(Left to right) Mark Martin, driver of the No. 55 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota, Michael Waltrip, owner of Michael Waltrip Racing, Martin Truex Jr., driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, and Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota, pose for a photo during the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway on Monday in Cornelius, N.C. - Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

Is there more pressure on your team with the changes this year? “I think if you break it down, there was more pressure last year because we basically had the same goals as we have this year. But, we didn’t have the equipment to go do the job with. So, now we still aspire to accomplish the same things but we have a better toy, you know — we have a faster car. We have a more aerodynamically designed, we have a better Toyota Camry to go race with. I’m glad our expectations are high and I’m glad they were this past season, but now we have a car I believe we can go win with. My answer would be no, we’re prepared and we’re ready. I believe we’re going to do the job.”

How important is Twitter to your organization and how was hard was it to get Mark Martin on Twitter? “I was a little unfair to Mark (Martin), I kind of tricked him. I think he’ll love it though. I know Mark, he loves this sport and he’ll see. For example, this morning there was something on Twitter about a sponsor going with another team that I hadn’t heard anywhere before. It’s what’s relative to me, it’s things that matter to me that I can get my news from. It’s instant. So, I explained that to Mark. I said, ‘You don’t have to be controversial, just follow along and let the fans have a peek into who you are. He was happy he signed up. (Clint) Bowyer hadn’t got there yet, but hopefully we can convince him to do the same. I get it, I can tell customers to go to NAPA and get a brake job or an oil filter on a cheap price, for the best price if I choose to. Or, I can tell them to watch a movie that I like. We can share all kinds of different stories. I like it because I think it keeps me in touch with the fans. I get to hear sometimes good, sometimes bad, but I get to hear what they’re thinking. I just enjoy it. Part of my daily routine is to check Twitter, check what’s going on in the world and also see what’s going on in my world which is NASCAR.”

Do you feel it’s important to have drivers that mesh well with your personality? “I just love my lineup. I think that Clint (Bowyer) is a very energetic, engaging guy. I like the way he likes to have fun. That’s a good step up for our organization. Then you have the respected, savvy, tough, committed, dedicated veteran Mark Martin who has had the most fun today making Aaron’s commercials. He never dreamed he could have so much fun making a TV commercial, but the commercials are funny and he was really into it. I like seeing his reaction to the silly things that we asked him to do today. I think both those guys will revive Martin (Truex Jr.). You know, Martin is a really fun guy and he’s a guy that is very popular and won the Nationwide championship twice and made the Chase early on in his career, but he hasn’t had a whole lot to smile about lately. Now, with the cars that we’re building and the way he ended the 2011 season, we’re giving him something to smile about and we’re surrounding him with guys that like to smile and like to have fun. That will help Martin as well. Really cool driver lineup and a lot of fun feelings. I’m not making this up when I tell you all, a year ago to this day I was nervous about where we were going into 2011. I didn’t like our direction, I didn’t like the way our cars were being built, I didn’t like our philosophy on building them. You can’t change things overnight and we cracked toward a new philosophy, we cracked toward partnering closer with Gibbs (Joe Gibbs Racing), we worked hard at using our relationship with Toyota more effectively. If you look where we are today, it’s facts, it’s science, it’s black and white. We have partnered with Gibbs on the engines. We’re going to have the same engines that they have. We couldn’t say that a year ago. Our aerodynamics have improved to where our cars are as good as theirs, we couldn’t say that a year ago. Our driver lineup, if you just look at the numbers, we have more wins than we’ve ever had before. We have more Chase appearances than we’ve ever had before, so I love our driver lineup. Everything is pointing towards us having a banner 2012 season and I’m confident in that and I couldn’t have said that a year ago.”

Do you think the economy is starting to turn around in NASCAR? “Well, we added a team. Not many people have been able to do that. So, 5-Hour Energy came on board and we were able to go from two teams to three here at Michael Waltrip Racing. Obviously, we know how challenging things are, but NAPA and Aaron’s, Toyota — our key sponsors, our key partners — they see the value in NASCAR Sprint Cup racing, they know how big of a sport this is and they continue to support our team. But, more importantly, they continue to be a part of this sport. Adding another quality partner like 5-Hour and going into this season with a more robust lineup from the number of cars to the number of employees, the commercials we’re making — everything we’re doing is good for our sport. I agree, I think that things are heading in a really positive direction and we ended the 2011 season on an up slope in the ratings as a whole. With the new fuel injection going into 2012 and the amazing battle we had for a championship, I think that momentum will continue.”

What would be a successful 2012 season for your team? “We have to win more than a race, we can’t just win a race and finish 16th in the points. I think we have to win multiple races and we have to make the Chase. We have to be right there fighting for it at least to make it. We’ll reassess our goals weekly, see what we did wrong and see how we can do them better and look at going from Daytona to Vegas, how we can do that the most effective way possible. As a whole in general, multiple wins for our cars and hopefully in the Chase.”

 What does Clint Bowyer bring to your team? “Just enthusiasm, excitement, but the main thing that he (Clint Bowyer) brings is a track record that is very impressive. A Nationwide championship, three Chase appearances in his few years that he’s been in Cup, race wins, sponsors love him, the media love him — he’s just a guy that you’d want on your team. I think it’s important what you are when you’re not behind the wheel. Obviously, it’s more important what you are when you’re behind the wheel, that makes up for a lot of stuff, but when you have the enthusiasm and the attitude that Clint has, he’s engaging, people want to talk to him, people want to hear what he has to say. Then that helps the organization as well. I couldn’t be prouder that he elected to come drive our cars. Personally, I have this desire to give all my boys the tools they need to go win the races with. I think that Clint will find that we have done a pretty good job over the last five years building these cars to the point where he can take them into 2012 and do some special things with them.”

How has Mark Martin been with your humor? “He’s (Mark Martin) perfect. He is just enthusiastic and he’s all in. He’s, ‘What do you need me to do Michael? What are we doing?’ And, I said, ‘We’re going to make these commercials and it’s going to be a little goofy, a little silly.’ ‘No problem, I love it.’ So, today with him being here and making the commercials, he just genuinely loves the experience. I look at him as being pretty versatile while he’s really tight and proper, he’s also very willing to do whatever it takes for the sponsor and team and that’s the kind of attitude that I appreciate as an owner. That’s the way I’ve always been, whatever they want, that’s what I give them. Mark’s the same way.”

How special is it for you to continue to drive part-time? “I’m blessed. I get to run a Ferrari at Daytona. I’m going to get to race in my home state of Kentucky in a car that can win that darn race. Of course, last fall I finished top-10 at Talladega in my last race out. I’m thankful, I’m happy. I’m glad I don’t do it every week. I think that we have a better driver lineup than it would be if I was in it week in and week out. I think that the fact that I get to still race, I get to own this place, I get to still be on TV and I get to participate in NASCAR, all that is a blessing. I will take it. I will take it to any extent I can get it and right now it’s about the perfect mix for me between TV and racing over in Le Mans in Europe and then being able to get behind the wheel of a car of this caliber — it’s special.”

How far has Michael Waltrip Racing come since 2007? “We started it up and it makes me a little sad today to look back and see how naďve I was and how unprepared we were and how much ground we needed to make up in order to be able to ever contend. We missed a ton of races in ’07, we made them all ever since. We’ve been able to make races and consistently and steadily get a little bit better. But I really believe in my heart that we never have gone into a season like we’re going into ’12, we’re ready. We have a great driver lineup, we have great crew chiefs. Our cars are better. The state of Michael Waltrip Racing is very, very positive because we added a team, we’re not two teams any more — we’re three. We added people. We added a great sponsor in 5-Hour. I’m looking forward to this season.”

CLINT BOWYER, No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing

Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota, speaks with the media during the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway on Monday in Cornelius, N.C. - Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

What has Scott Miller brought to Michael Waltrip Racing as competition director? “That was a huge reason that I was so comfortable coming over here. A lot of the same thought processes — a lot of the same things that I have been used to over the last several years was already implemented in Scott Miller (competition director, MWR). He was the competition director at RCR (Richard Childress Racing). A lot of the things moving forward from here, I’m on the same page because of the relationship with him. I know his mentality, his work ethic, what he expects out of others, his organization — I know the things that are taking place because I’ve lived them out the last several years as he’s been a competition director at RCR. I guess the comforting factor of coming to some place new and not really knowing much about anybody there was kind of put to bed because I know the captain of the ship is somebody that I got confidence in and have a relationship with.”

Do you feel like you are starting over in your career? “In this sport anymore, the cars are so much the same that the only real thing you’re starting over with is the group of people. Sometimes change can be good and bad. There’s no question that last year, I didn’t have the success that I expected and that I wanted. It’s not good enough. That’s the way that I look at that. When you’re thinking about making a change — it wasn’t where I wanted to be standings-wise, statistics-wise — all that isn’t what I wanted and expected out of me and racing. Maybe it was time to make a change and I’ll be able to answer that in a year or so. I really see a lot of potential here — a lot of things coming together at the right time for me to make a change and ride that wave on into the future.”

What makes you feel good about being with Michael Waltrip Racing? “You see the speed in the race cars, the people on my team, the potential. We’ve got a good group of guys. We were able to take advantage of a not-so-fortunate time in this sport — a lot of teams and organizations pulling back. We were able to go out and pick the cream of the crop so to speak and I feel like we’ve done that with our group of guys on the 5-Hour Energy car.”

What is it like working with Michael Waltrip? “It’s been fun and we’re quite a bit the same. It’s kind of weird sometimes and it becomes awkward because it’s like we’re both very outspoken and we kind of hit the same thought at about the same time on something that’s funny that comes up in your mind that somebody said. There’s an awkwardness sometimes in our conversations because we’re stepping on each other about the same thing that we were going to say. It’s been a lot of fun. There’s some history there. I called him the worst driver in NASCAR and I knew that was going to come up at some point in time and it came up the very second that I walked in the door of his office. He was like, ‘Do you still think I’m the worst driver in NASCAR?’ I was like, ‘Well, good way to break the ice.’ That’s when I told him yes, but he could be a very good owner. I hope that he is.”

What did you learn at the Daytona test session? “I’m not 100 percent sure what we learned. I’m not 100 percent sure what they (NASCAR) learned. Only time will tell. I know they did a lot of learning, but I don’t know what they’re going to use and put in place. I’ve heard a lot of things — some things that might be changed and whatever else. I don’t get caught up in that. They’re going to give you a sandbox to play in and you have to go out and make the most of it and put on a show. They’re going to do the right decisions to make it the best show possible for our fans because ultimately, that’s what we’re in this business to do. Racing has always been a great show — it’s always been thrilling to watch. The Daytona 500 has always been an incredible race — always come down to the last wire to determine who is going to be the champion of the biggest race of the year. That’s got to be a good feeling if you’re NASCAR. It doesn’t really matter what you change — somehow, some way that race always comes down to a crazy, wild finish that everybody is like, ‘Oh my God, how are we ever going to top that?’ Every year they do.”

How big of a change is joining Michael Waltrip Racing for you personally? “Obviously, I’ve been with Richard (Childress Racing) since my very first start into NASCAR so it’s a big change and it’s another chapter in my life, my career — a fresh start, a new beginning — new way to prove myself all over again. The challenge is there and it’s fun. It’s nerve-wracking all over again, I’m nervous all over again and worried about things. A lot of times, I perform my best in the early stages of my career when I didn’t know what I was doing and I was nervous about it. Usually, somehow, some way I got some of the best results I’ve ever had. I see a lot of good things, a lot of positive things and a good direction that they are headed at MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing), TRD (Toyota Racing Development). There’s a lot of good things here and I think they’re all coming together at the right time. Timing in anything you do in life is so important, as it was when I got my start and my opportunity with Richard. This is a new opportunity to go out and to make things happen for myself again.”

What do you think of the current Chase format? “You can’t control what happens in that Chase. You can only put your best odds — if I’m NASCAR, you can only put your best odds of putting on a good show for your fans out there and the only way to do that is to put your best teams out there. To qualify for that Chase, you have to be the top-12 best teams out there. The Chase finally paid off and did what they expected of it and intended for it to do this year — what an incredible finish to our season that Tony (Stewart) and Carl (Edwards) had down there. How could you script a battle to a championship any better than that? It definitely made that Chase idea worth the wait and worth the effort.”

What have you learned about Brian Pattie? “I’ve learned a lot about Brian (Pattie, crew chief). I’ve learned that I’m super excited about working with Brian. I think that’s my best opportunity that I’ve ever had to work with a guy that I really, really can truly fit in with and get the most out of each other. Now it’s up to us to go out and make that happen, but from the very first time that I started talking to Brian, I just felt comfortable. I felt like the relationship was there right off the bat and can build so much more than I’ve ever had. I love Shane Wilson (RCR crew chief) to death and we’re very close, but we had a lot of differences. We just weren’t really the same person and didn’t share the same — he liked asphalt racing and I like dirt racing. Brian likes dirt racing — he speaks my language and we get along.”

