Venturini Motorsports

The 18 year-old from Bakersfield, California will be behind the wheel of the No.15 JDRF– Venturini Motorsports race car for the ARCA Racing Series Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 at Daytona. Ryan and his team are also excited to announce support from Advance Auto Parts for Ryan’s superspeedway debut.

“Racing at Daytona is a dream-come true,” said Reed. “Since I was a kid I dreamed of the day I would have the opportunity to compete on the historic track. And then to go to the test with Venturini Motorsports in December and be at the top of the charts on the first day was unreal!”

Reed was diagnosed with T1D exactly one year ago – February 2011.

His untimely diagnosis changed his life forever and threatened his promising racing career. After being told his racing career was over, Reed made a decision not to allow T1D to dictate his legacy behind the wheel.

Ryan Reed

Reed’s tenacity and ‘never quit’ attitude has allowed him the good fortune to return to the race car and use his racing platform and personal story to inspire others living with T1D to continue living life to its fullest.

Reed’s off-track goodwill has made him a National Celebrity Advocate of JDRF, the world’s largest funder of research toward curing, treating and preventing T1D and its complications.

Ryan's Mission (Ryan Reed)

Today, Reed is only one of three professional race car drivers in the world to compete at the highest levels of racing with T1D. Indy Racing League driver, Charlie Kimball was diagnosed with T1D in 2007. The two drivers not only share the same circumstances but also share the same doctor, Dr. Anne Peters, MD of USC Clinical Diabetes Program in California.

Reed’s partnership with JDRF will be prominently on display when his JDRF themed racecar is unveiled next week when the ARCA Racing Series returns to Daytona.

To commemorate this historic moment, Reed teamed up with NASCAR’s first officially licensed artist and design icon, Sam Bass to create the paint scheme for Reed’s JDRF car.

Although Bass has designed hundreds of paint schemes for many of today’s NASCAR superstars, the JDRF project with Ryan Reed has a very personal meaning to the motorsports artist.

Like Reed, Sam Bass is also living with T1D. He was diagnosed in 1992.

Bass used this opportunity and his heart to design a show piece and leave his personal imprint on this project to help create more awareness to JDRF and the millions of people affected by this life-long disease.

“I am thrilled to be working with such a talented, young, up and coming driver as Ryan Reed,” said Sam Bass. “His partnership with JDRF has a tremendously special meaning to me, as I also have type 1 diabetes, and have dealt with the disease all of my life. I can relate first hand to the goals and initiatives JDRF has set to help people living with diabetes, and to find a cure. JDRF does very impactful work, and I am extremely proud to assist them in their marketing efforts with the Venturini Motorsports Team and Ryan.”

While November is the official National Diabetes Awareness Month on a worldwide initiative, February marks a significant month for diabetes in Ryan’s life.

Ryan was diagnosed with T1D in February 2011 and 1-year later he will be running the JDRF painted racecar for the first time at Daytona International Speedway in honor of everyone that is affected by T1D.

Practice for the season-opening race starts on Thursday, February 16, while qualifying is Friday, February 17 at 2pm. The race, scheduled to be televised live by SPEED-TV, is Saturday, February 18 at 4:30pm ET.

About Venturini Motorsports

Venturini Motorsports (VMS), fielding cars in the ARCA Racing Series, is one of the premier NASCAR driver development programs in the country. The 2012 season marks the teams 30th Anniversary of competition in the ARCA Series. Multiple team championships and consistent on-track success, VMS has evolved into one of the most recognizable names in motorsports.

Since 2007, VMS has assisted in the career development of notable NASCAR drivers such as Joey Logano, Justin Allgaier, Steve Arpin, Brian Scott, Max Gresham, Miguel Paludo, Josh Richards, Mikey Kile and Scott Lagasse, Jr.

- Venturini Motorsports Press Release

Paulie Harraka

“I’m excited to be competing in the ARCA race at Daytona with Venturini Motorsports. Daytona international Speedway is certainly the hallowed grounds of motorsports, and I’ve looked at the high banks there in awe for years. To have the opportunity to compete for the first time on those high banks, and to be doing it with this team, is extremely exciting for me.” Paulie Harraka.

Harraka, a former NASCAR Drive for Diversity driver will be a part of Venturini’s 5-team effort at Daytona piloting the No.55 Venturini Motorsports Toyota.

In addition to competing in the ARCA series opener at Daytona, Harraka has teamed with veteran NASCAR crew chief Richie Wauters and will compete for the Sunoco Rookie of the Year title with newly formed Wauters Motorsports in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

Paulie Harraka

During his collegiate career, Harraka has won countless NASCAR races while juggling a full load of academic studies; focusing on engineering, sports psychology, leadership and business. He’s also interned at Joe Gibbs Racing in their research and development division as well as interning in Corporate Marketing at NASCAR’s New York office.

Harraka is a past champion in in NASCAR’s Whelen All-American Series, and has posted (2) different NASCAR Rookie of the Year titles: NASCAR Whelen All American Series and NASCAR Camping World Series West (Now K&N Pro Series West). Most recently, Harraka posted three victories in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West.

