

Q. You talked a lot about the competition you were having with Martin (Truex, Jr.) and Jimmie (Johnson) all night long. Sometimes you have those races where it seems like you’re racing around the same guys all night. Was there a time during this race where you looked up and said, Can’t I just race somebody else instead of the same guys I’ve been around all night?

JEFF GORDON: Well, I don’t know. I was wondering where the No. 1 car (Jamie McMurray) came from that one time. He was really strong and had a good race car, as well. You know, definitely me and Matt (Kenseth), and actually me and Matt have been racing a lot lately. You look at the Brickyard, Michigan, a lot of racetracks me and Matt have been really battling. I guess that’s a good thing because Matt has been running up front a lot this year.

You know, I saw Martin running in practice and his car looked good, and the last time that we were here, or this race last year, they were really strong, and we raced with them, as well.

You know, I was hoping that I could get up to him a little bit earlier than I did. The longer that you ran, the less the two tires, or four tires, had an advantage, and he was running a great line up there on top holding momentum.

I kind of picked up some lap cars there one time and thought I was going to get him but he stuffed it in there three wide and that was it. Once I didn’t get by him there, I kind of used up my stuff, had to kind of ride in there behind him, and took one last shot on him on the last corner and couldn’t quite clear him. It was a great battle.

But yeah, any time you’re racing I was surprised we weren’t racing with Kyle Busch tonight. I was expecting him to be up there. But Jimmie Johnson certainly wasn’t a surprise. (Brad) Keselowski, man, those guys are on a roll. They’re running strong. We have to keep an eye on him because he’s strong.

Q. Jeff, you mentioned Brad (Keselowski) and how strong they were running. They were 25th in points at Charlotte and now have three wins and 11th in points over the last 12 races. Are they serious championship contenders now? And the second question, when you were trying to get around Martin did you kind of think back to Watkins Glen and the promise he made there?

JEFF GORDON: Watkins Glen? Oh, Sonoma. We’ll get to that in a second. I only remember he promised. I remember begging for mercy (Laughter).

Let’s see, yeah, I don’t know what more to say about Brad and the 2 team. They’re strong and you put them in position at the end of the race and they’re going to pull off the wins. They’re, to me, as strong of a team out there that there is right now.

I think it’s really ironic that he had the issue at Road Atlanta, and ever since then he’s been on fire.

I think he proved to all of us he’s tougher than we thought he was, and we always knew he was a good race car driver, but he’s stepping it up, and that whole team, so you’ve got to give him a lot of credit.

As far as Martin and I at Sonoma, I made a huge mistake, and it didn’t matter to him whether I made a mistake because it ruined his day. But I think tonight I wanted to prove to him that I could race him hard and race him clean for position.

Now, if we would have been racing for the win it might have been different. But racing for the position we were in, I raced him hard, we rubbed, we banged, but we had a lot of respect for one another, and he finished second, I finished third, and that’s pretty much how we’ve raced one another ever since Sonoma.

Q. Jeff, you mentioned something about pit road after you got out of the car out there. Is it more of a bonus to have a good pit stall like Matt did tonight? What exactly is the problem with having the pits on each side like this?

JEFF GORDON: Well, don’t get me wrong. We had a good pit stall similar to them. I don’t know if there’s a little bit more of an advantage on the front straightaway than there is on the back straightaway, but to me the whole purpose of having timing lines and pit road speed is to make it as equal and fair for everybody as you possibly can. And they’ve got some work to do at this pit road. The racetrack is awesome, but the pit road is terrible.

When a guy can run 60 miles an hour down pit road and the pit road speed is, what, 35, then something is wrong with the system. We were able to do something similar to that on the back straightaway, so I don’t really feel like that’s what cost us tonight. I did have a couple cars coming down pit road that were going slow when I left my pit stall that held me up a little bit, but we qualified good, so we had one of those stalls.

But even when you have one and you see the other guys have one, it’s a joke that somebody can leave pit road and run that fast down pit road and then slam on the brakes. Kenseth drove by four cars and so did the No. 2 car when he left his pit stall. I just don’t understand it.

But that is the way that it is here, and it puts a huge premium on the pit stall and qualifying up front.