MARK MARTIN, No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing

Mark Martin, driver of the No. 55 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota, and Michael Waltrip, owner of Michael Waltrip Racing, unveil the 2012 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota during the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway on Monday in Cornelius, N.C. - Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

What made you choose to come to Michael Waltrip Racing? “This was the right opportunity because it gave me a chance to run the schedule that I wanted to run and they had really great people here and great equipment. Aaron’s has been a great sponsor of NASCAR for over 10 years, so that’s really important as well. Everything was just right. I never saw it coming. It happened really quick. Took me a minute to think about it, but when I started thinking about the cars, the people, the team and Aaron’s and Toyota’s support, every piece of it was the right fit for me.”

Is it hard for you to run a part-time schedule? “I love racing and I like to race for the events — kind of old school, like (David) Pearson and Cale (Yarborough) did back in the day. Most of their careers they picked the races that they wanted to run and they raced those races and I like doing that.”

Are you enjoying Michael Waltrip’s humor? “I hope that Michael (Waltrip) can rub off on me a little bit. I am very happy right now. I’m so satisfied with the situation. I feel so incredibly lucky to have an opportunity to work with this many great people and have an organization that wants you there, and to work with Aaron’s and everyone here. Maybe he (Michael Waltrip) can teach me how to win a Daytona 500 because he’s done it twice.”

Can you and Scott Miller work together to help Michael Waltrip Racing grow as an organization? “That’s one of the really fun challenges. Challenge is what life is all about. It’s what makes you get up in the morning and it’s what drives you every inch of the way or it does me anyway. It wouldn’t be any fun if it wasn’t a challenge. They have the people here, they have the equipment, they have the sponsors, which I’m very proud to have and support, and Michael (Waltrip) has poured his heart and soul into this place. I could not do what Michael Waltrip has done and would not do it. I’ve got to give him props. You look around here and just think about the payroll every week. He’s built up quite an organization here and they want to compete week in and week out with the big boys and they’re working hard to get there.”

What are your goals at Michael Waltrip Racing? “I want to help those guys build a strong foundation so that they can be competitive week in and week out and realize their potential. I want to be their guy. I want to be the guy that no matter if I’m in their race car or not, I’m out here pulling for them and trying to make their program and their car better and they know that and they support me in the same way.”

Was this one of the first offers you received? “I was not in a hurry to do anything because I didn’t really think that there was really anything perfect out there for me. I didn’t want to race the full schedule anymore. Had I wanted to do that I would’ve re-upped with Rick Hendrick when he asked me about it and I told him he needed to go and get Kasey Kahne, and that 2011 was going to be enough for me. I just waited and waited and waited and all of a sudden out of the blue I got a text from Michael (Waltrip) and a day later we were meeting on it and it just happened really quick. It’s the right fit for me. I really feel comfortable within this organization. I’ve embraced the challenge that we have to make that next step on the performance side and feel real lucky to have the opportunity to work with Aaron’s and Toyota and everybody that supports MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing).”

How long did it take for this deal to come together? “It came together — from first text to signed contract was two weeks. And, that was a signed contract. It took probably five days to get the contract or else it really would’ve been about 10 days, but there was a drag where there was some issues with timing where the attorney’s couldn’t get to it and then there was a weekend and then we were off, so there was some lag time in getting it signed. But, we agreed and shook hands in a week from the first text (from Michael Waltrip).”

Can you describe the difference between the atmosphere at Hendrick Motorsports and Michael Waltrip Racing? “It is a different feel, but it’s a fun change. As long as I live I will cherish my opportunity to be a part of Hendrick Motorsports as well as the opportunity to help Jack Roush build his organization from scratch and my time with Jay Frye and Dale Earnhardt Incorporated as well. This is another exciting challenge and challenges are what drive me. This is going to be fun. Michael’s (Waltrip) a different guy and if I smile a little bit more than usual that won’t be a bad thing.”

Why did you decide to join Twitter? “I’m new to social media and Twitter. I hope that I will not become obsessed with it, because I have plenty on my plate already and I know a lot of people really get into that. For me, I’ve got a full plate, so something has got to slide off the edge if I add a bunch more. I’m one day in and we’ll take it as it comes. I do want to connect with my fans. I’ve been so fortunate there’s so many great fans. I think we started a count at about 10 AM and as of 6 PM I think we had six-thousand followers already and that’s pretty amazing, but of course Michael (Waltrip) put it out there to his eighty-thousand followers. It’s growing really fast and I don’t think I’ll be the king of Twitter by any means, but I will try to do a good job. When I get a chance to thank some of the fans that are so supportive, I will because I believe in reaching out and touching the people that support me so much.”

How is your relationship with Rodney Childers? “I didn’t know Rodney (Childers, crew chief) personally and I hadn’t paid that much attention. I kept my focus on other things and I think possibly the biggest surprise of the whole organization or the whole deal for me has been my pleasure with getting to know Rodney. I think he’s got it and I really hope that I’m able to produce the kind of results that he deserves because he’s so committed. It’s been a while since I’ve noticed someone that was so far in — he’s all the way in and committed with everything that he’s got and I’d like to see that pay off for him.”

Have you set expectations for yourself this year? “I do, but they are different than most people would expect. I don’t set numbers or whatever. What I really hope to accomplish this year is that everyone within this organization, especially my teammates — the drivers, the crew chiefs and the upper management — I hope that when this year is over with they’re happy, they’re glad that I was a part of their team. If they are, then I will have done well on and off the race track.”

Have you noticed a big difference in the race car between a Toyota and a Chevrolet? “Sitting in the driver seat looking out you probably don’t see much difference unless you see the Toyota decal on the dash, but hardware-wise NASCAR has the box so well defined that there’s not a huge difference in the shape of the car on the outside. The power plants are all similar and NASCAR keeps it that way. If one gets an advantage, the other manufacturers usually get a little extra bump to keep them close together. With racing as it is today, very much like it has been in the past, it’s what you do with what you have that makes a winner. It’s not what you have, but what you do with what you have.”

How concerned are you about the future of NASCAR and the possibly of having less than a 43-car field? “I had a pretty grim outlook on the situation back in the summer and feel very fortunate to have such an incredible situation fall in my lap. I’ve never seen this kind of shrinkage before because it never got so big before. Racing was more like this until the time through the late 90′s and 2007 or 2008. It was more like it is now, so it’s not alarming to me other than everyone tends to get comfortable and used to a certain way and now it’s much tougher and things have thinned out and opportunities are tougher and you have to work harder. You have to work a lot harder for less – everybody does. Everybody has to do more right now because it’s tightened down on everyone. I’m not as grim on the outlook as I was then. I believe that it’s going to hold where it is. I don’t think it’s going to get euphoric again soon, but I feel like we’ve hit our lower threshold there of where the effect of the economy — it just took a long time for NASCAR to feel what happened with the economy because there were contracts in effect that last a long time, years out, and it just took a while for that. I think that has hit its floor and will go along probably where it is for a while. I’m not worried about short fields. I could be wrong, but I see an awful lot of teams and people viewing this as opportunity. You see a lot of new stuff springing up — a lot of them won’t last, but it is an opportunity for some people that they didn’ t see before. I think that will keep us from having short fields because of all of these new upstart deals because they are saying, ‘This is my chance to get in.’ From the drivers standpoint, there’s not a lot of rides. If you don’t have sponsorship strapped to your back, you may not get a ride. It was always like that before.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing

(Left to right) Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota, Mark Martin, driver of the No. 55 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota, and Martin Truex Jr., driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, share a laugh during the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway on Monday in Cornelius, N.C. - Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

Do you feel like you can make the Chase this year? “You have to look at some of the situations that I’ve been in — in ’08 — the team was kind of falling apart. We had some good runs and we were sitting on the cusp of making it and had a penalty, lost a bunch of points and didn’t make the Chase. In ’09 we switched teams and went to Ganassi and went to two cars, a lot of change and it was a horrible season filled with crashes, cars falling apart and just crazy things. Then I came here and it’s just taken a little more time than I expected it to. We had a performance easily last year to make the Chase. You look at our finishes, we had six finishes worse than 34th or 35th and without those we were in. I made just as many top-fives and top-10s at the start of the Chase as Dale (Earnhardt) Jr. did and he was sitting fifth or something. If you take a step back and really look at it — last year we had the performance to make it, we just didn’t do all the little things right. If you ask Michael (Waltrip, team owner) — he will tell you that we know what we did wrong and now it’s a matter of fixing it. I know what I’m capable of as a driver and I know what my team’s capable of. I know what we’re capable of here as a company and we can put fast race cars on the track, consistently. We just need to get the finishes consistently. That’s a whole different ball game. There’s a lot that goes into that. Every guy in here that touches that race car has to do a perfect job. You can’t have a bolt come loose — you can’t have a truck arm crack and a shock mount fall off. There’s so many little tiny things. I tell people all the time that it takes a million things to go right and only one to go wrong. It takes a million things to go right to win a Cup race, but one little thing goes wrong and you’re not going to win it. It takes a lot and that’s the parts that we’re working on is being consistent. If we can do that, then I have no doubt that we have the speed and the capability to challenge for wins, which we did last year. There was a few races where we had the speed to win and we threw it away so we need to do better at that. We need to be smarter, better prepared and I know what it takes to do it. We just need to do it consistently and we will work on that.”

How do you feel about your chances to win the Daytona 500? “I’m really looking forward to it — we’re not really sure of what the new rules will bring. I don’t know if we tested with the exact package that we’re going to race. At the end of the day, I think it’s going to be about hooking up with your partner and staying committed to somebody and hopefully we’ll have that worked out by that time and have a shot to put the NAPA Toyota in victory lane. It would be nice to start the year out with a win.”

How has your relationship with crew chief Chad Johnston evolved? “When you’re talking about the car and how you get better — let’s say you need two-tenths on the race track and things aren’t feeling right — he (Chad Johnston, crew chief) doesn’t say, ‘Well, are you tight or are you lose, I don’t understand.’ He goes deeper than that and pulls more out of me. He pulls more from me, he pulls information from me and he’s sitting at the computer and he understands how to take what I say and what the computer says and mesh them. That’s where we’ve really turned a corner with our engineering department, with the sims (simulation) stuff, which I feel like is one of the things that we do really, really well. He’s very good about transferring that information and putting two and two together. Integrating me with the computer and figuring out what we need to do to be faster. He’s done a good job at it. There’s been times where we’ve struggled throughout the weekend and he’s talked to me and asked the right questions and came up with the right solutions by doing that. In turn, making us run better on Sunday. That’s something that is hard to get. At the end of the day, the biggest thing for me is that I have a lot of confidence in his ability and how much he knows about race cars. I’ve never seen anyone who works as much or as hard as he does and that goes a long way too.”

How did you feel about testing with your new teammates? “I thought everything went well and obviously me and Mark (Martin) have been teammates along the way — at DEI (Dale Earnhardt Incorporated). We’ve got a bit of experience working together and I kind of know his deal and how he likes his cars and things like that. I think Mark’s going to bring a lot to the company with his experience and working with a new team and brining in some ideas and some of the feel that he’s looking for with what he has had over the last few years. The same thing with Clint (Bowyer) — we raced against each other for a championship in ’05 and he’s a great guy, fun to be around. Obviously, I think Brian Pattie (No. 15 crew chief) and his whole team that they put together — they have a great bunch of guys. Then Rodney (Childers, No. 55 crew chief) on the 55 — I think we have good team chemistry already. One of the coolest things about the testing we did — it normally takes a while with three teams getting together just to get along and trust each other and saying, ‘Okay, what do you think about this?’ Normally it’s just, ‘I will do my own thing and wait and see how this guy does it.’ It’s not like that here now. I think that’s probably one of the things that I’m most excited about this season is just the way our teams are already working together — hearing ideas, getting along, trusting each other and I think those guys are as excited to work together as we all are. We’re all excited about it. Obviously, the best I’ve felt over the seasons of being at MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing). We’re pumped and ready to go.”

Source: Toyota Motorsports, Press Release

Toyota Motorsports Logo

JOEY LOGANO, No. 20 Home Depot/Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

What did you learn in this morning’s test session? “We’ve made single-car runs all morning, so I don’t have anything exciting to tell you. Just making changes and go out there and try it again.”

