Ford Racing

RICKY STENHOUSE JR., No. 6 Blackwell Angus Beef Ford Mustang (Finished 9th)

“That was a tough night. Our Blackwell Angus Beef Mustang was fast. We had a car to win, we just are getting beat on this fuel mileage stuff every week. We are just going to have to go to the shop and figure it out. They are just killing us on those and have the car to win, we just can’t do it without the fuel mileage.”

WILL KIMMEL, No. 39 Crosley / Clarksville Schwinn Cyclery Ford (Finished 35th)

“We started getting real free through the center of three there and I don’t know what happened exactly but I caught it once and didn’t catch it the second time. I was afraid of this. I was just trying to make it to lap 200 tonight and we came up short. All the guys have been great and did a great job. I couldn’t ask for a better group of guys. I am really sorry this happened to them, especially after they worked so hard on the car. I put them in a hole. It’s alright; hopefully we will get a chance to do this again.”

- PCG Campbell Press Release

Edwards expands Sprint Cup points lead to 36

David Ragain, David Reutimann, Denny Hamlin and Juan Pablo Montoya race side by side during the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway - Photo Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR

All four drivers combined to lead a total of 221 of 400 laps, with all four having a legitimate shot at the win.

Matt Kenseth had the dominate car in the race, leading five times for a race-high 103 laps. He would, however come up short on fuel mileage and had to settle for a 14^th-place finish. Carl Edwards led 61 laps early, but was unable to find the handling after the sun went down and finished 16^th.

Greg Biffle overcame early cooling issues to – not only battle back onto the lead lap – but dominate the latter stages of the race, leading 50 laps. Biffle had the race win in site, holding the lead with just three to go, before the final caution forced him to come in for fuel prior to the ‘overtime’ finish.

With the finish Edwards increased his Sprint Cup points lead to 36. Matt Kenseth is seventh, Greg Biffle moved up one spot to 11^th and David Ragan increased three spots to 18^th.

In addition, Roush Fenway’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr., driving the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford for Trevor Bayne, finished 11^th in his Sprint Cup debut.

The Sprint Cup Series returns to action next weekend at Kansas Speedway. Roush Fenway has won three times in Sprint Cup action at Kansas, including last fall when the organization place three cars in the top 10 at the 1.5-mile track.

- Roush Fenway Racing, Press Release

FAS Lane Racing LLC

“We are excited to have Big Red come on board with us this week,” stated FAS Lane Racing team owner Frank Stoddard. “We are coming off another solid top-25 effort last week at Martinsville and this FAS Lane Racing team is building momentum and improving each week. The efforts and hard work of everyone on the team has put us solidly in the ever important top-35 owner’s points and we look forward to continuing that with another solid performance this week with Big Red on board.”

Ken Schrader will make his third start of the season with FAS Lane Racing after posting a 22nd-place finish last week in Martinsville. This week will mark his 15th career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start at the 1.5-mile Texas track.

Stoddard, a veteran crew chief in NASCAR, has 14 wins to his credit atop the pit box and after a solid start to the 2011 NASCAR season welcomes the opportunity to represent the Big Red brand with is newly owned FAS Lane Racing team.

“We look forward to expanding our motorsports marketing programs with our partnership with FAS Lane Racing this weekend in Texas,” said Gary Smith, CEO of Big Red, Inc. “Frank Stoddard and his group have done a great job with their new team and they will represent our brands at what we consider on our home track at Texas Motor Speedway. We look forward to another solid performance by the No. 32 Big Red Ford.”

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Samsung Mobile 500 from Texas Motor Speedway will run Saturday evening April 9 at 7:30 p.m. ET. Qualifying will run on Friday, April 8 at 6:40 p.m. and can be viewed on the SPEED Channel starting at 6:30 p.m. The race can be viewed on FOX with the pre-race show starting at 7 p.m. The race can be heard on affiliated PRN radio stations and on XM Satellite radio channel 128.

About Big Red, Inc.

Big Red, Inc. is one of the top 10 beverage companies in North America with a history dating back to 1937. Along with Big Red®, recognized as the number-one selling red soda, Big Red, Inc. also markets beverage brands Diet Big Red®, Big Blue®, Big Red Vanilla Float®, Big Peach®, Big Pineapple®, Big Punch®, Big Honey Lemonade®, NuGrape®, and Nesbitt’s ® products. Distributed widely throughout the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, Independent Bottlers and Pepsi Bottling Group, consumers across the country enjoy Big Red, Inc.’s beverages.