Q. Following up on that, technology exists, or GPS units I guess you can put in these cars, that can tell you instantaneous speed at any point on the racetrack or at any point on pit road. Instead of using lines where people cheat, would you have in favor of something like that?

JEFF GORDON: I don’t understand why we don’t have a button on the steering wheel, just hold it and takes us pit road speed and we just run it all the way down pit road. You’ll have to ask NASCAR where why we don’t have that technology. We have the technology to do it, but why we don’t incorporate it into the cars, and there might be good reasons why we don’t.

I think the time lines are a big improvement over what we used to have, but there are certain tracks; you look at Michigan last week, they redid pit road, and they completely redid their pit road lines, and there was no stall that had a big advantage at that track because they segmented them in equal segments all the way down pit road. And that’s what they’re going to need to do here eventually, as well.

Q. You kind of touched on it right there, but is this an issue that we see at more than just this track? You mentioned Michigan repaving, but are other tracks just as bad or is this just the worst on the schedule?

JEFF GORDON: This is the one I’d say that’s most noticeable. But Martinsville there’s a couple of them. Everywhere we go we look at timelines and see where there’s big gaps in the timelines and try to take advantage of them. And sometimes it’s more risky than others because you might be pitting in between two other cars, so you’ll pick a spot or a pit stall right on a timeline to gain that advantage, but you might be blocked in.

Where here, at least the one that I had and the one that Matt had, when we were we were wanting to be third in qualifying really, really bad because that’s where that last that pit stall that Matt had was the cutoff. We knew that the top three would get the best three pit stalls, so we got the next best one, and it had advantages like that.

But I think Matt’s seemed to have a little bit more of an advantage. So this is probably the worst one.

Q. Obviously all the talk is about the excitement with Brad maybe being a contender for the Chase, but how much do you feel like you really yourself could be right up there to challenge your teammate Jimmie this year to actually get another title for yourself?

JEFF GORDON: I’m excited about our race team. We’ve been running really strong, been leading a lot of laps, running up front at the big races. To me the most impressive thing about my racing was what improvement we made from the spring at this track to this evening. We were out to lunch earlier in the year, and I just think we’ve come a long way as a team, communication, confidence, and what we’ve learned together on how to make our race cars better and how to communicate better to get the most out of the cars.

I’m having a blast right now, and when you’re having fun it means you’re competitive on a fairly consistent basis, and I hope we can keep that going because we can definitely do some damage and give some guys a real run for their money in the Chase.

Q. Could you talk a little bit about the racing tonight? Jeff, you talked about on pit road racing the No. 17 and No. 48. Would you ever have imagined to be able to have that kind of racing here at Bristol where you guys had plenty of room to almost go three wide quite a bit

JEFF GORDON: I mean, I agree. I love racing here with the multiple grooves. I know there’s not as many cautions and there’s not as many guys upset at one another after the race is over, which makes for a good television show, I guess. But for us as drivers, it’s very challenging to try to make a pass. You’ve got to set a guy up, and you’ve got to work him over and over and over, and sometimes you make the pass, sometimes you don’t.

You know, I wonder. Goodyear came here earlier in the year with a little bit softer tire, and they had to change it because we wore through it. If they could get that tire to lay some rubber down, that would probably be a better tire to allow us to kind of what Martin is alluding to, where it would have a little bit more grip.

This tire, it seems like you sit up on top of the racetrack and slide it around a little bit and you can overheat it real easily, but it doesn’t wear much. So I think that maybe Goodyear could look at that a little bit.

And I know they’d prefer to have that other tire, they just got scared because it wore so quickly. So if there’s a way to keep the rubber on that tire, I think the compound would make the racing even a little bit better than it was.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, and congratulations on your performance tonight.