What are you anticipating testing in a pack this afternoon? “We’ll see. I think with the new valve there and the little, smaller opening, it’s going to make it quite a bit harder, I think. We will see. It seemed like we started to figure it out by the end of the day what we needed to do for when we get in the pack. Now, it’s kind of an unknown right now. It’s going to be tough, I think. I don’t think it gives you a whole bunch of pushing. You’ll see a lot of people trying to do some and trying to race people while pushing and see what happens and breaking people up and stuff like that. I think it’s going to be a little chaotic out there actually, so we’ll see what happens.”

JASON RATCLIFF, crew chief, No. 20 Home Depot/Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

How did the car perform this morning with the new restrictor plate? “It’s picked up on average about seven-tenths, which is usually what we calculate for that plate change. I think we had a little better day again at our qualifying single car runs. The wind — there was none this morning so it was perfect conditions for trying things like that. If we made six runs, I feel like we made gains on four of them. It was a good morning for us. Other than that, we’re going to get geared up now. NASCAR has requested or asked to see if we can get 10-plus cars out there with this package and really get a good feel. Yesterday there was a lot of tandem cars. We would see maybe three cars in a group at the same time. We really need a good 15-plus cars out there to really get a good feel for how this deal is going to work. We’re going to get geared up, have some lunch here and at one o’clock we’ll go out there and try that.”

Do you think NASCAR will be able to bring back the ‘drafting pack’? “I think everybody is still going to make a strong effort to do the tandem because there is so much speed. Now that they’re (NASCAR) putting a lot more horsepower back in the cars, the disparity between two cars and one or two cars and four — they’re going to close that up I think quite a bit. They’re going to make another jump on closing the grill down a little bit. That’s what we struggled with the most yesterday, which obviously is intentional by NASCAR is getting that nose peeked out there so we can get some air in the radiator. Now they’re going to make that a little more difficult so you can get out so far to get air in there to the point that eventually you start killing the speed again and then the tandem even gets closer to the four or five car drafts. They’re working it in the right direction. I think it’s going to be interesting to see. It’s so close right now that if you start pushing the water temp too close and you get in a large pack and you can’t get clean air on the nose you’re going to get beyond your limits and the risk is not going to be worth the reward. You have to kind of play that out. It doesn’t do you any good if you can’t be there at the end. We have to work through that and let Joey (Logano) go play with it and see where that limit is going to be and let him figure out, ‘Hey, if I get close here, how much do I need to back up to get some air on the grill?’ It should be interesting.”

CLINT BOWYER, No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing

How were you able to post the fast laps this morning with your teammate? “It’s just different ways of pushing and stuff like that. You can obviously go faster straight in line, but you can’t do it very long. I was just trying to see how long I could do it and we’re down here to learn — that helps NASCAR figure out what they need to do to make the appropriate actions. We have another meeting at lunch and we’ll see what that entails.”

What do you expect to see when you get into the bigger draft pack this afternoon? “I don’t know — one thing I did notice is that we didn’t go by the single car as fast as it used to so maybe when we get out there in the pack collectively, the pack will be as fast as two cars — maybe.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing

How did the car perform this morning with the new rules? “We didn’t draft yesterday, so it’s hard to say, but we did the tire test back here a few months ago and it’s pretty similar to what we did there. We had a bigger plate. Today it’s even a little bit bigger, but it’s a little a bit harder to keep the cars cool than it was and what we’ve had here in the past, so that’s going to be a challenge. And, of course, today the temperature should cool outside, so we get out there with a bunch of cars and warmer temps it’s going to be harder to keep the cars cool doing the two-car draft.”

How was the morning test session? “Yeah, everything is going well. We had a test plan and we’re sticking to that, but it’s been good to get out there and draft with both Clint (Bowyer) and Mark (Martin) and get a feel for things and so far everything is going good.”

What are you anticipating testing in a pack this afternoon? “I think it’s going to be a little bit ‘hairy.’ 205 (mph) is pretty fast and the car is just now starting to get where it’s almost on edge. We’re almost pushing the limits of the grip, so it’s going to get interesting with a lot of cars out there. You can’t really make fast maneuvers like you could before switching lanes. You really have to be smooth pushing, so it’s definitely going to be exciting for sure.”

How will the communication changes affect the race? “Well, you’re just following the guy and you just hope you go where he does. You’re just kind of going off of him. Wherever he moves, you move. You don’t really have a heads up on what’s coming.”

RODNEY CHILDERS, crew chief, No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing

How was the morning test session? “It was really good. We ran some single-car runs for a little while and learned a little bit there and it seemed like we got the car better and better and then went to some drafting stuff with our teammates and ran all three cars in line. All three cars were pretty good. Then ended up getting nose-to-tail with the 56 (Martin Truex Jr.) and everything seemed to be really good there. Truex thought our car was really stable when he was pushing it. Everything seems to be good. We’re going get out there with everybody else at one o’clock. I’m sure it’s going to get a little crazy, but hopefully it will be good.”

How did the car perform this morning with the new rules? “Not a huge impact. The cars are just a good bit faster, but it doesn’t seem like NASCAR is worried about that top speed. Seems like in the past in the every time they saw 200 (mph) we’d be changing plates, so I think they seem to be okay with it and we’ll get everybody out there and see what the speeds actually look like with everybody out there and not really doing a lot of pushing. Hopefully, everybody can learn something and I’m sure there will be more rule changes to come, but we’ll just have to see how it goes.”

Source: Toyota Motorsports, Press Release

Toyota Motorsports Logo

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

How did the two-car tandem draft feel with the new NASCAR rules? “Today with the new rule package and everything for the cars it certainly changed it a little bit, not a whole lot. There’s some different elements — the drivers really have to work hard trying to make sure that you stay connected and that you can get air into the intake for the radiator. Other than that, it’s kind of good just to get back in a race car and get back to the feeling of everything.”

What will it be like not to have communication with your teammates in the draft? “It’s going to be a lot more difficult. So far here at the test they’ve allowed us at least to talk to each other. Coming down to race time, we’re not supposed to. It’s definitely going to make it challenging. You’re going to have to go through talking to your spotter, your spotter talking to his spotter, his spotter talking to him so there’s too many different channels that you have to go through to get the communication going.”

DAVE ROGERS, crew chief, No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

How did the new NASCAR rules affect the draft? “Today was a good example that you can’t unlearn things that you learned in the past. Everyone in the garage area learned that the fastest way around here is to have two cars hooked up bumper-to-bumper and go. We’re never going to forget that. I know NASCAR is working really hard at making some new rules to bunch us back up, but as racers we’re going to take whatever route is the fastest — that’s the name of the game. Right now it still looks like two cars tied up is faster than a pack is going to be. The rules are going to have impact. Cars can’t hook up as long, they can’t stay nose-to-tail as long as they used to and when they do stay nose-to-tail for a longer time then the guy in the back has to pull further to the outside of the guy leading. You will see a different style race in February based on the rule changes, but you’re still going to see a bunch of racers try to hook up nose-to-tail.”

How long could the cars stay hooked up in the draft? “With the rule changes that NASCAR made, they really tied our hands. You can only stay hooked up bumper-to-bumper, center line to center line a half to three-quarters of a lap. So NASCAR accomplished their goal there. You can go longer when you pull out to the side. If you pull far enough out you can ride there all day. The more you pull out, the longer you can ride there, but the slower you are. If you need more speed you’re going to pull in center line to center line, if you need to stay cooler longer then you’re going to get that grill opening exposed to clean air. Drivers are going to have their hands full trying to figure out what they need to do and when they need to do it — and when do you lay all the cards on the table.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 20 Home Depot/Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

How did the two-car tandem work with you and Kyle Busch? “Oh man, we we’re pushing like crazy. It was alright. It was okay. We’re just working with what we need to do to try to be able to do it again with the rules changes and stuff like that. It’s made it super hard. It works good in practice right now, but when we get a bunch of cars around us in a racing situation, it’s probably not going to work as good. We’ll kind of see what happens. I wish we could get a lot of cars out there and I think that will be happening in the next couple of days, maybe tomorrow. I’m sure there will be a lot more cars out their drafting. Hopefully, something like that happens and it comes along good and we’ll have a better read than where we are at. We’re trying some things — trying to keep our car as cool as we can, some handling things, getting pushed and stuff like that.”

What do you anticipate in a big group? “I wish we got more cars out there today to know for sure, but I really think that we’re not going to be pushing as much. I think there will be a little bit of pushing and I think there will be a lot of old school draft, or whatever you want to call it. I think a lot of people are going to save it until the end and a lot of people won’t be able to do it for a very long time. I think it’s going to kind of look like the races when we first started to figure out how to do this two-car draft and only some people were doing it and some other people were just doing the regular draft. All that is probably going to look similar to that than what we had before.”

What are your thoughts on eliminating the in-race communication between drivers? “I’m hoping they change that back, because it ain’t going to pretty if we can’t talk to each other.”

JASON RATCLIFF, crew chief, No. 20 Home Depot/Dollar General Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

How was your first day of testing at Daytona? “It went good. We started off just making some single car runs and felt like we found a few things. We found some speed. Our drafting stuff — the biggest thing with the rule changes that NASCAR has come out with this year and just trying to figure that out and see how it’s going to affect our cars cooling wise, the spoiler is a lot smaller and just working through some stability things and trying to get the drivers comfortable to where they can draft. The thing we don’t know yet is when you get 15 or 30 cars out there together, that’s what we’re trying to prepare for. Until you do it, you really don’t know what you’ve got. We learned some things there, we made a lot of chassis adjustments and obviously going through the new EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection) stuff and trying to get familiar with that. It was a good day. We’ve got a couple more days here and I think we’ll learn a lot.”

Is there a bigger risk with the two-car tandem with the new rules? “There is because you’re cutting it way too close. You can stay together, but you have to sacrifice speed to do it. You have to tuck out and get some air on the nose and as you do that you continue to slow the car down. Again, when you get seven or eight groups out there doing that it’s going to be a different ball game. It will be interesting. Hopefully, tomorrow we will get more guys out there drafting and get some more tandems out there and see how it works out. One time there we got three cars — all three Joe Gibbs (Racing) cars out there just to see how that would work out and it was okay. The speed wasn’t there. You have to weigh it all out and by the time you do the swap every two or two-and-a-half laps then you figure all that in — we’re just trying to weigh all our options and go back and lay it all out on the table and see what’s best.”

What do you think we will see in the race in February? “I think you’re going to see bigger packs just because guys can’t stay tucked up like they could before. The cars are going to get too hot. Today we were able to communicate fairly well, but I think they’re talking about taking some of the communication away between the drivers — for safety reasons. A lot of times you get a lot of chatter and you don’t really know who to listen to and who not to listen to. NASCAR is looking at that and so that’s something we have to think through as well, but I think it will be more packed up. You’ll see two-car tandems, but they’re not going to be driving away from the rest of them like we’ve seen in the past.”

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

How was the afternoon test session? “It was good. It was good to get back on track and get the emotions and all going again. It takes a while after you sit out for a while to kind of get back in the rhythm and things.”

How long can maintain the two-car tandems? “Just about two laps really was the max for us. We couldn’t do much more than that, but we’re on the verge of being able to use it and not use it and we’re kind of in between, so I think if it stays this way it could be make for a lot of accidents during the (Daytona) 500. It’s kind of uneasy running that speed with two cars draft”

CLINT BOWYER, No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry, Michael Waltrip Racing How was the car after you got back on the track? “We got her straightened back out and she’ll be fine. We’ll get back out there drafting and looking forward to that. Just had to make sure that the car didn’t knock any speed off it, but it’s just fine.”

Is the two-car tandem riskier with the new rules changes? “The reward is worth the risk, unfortunately, and when you have that situation you’ve got to go out and do it. We got bit, but we’ll learn from it and we’ve got to learn some more tomorrow.”

Source: Toyota Motorsports, Press Release

Clint Bowyer Named Driver of the Michael Waltrip Racing No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota Camry for 2012

CORNELIUS, N.C. — 

CLINT BOWYER ON CREW CHIEF BRIAN PATTIE: “I had a lot of say in Brian Pattie becoming my crew chief. I talked to Brian for about the last year or so. I have a lot of confidence in him. He’s young and aggressive. I think he reminds me a lot of me. I think we’ll get along well together and it’ll be a great partnership. He’s assembling a heck of a team around me and that’s what it takes. It takes a good team. These cars that we are working with today are so even that it’s the people and the decisions that those people make that make up the difference.”

“You’ve got to be able to have some sort of common interests together other than what you do on Sundays. You’ve got to have that chemistry and that relationship with them. I think that’s so important. Having success even on Sundays is being able to communicate and have a relationship with the guy that you are going about it with.”

“I think it definitely brings some relaxation and comfort into the situation knowing that you got a good guy that you have confidence in manning the ship. We are building a new team from scratch and Brian is hiring good people. And now to get out and test this week is a big thing for us. It’s everything coming together.  I’m just looking forward to the challenges ahead. Obviously any sort of change is going to make things different and be a little bit of a challenge, and it’s now starting to sink in a little bit. It takes time for it to sink in. Even at Homestead-Miami it really didn’t sink in that I’m moving into this new ride for 2012. As I’ve had some time to think and be away, I’m starting to think about this year coming up and get excited for the next step.”