Beyond his racing and academic focus; Harraka is a Celebrity Ambassador for Childhelp, a national nonprofit that works with abused, neglected, and at risk children. No wonder Harraka has been featured on everything from ESPN and Sports Illustrated to Fox News and The New York Times.

Practice for the season-opening race starts on Thursday, Feb. 16, while qualifying is Friday, Feb. 17, at 2 p.m. The race, scheduled to be televised live by SPEED-TV, is Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET.

Venturini Motorsports

Venturini Motorsports (VMS), fielding cars in the ARCA Racing Series, is one of the premier NASCAR driver development programs in the country. The 2012 season marks the teams 30th Anniversary of competition in the ARCA Series. Multiple team championships and consistent on-track success, VMS has evolved into one of the most recognizable names in motorsports.

Since 2007, VMS has assisted in the career development of notable NASCAR drivers such as Joey Logano, Justin Allgaier, Steve Arpin, Brian Scott, Max Gresham, Miguel Paludo, Josh Richards, Mikey Kile and Scott Lagasse, Jr.

For more information please visit:

www.PaulieHarraka.net / www.VenturiniMotorpsorts.com / www.ArcaRacing.com

Twitter @PaulieHarraka

Facebook Paul Harraka

- Venturini Motorsports Press Release

No. 25 Adcetera / Venturini Motorsports Chevrolet Impala

“Brennan has been impressive every time he’s been in the seat for VMS,” Venturini said. “He tested well in December and has been preparing for this race the entire off-season. I think he’s got a great shot, and we expect him to shine at Daytona.”

In just four selected ARCA Series starts with Venturini Motorsports, the Woodlands, Texas, native has captured a series victory (Salem Speedway) and a pole award (Pocono Raceway) and has led laps in all but one of his series starts.

Brennan Poole

Nicknamed “The Bull,” Poole was the 2002 Quarter Midget Grand National Champion, and he followed that up by winning 42 of 61 Pro National Legends races and the national race of champions feature in 2006. He also was the 2009 UARA-STARS Rookie of the Year and 2011 UARA-STARS Champion. He has won 10 times in the past two UARA-STARS seasons.

Poole’s car will be painted in a retro color scheme originally used by Billy Venturini during his 10-year driving career.

Practice for the season-opening race starts on Thursday, Feb. 16, while qualifying is Friday, Feb. 17, at 2 p.m. The race, scheduled to be televised live by SPEED-TV, is Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET.

About Adcetera

Adcetera is a strategic marketing & advertising firm. Since 1982, we’ve been developing creative solutions to our clients’ marketing, brand and communication challenges. Sometimes, the way is clear. Other times, we work to help them define what they’re up against. When our clients don’t know the “what,” we help them define it. When they’re not sure about the “how,” we help them do it. When they don’t know the “where,” we provide the map. And when they don’t know the “when,” we say, “Let’s get started.” www.Adcetera.com

Venturini Motorsports

Venturini Motorsports (VMS), fielding cars in the ARCA Racing Series, is one of the premier NASCAR driver development programs in the country. The 2012 season marks the teams 30th Anniversary of competition in the ARCA Series. Multiple team championships and consistent on-track success, VMS has evolved into one of the most recognizable names in motorsports.

Since 2007, VMS has assisted in the career development of notable NASCAR drivers such as Joey Logano, Justin Allgaier, Steve Arpin, Brian Scott, Max Gresham, Miguel Paludo, Josh Richards, Mikey Kile and Scott Lagasse, Jr.

For more information please visit: www.BrennanPoole.com and/or www.VenturiniMotorsports.com

- Venturini Motorsports Press Release

Team members look on as Joe Gibbs, owner of Joe Gibbs Racing, speaks with the media during the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway on Jan. 23 in Concord, N.C. - Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

DARIAN GRUBB, crew chief, No. 11 FedEx Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

How do you feel starting 2012 with a new team? “It feels really good to be a part of Joe Gibbs Racing. The professionalism that they have is pretty impressive. It’s good to be a part of that. Yeah, we had a lot of turmoil at the end of the year last year — still came out all positive. Won the championship and won five races. Came out of there with my head held high and then went on to my next endeavors. I’m really looking forward to getting a new chapter started at Joe Gibbs Racing.”

Do you look at this as a new challenge? “I definitely do. I feel like I’ve checked a lot of things off the bucket list and now it’s time to go out there and just race for fun and try to win races and win championships. It’s a whole new endeavor and a lot of new people and a lot of new faces to learn and learn how to deal with and how to talk to them. I’m really looking forward to that.”

How different are Joe Gibbs Racing and Stewart-Hass Racing in their operations? “It’s very similar. The work that everybody does in the Cup Series is very even across the field. The competition level is so high. It’s hard for anybody to really be that far behind and these guys are definitely on top of their game when it comes to the technology side of things, the engineering, support they have from Toyota. I’m really looking forward to learning all those different people and the different aspects of the sport and try to make the 11 FedEx team stronger.”