FastScripts by ASAP Sports…

About Chevrolet

Founded in Detroit in 1911, Chevrolet celebrates its centennial as a global automotive brand with annual sales of about 4.25 million vehicles in more than 120 countries. Chevrolet provides consumers with fuel-efficient, safe and reliable vehicles that deliver high quality, expressive design, spirited performance and value. The Chevrolet portfolio includes iconic performance cars such as Corvette and Camaro; dependable, long-lasting pickups and SUVs such as Silverado and Suburban; and award-winning passenger cars and crossovers such as Spark, Cruze, Malibu, Equinox and Traverse. Chevrolet also offers “gas-friendly to gas-free” solutions including Cruze Eco and Volt. Cruze Eco offers 42 mpg highway while Volt offers 35 miles of electric, gasoline-free driving and an additional 344 miles of extended range. Most new Chevrolet models offer OnStar safety, security and convenience technologies including OnStar Hands-Free Calling, Automatic Crash Response and Stolen Vehicle Slowdown. More information regarding Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com .

- Team Chevy, Press Release

NSCS No. 14 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Impala SS driven by Tony Stewart - Stewart-Haas Racing

Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Office Depot Chevrolet Impala for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), finished a disappointing 28^th in Saturday’s Irwin Tools Night Race NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. He spent much of the night battling an ill-handling racecar on the demanding .533-mile oval.

The two-time Sprint Cup champion started an uncharacteristic 42^nd after struggling on Friday during practice and qualifying. The struggle came as a surprise to many considering Stewart has one pole, one win, four top-three, six top-five and eight top-10 finishes in 26 career Sprint Cup Series starts at Bristol. In addition to leading 1,354 laps, prior to tonight, his average start was 13.5, his average finish was 17^th and he had a lap completion rate of 96 percent. But, this was not an average Bristol night for him.

“It was better than it was shaping up to be, yesterday,” said Stewart, who won at Bristol in August 2001. “Thanks to our teammates for the help that we got from them. That definitely made us better, for sure. It was just a rough night, but we struggled through it.”

Ryan Newman, Stewart’s teammate and driver of the No. 39 Bass Pro Shops/Realtree Chevrolet Impala for SHR, started from the pole and finished eighth. He ran with the leaders most of the night to score his 12^th top-10 finish at Bristol and his 12^th top-10 of the season.

Brad Keselowski won the Irwin Tools Night Race to score his fourth career Sprint Cup victory, his third of the season and his first at Bristol.

Martin Truex Jr. finished .951 of a second behind Keselowski in the runner-up spot, while Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Jamie McMurray rounded out the top-five. Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, Newman, Carl Edwards and Marcos Ambrose comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were six caution periods for 42 laps with eight drivers failing to finish the 500-lap race.

With round 24 of 36 complete, Newman continues to lead the SHR duo in the championship point standings. He remains seventh and now has 762 points, 68 markers back of series leader Kyle Busch and 73 points ahead of 11^th-place Keselowski. Stewart remains 10^th and now has 710 points, which puts him 120 points behind Busch while giving him a 21-point cushion over Keselowski.

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the Sept. 4 AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The race starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by ESPN beginning with its pre-race show at 6:30 p.m.

- True Speed Communication for Stewart-Haas Racing, Press Release

2011 Red Bull Racing Teammates Brian Vickers & Kasey Kahne - Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

DRIVERS:

BRISTOL, Tenn. — In desperate need of a victory, Kasey Kahne instead had to settle for an 11th-place finish Saturday night.

Driver No. 4 kept his Chase hopes alive — barely — by persevering through 500 laps under the lights at Bristol Motor Speedway. He had the daunting task of starting 25th on a high-speed short track and eventually fell a lap down near the halfway point. But Kahne became the beneficiary of the free pass under the race’s fifth yellow flag.

Back on the lead lap with 130 laps to go, Kahne restarted 17th. He stood fast in that position until the final caution period, when the No. 4 crew gained him a few positions in the pits. Kahne restarted 14th with 80 laps to go and climbed to 11th at the checkered flag, falling just short of catching Marcos Ambrose for a top-10 finish.

“Hard fought night for the 4. Pit crew was bad ass tonight! Thanks,” Kahne posted on his Twitter page.

Kahne improved to 15th in the driver standings, but he sits sixth in the Chase wild card race. In between Kahne and the Chase are Brad Keselowski (three wins), Denny Hamlin (one win) and Paul Menard (one win). He also must overcome winless Clint Bowyer and AJ Allmendinger in the final two races before the Chase begins Sept. 18 at Chicago. Those two races come at Sunday at Atlanta and Sept. 10 at Richmond. Kahne has won twice at Atlanta and once at Richmond, so it’s not over yet.