ON SCOTT MILLER: “Scott Miller (MWR competition director) coming over to Michael Waltrip Racing has helped. That’s helped my transition a bunch in moving to a new organization. I think having some people that you know and have confidence in helps a lot. I’m going to have a great team – I really am. I have 100 percent confidence in Brian – I’m super excited about working with him. I think we can have a lot of success together.”

BRIAN PATTIE ON CLINT BOWYER: “Clint’s been a good friend of mine for a long time. He’s always cutting up and having a good time with me and for all this to happen is quite humorous actually. But we have similar backgrounds in that we both grew up dirt racing and have a lot in common. I’m going to go up and take a look at Clint’s dirt shop here soon just because that’s what I do – I build dirt cars. He has a dirt team. The similarities are endless. That’s why I’m so excited to get somewhere and get going. I want to prove my worth, build a team and make the Chase with Clint driving – it’s going to be so much fun.” 

NOTES

• Starting in 2012: Michael Waltrip Racing is fielding three full-time entries in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for the first time since 2007. Martin Truex Jr. will pilot the No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota, Mark Martin and Michael Waltrip will share duties in the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine and Clint Bowyer is behind the wheel of the No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota.

• Walt Disney World Speedway is a one mile tri-oval that hosted NASCAR truck races in 1997 and 1998 as well as five IndyCar races and now serves as a home to driving schools.

Richard Childress Racing (RCR)

George, a New York, N.Y. native, is fresh off his best ARCA Racing Series run, finishing the 2011 season seventh in the final championship point standings on the strength of his first-career win at Pocono Raceway in June, eight top-five and 10 top-10 finishes. The 30-year-old driver made his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut in November 2009, one year after claiming victory at New Jersey Motorsports Park in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series. He began his racing career in 2005, driving in the Skip Barber Racing School Southern Series and finished second in his class the following year on the heels of five victories.

“Tim has shown a great amount of improvement, running in the ARCA Racing Series these past few years that included his first career win,” said Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing. “We’re ready to further strengthen his skills and moving him to the Camping World Truck Series is the next logical step. Having Ty Dillon and Joey Coulter as his teammates will help support his learning curve and I’m excited to see how he’ll perform.”

Tim George Jr.

Potomac Family Dining Group is the exclusive franchisee for the Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar restaurants in the Washington, D.C. and surrounding area.

“Having an association with Tim this past year has proven to be an exciting experience for us,” said PFDG President Jim Rieger. “Quite frankly, the positive feedback from both our guests and our employees, has exceeded our expectations. And, since so many of our guests are also NASCAR fans, this collaboration is a perfect fit.”

Bruce Cook, who has nearly twenty-five years of motorsports experience, will serve as crew chief for RCR’s No. 2 Chevrolet Silverado team. His most recent stint came at Kevin Harvick Inc. where he captured three wins during the 2010 Nationwide Series season with Kevin Harvick and seven in the Camping World Truck Series with six different drivers en route to the 2011 owner’s championship title.

George’s race schedule and further additions to RCR’s competition department will be forthcoming.

For additional information on today’s announcement, and all that’s happening at RCR, please visit www.rcrracing.com

About Richard Childress Racing

Richard Childress Racing (www.rcrracing.com) has earned more than 200 victories and 14 championships, including six in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with the legendary Dale Earnhardt. RCR was the first organization to win championships in the Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series. Its 2011 Sprint Cup Series lineup includes Paul Menard (No. 27 Menards Chevrolet), Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet), Jeff Burton (No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet) and Clint Bowyer (No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet). Its Camping World Truck Series program includes 2010 Rookie of the Year Austin Dillon (No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet) and Joey Coulter, Jr. (No. 22 RCR Development Chevrolet). Tim George Jr. (No 31 RCR Development Chevrolet) and Ty Dillon (No. 41 Chevrolet) will compete in the 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards.

- Richard Childress Racing Press Release

Michael Waltrip Racing Logo

Veteran Crew Chief To Lead Clint Bowyer’s No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota In 2012

CORNELIUS, N.C. – Michael Waltrip Racing today announced that Brian Pattie will serve as crew chief for Clint Bowyer’s No.15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota Camry in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series beginning in 2012.

“Brian is someone whose been on our radar for a very long time,” said Waltrip. “He brings a strong technical background, along with great leadership and Chase experience. We have high hopes for Brian, Clint and the 5-hour ENERGY team heading into 2012 and we think this is the perfect mix of talent, experience and leadership.”

Pattie joins the team after 18 victories in a long Nationwide Series career with a variety of drivers and a Sprint Cup stint at Earnhardt Ganassi Racing as crew chief for Juan Pablo Montoya. He guided the former open wheel driver to a spot in the Chase in 2009 and a victory at Watkins Glen in 2010.

“Michael Waltrip Racing is an up-and-coming team making improvements every day,” said Pattie, a Zephyrhills Fla. native who began his duties at MWR on Dec. 1.

“I know how close it is to joining the upper echelon of the Sprint Cup Series. When I started talking with Michael about opportunities at MWR I really did my research and was impressed by their commitment to getting to the top of the sport. I feel like this is a great opportunity to join a new team with a new driver and start building something special. Clint’s proven how good he is and I know that will get even better in 2012.”

Bowyer said the key to any good driver-crew chief relationship is communication. He and Pattie already have a head start in that area.

“I’ve known Brian Pattie for a long time and the thing that impresses me the most is how he calls a race and his knowledge of racecars,” said Bowyer. “We both grew up working on dirt cars and have pretty similar backgrounds. We understand each other and I think we speak the same language. I know once we get together and start working we’re going to see great results.”

MWR fields Toyota Camrys in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Martin Truex Jr., Clint Bowyer, Mark Martin and Michael Waltrip.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. hoists a championship flag after clinching the NASCAR Nationwide Series crown at the Ford 300 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, Nov. 19. - Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR

FORD RACING NOTES AND QUOTES

Ford 300,

November 19, 2011

Homestead-Miami Speedway

RICKY STENHOUSE JR. POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON WINNING THE CHAMPIONSHIP?

“It is unbelievable. There are a lot of people that have worked really hard for this. My family has sacrificed a lot. Jack Roush and all these guys on our team, they were with us when we were struggling and they never gave up last year. Everybody at Ford Racing, Blackwell Angus Beef and Cargill, everybody has worked really hard and rallied together to be a team effort. Our cars back at the shop are phenomenal and all the guys that work hard there. Everybody at Roush Yates engines. It is a total team effort and it means the world to bring this championship to Jack and be a little bit of the history that he has in this sport. For Ford to get the manufacturers and Jack to get the owners it was for sure a huge team effort. Mike Kelley never let us down. He rallied us, even when we weren’t good and I would get a little mad out there on the race track he straightened me up and helped us keep digging.”

MIKE KELLEY, crew chief No. 6 Ford Mustang – WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE THE CREW CHIEF OF THE 2011 NATIONWIDE CHAMIPIONS?

“Just like Ricky said, it means a lot. I heard Carl say the other day that it isn’t about the trophy that you get but the journey you take to get there. I couldn’t say that anymore for working with Ricky the last 16 or 18 months together. We had tough times last year and it was documented very well. Anyone could have walked away. Jack could have turned his back on him, Ford could have and our guys could have. There were a lot of tough days and grim nights back at the shop. Nobody did though. I am so proud of my guys and Jack and Ford for sticking behind Ricky and seeing it through. To come through what we did all last year and during the off season we really put our heads down and we weren’t picked to be the favorite and that is probably what helped us the most. We were kind of overshadowed by the Elliott Sadler’s and the Allgaier’s and Sorensen’s and that kinda gave us a fight and desire back at the shop to make sure we came out strong. It was a total team effort. It wasn’t me. I have a great engineering staff and we moved our shop. Jack let us move down to the Cup shop in Concord and that was a big plus for us. The cars that we get are second to none out there and the engines are second to none. We never quit. We had bad days at the beginning of the year and we learned as a group on fuel mileage and strategy. I feel like we gave up a couple wins based on that. I am proud of the effort of this team during the hard times. We dug in there and finished off strong.”

JACK ROUSH, owner, No. 6 Ford Mustang – WE MADE HISTORY TONIGHT AS A TEAM WON THE DRIVER AND OWNERS CHAMPIONSHIP WITH TWO DIFFERENT PRIMARY DRIVERS. CONGRATULATIONS JACK.

“When Carl won his Nationwide championship in 2007 I didn’t win the owners championship and I didn’t know what I did wrong. I didn’t do anything more wrong than I did right this time. It is an honor given to team owners that is really at the mercy of the efforts of the crew chiefs and drivers and the crew. I am glad to be sharing the honors with Carl and with Ricky and with Mike Beam and Mike Kelley. One thing I want to say, and I have been doing this for my 24th year and this is my third Nationwide championship that I have helped a driver win, but Ricky sits here tonight because of the sacrifice and dedication of a great family.

Without his mother and father, I am looking at his mom across the room here, without their sacrifice and dedication and determination to see to it Ricky had everything he needed to develop into the driver he has become it wouldn’t happen. People like myself or Tony Stewart or other owners that have the race cars would never find a Ricky Stenhouse without the family doing all they have to do and the dark days before it really goes public. Mike Kelley did a great job this year, Mike Beam did a great job behind the scenes. Carl Edwards provided great leadership from a driver point of view. Trevor Bayne did a great job challenging Ricky in some ways and supporting him in others. It has been a great team effort that we are celebrating tonight but I am especially thankful and respectful of the sacrifice of the whole Stenhouse family that they made to get Ricky where he is.”

STENHOUSE CONTINUED – IS THE THE BIGGEST THING TO HAPPEN TO OLIVE BRANCH?

“I would say so. It is going to be cool. I plan on taking the trophy when I got to the Christmas parade as Grand Marshal December 3rd. It will be a good homecoming for sure. There are a lot of people back there that are really supportive of what we are doing. The whole school system and everybody down there. It is really cool to have a community behind you like that.”

YOU WERE IN THE TOP FIVE IN POINTS ALL YEAR BEFORE MOVING TO FIRST AND STAYING THERE. WAS THERE A MOMENTUM SHIFT AFTER YOU GOT TO FIRST?

“We look at it as one whole year. We got the lead a couple times and lost it but that last time we got it we were bound and determined not to give it back. We wanted to seal it up before coming to Homestead. We did the best job we could and it was just a whole year of total team effort and really working to not make mistake on pit road and not making mistakes as a driver and crew chief. I think at the end of the year we really limited our mistakes we made in our first half the year that gave those points leads back to other people. That was the main thing we focused on.”

WHAT WAS THE ONE BIGGEST LESSON YOU LEARNED FROM JACK DURING THE TROUBLES LAST YEAR?

“The one biggest thing I think I learned from everything Jack has done for me is that he cares about me as a person and really wanted me to succeed. If he didn’t care he wouldn’t put me in the body shop. That is one thing I learned from my dad. He was tough on my growing up but it was always for a reason. Jack has been an awesome team owner. He has done a lot of great things in NASCAR and I am glad to be a part of this one little thing. He has been doing it a long time. He has his ways of doing things and you have to look at the positives from it. I think that was the biggest thing I learned.”

JACK ROUSH CONTINUED – WHAT WAS IT YOU SAW IN RICKY THAT MADE YOU INSIST ON PUSHING HIM TO THE POINT TO SEE IF HE HAD WHAT IT TOOK?

“Ricky was extraordinarily talented. Every challenge we gave him with a new race track or problem with a car as we changed the car Ricky was bright and quick and talented in meeting those challenges. The thing that was always there when you would reach a situation when it was clear that you could go down this or that path and Mike Beam or Mike Kelley or myself decided to go down a certain path Ricky always went along with it. He never called his dad for support and said we were being to hard on him, he just went along with the program. That is what a rookie needs to do. He needs to go with the program with the people looking after him and our group had his interests in mind.

The other thing was that he was just driven to be competitive to the extent of self destruction to start with. It is much easier to temper that and deal with that that it is for someone that doesn’t want it as bad as those next to them. They couldn’t realize the ultimate prize. Ricky wanted it bad and he raised himself to be a race car driver. This was his opportunity and he tried to hang on to it too tight to start with and couldn’t realize the success there for him but very quickly we got over that.”

RICKY STENHOUSE CONTINUED – THIS IS THE FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP UNDER THE NEW FORMAT. YOU ARE THE CHAMPION WITH TWO WINS. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT BEING THE FIRST CHAMPION IN THIS NEW FORMAT?