How much confidence do you bring to the team coming off your 2011 championship? “It’s really exciting for me just because coming in talking to the guys in the shop you can tell there’s just the attitude there that they just felt like they were beat down because they had such a bad year in 2011 and now there’s just a breath of fresh air. They know that I was lucky enough to go out there and win that championship. They all want a piece of that. They know how close they were and everybody just realizes now it’s all about just having fun, working in one direction so we’re all going out there trying to win races and put ourselves in the Chase with a chance to go for that championship.”

What have you learned about Denny Hamlin? “He’s (Denny Hamlin) a really good character. He’s a fun guy. He likes to joke with the guys and carry on and that’s a big part of it. We want to have Denny included in the team and make sure he’s one of the guys that’s leading the team. He has to be a leader and make sure all those guys are following him. He’s the guy that everybody shows up to work for every morning and as long as he’s connected to us we’ll be working our hardest for him.”

Is your experience an advantage for you and your new team? “I definitely think so. Working with Chad Knaus (crew chief, No. 48) and the Hendrick Motorsports group was a great learning experience for me. I’ve been lucky enough to work with some of the greats all the way through even back to my first days in Cup with Dale Inman at Petty Enterprises — just went into the Hall of Fame — so there’s guys like that that I have learned a lot of lessons from. I hope to take all those things and put them to my best use.”

What are your thoughts on moving from Chevrolet to a Toyota team? “It’s definitely different. It’s a different mentality about the way they approach the race cars and the race track, the data and what they do with it. But then again, everything this year is different because of the EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection) introduction for NASCAR. There’s a lot of new things. There’s a lot of new technology and we’re all kind of growing with that as well. I haven’t seen anything that’s a weak link. We’re looking forward to going out there and hitting the race track.”

How is the communication among your team and with Toyota? “They work together really well there at Joe Gibbs Racing with the Toyota development program and TRD (Toyota Racing Development) engines and all those things. The communication level probably needs to be picked up a little bit because there was a lot of things new. I think most of that just comes from the fact that fuel injection (EFI) and all those things are being introduced this year and we’ve got a lot of new people, new faces that we’re trying to get introduced and make sure everybody is doing the right thing at the race track, so we’re looking forward to that and getting those relationships built.”

Is it an advantage to have one full-time Toyota team to work with in Michael Waltrip Racing? “I think it’s a little easier because now we have the one team that we can go out there and lean on as far as technology. We know as long as we’re both going in one direction with TRD (Toyota Racing Development) that support is going to follow.”

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

How was Joe Gibbs able to bring these three crew chiefs together? “I think if you look back at Joe Gibbs’ (team owner) career, he’s been really good at that. He says he hires good people and let’s them do their job. I think he’s made a home run right now with putting Darian (Grubb, crew chief, No. 11), Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief, No. 20) and I together — I hope it does come across as magic. The people part is so big and our personalities just mesh. When you wake up in the morning and you enjoy going to work and work with the people you work with — that makes such a big difference. I think that bleeds throughout the entire company. I think right now all 400 employees at Joe Gibbs Racing see how excited Jason, Darian and I are to work with each other. Whether that’s magic or Joe and J.D. (Gibbs, president, JGR) doing their job — I don’t know — just excited to be part of it.”

Will the three JGR NSCS teams be more unified this year? “I think the best way to answer that is to look back at 2007, 2008 and 2009 on the Nationwide side. When I moved over to the Nationwide shop in 2006, there wasn’t a whole lot of win banners hanging on the wall. I’m not telling you that I went over there and hung a lot — I think the teamwork and the team chemistry between Jason (Ratcliff) and I being able to lead the group and get the entire Nationwide shop to go in one direction as one unified team — I think that’s what hung all those banners. Jason and I know that. We know that we were only a small part of it. It was really the direction that we provided and the guys back in the shop just slugging it out and making it happen. Jason and I know that if we provide that type of leadership that we have 400 of the best employees in the business sitting at Joe Gibbs Racing. We know they will respond and provide really good race cars and our drivers are all top notch — all three of them. I think Darian (Grubb) really respects the relationship that Jason and I had and I think he wants to be part of that. From all signs, he’s trying to be part of that. I think you’re going to see one unified team with three race cars every Sunday.”

Does having TRD (Toyota Racing Development) build engines this year allocate more resources for you? “The engine program has always been a separate entity from the crew chief’s perspective. Mark Cronquist (JGR engine builder) has always provided engines for us and now the engines are coming from Costa Mesa (Calif.). I think what it does do is gives us better resource allocation. Last year we were putting a lot of our resources into the engine basket — TRD (Toyota Racing Development) was putting a lot of their resources into the engine basket and we were getting redundancy. Now we’re able to eliminate some of that redundancy. We still have Mark Cronquist as an integral part of TRD so he’s providing that tribal knowledge that’s crucial. We’re going to better use our resources and hope we have a stronger product. We had our documented issues last year, but I’m a team player and I support our engine room. I wouldn’t have traded anything last year for nothing. We wish we didn’t have the failures, but that’s part of racing and I’ll take it. There are a lot of things in this sport that you wish didn’t happen.”