“We worked on the balance of the car all evening,” Kahne said. “Luckily, we got the lucky dog and were able to work our way up to 11th at the finish. The finish moved us up two spots in the points, which is great with two races left to get in the Chase. We head to Atlanta next week, which is one of my favorite tracks so looking forward to that.”

Brian Vickers started alongside his teammate in 26th and endured much of the same — hanging onto the lead lap until lap 227 when the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota lost a lap. For there, the Night Race became a battle for the free pass.

He got it once and then lost it again before finishing 21st.

“We struggled with a loose race car all night and had no drive off, which made it hard to keep the throttle down,” Vickers said. “We had a decent car tonight, but needed some track position.”

Vickers moved to 27th in the standings, but is still 104 points out of 20th.

UP NEXT: AdvoCare 500, Sunday, Sept. 4, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton, Ga.

- Red Bull Racing Team, Press Release

Brad Keselowski celebrates winning his second race in the Sprint Summer Showdown presented by HTC EVO 3D after winning the Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday. - Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR

BRISTOL, Tenn. (August 27, 2011)

Keselowski began the 500-lap event from the eighth position after posting a lap of 15.683 seconds, or 122.349 miles per hour, during Friday’s qualifying session. From the drop of the green flag, Keselowski began moving his way to front and he moved inside the top five by lap 13. He continued his march to the front of the field by consistently turning some of the fastest laps on the track during the first 30 laps of the race. However, Keselowski narrowly escaped an incident with the No. 17 car driven by Matt Kenseth during a lap 32 race restart. Kenseth made contact with the left front fender of the “Blue Deuce” when his car got loose underneath Keselowski on the exit of Turn 4. Despite the slight contact, Keselowski was able to continue.

Crew chief Paul Wolfe brought his driver down pit road for the first time on lap 106 as the field was under the yellow flag. Keselowski, who was very happy with the balance of his car, told Wolfe he needed no adjustments and the Miller Lite Dodge left pit road with only four fresh tires and two cans of fuel. Good work by the No. 2 pit crew saw Keselowski restart the race from the second position on lap 111.

With Keselowski doing a great job in managing his Goodyear tires, Wolfe elected to make a long run following the first round of pit stops. Keselowski did not visit pit road again until a green-flag pit stop at lap 241. He was able to maintain his position inside the top-five cars during the run, as Wolfe developed a plan to get the team to the end of the race. Small air pressure adjustments were made at lap 241, in an effort to alleviate a “numb” feeling that Keselowski began to experience as the race moved past the halfway point.

As the green-flag pit stops cycled through at lap 251, Keselowski found himself running in the seventh position, his lowest spot in the running order throughout the event. By the time the caution flag waved for the fourth time at lap 298, Keselowski was back in his familiar top-five territory. He radioed to Wolfe that the handling on his car had freed up over the last green-flag run, but he was confident that it was the fast way around the track on that particular night.

On the final restart of the night at lap 421, Keselowski was able to get around then race leader, Martin Truex Jr., to assume the lead. While Truex and the No. 24 car of Jeff Gordon were racing side-by-side behind him, Keselowski was able to drive out to a three-second lead before lap traffic helped cut that time down to one second before he crossed the finish line.

With the win, Keselowski captured the championship in the DIRECTV Head2Head Knockout challenge. As a result, the Paralyzed Veterans of America will receive over $200,000 as they were designated as Keselowski’s charity of choice.

Penske Racing teammate, Kurt Busch, finished 17^th in Saturday’s Irwin Tools Night Race.

Following Saturday’s result, Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge team improved one position to 11^th in the Cup Series driver and owner point standings. The team solidified its hold on the No. 1 wild card position for the “Chase for the Championship.”

“An awesome Miller Lite Dodge,” said an excited Keselowski in Victory Lane.”An awesome race team in Penske Racing. The night race at Bristol! This is the race that Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt win. It’s the race of champions. I can’t believe it. There are races that pay more. There are races that might have a little more prestige, but this is the coolest damn one of them all. We won it!”

Keselowski and the No. 2 Miller Lite team will next compete in the Advocare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, September 4. Live coverage will begin at 7:30 pm ET on ESPN. The race will also be heard on the Performance Racing Network and Sirius XM Satellite Radio Channel 90.