“It means just as much. We race week in and week out with those guys. We gave them a run for their money here tonight. Ultimately my goal is to go out there and win the drivers and owners championship. We finished third in the owners championship so we ran really strong all year. We beat Carl, we beat Brad, we passed those guys and raced Kyle Busch. I think as a race team and me as a driver I felt like we are just as good as those guys. I think that racing up there and beating them definitely makes this championship worth it.”

YOU FINISHED STRONG.

“This race track is one of my favorites. I wish we came here twice at least. Last year was the first year here. I had a lot of fun and this is just my style of race track. You can drive it in hard, let it slide up to the wall and get back in the gas and really hang it out, it just reminds me a lot of sprint car racing. Last year, we finished fourth and ran really strong and this year we just came up one spot short and maybe one corner short, but, man, it was fun racing those guys. We were sideways, turning right, trying to keep it off the fence, getting into the fence every now and then, and to race up there with Carl, Brad, Denny, Clint Bowyer, Elliott Sadler, they’re some of the best in the business and to be up there racing with them is fun.”

AT WHAT POINT DID YOU KNOW THE TITLE WAS YOURS AND DID IT CHANGE YOUR PHILOSOPHY?

“We were going 100 percent there from the start. It’s tough to get me to back down any. I’m not good at riding around, so I’m not sure what lap it was, Mike Kelley came over and told me we were good to go, that we had won the championship, but we still stayed focused and I think I drove 110 percent after that, so that was the only thing that really changed.”

WAS THERE A TURNING POINT FOR YOU AND YOUR TEAM THIS SEASON?

“I can think of two. Early in the year when we led laps at Bristol, ran up there with Kyle and I was kind of playing around with him the whole time. Talking to Kyle after he was like, ‘Man, you had the best car.’ We made a mistake on fuel mileage and we made a mistake as a race team getting lined up and we got caught two laps down, so I think we rallied together and we worked on our fuel mileage with Ford and everybody at Roush Fenway and Roush Yates, worked on our fuel mileage, and we kind of got a direction there and that really helped us. And then Indy when we led 190 laps and we came up a couple spots short. That was pretty tough for us, but we were bound and determined to win some more races and really run up front and dig hard, and Mike was the one that kind of rallied everybody together and kept everybody digging.”

MIKE KELLEY CONTINUED –

“I kind of agree with him. Early on in the year we kind of made a few mistakes and left a lot of points on the table, a lot more than we ever thought, and I really feel if we would have been a little smarter, a little better earlier in the year, we’d have been right in the middle of that owner’s championship, and that was our goal from the beginning. But the thing that meant a lot to me is we sat down in January and we circled a bunch of dates on the calendar for Ricky’s experience level on the road course races, we kind of had a goal, we said we’d have to be 25 points in the lead coming into the last two road course race swing knowing that Elliott had a lot of experience and Ricky had never been to Watkins Glen.

We knew we’d take our lumps there, but if we could get out of there, we didn’t care if it was a one-point lead or a two-point lead, we would tell ourselves on the way home that we came out of there with the lead and now it was ours to hold on to the last 10 races of the year, kind of really laid into Ricky’s schedule – a bunch of short tracks thrown in there with some mile-and-a-halfs that the cars have been good on.

When we made it through those two road course races, I don’t know if it was six, seven, eight points or something, we came out of there with the lead and I remember looking at him on the plane and I told him, ‘Picture that we came in here five points behind and we actually came out six points ahead and we’ll look at it that way, instead of saying we lost 10 today.’ We got the guys rallied back at the shop and said, ‘We’ve only got to turn left from here on in and Ricky can do that as good as anybody out there.’ Lack of experience or not, he’s as talented as anyone I’ve ever seen behind the wheel.”

RICKY STENHOUSE JR. CONTINUED – AT THE START OF THE YEAR MANY PEOPLE DIDN’T HAVE YOU IN THEIR TOP FIVE. DID YOU USE THAT AS MOTIVATION?

“We definitely used that as motivation. We felt like at the end of last year, Mike Kelley and I were sitting down at the banquet watching Brad get the trophy, we told each other right there that as strong as we were running at the end of the year, running up in the top five with the Cup guys, that we were going for that championship and that was before they ever changed the point system. Obviously, they changed the point system and we still weren’t in sight to do that from the media’s perspective, but we felt like as a race team we could do that, I felt like as a driver I was just as good as anybody else out there, and if we put everything together, then we knew we had a shot at this championship. But it was just fun. You all have been doing this a long time and I’m just getting started, so it was good to come out here and get this championship.”

- PCG Campbell Press Release

Truck owner and Grandfather Richard Childress (L) celebrates the 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship with grandson Austin Dillon (R) at Homestead-Miami Speedway (Photo Credit: RCR)

The accomplishment marks the second NCWTS championship for RCR, who earned the inaugural NCWTS series championship in 1995 with Mike Skinner, also in a No. 3 Chevrolet. The 42-year-old racing organization, headed by Dillon’s grandfather Richard Childress, now has 14 motorsports championships overall, spread across the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, NCWTS and the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards.

“It’s so special when you’re family,” said patriarch and team owner Richard Childress. “Our whole family is involved, and I remember the very first championship with Dale Earnhardt. I had the same feeling tonight watching Austin, my grandson. It’s just so special to have the family and know how hard all of them worked. Danny Stockman (crew chief), Bass Pro Shops, everybody on the No. 3 team did so much to help put it together. Austin kept it together so good under the pressure. For a 21-year-old guy, man, to be able to hang in there and do what he did was very special.”

Dillon, the 2010 NCWTS Rookie of the Year, becomes the first driver in the 11-year history of the NCWTS to earn the rookie title and then the driving championship the subsequent year. He also holds the honor of youngest champion to be crowned in the series’ history. Along with Ty Dillon, the 2011 ARCA Racing Series champion, the Dillon’s are the only brothers who have earned same-year championships on a national stock car tour.

“We definitely worked hard this year and accomplished this as a team,” said Dillon. “This was our goal at the beginning of the year and no one ever gave up. Danny Stockman and every member of the Bass Pro Shops team worked nonstop. We rebounded from so many little mistakes and unfortunate incidents this year-the hood flipping up at Kentucky Speedway, for example. It’s the way you react to the undesirable situations that show what a championship team is made of, and these guys reacted in all the right ways. This championship means so much to me and I’m thrilled to be able to represent my family, Richard Childress Racing, Bass Pro Shops and NASCAR as a champion.”

En route to the 2011 title, Dillon and his Danny Stockman-led Bass Pro Shops team celebrated in Victory Lane at Nashville Superspeedway and Chicagoland Speedway, posting an impressive five pole awards among 10 top-five and 16 top-10 finishes in 25 races. Dillon finished second on four separate occasions.

At 29-years-old, the 2011 championship marks crew chief Stockman’s first in only his second year as a crew chief. Prior to joining RCR in December 2009, he earned two championships (’07 and ’09) in the NCWTS as a truck chief at Kevin Harvick, Inc.

“Like Austin said, the last restart was quite gut wrenching,” added Stockman. “Just awesome to be a part of this deal with Richard, Mike, Austin and Tina, and everybody that just let me have this opportunity to be a part of it. Austin Dillon is just a great up-and-coming race car driver. I am just really happy to be a part of it. We have a heck of a good race team, and just got to thank everybody back at the shop for all their hard work.”

The nation’s No. 1 outdoor retail leader, Bass Pro Shops, was positioned as the primary partner on Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet for the duration of the 2010 and 2011 race seasons. A long-time RCR supporter, Bass Pro Shops began its association with Richard Childress Racing in 1998 with associate sponsorship of the No. 3 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet Monte Carlo made famous by seven-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt. Bass Pro Shops’ partnership with RCR has also included sponsorship of the No. 29 Chevrolet driven by Kevin Harvick and primary sponsorship of Earnhardt’s eldest son, Kerry Earnhardt, in RCR’s No. 33 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet for six Sprint Cup Series races in 2004. The company sponsored Ty Dillon for his season-finale race in the ARCA Racing Series this year.

“Congratulations to Austin from all of us at Bass Pro Shops, Tracker Marine and all our Tracker independent dealers,” said Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris. “Austin is a fine young man who loves racing, loves the outdoors and has a great future ahead of him. What a proud moment for Austin’s grandparents Richard and Judy Childress and his mom and dad Mike and Tina Dillon.”

Dillon joins an exclusive list of NCWTS driving champions, including Todd Bodine, Ron Hornaday, Jr., Johnny Benson, Ted Musgrave, Bobby Hamilton, Travis Kvapil, Mike Bliss, Jack Sprague, Greg Biffle and Mike Skinner. He will be formally honored at the annual NNS and NCWTS Awards Banquet at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel on Monday, Nov. 21. SPEED will broadcast the banquet on Friday, Dec. 2 from 7-9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

About Bass Pro Shops Group:

Bass Pro Shops -58 retail stores in 26 states and Canada visited by over 110 million people annually, international catalog and internet retailing, American Rod & Gun wholesale division selling to over 7,000 independently owned retail stores worldwide, Outdoor World Incentives also selling Bass Pro Shops gift cards through over 132,000 retail outlets across America and a restaurant division with 26 locations. For more information regarding Bass Pro Shops store locations, products or special events, please visit www.basspro.com. To request a free catalog call 1-800-BASS PRO.

Tracker Marine Group –

Manufactures and sells Tracker, Nitro, SunTracker, Tahoe and Mako boats through Bass Pro Shops retail stores and over 400 dealers worldwide. Visit www.trackerboats.com

Resort Group –

Big Cedar Lodge and other resort properties including restaurants and golf course. Visit www.bigcedar.com for more information.

About Richard Childress Racing

Richard Childress Racing (www.rcrracing.com) has earned more than 200 victories and 14 NASCAR championships, including six in the Sprint Cup Series with the legendary Dale Earnhardt. RCR was the first organization to win championships in the Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series. Its 2011 Sprint Cup Series lineup includes Paul Menard (No. 27 Menards Chevrolet), Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet), Jeff Burton (No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet) and Clint Bowyer (No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet). Its Camping World Truck Series program includes 2010 Rookie of the Year Austin Dillon (No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet) and Joey Coulter, Jr. (No. 22 RCR Chevrolet). Tim George Jr. (No 31 Applebee’s / Potomac Family Dining Group Chevrolet) and Ty Dillon (No. 41 RCR Chevrolet) will compete in the 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards.

- Richard Childress Racing Press Release

Austin Dillon soaks in the glory after becoming the youngest NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion following Friday night's race at Homestead-Miami Speedway. (Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images for NASCAR)

“Everyone at Chevrolet is extremely proud of Austin Dillon’s accomplishment this year,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. Vice President of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “Throughout his young career, he has proven himself to be a very talented driver. After winning the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rookie of Year in his 2010 debut, to come back and win the championship this year clearly demonstrates the bright future Austin has in NASCAR.

“We are very proud of our long partnership with Richard Childress Racing and couldn’t be more pleased to be a part of every victory and every championship Richard’s teams have won.”

Dillon, 21, led the series with five poles, and added two wins, 10 top-fives and 16 top-10s in 25 races this season.

Dillon, who carried a 20-point lead into the season finale’, is the sixth Team Chevy driver to win the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship, joining Ron Hornaday Jr. (2009, 2007, 1998 and 1996), Jack Sprague (2001, 1999, and 1997), Travis Kvapil (2003), Mike Bliss (2002) and Mike Skinner (1995).

This is Childress’ second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship; Mike Skinner won the first in the series’ inaugural season, 1995 – also in the No. 3. Childress also won six NASCAR Sprint Cup championships with Dale Earnhardt (1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993 and 1994).

“It’s been a very successful season for Team Chevy in the Camping World Truck Series,” Campbell said. “We’d also like to congratulate Kevin Harvick Inc. on winning the Owners’ Championship. What a way for KHI to close out a tremendous 10-year run in the series.

“In addition, our congratulations to Joey Coulter for winning the Series’ Sunoco Rookie of the Year.”

Chevrolet earlier clinched the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Manufacturers’ Championship for the seventh time.

Tonight’s season-finale was won by Johnny Sauter, No. 13 SafeAuto / Curb Records Silverado.

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 .

- Chevrolet Press Release

No. 20 GameStop Toyota Camry (Joey Logano) - Photo Credit: Chris Graythen / Getty Images for NASCAR

· LOGANO LOOKING FOR DUEL JGR BURNOUTS IN HOMESTEAD: Joey Logano has had the chance before. In his rookie season of 2008, the youngster took part in a duel burnout celebration with then NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion Clint Bowyer when Logano piloted the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to a 10th-place finish and a clinch of the 2008 Nationwide Series Owner’s Championship. This weekend, Logano hopes to partake in a duel burnout situation at Homestead once again. This time however, he hopes his burnout is the result of a checkered flag win for the No. 20 GameStop Toyota in the season-finale Nationwide Series event, while the other burnout is that of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin in the No. 18 JGR Toyota, clinching what would be the team’s fourth-straight Nationwide Series Owner’s Championship. Logano’s fourth-place finish last week in Phoenix behind the wheel of the No. 18 GameStop Toyota means the No. 18 team holds a one-point lead over the No. 60 heading into the season-finale this weekend at Homestead.