- Integrity Sports Marketing for FAS Lane Racing, Press Release

TRG Motorsports

Not only will it be the first time the team runs the Fusion with Roush/Yates Ford power it will also be relying on the new car and new motor package to push Lally into the race as the rookie will have to rely on his qualifying time to make the field for this weekend’s 500-miler.

“I’m really interested to see how the Roush built car feels at Texas,” Lally said.  “Texas is obviously a fast track.  It’s also a difficult place to be fast.  I enjoyed it last year and look forward to going back again. I always brag about how hard my crew is working, but this week has been nothing short of amazing. The amount of effort that goes into changing manufacturers from one week to the next is huge and for our small team to take on this challenge is a massive undertaking.  Kevin and the partners are showing just how serious they are about being in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

I have a lot of pressure on me to qualify on time which is a situation that I have only had to face a couple of times in the past.We have our work cut out for us this week and a lot of things to adapt to, add on top of that our goal to get back into the top 35, we have a pretty big challenge ahead of us!”

Team owner Kevin Buckler is excited about the team’s shiny new cars and to be a member of the Ford family.

“This is the next phase of our growth within the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series,” Buckler said.  “We took on the challenge to switch manufacturers and acquired new cars, new motors, which is giving us a fresh re-start for this ever growing team.  Texas is where it all began for TRG Motorsports back in 2007 with our first Camping World Truck Series race, with Andy at the wheel.  We will need to draw upon all of our resources, and some new blue oval friends, to make sure we unload our new package at Texas on the pace.  Andy will have to qualify his way into the race and that adds some pressure.  This is going to be a big weekend for all of us and everyone is up to the challenge.”

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Samsung Mobile 500 from Texas Motor Speedway will run Saturday evening April 9 at 7:30 p.m. ET.  Qualifying will run on Friday, April 8 at 6:40 p.m. and can be viewed on the SPEED Channel starting at 6:30 p.m.  The race can be viewed on FOX with the pre-race show starting at 7 p.m.  The race can be heard on affiliated PRN radio stations and on XM Satellite radio channel 128.

2011 NSCS 71 Interstate Moving Services Ford Fusion

TRG would like to thank associate sponsors TIFCO Industries, Super Eco-Fuel Saver, Stone Harbor Investment Partners, HPT, Guardian Angel Motorsports, ACG Motorsports, Savory Thymes.com, and Adobe Road Winery for their support.

TRG is a full-service motorsports company offering a total driver ladder approach, as well as comprehensive sponsorship and business opportunities. For drivers, this approach starts with track days, goes to club events, up into street stock series and culminates in the ultimate goal of professional motorsports. For sponsors and business partners, this method starts with everything from executive events, to traditional sponsorship models, all the way to comprehensive business-to-business opportunities and experiential marketing. With facilities in Petaluma, California and Mooresville, North Carolina the team can offer turn-key marketing programs as well as arrive-and-drive support.

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

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

- TRG Motorsports, Press Release

Jack Roush stands next to a Ford F-250 Super Duty pickup truck equipped with the ROUSH CleanTech liquid propane autogas fuel system

“NASCAR is famous for serving as a proving ground for new technology,” said Jack Roush. “It is a privilege to show race fans and the sport what we at ROUSH CleanTech know about clean alternative fuels. Propane autogas is already the third most widely used fuel in the world. It’s readily available in the U.S., and we’re ready to test it as a workhorse on the track this season.”

Beyond this test in its Track Service vehicles, NASCAR has put significant emphasis on conservation with measurable initiatives on and off the track, including switching to Sunoco Green E15 race fuel made with American ethanol in its three national series; recycling all tires, oils, fluids, and batteries used in competition; rolling out the largest bottle-and-can event recycling program in sports; launching the largest tree-planting program in sports to neutralize all the carbon produced by Sprint Cup Series racing; and attaining LEED certification for new office buildings in Charlotte and Daytona Beach.

“Green is not an exclusively NASCAR-led initiative,” said Dr. Mike Lynch, managing director of green innovation for NASCAR. “It takes the efforts of our entire industry contributing to and collaborating on new initiatives such as this.”