- Penske Racing, Press Release

2011 NSCS No. 36 Golden Corral / Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet Impala SS

Blaney posted the 39^th- and 44^th-fastest times in the first and final practice sessions respectively. He wheeled the No. 36 Golden Corral Chevrolet to the 35^th starting spot with a fast lap of 15.930 seconds, just three tenths of a second slower than pole winner Ryan Newman.

The Hartford, Ohio native took the green flag of the 500-lap race and drove to the 32^nd position by lap 13. He told the Golden Corral crew that the Chevrolet was loose on top and a little in the center. A debris caution was called on lap 33 and allowed the TBR team to change four tires and make a trackbar adjustment. Coming off pit road, NASCAR radioed that the No. 36 Chevrolet was speeding, and Blaney had to restart at the tail of the field in the 35^th position.

By lap 66, Blaney fell a lap down and radioed that the Golden Corral Chevrolet was very tight in the center and too loose driving into and off of the corner. Another debris caution was called on lap 105, and Crew Chief Philippe Lopez called Blaney down pit road for four-tire stop and wedge adjustment.

The field restarted on lap 111 with Blaney in the 34^th position, one lap down. The No. 36 Golden Corral Chevrolet was tight in the center of the turns on this run, but the loose condition was fixed for both driving in and off the corner.

The third debris caution was called on lap 130, and the TBR team elected to stay on the racetrack. Blaney restarted 32^nd on lap 136 and radioed that the car was tight early in the run. By lap 160, he fell two laps down but was improving his lap times. After falling to 36^th, he worked his way back to 33^rd by lap 214. He told the crew the car was driving much better now that the air pressure was building in the tires. Late in the run, he was posting times comparable to the leader.

Caught in traffic, by lap 241, he fell three laps down in 36^th. Blaney worked up to 34^th by lap 258 and drove passed the leader to get one of his three laps back. On lap 227, Lopez called Blaney down pit road for a scheduled four-tire pit stop and air pressure adjustment.

By the fourth caution of the night for a four-car incident in turn three on lap 299, Blaney drove up to the 31^st spot. He radioed that the car was really good. Lopez called Blaney down pit road to change four tires and make a small air pressure adjustment. After Blaney restarted, he radioed that the car was really tight.

A three-car incident on the backstretch brought out the fifth caution of the night on lap 362 with the Golden Corral Chevrolet in the 30^th position, three laps down. The team elected to stay out and get the wave around. Blaney restarted from the 28^th position, two laps down, on lap 369 and radioed that the car was still tight.

The final yellow flag flew on lap 415 for an incident in turn three. Lopez called Blaney down pit road for the team’s final, scheduled pit stop. The TBR team changed four tires and made an air pressure adjustment. The No. 36 Golden Corral Chevrolet restarted 31^st, three laps down, on lap 420. Ten laps later, Blaney radioed that the car was brutal tight.

On lap 460, Blaney came over the radio and said he was having a possible transmission or engine problem. He drove down pit road, and the team concluded that the No. 36 Golden Corral Chevrolet had an engine issue and pushed the car back to the garage. Blaney finished 35^th, 43 laps down.

The 35^th-place finish dropped the No. 36 TBR team to the 33^rd position in the NSCS Owner Point Standings. The team is now seven points behind the No. 13 Germain Racing machine and 63 points ahead of the 36^th position. Blaney held onto the 32^nd spot in the NSCS Driver Points. He is 21 points behind Casey Mears in 31^st and 17 points ahead of Andy Lally in 33^rd.

“It was disappointing to have the engine blow near the end,” explained Blaney. “We struggled a bit with the handling at the beginning and fell some laps down. The car was great near the middle of the race and really fun to drive. We were laps down but running as fast as the leaders. We didn’t make any changes, and on the next set of tires, the handling was horrible. We worked to get back to that setup but broke a rod in the engine late in the race. It’s really unfortunate that things keep going wrong the past few weeks, but we’ll move on and work to get better next week.”

Blaney will return to the NSCS racing for the Labor Day event at Atlanta Motor Speedway on September 4^th.