What can help to make the Toyota engines stronger? “I think the combination of Mark Cronquist working with TRD (Toyota Racing Development) — Mark is going out to Costa Mesa (Calif.) every week. He’s always out there working with their lead designer and there’s a lot of work going on between Joe Gibbs Racing and TRD. I think that combined effort will make the engines better. You have to look at the Toyota package — back before the gear rules when people could turn 10,000 or 10,500 RPM — Toyotas were the team to beat. Their package that they have designed is designed around a high rev limit and no gear rule. When NASCAR implemented the gear rule, in some regards to that, has out-dated the Toyota motor. It’s nothing that Toyota has done wrong, it’s nothing that Joe Gibbs has done wrong — it’s just what it is. I know that the Toyota folks are working on some stuff to produce a better motor that works in the 9200 RPM range that we operate in today. Over the course of the next couple years, we would like to see NASCAR make some rule changes to open that box a little bit. We’re not going to use that as an excuse. We’re going to demand that TRD and Mark Cronquist and all of our guys put their heads together to produce as much horsepower with the given rules as possible. We’ll take that to the race track and try to win races.”

How do you feel about Kyle entering the 2012 season running less NNS and NCWTS races? “Each year Kyle (Busch) gets older and older and he gets more mature and more dedicated. I think he re-dedicates himself every off-season and he’s made some personal decisions this year to free up more time for him to focus on the Cup program and help us get to where we want to be. I think he’s doing a good job of it. I think cutting out some of the Nationwide races and taking a step back — he’s done some other things at KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports) to hire some really good people. I know Mike Beam (crew chief, No. 54 NNS) is over there now. Rick Ren (general manager, KBM) is still working hard. He’s hired some really good people that can give that company direction with a little less involvement from him. The less time he has to spend at KBM working on that deal, the more time he has for Joe Gibbs Racing and the 18 and I think that is going to add up at the end of the year.”

Will you get less feedback from Kyle not running as many NNS races? “I think there’s pluses and minuses — there’s days where we’ve gotten really good feedback and there’s days — Bristol comes to mind. Right before the Bristol race we made some radical setup changes to our car based on how the Nationwide Series race went and the track didn’t go through the same transition in the Cup Series as it did in Nationwide. We felt like we dialed ourselves out. There’s other times where it’s played to our favor and we’ve seen other track transitions — made adjustments accordingly and it worked for us. I think if you look at it — Carl Edwards is backing off, Kyle’s (Busch) backing off, Jimmie Johnson hasn’t done it — those are the guys you are going to have to race against. Denny Hamlin hasn’t done it. They’re all freeing up their schedule for a reason. It’s not because it’s a competitive disadvantage. That’s the way I look at it. There’s never a win-win — there’s always a compromise. I do think Kyle will have more time to just relax and spend some time with Sam (Samantha Busch, wife) and freshen up a little bit. That is going to help us out.”

Have you seen any changes in Kyle from the end of last season? “He’s (Kyle Busch) the same old Kyle. Our fans are going to see the same aggressive driver. I think it would be terrible for our sport if Kyle changed all together. There’s some things we all love about him. Some boo, some cheer, but everyone loves the fact that he gets out of the car and does his bow. That’s Kyle Busch and that makes NASCAR, NASCAR. He’s matured — he’s definitely matured. We talked about it and each year he’s done a little bit of growing up. Last year, we were talking about his wedding. This year, we can talk about the end of the season. All of us were young kids at some point. All of us made mistakes. Hopefully, most of us learned. Kyle’s a very intelligent person. He’s had a lot of consequences to deal with for his mistakes. He’s gone through a lot of remorse and I think in the end it’s going to make him a better person and he’s going to make better decisions based on it. We’re still going to have Rowdy Busch driving our race car and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

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

Did you think you would have the opportunity to be a Cup Series crew chief? “You know, you set goals — and I was telling the guys when they brought me over — and you kind of have this motion picture that runs in your head. We play it out like we think it’s going to be and then you get to a point like this and you think, ‘Wow, that’s way better than what I had.’ This script is way better — I couldn’t have planned it this well. I think as humans, hopefully we all set goals and hopefully they’re somewhat intimidating. If they’re not, then we’re selling ourselves short. To think I would be in this series one day and have these kind of opportunities — sure I thought I was capable of doing that if the right opportunity came along. Did I think I would be with an organization like Joe Gibbs Racing and working with a great talent like Joey Logano, with Toyota and Home Depot and Dollar General and all these — working alongside guys like Kyle Busch? The opportunity that I’ve had with him over the last three or four years — to win championships and win races and set new records — it’s crazy. You set your goals high and you hope you can go out there and accomplish them. To really look back, it’s way bigger than what I could ever imagine. It’s a tremendous blessing across the board.”