ROUSH CleanTech’s propane autogas-powered vehicles lower emissions fuel costs while maintaining the vehicle’s factory warranty coverage and trademark durability. Research shows propane autogas burns cleaner than gasoline or diesel, with up to 20 percent less nitrogen oxide, up to 60 percent less carbon monoxide, up to 24 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions, and fewer particulate emissions when compared to gasoline.

“ROUSH CleanTech is driven to win the alternative fuels race with a lineup of propane autogas-powered Ford vehicles unparalleled in performance, dependability, and environmental soundness,” said Joe Thompson, president of ROUSH CleanTech. “Our propane autogas-fueled trucks impart green power at peak performance, and we can’t wait to showcase that to the millions of NASCAR fans across the nation.”

The test trucks, featuring the ROUSH CleanTech logo on their back quarter panel behind the tires, are a sample of what is currently driving into the market now. ROUSH CleanTech has a growing list of fleets adopting their propane autogas fuel system for Ford trucks and vans. Starting with 2012 models, the ROUSH CleanTech system will be available directly from the factory, ordered as an option on Ford’s F-250 and F-350 Super Duty pickup truck models.

About the company: Based in Plymouth Township, Mich., ROUSH CleanTech designs, engineers, manufactures, assembles, and installs dedicated liquid propane autogas fuel systems for a variety of light- and medium- duty Ford vehicles, including the F-150, F-250, and F-350 truck series, and the E-150, E-250, E-350, and E-450 cutaway van series. Currently offered through authorized Ford dealerships around the country, the ROUSH CleanTech liquid propane autogas fuel system delivers the same factory Ford performance characteristics, warranty coverage, and serviceability. Customers can reduce operating costs significantly while reducing vehicle emissions. Complete details on ROUSH CleanTech fuel system offerings can be found online at ROUSHcleantech.com or by calling 800-59-ROUSH.

- Roush Fenway Racing, Press Release

NSCS Dave Blaney

Blaney has earned a top-10 and three top-15 finishes in his Cup career at the Fort Worth, Texas, venue. Sunday’s race will be his fifth start for Front Row Motorsports this season.

Comments from A&W All American Food Ford Team Driver Dave Blaney on Texas Motor Speedway:

“Texas is a fun place. It’s one of the fastest tracks we run at, no doubt. I think it was the fastest for a while. But it’s hard to run well there. I’ve been there multiple times, and it seems like sometimes I run well and sometimes I run really bad and not really know why I did either. So, that’s probably not a good thing.

“It’s just a fun place to go to. It’s a fun track and a fun facility, the area is really cool, and they always get huge crowds there. And it is a really racy track. So it’s all good there.

“Races there are long. For some reason, 500 miles there seems longer than maybe 500 miles some other places. I think you’re just on edge a bit because you’re going so fast and lots of things can happen. The wall kind of creeps up on you really fast out of Turn 2 and also fairly fast out of Turn 4.

“It’s not uncommon at all to see a crash within the first 10 minutes of the first practice there. There’s always somebody slamming the wall on Turn 2 or Turn 4. Actually, it’s not uncommon to see five or six people do it in the first practice. It’s tricky for the speed you’re going. The track just has a characteristic on exit that not many other tracks have. And it will catch you.”

About Front Row Motorsports with Yates Racing:

Front Row Motorsports was formed in 2005 by restaurant entrepreneur Bob Jenkins. Since that time the team has entered a car in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series. In 2010, Front Row Motorsports will partner with Ford and Roush/Yates Engines to field a three-car operation based in Statesville, N.C. The team fields the Long John Silver’s Ford driven by Travis Kvapil, the Taco Bell Ford driven by David Gilliland and the A&W All American Food Ford driven by Dave Blaney.

- Breaking Limits Marketing for Front Row Motorsports with Yates Racing, Press Release

The NASCAR Mustang makes its long-awaited debut at the Daytona International Speedway on Friday for NASCAR’s nationwide series, and Ford isn’t missing a moment to promote it.

“NASCAR came to us and wanted to differentiate the Nationwide Series from the Cup Series,” says Pat DiMarco, Ford’s NASCAR Program manager. “Initially we looked at Fusion to keep the branding the same across both series, but when they really wanted to differentiate it, the natural choice was Mustang.”