· PDP AND AFTERGLOW HOPE TO “LIGHT UP” HOMESTEAD EVENING: Performance Designed Products (PDP) and its Afterglow brand of video game controllers will ride along with the No. 20 GameStop Toyota this weekend in Homestead. PDP is an industry leader in designing and manufacturing products for all major video game platforms including the Sony PS2, PS3, PSP, Nintendo DS and Wii, and Microsoft Xbox 360, as well as a line of accessories for the Apple iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, and Android-based phones. The company has been supplying video game accessories to the U.S. market for more than a decade. PDP’s AFTERGLOW™ line of controllers features an array of LED lights that shine through the clear casing and can be turned on and off, or set to light up when the controller vibrates. PDP’s AFTERGLOW™ line includes controllers for the Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony PS3.

· LOGANO A FRONT-RUNNER AT HOMESTEAD: With the NASCAR Nationwide Series visiting Homestead-Miami Speedway only once per season, Logano’s stats at the track aren’t mind-blowing. But he’s made all three of his visits to the 1.5-mile South Florida track count. Logano has twice started from the pole at Homestead (2008 and 2010) and has led laps in each of his three starts at the track (21 laps led in 2008, 13 in 2009 and 17 in 2010). Logano’s best career finish at Homestead came in 2009, when he finished fourth. In fact, according to NASCAR Statistics, Logano’s average running position under green-flag conditions at Homestead-Miami Speedway is an impressive 5.9. He also leads all drivers with an average starting position of 2.0.

· BATTLE OF NASCAR FAMILIES… AND LOGANO SET FOR HOMESTEAD: On Saturday, Joey will participate in an event featuring the new NASCAR video game, NASCAR Unleashed, at Homestead. The event is all part of the “Battle of the NASCAR Kids” competition. NASCAR drivers’ children will compete against one another for pride and glory. As their dads coach and their moms manage them, these kids will race for first place and the honor of being crowned the first ever “Battle of the NASCAR Kids” champion. The event aims to bring together NASCAR families and ultimately raise money for charities, with each participating family donating $5,000 to a charity of their choice. Post race all the racers will band together to hand a check to The NASCAR Foundation for $25,000 from Activision. As part of the event, Logano will pick two lucky raffle ticket wild card racers from the audience, and he’ll coach them while playing in the tournament and trying to win a cool $5,000.

· CHASSIS: The No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing team will bring car #127 to the track this weekend. The car has raced in two events this season, at Michigan and again at Charlotte, where Logano was set for a top-three finish before an accident with just a handful of laps to go.

· STAT OF THE WEEK: 2.0. Logano’s average starting position at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Despite only running in three races at Homestead during the course of his career, Logano has qualified 1st, 4th and 1st in his three visits.

· THE RACE: The Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (Homestead, FL; 1.5-mile oval) is set for Saturday afternoon, November 19, 2011. The race will be broadcast on ESPN2 at 4:30 p.m. ET, with radio coverage on MRN starting at 4 p.m. ET.

Joey Logano - Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett / Getty Images for NASCAR

“It’s hard to believe that it’s the end of the season already and we are getting ready to run Homestead. It seems like just yesterday that we were unloading the GameStop Toyota at Daytona for the opener and thinking that we had a shot for a really good season. And now, here we are almost ready for another off season. We’ve had a lot of fun this year in the Nationwide Series. It’s been a struggle at times in figuring out these new Nationwide Series cars, but we’ve had some really good runs. We won at Daytona, which was huge for me and for the entire team. We almost won and finished second at Talladega and Bristol. We were right there at Watkins Glen. There have been plenty of ups and downs along the way. It’s also been great working with Adam (Stevens) all year. It’s been a lot of fun to see him go from being an Engineer on the Cup side to a Crew Chief over on the Nationwide side. And getting to work with guys like ‘Sib,’ ‘Rudy,’ and Joel, some of the guys I kind of came up through the racing ranks with again has been a lot of fun as well. It’s also been great to spend a few races with Jason (Ratcliff) this season. As a driver, you try to take as much knowledge from as many people as you can and that is what getting to work with Jason has allowed me to do this year. Between Adam, Jason and Zippy (Cup Crew Chief Greg Zipadelli), I’ve picked up a lot of valuable information this year.

“Homestead is a fun track. It’s one of those places where you can run just about anywhere and can move around to make your can handle better. You can go up top and run right near the wall or you can run near the bottom and take the short way around. It’s a lot of fun either way and gives you a lot of options as far as setting up the car. It’s really just about as fun as it is on the video game too. When I play the new NASCAR 2011 game in my motor home during the weekend, I often race my friends at Homestead. It’s just a lot of run in real life or on the game.

“It’s been a great year with GameStop and I’m looking forward to this weekend. We’ve got a big event with the new NASCAR Unleashed game and maybe one of my wild card picks will win $5,000. And the car this weekend looks great with PDP and Afterglow controllers on it. We’ve had some really cool games and really cool cars this year. The Batman, Wipeout, Captain America and Call of Duty cars were all really awesome this year. I’ll never get tired of driving for GameStop and the way they market themselves. They have to be one of the coolest sponsors out there, and I’m proud to represent them.”

- Joe Gibbs Racing Press Release

Team Chevy Logo

TEAM CHEVY ADVANCE

FORD 400

HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY

HOMESTEAD, FL

NOVEMBER 20, 2011

DID YOU KNOW? The 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Coupe accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds and can reach a top speed of 184 mph. Starting at $54,995, including Performance Traction Management and Magnetic Ride suspension, the ZL1 delivers supercar levels of performance and technology for the price of a sports car.

TEAM CHEVY SOCIAL MEDIA: Follow Team Chevy on Facebook and @TeamChevy on Twitter to receive the latest news as well as updates with times and locations of events.

CELEBRATING CHEVROLET CENTENNIAL WITH GREATEST TEAM CHEVY NASCAR RACING MOMENTS: Chevrolet celebrated its 100th anniversary on November 3, 2011. To commemorate Chevy’s centennial, we are highlighting some of Chevy’s greatest NASCAR racing moments. In 2011, Chevrolet captured its unprecedented 35^th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Manufacturers’ Cup. In October at Talladega Superspeedway, Richard Childress Racing collected its 100^th NSCS win as Clint Bowyer took the No. 33 Chevrolet 100^th Year Chevrolet to Victory Lane.

TEAM CHEVY RACING FOR THE FANS AT LUMMUS PARK-MIAMI BEACH:

• · Fans can visit the Team Chevy Racing Display at the NASCAR Championship Drive in Lummus Park, located along Ocean Drive in Miami Beach between 7th and 9th Streets
• · At Team Chevy Racing Display fans can check out Sonic, Camaro, Corvette Grand Sport and Cruze.
• · For registering at the Team Chevy Racing Display, fans receive a free Team Chevy T-Shirt.
• · Display hours at Lummus Park will be: Thursday and Friday November 17 & 18 – Noon to 8:00 p.m.
• · Activities at the Chevy Racing Display includes NASCAR Show Cars with photo opportunities for fans

TEAM CHEVY IN NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES (NSCS) COMPETITION:

• · Chevrolet has won 35 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Manufacturers’ Championships
• · Team Chevy drivers have scored 686 wins AND 620 poles in NSCS competition
  • o 2011 wins – 17
  • o 2011 poles – 11

TEAM CHEVY IN THE 2011 CHASE FOR THE NASCAR SPRINT CUP:

Team Chevy has six drivers in the standings of the 10- race 2011 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Standings after Race 9 of 10:

• · Tony Stewart, No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, sits 2^nd in the standings, 3 points behind leader
• · Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet, is 3^rd in the points order
• · Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, is 5^th in points
• · Dale Earnhardt, Jr., No. 88 National Guard/AMP Energy Chevrolet, sits 7^th in points,
• · Ryan Newman, No. 39 U.S. Army Chevrolet, is 9^th in standings
• · Jeff Gordon, No. 24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet, is 11^th in points

TEAM CHEVY AT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY: PAT SUHY, NASCAR GROUP MANAGER, GM RACING: “It’s been a great 2011 season for Team Chevy in NASCAR. With just one race to go in each NASCAR Touring Series, we’ve dominated the on-track show. Chevrolet teams have won 35 out of 92 races run so far. We have captured our 35th Sprint Cup Series Manufacturers’ Cup title and our seventh Camping World Truck Series Manufacturers’ Championship. One of three Chevy drivers will be crowned the Camping World Truck Series champion this Friday, and Tony Stewart will be a strong contender on Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway for the Driver’s Championship in the Sprint Cup Series. It doesn’t get a whole lot better than this!

“For the Manufacturers’ Championships, a lot of what has brought Team Chevy the multiple years of success that we have enjoyed is teamwork. And that teamwork isn’t just within each team that contributed; it extends to teamwork among our teams, and also between the teams and our own talented group of racing engineers and program managers here at General Motors. Teamwork is the basis for our ‘Key Partners’ approach in all three series, the results speak for themselves.

“Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup finale at Homestead should prove to be very exciting. With just three points separating the top two championship contenders, it’s possible that the Driver’s title could be decided on the last turn of the last lap of the season. Success in terms of wins at Homestead has been hard to come by for Team Chevy. Even though wins have been few and far between, our teams have captured 37% of the top-five finishing positions, meaning that our teams have the speed to run up-front and contend for wins.

“Given the importance of this particular race, I’m confident that we’ll see a Chevy driver competing for the win and will get to celebrate on the champion’s stage with our own Tony Stewart.”

CHEVROLET ON THE TRACK—HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY:

• · A Chevrolet driver has won 1 of the 12 races at Homestead-Miami Speedway
• · Chevy has 4 poles at Homestead
• · Team Chevy drivers have scored 22 top-five finishes and 51 top-10 finishes at Homestead
• · A Chevrolet has led 674 laps (21.0% of 3,209 possible) at Homestead
• · Current Team Chevy drivers with wins at Homestead:

o Tony Stewart, No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet has two (2) wins (both of his wins were in a Pontiac)

TEAM CHEVY FROM THE DRIVER’S SEAT AT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY:

TONY STEWART, NO. 14 OFFICE DEPOT/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET – 2^ND IN STANDINGS: “You go off into turn one (at Homestead-Miami Speedway), and when you get into the banking, you lift. If your car is good, you can go and not use any brake, or very, very little brake. You stay one lane off the bottom, past the transition – it’s a little less banking on the lower level toward the apron – so you stay one level above that. As soon as your car settles in you can really just mash right back in the gas and just ride that second level around down onto the backstretch. And then you do exactly the same thing going into turn three. A lot of times in turn three, because of the wind direction there, you can actually go into the corner a lot harder and a lot further, actually turning into the corner before you get off the gas. And it’s the same thing, once that car settles in, you get on the gas and ride it around to the front stretch. It’s a pretty smooth racetrack.”

KEVIN HARVICK, NO. 29 BUDWEISER CHEVROLET – 3^RD IN STANDINGS: “Homestead is one of those race tracks that you don’t know when it is going to stop aging. It seems like every time we return to the track it loses a little grip, which is a good thing. Since they repaved the track a few years back it has become one of my favorites. You can move all around trying to find a groove that works for you. There are a lot of different places where you can make your car work. For me it has been a lot of fun to race on. It’s just unique. You can charge turn one a little bit more than you can at most places, because as you get through the corner, the banking seems to get steeper all the way through, and you have options. You can run the top, you can run the bottom, you can run the middle, or you can split the middle-top or middle-bottom and make your car turn. It’s just a unique race track, and it seems to fit the guys that like to move around and make their cars work in different spots.”

JIMMIE JOHNSON, NO. 48 LOWE’S CHEVROLET – 5^TH IN STANDINGS: “I’m definitely disappointed that we won’t be able to go to Homestead and race for our sixth (consecutive driver’s championship) but that’s motorsports. It’s a very tough business. What we did over the last five years was absolutely spectacular and I’ve just got to thank Lowe’s. I’ve got to thank Hendrick Motorsports, Chad Knaus (crew chief), and this whole race team for giving me everything they’ve had these 10 years. Even though we’re not in position to win the championship now, we’re going to go to Homestead and try to have our best race down there that we can and finish as high as we can in the points. I’ll definitely have more fun and get a lot of sleep going in there. I’ll bet you the No. 99 (Carl Edwards) and the No. 14 (Tony Stewart) won’t. I’ll have fun watching from the sidelines.”

DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 88 NATIONAL GUARD/AMP ENERGY CHEVROLET – 7^TH IN STANDINGS: “The way they ditched the banking has made it a real challenge for me. I can’t really get a car to roll through the center and turn well. I haven’t had a car that was quite free enough in all the times being there. As I drive into the banking, it gets tighter and tighter as it loads the right front into the banking. It just doesn’t suit my style. I’m going there with a new crew chief this year and he prepares a car completely different than the guys I’ve worked with in the past. Maybe that will be the difference.”

RYAN NEWMAN, NO. 39 U.S. ARMY CHEVROLET – 9^TH IN STANDINGS: “We’re feeling a lot better after our fifth-place come-from-behind performance in Phoenix. It hasn’t been the kind of Chase that we had anticipated back in Chicago (beginning of Chase), but if we can end the season with a performance like we had in Phoenix it would make things better for our U.S. Army team during the offseason. You always want to end the season with a feel-good performance. There’s a lot of buzz at our Stewart-Haas Racing shop about Tony (Stewart) and the No. 14 team. The spirit is high, knowing that Tony has a shot at winning the Sprint Cup championship. The (No. 14) team has done a remarkable job in the Chase and the battle between Tony and Carl (Edwards) is great for the sport. I know I’m excited about it and I am sure the fans feel the same way.”

JEFF GORDON, NO. 24 DRIVE TO END HUNGER CHEVROLET – 11^TH IN STANDINGS: “I like the South Florida area and the track. The variable banking allows us to really search around for a line or a groove that will work, and I think good side-by-side racing comes along with that. We’ve had some good runs here; we just haven’t been able to win. Yet. You have to kind of take that [championship battle] into account. You don’t want to be the individual that costs somebody the championship because you did something dumb racing way back in the pack. But, for me, I don’t care who it is if I’m racing for the win. I’m going to race them hard – just like any other race – if a victory is on the line. We tried some things in Texas that seemed to have us moving in the right direction. We’ll see if we can improve on that this weekend. A solid run can give us confidence and momentum as we go into the off-season and 2012.”

CLINT BOWYER, NO. 33 CHEERIOS/HAMBURGER HELPER CHEVROLET – 13^TH IN STANDINGS: “Homestead-Miami Speedway is a fun race track. Our finishes don’t reflect how well we’ve run there. I think we’ve actually broke twice there. It’s a fun race track and a very important race because we get to crown another champion. It’s going to be really tough (to climb out of the car for the last time for Richard Childress Racing). It’s going to be awkward to be honest. It’s the only thing I’ve ever drove and always been one of Richard’s cars or one associated with him. It’s bittersweet. I owe everything in my career to Richard and it’s going to be tough, but change isn’t always a bad thing. I’m ready for the challenge. I really am ready for this.”

PAUL MENARD, NO. 27 DURACELL/MENARDS CHEVROLET – 18^TH IN STANDINGS: “There’s always mixed feels whether you want the season to end or not at Homestead. You kind of want to get going onto next year and get a fresh start but on the other hand, you feel like you have some unfinished business and want to keep working on what you’ve been working on all season. It’s always kind of bittersweet in Miami. It’s been up and down emotionally for our team, but the season itself has gone by pretty fast. It’s hard to believe we’re at the last race already.”

JUAN PABLO MONTOYA, NO. 42 TARGET CHEVROLET – 19^TH IN STANDINGS: “We are always really busy Homestead-Miami weekend. It’s considered my “home track” so we have a ton of guests and events going on. We have our gala with our foundation (Formula Smiles), and it is the fifth year we have done it. It is a really cool event that raises a lot of money, and we always do something different, something cool. On top of that we have the ticket promotion with the track, so I think that is pretty exciting as well. So it is a lot of fun, but there are a lot of things to be done. Plus they even give me time to get in the Target Chevrolet and race (laughing).”

MARK MARTIN, NO. 5 GODADDY.COM CHEVROLET – 20^TH IN STANDINGS: “Hendrick Motorsports is just an amazing, amazing race team. And what makes it that way are the people who are there. These last three years of my career have been incredible. It was so flattering to me when Rick (Hendrick, team owner) hired me and made me a part of this group of drivers. Jeff (Gordon), Jimmie (Johnson) and Dale (Earnhardt Jr.) have been great teammates and friends of mine. Working with Rick – I’ve gotten the chance to know him on a more personal side. His people skills are incredible and what he’s built with this race team is something he should be very proud of. The fact that, when I look back on the wins in my career, that I had the opportunity to earn five of them with Hendrick Motorsports, is something I’ll always treasure.”

JEFF BURTON, NO. 31 CATERPILLAR CHEVROLET – 22^ND IN STANDINGS: “It’s always important to run well at all of the tracks we go to no matter if it’s the first or the last race. It doesn’t matter if we win or finish last. I won’t leave Homestead thinking our finish is how our season will be next year. It’s always better to have a good finish because you feel good leaving the track, but three or four days later you’ve forgotten about it and gone onto the next thing. Homestead doesn’t have a lingering affect. Just because you win at Homestead doesn’t mean you’re going to a great season the next year. The way we ran (at Homestead) last year doesn’t mean we would have a better or worse chance to win the Daytona 500 this year. You’ll know how you’re going to do the following season by the preparation between now and the (Daytona) 500.”

REGAN SMITH, NO. 78 FURNITURE ROW RACING CHEVROLET – 26^TH IN STANDINGS: “After what happened in Phoenix – being involved in an accident on the second lap – I can’t wait to get back into the Furniture Row Chevrolet. Based on practice and qualifying we were looking for a good run in Phoenix. But it didn’t turn out that way so we have one more race to show our mettle before we head into the offseason. It’s been a breakthrough season for Furniture Row Racing, but we need to get to another level. And a good place to start reaching that goal is to end the season with a strong finish. Having a good result at Homestead will do plenty for team morale during the offseason. No doubt, it’s an important race for many reasons.”

JAMIE MCMURRAY, NO. 1 BASS PRO SHOPS/TRACKER BOATS CHEVROLET – 27^TH IN STANDINGS: “It is hard to believe that the end of the season is here. I enjoy Homestead-Miami, not only because it means we will have some time off soon, but it is a fun track to race at. We had a really strong car this past weekend at Phoenix, so I hope we can bring that speed with us to Homestead this weekend and end the 2011 season on a high note with our Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet. It would really mean a lot to everyone on our team to finish strong and carry that momentum into 2012.”

Chevrolet NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Statistics

Manufacturers Championships

Total (1949 – 2011): 35

First title for Chevrolet: 1958

Highest number of consecutive titles: 9 twice (1983 – 1991) (2003-2011)

Years Won: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011

Drivers Championships

Total (1949 – 2010): 27

First Chevrolet champion: Buck Baker (1957)

Highest number of consecutive titles: 6 (1993 – 98) & (2005 – ’10)

Years Won: 1957, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

Event Victories

2010 Race Wins: 18

Record for total race wins in single season: 26 – 2007

2011 YEAR-TO-DATE STATISTICS:

Wins: 17

Poles: 11

Laps led: 4,627

Top-five finishes: 75

Top-10 finishes: 158

CHEVROLET IN NASCAR SPRINT CUP CUMULATIVE STATISTICS:

Total Chevrolet race wins: 686 (1949 – to date) (2,317 possible = 29.6%)

Poles Won to Date: 620

Laps Lead to Date: 204,863

Top-Five Finishes to Date: 3,442

Top-10 Finishes to Date: 7,040

Total NASCAR Cup wins by Corporation, 1949 – To-Date 

GM: 1,021

Chevrolet: 686

Pontiac: 155

Oldsmobile: 115

Buick: 65

Ford: 706

Ford: 606

Mercury: 96

Lincoln: 4

Chrysler: 461

Dodge: 212

Plymouth: 190

Chrysler: 59

Toyota: 39

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

Richard Childress Racing (RCR)

Race:

Date: November 20, 2011

One Trophy Missing from the Shelf … Homestead-Miami Speedway has been a bit of an Achilles Heel for RCR and is one of the few race tracks where team owner Richard Childress has not earned a Sprint Cup Series victory. As a company, RCR has finished second on three occasions – 2003 (Kevin Harvick), 2008 (Harvick) and 2009 (Jeff Burton). In 36 starts, RCR has seven top-five and 16 top-10 finishes at the mile-and-a-half, progressively-banked oval with drivers Dave Blaney, Clint Bowyer, Burton, Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Green, Harvick and Mike Skinner. Kansas Speedway, Kentucky Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway are the other tracks on the current schedule where RCR has yet to visit Victory Lane.

The Collective RCR … Over the season’s first 35 races, RCR’s four NSCS entries have notched six wins, 19 top-five and 44 top-10 finishes. The No. 31 team kicked off the 2011 season with a non-points win in the second Duel 150 qualifying race at Daytona International Speedway. The No. 29 team visited Victory Lane at Auto Club Speedway in March and backed that up with a win the following weekend at Martinsville Speedway. In May, Harvick and the No. 29 team visited Winner’s Circle at Charlotte Motor Speedway, claiming the checkers in one of NASCAR’s marquee events – the Coca-Cola 600. Menard and the No. 27 team captured the checkers in the prestigious Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July and the No. 29 team returned to Victory Lane under the lights at Richmond International Raceway. Bowyer narrowly beat Burton to the line for the win at Talladega Superspeedway, giving team owner Richard Childress his 100th career NSCS victory. RCR-prepared Chevrolets have completed 40,552 out of 41,532 total laps (97.64 percent) with drivers Bowyer, Burton, Harvick and Menard, who have also led a combined 908 laps.

Get to the Points … Harvick represents RCR in the 2011 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and is currently third in the driver championship point standings, 51 markers outside of the top spot with one race remaining. Bowyer remains 13th in the standings, with Menardclimbing to 18th and Burton advancing to 21st.

50 and Holding … Earnhardt-Childress Racing Engines revved up their horsepower and stats for the 2011 season,accumulating50victories across seven different series. In NASCAR’s top-three national levels of sanctioned competition, ECR has won eight Sprint Cup Series events, including the non-points series opener Duel 150 at Daytona International Speedway, oneNationwide Series and 14 Camping World Truck Series races. ECR’s biggest accomplishments so far this year include winning the Southern 500 at the historic Darlington Raceway, the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Other triumphs were scored in the ARCA Racing Series (eight), Grand-Am Rolex Series Daytona Prototype (five), Whelen Modified (two), SCCA Trans-Am Series (two), and Late Model Dirt (10). Ironically, at this point last year, ECR had accumulated 50 victories across the same series.

Visit the All New RCRRacing.com … Get the latest RCR news, information and exclusive content at the redesigned www.RCRRacing.com, the 41-year-old organization’s exciting website designed by Racersites. The new site allows visitors the ability to customize their experience. Not only can the look and feel of the site be changed to reflect a favorite RCR driver and team, but the content on the main page can be filtered to show only content specific to that driver/team. Other key features include expanded driver and team profiles, enhanced exclusive video content including a shop tour and a legends timeline with historical RCR images.

RCR on Social Media … To keep up-to-date with the latest news and information and to view exclusive content, visit RCR’s Twitter page (@RCRracing), the RCR Sprint Cup Series team Twitter pages (@RCR27PMenard, @RCR29KHarvick, @RCR31JeffBurton and @RCR33CBowyer) and RCR’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/RichardChildressRacing).

Catch the Action … Live coverage of the 400 miler from Homestead-Miami Speedway begins Sunday, November 20 at 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time and will be telecast live on ESPN. The event will also be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the final points-paying race on the 36-race tour will be broadcast live on SPEEDSaturday, November 19, beginning at 2:30 p.m. EST and can be heard worldwide on MRN and Sirius XM Satellite Radio.