How will it be working with Joey Logano this year? “A lot of times when you work with a new driver, it takes a couple of events just to get aware with what they like and get that communication going. I feel like stepping in here, I’ve worked with Joey (Logano) enough on the Nationwide side and I’ve known Joey for a long time. I know him well enough to know where I can build confidence with, obviously fast race cars. I kind of got a feel for what he wants and each driver’s different. Even though the setups are going to be very similar, I think I know enough about Joey to put that detail and he’s going to be able to go out there and be competitive from the beginning. I’m glad that we’ve had that opportunity over the years to work close enough together and communicate in a race-type situation that we can come out of the box running.”

How will the new crew chiefs at JGR help shape the team’s future? “I think just the relationship that I’ve had with Dave (Rogers, No. 18 crew chief) from our Nationwide days is hopefully going to be a plus. We were able to build a pretty strong Nationwide program. Dave and I started working together in 2006. So we’re like-minded in a lot of ways, but in a lot of ways we’re not. The thing that we learned was to really take advantage of a multi-car team. At that time we were two cars in the Nationwide Series and now we’re three teams. You have to find that compromise at the end of the day and you have to be willing to push each other and challenge each other. At the end of the day, sitting across the table and shake hands and say, ‘Yeah man, that’s a great idea, I’m going to give you a little on this one and take a little on that one.’ At the end of the day we’re going to go out there and try to beat each other and most importantly, we’re going to try to beat the other 40 cars out there. I think that relationship with Dave and I hopefully encourages Dave and encourages me to be back in the same building with him. Then for Darian (Grubb, No. 11 crew chief), I just think a new look — not that we don’t think outside the box on a daily basis, but a lot of times you can’t see the forest through the trees so to speak. Great ideas — brilliant crew chief in Dave Rogers and really this whole shop, Darian alluded to it earlier, our engineering program, the group we have is phenomenal. I’d put them up against anyone. They impress me quite often, usually daily which I don’t have an engineering background, so it doesn’t take a lot to impress me, but they do a phenomenal job. I’m so excited about working with that group. I’ve been working with a lot of those guys even on the Nationwide side. Darian brings in a different thought process, opens our minds to some different things. Maybe some things we overlooked or kind of set on the back burner and he opens that back up and we’re like, ‘Yeah.’ So, he’s spurring that thought process. Just sitting down with us over the last week and a half and really brainstorming about what you talked about. How do you make this program better? How do we get it back to where it was two or three years ago? These guys, when Denny (Hamlin) was out there winning seven, eight races and battling for championships. That’s what we’re pulling for. The whole Joe Gibbs (Racing) organization, 400-plus employees in the Cup shop and 60-something employees in the Nationwide division — it’s a great group of people and one thing I can say about them is they all really work close together. They challenge each other and they make it a point and you’re extremely aware of the compromise it takes to work with that many teams. At the end of the day, we encourage each other and challenge each other.”

What do you think you have to offer to Joey Logano this season? “I think it’s really simple. I don’t think it’s much different than it would be for any of us, especially at that age. There’s no substitute for experience, obviously. The thing that I would be thinking if I was in his (Joey Logano) shoes would be, ‘Can I do this? What am I missing? What do I need to do as a driver?’ I think that a lot of those pressures have been put on him that weren’t really his problems. I think building some confidence is going to be a big deal and I think I can see that already going into some pre-season meetings. He’s excited about opportunities. Really, it’s not so much good team, bad team, doing things right, doing things wrong — sometimes it’s just taking a different approach. Sometimes it’s just painting a different picture. Hopefully that’s what I can do is just paint a different picture and look at things from a different perspective and really build a team for Joey. There was a successful team that Joey stepped into years ago, that had won championships and won races and done all the things that you could want to do in this sport. Even though it was a great race team, sometimes when those things are not built around you that chemistry may or may not be there. It’s too early to tell that. My focus is making sure all that we do — even though the guys are the same on this No. 20 team — is really making it about Joey and trying to craft it and mold it to fit him and to build the chemistry we need.”

Source: Toyota Motorsports, Press Release

Venturini Motorsports

“The ARCA racing series gives me the best opportunity to make the transition into stock car racing and prepare me for NASCAR Tucks or Nationwide racing in the future. Venturini’s reputation and the success they’ve had working with many drivers was a major factor in my decision to join the team and the series,” says Canache.

Canache, a native of Caracas, Venezuela is a standout driver on the international stage and is ready to take the next big step in his professional racing career under the guidance of VMS’s competition director, Billy Venturini.

“It’s an honor to represent my country and build more awareness to US stock car racing. I feel I have the support of everyone back home and look forward to making them proud,” added Canache.

“It’s going to be a challenge but working with the best team gives me the confidence I need to succeed at this level and prepare myself for the future. I have limited oval racing experience; every week will be a challenge and test me physically and mentally. Driving for Venturini gives me the best chance to learn and show people here in the states my skills.”