- USA Today

No. 27 Redman Moist Snuff Ford Fusion - Photo Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR

Following Scott Wimmer’s 12th-place finish last week at Talladega, the No. 27 team moved into seventh place in the NASCAR Nationwide Series owner point standings, making them the highest ranking Ford team.

GREG BIFFLE NNS CAREER @ RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY

· Finished in the top 10 of both NASCAR Nationwide Series races at Richmond International Raceway while running for Baker Curb Racing in 2005

· Has finished in the top 15 in 10 straight NNS races @ RIR

· Ranks first among NNS drivers over the last 10 races at RIR in green flag pass (308), frontstretch passes (139), turn 2 passes (35) and turn 3 passes (37)

· Ranks first among NNS drivers over the last 10 races @ RIR gaining an average of 1.8 spots during the last 10% of laps.

GREG BIFFLE NNS 2010

· Ranks ninth in the NASCAR Nationwide Series Point Standings despite starting just six of the eight races

· Has finished in the top 10 in each of his last five NNS starts

· Ranks fifth among NNS drivers this season with an average running position of 8.240

GREG BIFFLE NNS 2009

· Two NNS wins last season came in back-to-back races he entered ( February 28th Sam’s Town 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and April 17th Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix International Raceway)

· Collected nine top-10 finishes in just 14 starts

· Average starting position of 9.3 was his best since 2003 (8.7)

GREG BIFFLE NNS CAREER

· Won the 2002 NASCAR Nationwide Series championship registering four wins and 20 top-5 finishes in 34 starts

· Ranks eighth among active NNS drivers in wins (20) and is fourth among active NNS drivers in top-5 finishes (92)

· Has finished in the top 10 in the NNS point standings six times, despite running the full-season just three times

CREW CHIEF RICK VIERS ON RICHMOND

““This is a big race for us, Red Man Moist Snuff’s parent company, Swedish Match North America, is based in Richmond so we want to represent them well at their home track. We are taking car 82, which is the same car Greg had a strong run with at Phoenix a few weeks ago. The car was a little tight at Phoenix and we’ve made four or five small adjustments to try and make the car a little freer. I think Friday night it will be a little bit cooler and it will help with grip. Overall I think we have a much better set-up this weekend. It’s going to be very important to have track position on Friday, there usually is a long green flag run and you don’t want to be caught in the back of the pack.”

CREW CHIEF RICK VIERS ON IMPORTANCE OF NEXT FOUR RACES

“We are looking to carry the momentum of another strong run last week at Talladega into the next stretch of races. Just as we have done all year, we expect Greg will be able to run in the top 5 and compete for the win. We have Greg in the car for the next four races and our goal as a team is to be in the top five in owner’s points after those four races. We have to make our team an attractive option for potential sponsors for when the Red Man Moist Snuff sponsorship ends.”

- Baker Curb Racing Press Release

FORD RACING NOTES AND QUOTES

Ford 300,

November 21, 2009

Homestead-Miami Speedway

Carl Edwards

CARL EDWARDS – No. 60 Ortho Ford Fusion (Finished 2nd) –

It was a lot
of fun. We needed a couple of more lap. We got off sequence; we had
those tires. I just appreciate all of the fans coming out here and
supporting our sport. We have the greatest fans in the world. And I’m
just proud of Ford Motor Company. I’ve got to say congrats to Kyle and
those guys. We finished second to them in the championship, but those
guys have really been a classic deal. I was just telling them that I
didn’t have the heart to run into them. It was the only way I was
going to get by them by the finish line. I dove down there and got a
good look at it, and I was thinking right about here, ‘No, I better
not.’ But that’s racing. We had a good time racing with these guys and
I’m pretty excited to go to Daytona. I hope to see some of these fans
at Daytona in February.”

CAN YOU DESCRIBE IN THE CLOSING LAPS STAYING
OUT AND NOT GETTING TIRES WHEN MOST DID, AND THEN COMING IN LATER WHEN
THE LEADERS DIDN’T?

“Well, Mike thought we were fast enough to race
with these guys with the tires we had, but we weren’t, but we had a
set of tires left, and it ended up working out. You know, we almost
got to him. I just raced a little too hard and burned up my tires and
didn’t have enough for him there at the end. I’ve just got to thank
Ortho; they built a better mousetrap. It’s a great deal. And our car
is a good mousetrap, we just didn’t get it right tonight. We’ll get
’em next year.”