About Golden Corral Corporation:
Founded in 1973, privately held Golden Corral Corp. is headquartered in Raleigh, N.C. Golden Corral currently has 485 restaurants in 41 states. The company’s vision is to be the leader in the family restaurant segment by making pleasurable dining affordable for every guest, at every restaurant, every day. Golden Corral restaurants nationwide have long been strong supporters of the U.S. Military and the Disabled American Veterans (DAV). Golden Corral helped raise more than $1,000,000 for the DAV in 2010 as part of its annual “Military Appreciation Monday” initiative. For more information on Golden Corral, visit www.goldencorral.com.

About Tommy Baldwin Racing:
Tommy Baldwin Racing was formed in 2009 by NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Crew Chief Tommy Baldwin. Baldwin utilized a slumping economy to open a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team with a stringent budget. The team competed in two full seasons with multiple drivers behind the wheel of the No. 36 Chevrolet and improved in the standings each year.

Based in Mooresville, N.C., TBR will compete in the full NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule in 2011 with NASCAR veteran Dave Blaney piloting the No. 36 Golden Corral Chevrolet. Looking to improve on-track performance, TBR found success early in the 2011 season with partners Golden Corral, Big Red and Accell Construction. TBR’s driver development program, Heinke-Baldwin Racing, will also compete in various NASCAR series in 2011.

For more information on Tommy Baldwin Racing, visit tommybaldwinracing.com or follow us on Facebook, facebook.com/TBR.HBR, and Twitter, twitter.com/TBR_Racing.

- Tommy Baldwin Racing, Press Release

Michael Waltrip Racing Logo

· Martin Truex Jr., NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota, finished second and is 17th in points

MARTIN TRUEX JR. SUMMARY: No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr. finished second in Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Truex raced at the front of the pack throughout the 500-lap race. During a pit stop with about 80 laps remaining, crew chief Chad Johnston called for two new tires while the rest of the contenders opted for four. The move put Truex in the lead on the restart. Eventual race winner Brad Keselowski raced past Truex but nobody else could as Truex held off Jeff Gordon by just a few feet culminating a scintillating battle over the final 50 laps. The second-place finish marks the No. 56’s best performance of the season and vaults it to 17th in the standings. Truex and the Michael Waltrip Racing team return to action next Sunday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

TRUEX JR. NOTES:

• · Started 27th and finished second – the best finish of the season.
• · Raced in the top 10 throughout the race.
• · Opted for two new tires instead of four new tires during final round of pit stops with about 80 laps remaining in the race.
• · Truex restarted the race in first and only Brad Keselowski could pass him.
• · Truex and Jeff Gordon waged huge battle over the final laps before Truex narrowly held him off for second place.

TRUEX QUOTE: “It was a great night for all of us on our NAPA Toyota. I’m so proud of all the guys at Michael Waltrip Racing and Chad (Johnston), my crew chief , who is still pretty new to this stuff. Plus, I want to thank all the guys in the pits. Once we got the lead we were just a little too tight on restarts to be able to stay with Brad (Keselowski) there. On the long run we were as good as anyone. We just couldn’t quite hang with Keselowski on two tires and I was a little disappointed because I thought we had a shot at it. Again, I want to thank all these guys. Bristol has been a tough track for me in the Cup Series. We’ve had a lot of good runs here and we led over half the race in the spring but finished 20th or something. We just hadn’t ever had the luck we needed here or a good enough car in the second half of the race. We worked really hard this weekend on being good in the second half of the race and not the first half. All-in-all, it was a fantastic night. We were really good on long runs all night and just needed a little more on the restarts.”

DAVID REUTIMANN SUMMARY: No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota driver David Reutimann finished 36th in Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Reutimann raced in the top 15 early in the event, but his chances for a good finish ended when he and David Stremme made contact on lap 297 sending Reutimann hard into the inside wall. The No. 00 spent about 67 laps in the garage before returning to the track. Reutimann and his Michael Waltrip Racing teammates visit Atlanta Motor Speedway to race under the lights on Sunday.

REUTIMANN NOTES:

• · Reutimann started 34th and finished 36th.
• · Raced in the top 15 early in the race.
• · Appeared very good on longer runs.
• · Made contact with David Stremme twice.
• · Second contact on lap 297 saw No. 00 pushed into the inside wall suffering heavy damage.