Canache, who spent his 2011 season competing in the Seat Leon Super Cup in Mexico and the NASCAR Whelen All American Series under the Lee Faulk Racing banner, is now looking to bolster his racing resume and pursue the highest ranks of American stock car racing.

“There’s no question ARCA and NASCAR has attracted world class talent to our sport. Nelson has proven himself as an international driver and comes to our team with tremendous talent and determination to succeed at this level in a relatively unknown series. He’s a true professional and student of his craft; he’s eager to learn and unwilling to fall back on past accomplishments,” says Billy Venturini. I expect him to fit into our program well and compete strongly against his competition.

Canache will drive full time for Venturini; competing in all 20 events listed on ARCA’s 60th Anniversary Season schedule, making his ARCA debut on February 18th at Daytona International Speedway.

ARCA, considered the most diverse racing series on the planet, is the only touring series to include a variety of style race tracks to test the skills and preparation of both drivers and teams competing. ARCA’s schedule showcases a mix of speedway (1.5 mile+), short track (1 mile or less), dirt track and road course events to determine a national champion.

Canache, who participated in a Chevrolet – Venturini Motorsports prepared car left a solid impression after three days of ARCA Racing Series testing at the famed Daytona International Speedway. Canache finished the weekend with a fast time of 48.212 seconds (186.676 mph), securing the 7th fastest lap time (out of 53 drivers) of the entire weekend test session.

Venturini Motorsports unloaded 5 cars in all during the December test and posted the top speed overall with Alex Bowman’s 188.336 mph lap. Venturini cars finished the weekend test session with all 5 cars inside the top-7 positions.

In addition to running the ARCA series, Canache will make his first ever Rolex 24 at Daytona behind the wheel of the No.51 APR Motorsports Audi R8 Grand-Am for this year’s 24 hour classic. Canache will join teammates, including ‘Endurance Race’ icon, Emanuele Pirro, Dion Von Moltke, Ian Baas and Dr. Jim Norman.

Canache will also join Ian Baas in the No.41 APR Tuned Audi S4 in the Grand-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge GS class leading up to the Rolex 24.

Canache will make his ARCA Racing debut with an added sense of national pride, when the series returns to Daytona International Speedway on February 18th for the season opening event, driving the No.35 Venturini prepared – Venezuela sponsored Chevrolet. The event will be televised live on SPEED Channel starting at 4:30 EST. Check your local times and listings for broadcast information.

International flair nothing new to Venturini Motorsports as the team’s on-track success has attracted drivers from all over the globe. In 2011 the team featured a total of 21 different drivers including four import drivers; Steve Arpin (Canada), Miguel Paludo (Brazil), George Meideke (Australia) and Ali Jackson (Ireland). Arpin and Paludo are both competing in the ranks of NASCAR in 2012.

About Venturini Motorsports

Venturini Motorsports (VMS), fielding cars in the ARCA Racing Series, is one of the premier NASCAR driver development programs in the country. The 2012 season marks the teams 30th Anniversary of competition in the ARCA Series. Multiple team championships and consistent on-track success, VMS has evolved into one of the most recognizable names in motorsports.

Since 2007, VMS has assisted in the career development of notable NASCAR drivers such as Joey Logano, Justin Allgaier, Steve Arpin, Brian Scott, Max Gresham, Miguel Paludo, Josh Richards, Mikey Kile and Scott Lagasse, Jr.

- Venturini Motorsports Press Release

Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota, speaks with the media during the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway on Jan. 23 in Concord, N.C. - Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

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

How different will your team look this year? “I think our team is going to look totally different even though there’s just a few changes here and there. It’s going to be a total different race team I feel like. I’ve got two different people speaking in my ear and you’ve got a lot of energy within the shop. I know you hear that a lot, but we’ve really gone through some big changes with our team and it’s obviously got a lot of people excited.”

How good of a hire was it for your race team to get Darian Grubb? “It was big for us because he (Darian Grubb, crew chief) had so many good options and he had an offer from every race team in the garage area. For him to pick me as his driver and continuing to want to be a crew chief, that’s a big deal. So, at least it gives you the faith that the guy has got a lot of faith in your talents and that you can bring him another championship.”

How much different will it be for you to have a new crew chief? “I think there’s a lot of things that are going to be different. I’ve got to be a little bit more aware of what’s going on with my feedback. I think at times I kind of took for granted that Mike (Ford) just always knew what I needed at certain times even though I might not say it. With him (Darian Grubb, crew chief) I’ve got to make sure I continue to voice those things and tell him the specifics because he’s not worked with me before. Working with other drivers, he’s got different ideas and stuff that he can bring up to me. I think it’s going to be key for me the first six months to really communicate a lot with him.”

How much information can you use from Darian Grubb? “You’ve got to listen to a guy that’s won five of 10 Chase races in one year. He’s (Darian Grubb, crew chief) obviously got that experience. He’s got a lot of Hendrick (Motorsports) information that’s coming over to (Joe) Gibbs (Racing). That part of it is always good. New blood sometimes is just what you need to kind of get your team fired up.”