YOU’VE TALKED ABOUT HOW DIFFICULT IT’S BEEN ON THE CUP
SIDE, BUT THE NATIONWIDE SERIES HAS BEEN AN UPLIFTING PART TO THE
SEASON.

“Yeah. People ask me why I run the Nationwide Series, and
yesterday in practice I was thinking, ‘This is why.’ I’m having a
blast, we’ve got fast race cars, I’m proud to represent Ford in the
series. We didn’t win the championship, but ran second to a team
that’s really unparalleled in their performance. So, I’m ready to go
next year. We’ve got some great sponsors. We’ll go at it again.”

ON FINISHING SECOND.

“This was a good run. I would’ve loved to won
tonight, but this is good. We performed the best we could.”

Jason Keller

“It was a good run for us on this mile-and-a-half track. We get close to that
top-10 and that’s good for us. I felt like our car was a little
better than that. We just couldn’t get track position. It was a
consistent night, not a great not, but it was just consistent. I
thought we had put ourselves out of sequence with the leaders to
capitalize, if the caution would have fell our way. We tried
everything we could to put ourselves in a position to get a top-10
finish but we were just a little short.”

Matt Kenseth

“We stayed out when everybody else pitted and that got us behind. We had
a good car on the long runs, but no matter what we did for tires in a
10-lap shootout we weren’t gonna look very pretty. So it was really
good on long runs, but we couldn’t get going on the start for some
reason. We just had a real tough night on pit road. We didn’t get
tires when everybody else did, and then we got tires and came out last
on that pit stop – 15th – and with 10 laps to go it was just hard to
go anywhere.”

Paul Menard

“I learned a lot for tomorrow night. The track kind of changed and
didn’t do what I thought it would do as far as changing the balance,
so I definitely learned some things for tomorrow night and we can
adjust accordingly. We did the best we could do as far as strategy
goes. You’re kind of damned if you do and damned if you don’t, so I
think we played that the best we could. We just got behind on some
adjustments and over-adjusted one time.”

CARL EDWARDS PRESS CONFERENCE –

“It was close. We tried really hard.
I drove my heart out there at the end and I wasn’t gonna be able to
catch him and pass him the right way, so we got second. My guys
worked really hard and the best thing is we had a good race car for
the first time at a mile-and-a-half in a long time. We had a car that
could win and that was a lot of fun. There was one point in the race
when me and Kyle and Joey and Jeff were racing really hard. It was
really fun. That was really fun to be a part of, so I had a good
time.”

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE LAST LAP?

“I was closing at a rate
that was gonna take about three more laps to really get him, so there
in the last corner I just dove her way down in there just to see what
that looked like and how close I could get. I couldn’t get by him
without probably touching him. I just didn’t have enough time, but I
thought it was pretty fun trying to come – we restarted eighth and got
to race a little bit and made a good charge.”

WHAT ABOUT THE DECISION
TO PIT?

“It was the decision not to pit the first time that really
put us in that position. Mike Kelley thought we were going to be
faster, so he decided not to pit. Everybody else pitted, but the good
thing we had there was we were the only ones with a set of tires left.
So I think if it would have gone green we would have finished third,
and as it was we got to put tires on and finished second. If we would
have pitted with these guys the first time, I don’t know, we maybe
would have been able to win, but I still thought we had a shot at
winning. I thought we were gonna win the race on that last restart,
but the 18 car was just too fast on those tires.”

ON KYLE WINNING THE
TITLE.

“My championship means a lot to me. At the time I was so
caught up in it that I don’t think I valued it as much as I do now,
and I have for the last year-and-a-half or so. This race this year,
it’s like Jeff says, those guys really earned it. They performed
well. They did not back into this. They overcame a lot at the
beginning of the year and I hope they enjoy it. It was enjoyable
racing with them and the highlight of it for me was all their crew
guys thanking me after the race. I thought that was pretty nice of
them. They didn’t have to do that. It’s a hard-working group of guys
that deserve that championship, that’s for sure.”

ON THE KESELOWSKI-HAMLIN INCIDENT.

“There are two sides to every story and
sometimes things get painted a certain way and you never really know.
I can’t take sides on that. I’ve been wrecked by Brad, but we worked
that out. I think there really is two sides to everything and you
never really know who is in the right.”