REUTIMANN QUOTE: “Obviously, that was a pretty disappointing night. We started out pretty good and were working on some things in the middle of the race when we got wrecked. There isn’t much you can say when something like that happens. Atlanta will be a much better race track for us and we’ll certainly have a better result.”

RACE NOTES

• · Brad Keselowski won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway by 0.951 seconds over Martin Truex Jr.
• · Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Jamie McMurray rounded out the top five.
• · The race featured 22 lead changes among 10 drivers
• · Six cautions slowed the race for 42 laps for an average speed of 96.753 MPH.
• · The race lasted two hours, 45 minutes and 16 seconds.
• · NASCAR estimated the crowd at 156,000.

Ryan Newman celebrates winning the Coors Light Pole Award for the 51st Annual IRWIN Tools Night Race with a lap of 15.624 seconds, 122.811 mph. - Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

Event: Irwin Tools Night Race (Round 24 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Location: Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway (.533-mile oval)
Start/Finish: 1st/8th (Running, completed 500 of 500 laps)
Winner: Brad Keselowski of Penske Racing (Dodge)

Ryan Newman continued his march toward securing a spot in the 12-driver Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup by scoring a solid eighth-place finish in Saturday’s Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.

It was Newman’s 12th top-10 finish in 20 career starts at Bristol and his 12th top-10 result of 2010.

More importantly, the driver of the No. 39 Bass Pro Shops/Realtree Chevrolet Impala for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), put more distance between himself and those drivers on the outside of the top-10 in points. He entered the race seventh in the standings with a 55-point cushion between himself and 11th-place Clint Bowyer, and he exits Bristol still seventh but with a 77-marker lead over the new occupant of 11th, Brad Keselowski, who won the Irwin Tools Night Race.

Following the conclusion of the Sept. 10 Sprint Cup race at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway, the Chase field will be set with the top-10 drivers in the standings qualifying for the Chase. Spots 11 and 12 in the Chase will be occupied by drivers with the most wins this season who are between 11th and 20th in the standings.

“It was a good points day for us, looking at the big picture,” Newman said. “It is going to take a better performance than that in those last 10 races to be a champion, but I feel like we have something to work with, for sure.”

During Friday qualifying, Newman captured his 48th career Sprint Cup pole, his second of the season and his third at Bristol. With his pole, he remained 10th on the all-time pole-winners list but is now just one pole behind Bobby Isaac, who occupies the ninth spot.

Newman jumped to the lead from the pole position and led the first four laps around the .533-mile oval before being passed by four-time champion Jeff Gordon on lap five. From there, Newman never held the point again but remained in the top-15 for the entire 500-lap race.

The critical moment of the night came on lap 415, when Newman pitted under caution while in 14th place. Crew chief Tony Gibson made the call for two tires and fuel and sent Newman on his way, gaining him 11 spots and putting Newman in third place for the restart.

After the green flag flew on lap 420, other drivers with four fresh tires were able to work their way around Newman in the final 80 laps, but he hung on for a solid eighth-place result.

“It was a good call there at the end to put two tires on,” Newman said. “We just weren’t as good as we should have been, car-wise, all night. We had about a sixth- to 10th-place car depending on what run it was and we finished eighth. I’m proud of the guys. I have to thank Bass Pro Shops and Realtree for jumping on board with our Chevrolet.”

Newman’s SHR teammate, Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Office Depot Chevrolet Impala for SHR, finished 28th. Stewart remains 10th in the Sprint Cup Series standings with 710 points, which puts him 120 points behind series leader Kyle Busch while giving him a 21-point cushion over Keselowski.

Keselowski’s victory in the Irwin Tools Night Race was his fourth career Sprint Cup victory, his third of the season and his first at Bristol.

Martin Truex Jr. finished .951 of a second behind Keselowski in the runner-up spot, while Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Jamie McMurray rounded out the top-five. Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, Newman, Carl Edwards and Marcos Ambrose comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were six caution periods for 42 laps with eight drivers failing to finish the 500-lap race.

The next event on the Sprint Cup schedule is the Sept. 4 AdvoCare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The race starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by ESPN beginning with its pre-race show at 6:30 p.m.