- Richard Childress Racing, Press Release

Richard Childress Racing (RCR)

RCR Post Race Report — Phoenix International Raceway

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

RACE: Kobalt Tools 500

TRACK: Phoenix International Raceway

DATE: November 13, 2011

Race Highlights:

• Richard Childress Racing teammates finished fourth (Jeff Burton), ninth, (Paul Menard), 10th (Clint Bowyer) and 19th (Kevin Harvick) in the Kobalt Tools 500.
• Burton’s average running position during the 312-lap affair of 10.93 ranks him ninth amongst the 43-car field according to NASCAR Loop Data statistics.
• Burton was the top-ranking driver in the NASCAR Loop Data category Green-Flag Passes (78). Burton also topped the field with 48 passes while running in the top 15 under green-flag conditions, ranking him first in the category Quality Passes and was the race’s best Closer, charging from 15th to fourth in the final 10 percent of the race (32 laps).
• Menard ran as high as second and as low as 25th, maintaining an average running position of 14.369 before scoring his first top-10 finish at Phoenix International Raceway.
• By passing a car while running in the top 15 under green-flag conditions on 22 occasions, Menard ranked 11th in the NASCAR Loop Data category Quality Passes.
• Bowyer recorded his 15th top-10 finish of the 2011 NSCS season.
• Bowyer made 75 green-flag passes, second-most of any driver in the 43-car field, during the race according to NASCAR Loop Data Statistics.
• Harvick ran as high as 11th and as low as 22nd, maintaining an average running position of 16.776 during the 312-lap Kobalt Tools 500.
• Gaining 24 positions in the final 10 percent (32 laps) of the race, Harvick was ranked sixth in the NASCAR Loop Data category Closers.
• The next NSCS race is the season finale Homestead 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday, November 20 and will be televised live on ESPN beginning at 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time and broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and Sirius XM Satellite Radio beginning at 2 p.m. EST.

Top-10 Finish for Menard and the No. 27 Peak/Menards Team at Phoenix

Richard Childress Racing’s Paul Menard recorded his best finish at Phoenix International Raceway with his ninth-place result in Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500. Despite a light rain that blanketed the Avondale, Ariz. area in the morning hours, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was able to start the 312-lap event on schedule with the No. 27 Peak/Menards Chevrolet in the 11th position as the 43-car field took the green flag. Menard climbed as high as eighth before settling just outside the top 10 in the 11th position. During the lap-40 competition caution period mandated by NASCAR, he reported to crew chief Slugger Labbe the bright yellow machine was a little tight. Menard hit pit road for four Goodyear tires, a full tank of Sunoco fuel, chassis and air pressure adjustments on lap 41. With many teams opting to take only two tires, the No. 27 team restarted mid-pack in 19th on lap 45. The Eau Claire, Wis., native remained in the top 20, reporting his Chevrolet Impala started out extremely free, but was more balanced at the end of green-flag runs. The No. 27 Chevrolet was entering pit road for service on lap 159 under green-flag conditions when the yellow flag was again displayed. Menard bypassed his pit stall in hopes of staying ahead of the leader, but was trapped one lap down. He returned to pit road for air pressure and track bar adjustments. The Peak/Menards Chevrolet restarted in the 24th position when the field returned to green-flag racing on lap 164 and was scored the first car one lap down to the leader. When the yellow flag was displayed five laps later, the 31-year-old driver was the recipient of the “Lucky Dog” award and returned to the lead lap. Menard climbed back into the top 20 following a spotless lap-179 pit stop while under caution, restarting in the 18th position on lap 182. Labbe’s two-tire call during a lap-221 visit to pit road launched the No. 27 machine from the 18th position to second for the lap-225 restart. For the remainder of the event, Menard continued to battle a loose-off condition, but maintained position in the top 10, taking the checkered flag in ninth and scoring his eighth top-10 of the 2011 season.

Start – 11 Finish – 9 Laps Led – 0 Points – 18

PAUL MENARD QUOTE:

“This Peak/Menards team did a great job all weekend. The car just got better and better on Friday, and we thought we had a shot at the pole position after final practice. The track was very different on Saturday. It slowed down a lot and we were really loose. We had no idea what to expect during the race, especially with the rain that rolled through here (Phoenix International Raceway). This is our first top 10 on a flat track as a team, so that was a solid accomplishment for us. We typically struggle on tracks like this, so to hit on something and have a solid weekend at Phoenix is very important. We’ll carry that with us into next season.”

Harvick and the No. 29 Budweiser Team Forced to Settle for Top 20 at Phoenix

Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet team were forced to settle for a 19th-place result in the Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International Raceway after late-race pit strategy didn’t play out in their favor. Harvick started the race from 27th position and quickly raced his way into the top 20 by the time the competition caution that was issued by NASCAR was thrown at lap 40. Harvick reported to his team the car was “tight in the middle and loose off,” so crew chief Gil Martin called for a two-tire stop at lap 42. Harvick restarted in the 14th position when the field took the green flag at lap 45 but the tight-handling condition persisted. Harvick climbed as high as the 11th position before reporting a vibration on lap 138. He brought the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet to pit road under green-flag conditions five laps later for a four-tire stop but the vibration continued to worsen. The team checked all the tires following the pit stop and determined that the vibration must have come from the brakes as a number of teams were reporting brake issues. Martin noted that the team planned to remove tape on the next trip to pit road to help cool off the brakes. Harvick was running in the 26th position when the caution flag waved on lap 158 and was caught a lap down as many of the leaders had yet to make pit stops. The No. 29 team elected to take the wave-around pass to get back on the lead lap, restarting 22nd on lap 163. Harvick made it up to the 15th position, but lost one spot as he continued to wrestle the tight-handling machine around the one-mile Avondale, Ariz. facility. The No. 29 team elected to pit early for their final stop of the race for four tires and fuel at lap 272 to try to help the handling of the Budweiser Chevrolet . As green-flag stops cycled through, many of the leaders pitted late and took two tires or just fuel only on their final stops, dropping Harvick back several spots as the No. 29 team had spent more time on pit road for their four-tire stop, costing them considerable track position. Harvick took the checkered flag in 19th position, one lap down to the leader.

Start – 27 Finish – 19 Laps Led – 0 Points – 3

KEVIN HARVICK QUOTE:

“It was a tough day for the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet team. We didn’t quite know what to expect with the new surface and the weather this weekend. We took some gambles today and it didn’t work out in the end. We’ll head to Homestead next weekend and try to end the season on a better note.”

Top-Five Finish at Phoenix for Caterpillar Global Mining Racing Team

Jeff Burton and the No. 31 Caterpillar Global Mining Race team continued their late-season run of strong finishes with a fourth-place showing in the Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. The No. 31 Cat Global Mining Chevrolet Impala was quickest in Friday’s first practice session which made them the 46th and final car to qualify Saturday morning. Burton’s run of 26.608 seconds at an average speed of 135.298 mph on the reconfigured one-mile oval was good enough for the 14th starting spot in Sunday’s 500k event. Two cautions in the first six laps and a NASCAR-mandated competition caution on lap 40 kept the leaderboard mostly in check. Burton made a steady march toward the top 10, which he achieved on lap 86. The 21-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race winner moved into sixth place on lap 112, but 25 laps later told crew chief Luke Lambert he felt a vibration. Burton made a green-flag stop on lap 151 for fresh tires, where it was determined immediately afterward the vibration was caused by one of the rear tires had spun on the wheel, moving the wheel weights and throwing the tire out of balance. Burton was furthered hampered by a caution just eight laps after his green-flag stop. However, he received the “Lucky Dog” to get back on the lead lap and again made his charge toward the front. The Cat Global Mining Chevy was in the 10th position on lap 210 and after a strong pit stop on lap 221 picked up two more positions. Burton was sixth on lap 242 and maintained that spot until grabbing the fourth position shortly before the green flag waved.

Start – 14 Finish – 4 Laps Led – 0 Points – 22

JEFF BURTON QUOTES:

“We got really tight there at the end and he (Tony Stewart) had a lot of momentum. I didn’t slam into him or anything, but I wasn’t going to give him the spot. He earned it and he got it. The Caterpillar Global Mining Chevrolet was good, really, all day. I’m real proud of everybody. When things are tough, you find out what people are made of. My group has just kept digging and kept their heads up. Nobody has quit on this team, not once. I’m real proud of that.”

“We have always worked hard and we didn’t get in this hole because of one person. We were just looking at things wrong. We’ve started changing how we are looking at things. I’ve gotten a little more involved in trying to understand exactly what is in the cars because that is really a departure for me not to be involved. So, I’ve become a little more involved. But that hasn’t had much to do with it other than me understanding what is in the car. I think that does matter. So, just a lot of work, a lot of effort and just everybody hitting the right buttons right now.”

Bowyer Scores 15th Top-10 Finish of 2011 season with 10th-Place Result at Phoenix

Clint Bowyer and the No. 33 Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevrolet team, sporting a special USO “Send Cheer” paint scheme to honor military families whose loved ones are serving our country, scored their 15th top-10 finish of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season by bringing home a hard-fought 10th-place effort in the Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. The 32-year-old Bowyer, starting in the 28th position after a lackluster qualifying performance on Saturday, began the 312-lap event by steadily moving his Chevrolet Impala through the field from the drop of the green flag. The Emporia Kan., native found himself in 21st-place by lap 15 and advanced five more positions before the mandatory competition caution on lap 40. Under the ensuing caution period, crew chief Shane Wilson decided to take four fresh Goodyear tires and Sunoco E15 fuel instead of only two tires like most other teams regulating Bowyer to the 22nd position for the restart. Over the next 110 laps, the Richard Childress Racing driver fought hard and worked his way up to the 18th position. On a routine four-tire pit stop under green-flag conditions on lap 160, the caution flag was displayed for an accident while the No. 33 Chevrolet was being serviced on pit road, trapping the five-time Sprint Cup Series race winner one lap down to the leader. Bowyer restarted in the 25th position while competing with other drivers for the “lucky dog” free pass. Finally after 58 laps and three caution-flag periods, Bowyer was awarded the “lucky dog” and was scored on the lead lap. By lap 230, the yellow and blue machine was back in the top 20 and entered the top 15 at lap 270. On the final green-flag pit stop of the day on lap 290, Wilson played pit strategy and instructed the “Helping Hands” pit crew to change left-side tires on the No. 33 Chevrolet. The remainder of the event ran under green-flag conditions with Bowyer entering the top 15 on lap 293 and then the top 10 with 10 laps to go. The RCR driver continued to post some of the fastest lap times in the entire 43-car field over the final 10 circuits to secure the 10th-place finish. Bowyer remains 13th in NSCS driver championship point standings with one race remaining in the 2011 season.

Start – 28 Finish – 10 Laps Led – 0 Points – 13

CLINT BOWYER QUOTE:

“I think we definitely had a top-five car today if we wouldn’t have gotten stuck one lap down halfway through the race. It was a solid race and feels good to at least bring home a top-10 finish for Cheerios and the USO.”

- Richard Childress Racing, Press Release

No. 33 Rheem Heating Chevrolet Impala Photo Credit: Chris Graythen / Getty Images for NASCAR

THAT’S A WRAP: Just as the No. 33 Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) team started the season, they’ll end the season with driver Clint Bowyer behind the wheel of the Rheem Chevrolet Impala this Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. In nine starts with the team, he’s collected one pole (Daytona International Speedway in February), four top-five and six top-10 finishes with 144 laps led.

BY THE NUMBERS: KHI has made eight starts at the 1.5-mile South Florida track with one top-five and three top-10 finishes. KHI co-owner Kevin Harvick captured the organization’s best finish of second in the season finale last year while driving the No. 33 Chevrolet.

CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 33 team has elected to compete with chassis No. 071 this weekend at Homestead. This chassis has been utilized 11 times this season with a best finish of third twice (Harvick at Auto Club Speedway in March and Paul Menard at Texas Motor Speedway in April). Most recently, Bowyer drove chassis No. 071 to a fourth-place finish during the second visit of the season at Texas Motor Speedway on November 5.

PREVIOUS RACE RECAP: Bowyer and the No. 33 KHI team headed out west to Phoenix International Raceway for the second-to-last Nationwide Series event of the season last weekend. The Emporia, Kan., native qualified the Rheem Chevrolet Impala in the fourth position for the 200-lap contest and drove to a seventh-place finish.

Clint Bowyer - Photo Credit: John Harrelson / Getty Images for NASCAR

“I’ve had a lot of fun racing in this No. 33 Chevrolet and with this KHI team this year. It’s hard to believe it’s the end of the season already. We’ve had some really solid races, but just haven’t had the finishes to show for it. I’m hoping to go out on top and get this Rheem Chevrolet to victory lane.”

About Rheem:

Rheem Manufacturing Company (www.rheem.com) is privately held with headquarters in Atlanta. In its 86th year of operation, the company manufactures a full-line of eco-friendly, technologically advanced residential and commercial heating and cooling systems; tank, tankless, solar and hybrid heat pump water heaters; whole-home standby generators, controls, swimming pool and spa heaters; indoor air-purification products; and commercial boilers throughout North America and world markets. The company’s premium brands, including Raypak, Ruud and Rheem, have been recognized with countless industry and consumer awards for reliability, innovative design and high quality. Rheem is the official heating, cooling and water-heating supplier to Richard Childress Racing (RCR), Kevin Harvick, Inc. (KHI) and is a primary sponsor of RCR’s No. 29 Sprint Cup Series car and KHI’s No. 33 Nationwide Series car and Camping World Truck Series No. 2 truck. Harvick was named Nationwide Series “Driver of the Decade” in 2010.

- Kevin Harvick Inc. Press Release