HOW DO YOU CATCH UP TO JGR?

“Just recently I felt like our engines were comparable to theirs
because that’s been something that they’ve done really well at. Our
guys have been working hard, though, and we’re closing that gap. I
was talking with some other drivers even tonight about how well their
cars handle. They seem to build really nice stuff and they put a lot
of effort into it, and I think it’s the whole package. Initially, for
a long time I thought it was just the engine and I’m starting to
realize that our cars could be better and that car tonight was a good
example of a car that was better. I was more competitive with them
and I feel like we’re catching them, but from the drivers to the tire
pressures they seem to have things figured out over there.”

- PCGCampbell Press Release

FORD RACING NOTES AND QUOTES

Ford 200 Results,

November 20, 2009

Homestead-Miami Speedway

No. 6 Con-way Freight Ford F-150

COLIN BRAUN – No. 6 Con-way Freight Ford F-150 – (finished 3rd, qualified 1st)

– PIT ROAD COMMENTS

“I’m disappointed because I thought we had a little better truck than that. These guys did a really good job on pit road. My crew chief Mike Beam made a great call taking two tires there at the end. The big thing for us was to get back up in the top five in points and I’m pretty sure we did that tonight. It was a good night.”

Colin Braun

– YOU CERTAINLY HAVE TO BE PROUD OF THE SEASON THAT YOU GUYS TURNED IN. GETTING IN THAT TOP FIVE WAS VERY SPECIAL TO YOU.

“Yeah, that was definitely the goal for us tonight, qualify on the pole. Leading the lap came into a big play there. I don’t think if we would have led a lap we probably would have finished fifth in points. So, certainly that was important for us. We just struggled in the race. I thought we had a really good truck. Ran in practice last night and was surprised it wasn’t a little better in the race. But my guys did a really good job trying to get it fixed up during the race. My crew chief Mike Beam made a great pit call there at the race to get us back up some track position and we were able to hold on at the end.”

HOW LONG WOULD THIS OFF-SEASON HAVE SEEMED TO YOU IF YOU HADN’T GOTTEN THAT JUMP LATE AND GOTTEN UP TO FIFTH? HOW LONG WOULD IT HAVE TAKEN TO GET OVER SOMETHING LIKE THAT?

“I think with how good of a truck we had last night, it would have been pretty disappointing. I think on one side of me I’m really happy to have gotten in the top five in points and the other side is frustrated we didn’t run better than we did. I feel like since we did get in the top five in points we can kind of put this race behind us, and work on building the Nationwide car and get ready to go Nationwide racing next year. I’m sure it will be pretty different.”

No. 14 International Truck and Engines Ford F-150

“I’m proud of my Circle Bar Ford F-150 race team with International Truck and Engine on board for the past three years. It’s been quite a ride. We haven’t had the stellar year that we wanted this year, but we were top 10 in the points for the sixth consecutive year in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. That means a lot of consistency and we’re there each and every race. I wish all of the fans out there would drive one of the best Ford pick-ups of any car company out there. I’ll keep turning to the left and Ford F-150 keeps taking me to the finish line. We’re top-10 in points, I’m very proud of my team. Hopefully we’re back next year.”

Rick Crawford

“I was struggling all day, I really did. I don’t understand. Our truck wasn’t what we brought here yesterday and even in qualifying, we were 12th fastest and really optimistic about how the race was going. The green flag dropped and she acted like she had four flat tires. We even pitted there at the end and put four sticker tires on it thinking it would be different to make up some positions there at the end and it just wouldn’t do it. The truck got contrary on me. The truck just wants to go back to Texas and work out on the farm, so that’s what we might do with it. It’s a great truck; it was the 2009 MotorTrend Truck of the Year and the number one selling pick-up in the state of Texas.”

- PCGCampbell Press Release

No. 11 RIDEMAKERZ Toyota Camry

Nationwide Crew Chief: Paul Wolfe

Manufacturer: Toyota

Owners: Tony & Bryan Mullet

Nationwide Chassis: 015

Engine Builder: Triad

Mike Bliss Quick Facts:

- NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Mike Bliss returns for his fifth start in the No. 11 RIDEMAKERZ Toyota at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale, Ariz., this weekend.