What does it say about Darian Grubb to know he won five of 10 Chase races when he knew he was being let go? “It tells me in those situations that the guy is mentally tough. When he knows his job is on the line and might not know what he’s doing next year, he’s still got the focus to bring what he brought to the race track. For me, I think he’s one of the most well-respected guys within our garage and that’s going to be a key asset to have.”

How long did it take you to get reenergized after last season? “I just had to get away from Charlotte for a little while. That’s all it took. Get away from racing and you know when you have such a bad year like we had last year, you’re waiting for the season to be over with. You always kind of get that second breath of life where you’re like, ‘Okay, the Chase is starting so it’s a fresh start.’ And, then when we come out of the gates and had the issues that we had in the very first race, it’s like that year is just not meant to be for us. It doesn’t take long before you’re starting to count down how many weeks are left in the season to just get it over with. Let’s go through the motions, get to the track, do our job and get out of there. And, obviously it’s going to be hard to win races with that attitude. Now, we’ve got a lot of reasons to be optimistic.”

What have you done during the off-season to get your mind away from the race track? “I’ve been racing since I was eight years old — 23 straight years of living and breathing this sport every single day and every single week. Our schedule is not driver friendly with all of the obligations that we have on and off the race track, we’re doing so much during the week. We just don’t have that much time at home. For me, I had to get away from Charlotte, get away from the same people that I see all of the time, just to kind of relax and do my own grocery shopping, do my own laundry, cook my own food and just feel like I was on an island by myself. So, I feel like that has all been really good for me personally and it’s just gotten me super energized for a new season because I really do feel like I’ve had a break now.”

Why are you so confident going into this season? “I think we’re going to be going to the race track with completely different race cars. I can’t get a heck of a lot in depth with it, but just some of the things that we’re building in our race cars and things like that are just, gosh, things that I’ve wanted for a long time but it’s been hard to get past the departments here and there. We feel like we’re heading in a good direction, there’s no doubt about it. I feel like Toyota is getting stronger than what they were last year, all three teams are on the same engine program, we’ve got an alliance with Michael Waltrip Racing – there’s a lot of things that are stronger this time around. And, on top of that my confidence is way higher right now than it was to start 2011.”

Can you use the adversity that you’ve faced during your career will help you to the next level? “I think the adversity that I’ve had in my career and the ups and the downs is going to make it sweeter when I finally do win that championship.”

Do you need to improve on speed in your race cars for the 2012 season? “It’s just things weren’t as easy as what they were in 2010. In 2011, for us, I was sweating like a dog in practice to be 20th fastest. It’s just having to work too hard to get the speed out of the car and that tells us that we’ve got to improve on a couple of different areas. I think we’ve shifted our focus this year to those areas and I think that there’s no doubt that when we get to the race track that we’re going to be much more competitive.”

Do you think having Darian Grubb as a crew chief is what you need to win a championship? “I just think that he (Darian Grubb, crew chief) brings so much good information over to our race team. Just the way that he was doing things over at Stewart-Haas and Hendrick and the way we were doing things at Gibbs, there’s a lot of good things that both teams were doing that we’re going to mesh together and make for hopefully a team that performs. Really, for me, it’s just hearing the different voice of reason. That gets you fired up sometimes and obviously when you know a guy has been as successful as him, it’s hard not to have confidence when you’re behind the wheel. All of this stuff has worked out it seems like perfectly for my career. There’s a lot of things that’s been put into place for me to be successful and I feel like this year is my best opportunity to do that.”

Will adding fuel injection to the race cars level all of the teams out? “No, I don’t think that will change much. I think that what’s driving the back tires is still that engine, it’s not the fuel injection. Us having Toyota on our side as far as that’s concerned on all three teams this year will be a big benefit because we’ve obviously got a lot of technology that they’re going to bring from their street program to our race program — whether it be fuel mapping or things like that to try to help us with fuel mileage. Look how many races have been fuel mileage races here lately. It’s just you’ve got to have every aspect of your race team as good as possible.”

Do you think NASCAR’s current points system is the right formula? “I do and I think that the emphasis on winning is more than it’s ever been. That’s the mentality that you have to have. If you’re going to have to wreck a few race cars in the process to do it, then so be it because if you’re winning, you’re going to be in the Chase and that gets you a shot at the championship. I’m probably going to take a little bit more risk here and there to try and get those wins because we see how valuable it was last year.”

What did you do when you heard Darian Grubb was available? “When we heard about Darian (Grubb, crew chief) becoming available of course we were one of many teams that were after him pretty heavy. We knew he was going to have a tough decision. He’d had a relationship with Hendrick (Motorsports) for many, many years and when he got offered that position we thought we could possibly lose him to that because we know he is a loyal guy. But, it’s through sitting there and talking to him and I asked him about his motivation to win another championship. He says he feels like he wanted to crew chief until he was 40 years old and his son got to a certain age. His job now, he says, is to win another championship and show everyone that he can win with multiple drivers.”