- Bliss’s four previous starts in the No. 11 car resulted in three top-5 finishes (Dover, Charlotte and Memphis) and one top-10 (Texas).

- The NASCAR veteran has driven in all 33 of the Nationwide races in the 2009 season, with one win, seven top-5 finishes and 14 top-10s. Bliss has also started 13 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races and five NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races in 2009.

- The 44-year-old Milwaukie, Ore., native has three top-10 finishes in eight career Nationwide starts at PIR and one Truck Series win.

CJM Racing Quick Facts:

- RIDEMAKERZ will return as the primary sponsor of the No. 11 at Phoenix. The company offers the first-ever car-customizing experience for kids ages six to 106. Pick one of 70 different car body types and paint schemes, using scale plastic-mold replicas of real-world cars that RIDEMAKERZ licenses from GM, Ford, BMW, and other car companies. Then trick out the ride by picking the wheels, hubcaps, a chassis, sounds, and other options such as radio control. Build YOUR Ride at RIDEMAKERZ.com.

- CJM Racing looks to continue a string of strong finishes in the Nationwide Series. At the team’s last race on Nov. 7 at Texas, Bliss drove the No. 11 RIDEMAKERZ Toyota to a 10th-place finish for CJM’s 10th top-10 finish of the season.

-The 2009 season marks the second season CJM Racing is competing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series full-time. The team is currently in 16th place in the owner point standings.

- CJM Racing transitioned to Toyota Camrys in 2009 and shares a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing. The partnership formed late last year allows the teams to share technical information as well as research and development.

- The team will bring chassis #015 to Phoenix. CJM most recently ran #015 at Memphis, where Bliss drove the RIDEMAKERZ Toyota to a fourth-place finish and led the most laps of the race (84).

- The Able Body Labor 200 at Phoenix International Raceway will air LIVE on ESPN2 at 4 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, Nov. 14th.

Driver Mike Bliss on Racing the No. 11 RIDEMAKERZ Toyota:

“Texas (last week) was a real good race, although the finish didn’t indicate how well we ran. We’re running the Memphis car at Phoenix, which Paul (Wolfe) and I have done before and wound up with good results at Phoenix. So we’re excited about that. Everything’s been going well and I’ve just been waiting for something to happen, because everything that goes well can always have something go wrong. But I’m trying not to think that way. It’s just been a lot of fun these last few weeks.”

Driver Mike Bliss on Phoenix:

“I have been racing at Phoenix since 1981. I won a lot of races there in open-wheel cars, Sprint Cars and Silver Crowns. I Iove the racetrack and I think I understand the racetrack well. I look forward to going there.”

- Breaking Limits Press Release

Morgan Shepherd

MARTINSVILLE, Va. –

NOTE: TUMS is the sponsor of the TUMS Fast Relief 500, the sixth race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, at Martinsville Speedway on October 25.

Perhaps it was the prowess Shepherd developed on those short tracks that was largely responsible for him conquering the tough, half-mile Martinsville Speedway for his first career NASCAR Winston Cup [now Sprint Cup] victory.

The year was 1981 and Shepherd was a rookie on the circuit, driving a Pontiac for team owner and furniture manufacturer Cliff Stewart. He’d dabbled in NASCAR’s top series in the 1970s, competing in eight races over a three-year period, but this was the first time the 1980 NASCAR Sportsman champion had ever competed full time on the Cup circuit.

Events leading up to the April 26 race possibly provided a clue to the direction that year’s Virginia 500 would take. In qualifying, the lightly regarded independents and the circuit’s newcomers stole the spotlight. Ricky Rudd earned the pole, while Harry Gant claimed the other front row starting position. Rounding out the top five, respectively, were Buddy Arrington, Butch Lindley and Dave Marcis. Then in second-round qualifying, rookie Mike Alexander set a track record of 89.094 mph to take the 11th starting position.

It was the then 39-year-old Shepherd, however, who surprised everyone on race day. Competing in just his 15th NASCAR Cup race, Shepherd led 294 of the race’s 500 laps and finished 16 seconds ahead of Neil Bonnett’s Wood Brothers Ford to provide Pontiac with its first victory since Oct. 27, 1963 at Hillsboro, N.C., when Joe Weatherly won a 150-mile race. Shortly after his victory, Shepherd admitted his accomplishment didn’t sink in until he came around for the checkered flag and then he almost cried.

Rudd took third in the season’s ninth race, while Gant and Terry Labonte rounded out the top five, respectively.

Standings leader Bobby Allison finished 13th, but maintained his point lead. Gant moved into second, while Rudd advanced to third and Darrell Waltrip fell to fourth. Waltrip would eventually win the 1981 series championship, while Shepherd would have to settle for 13th.

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- Darnell Communications for TUMS, Press Release

No. 11 RIDEMAKERZ Toyota Camry

Sponsor: RIDEMAKERZ

Owners: Tony & Bryan Mullet

Nationwide Crew Chief: Paul Wolfe

Nationwide Chassis: 014

Manufacturer: Toyota

Engine Builder: Triad

Mike Bliss Quick Facts:

- NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Mike Bliss will take the wheel of the No. 11 RIDEMAKERZ Toyota for the first time at Dover International Speedway this weekend.
Bliss has run in all 27 Nationwide Series races in the 2009 season, earning one win (Lowe’s Motor Speedway), four top-5 finishes and 10 top-10 finishes.

- The veteran racer has also started nine NASCAR Sprint Cup races in 2009. Bliss has been a staple of the NASCAR scene since 1995, when he started in the Camping World Truck Series.

- The 44-year-old native of Milwaukie, Ore., has been racing since age 10.

CJM Racing Quick Facts:

- RIDEMAKERZ will return as the primary sponsor of the No. 11 at Dover. The company offers the first-ever car-customizing experience for kids ages six to 106. Pick one of 70 different car body types and paint schemes, using scale plastic-mold replicas of real-world cars that RIDEMAKERZ licenses from GM, Ford, BMW, and other car companies. Then trick out the ride by picking the wheels, hubcaps, a chassis, sounds, and other options such as radio control. Build YOUR Ride at RIDEMAKERZ.com.

- At the team’s last race on Sept. 11 in Richmond, 18-year-old rookie driver Trevor Bayne drove the No. 11 RIDEMAKERZ Toyota to a 7th-place finish, securing CJM Racing’s sixth top-10 of the season.

- The 2009 season marks the second season CJM Racing is competing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series full-time. The team is currently 17th in the owner point standings.

- CJM Racing transitioned to Toyota Camry’s in 2009 and shares a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing. The partnership formed late last year allows the teams to share technical information as well as research and development.

- The team will bring chassis # 014 to Dover. # 014 is the same chassis the team ran at Bristol on Aug. 21.

- The Dover 200 at Dover International Speedway will air LIVE on ESPN2 at 3 pm (ET) on Saturday, Sept. 26th.

Driver Mike Bliss on Racing the No. 11 RIDEMAKERZ Toyota:

“The good part is, I’ve run at Dover with Paul Wolfe before. He’s a good crew chief and has really good guys who care about what they’re doing. So, together we’ve run well before, and the crew works well together, so it should be a good match-up.”

Driver Mike Bliss on Dover:

“I like concrete. For some reason, I do well on concrete. I don’t know why, but percentage-wise I do better at places like Dover and Bristol. So I enjoy this track and I’m looking forward to it.”

- CJM Racing Press Release

Brian Scott

I won’t lie, I’d love to see him race a little longer in the Truck Series, but I know this Kid’s loaded with talent and he’s ready for the next step.

So add Brian Scott’s name to your Nationwide series silly season list.

He’s been looking for a ride in that series, exploring options right now, looking for a good organization with a good base and can provide him with good equipment.

Certainly with getting his first win at the Monster Mile in Trucks. Then with a third place finish at Milwaukee, followed by a second place finish at Memphis and all with a cast on his right wrist.

Being a contender for the series title, in the Camping World Truck Series, certainly his phone has to be ringing with offers or maybe Toyota has been making some calls on his behalf with their teams.

Since I doubt they would hate to lose this talented Kid to GM, Ford or Dodge.

But has he already found a new home in the Nationwide Series?

He did run four races with Braun racing in 2009, could this have been a try out for a full-time ride in 2010 with the team.

While Braun Racing would be a great team for him to have an opportunity to race for. I’d hate to see him stuck sharing a ride with a Cup driver and only race part-time.

So here’s a few more options for him, I chose these since they would be full-time rides for him and he’d have the option of them potentially taking him to Cup.

- Bleacher Report