How much does it increase your confidence to have Darian Grubb as your crew chief? “A lot. Everyone knows that the driver and crew chief relationship is very, very important. It’s as important as anything as far as being successful so we know it’s going to work. It’s going to take some time for him (Darian Grubb, crew chief) to understand what I need in my car and for me to tell him what he needs to hear. That part is going to be a little bit of a transition, but I think right now we have enough motivation and confidence that should carry us until that point happens.”

Will you use last year as motivation for this season? “I can’t even remember more than about five races last year in the sense of that we were really competitive, had a shot to win and those are the races that get me motivated. The rest of them, I feel like I was just there. I was one of those cars in the middle of the pack and that’s not me. I’m too competitive for that, I won’t stand for it and I’m not going to have the rest of my career go that way. We’re going to go back to the front where we belong.” -more-

Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M's Toyota, speaks with the media during the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway on Jan. 23 in Concord, N.C. - Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

Do you see any situations where you may start competing in the NCWTS again in the future? “To me, I think we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. Truthfully, I don’t have to run Truck races. My fans love it and I love racing Truck races for them, but, like I said, I would love to see Kyle Busch Motorsports be able to sustain itself on its own and not have to have me in the seat every single week in a Truck race or Nationwide Series race.”

Does this make your 200 wins goal more difficult and eliminate something you find fun? “We’ll see. There’s no telling. Certainly, I wish that we could win eight races a year in Cup and eight races a year in Nationwide and right there you’re at 16 wins a year, so that’s not that bad. Granted, you run Truck races you can probably win five or six, so that puts you at 21 or 22 races a year. The focal point now is — and has been — although I want the 200 wins someday, the focal point needs to be on the Cup deal and trying to win a championship there, of course, and put my primary focus into that.”

Is the goal of cutting the NCWTS races to be stronger in the Chase? “Certainly, it all relates to one another. It’s all circumstantial upon something else. I think running less races is also a conditioning tool. I’ve been working really hard in the off-season in doing some things and running less races will also help that, but just being more focused and just trying to operate more on a level field with Dave (Rogers, crew chief) and how much he works and how hard he works and I’ve got to do the same.”

Do you think cutting back on your Nationwide and Truck schedule will be beneficial? “It’s certainly a possibility, but you know in 2008 and 2009 I ran the most races that I’ve ever run in a season and didn’t have any issues. Things went pretty well those couple of years. I think it’s been most frustrating for me because I’m getting more and more into my Cup Series career and I have yet to win a championship. For me, you get down to the end of the season and the first 26 races go well and then you start the Chase and you kind of fumble a little bit and you’re chasing a ball sometimes. We still had a shot — we were running fourth or fifth in points at Talladega and then got crashed out there. Then we’re fifth in points or something like that in Martinsville and we get crashed out there. Your whole season’s shot. It’s not like one week’s gone — like you didn’t win that race or something. You’ve got to wait all the way until next February to start a whole new year in order to get down to November. Think about it — when you throw a whole year of your life away, it’s like, ‘Damn, this sucks.”

Is it a balance to determine how to not lose your drive and handle frustration better? “It certainly is and I’ve had a lot of fans, whether it’s been in meeting them in person or seeing them on Twitter or whatever — they all tell you, ‘Don’t change anything — we love the way you are and keep that attitude.’ At the end of the day, it doesn’t seem like me not changing anything is helping anything. I have to change something, I just have to figure out what that is and make it work for me.”

How is your relationship with Joe Gibbs? “He (Joe Gibbs, team owner) is a phenomenal character and has a lot of personality to him because he’s probably seen so much over the years. For me, him and I have a great dialogue — we talk quite a bit. It’s been really good. He believes in me. I wouldn’t be here if the guy didn’t believe in me. He knows what kind of person I am and it’s not that I have to convince the people that are closest around me what kind of person I am — I have to convince those that are furthest from me that don’t ever get to see me.”

Do your results in last year’s Chase give you more motivation for 2012? “I don’t need any extra motivation, trust me. I’ve been here long enough. I’ve been here plenty of times and I’ve run plenty of laps where I’m not just getting tired of not winning a championship, I think people are.”

Are you ready to get back to racing in February? “You get an off-season and you’re not racing so you kind of miss the bug a little bit. You spend some time relaxing and hanging out and just letting the New Year come to you. For me, I’ve been ready. I think I’m pretty well versed in what we need to have happen this year and what we’d like to have happen and what we’d like to see.”

Do you race all 36 races the same or separate from the first 26 to the Chase? “We’d like to have the whole 36-race season go according to plan. You don’t run the first 26 and then the final 10. We like to run the whole 36 the same way. You go out there and you try to win every single week. If you can’t win, then you go to the best of your opportunity and the best of your ability and what’s given to you on that day. Whether it’s a third, a second, a fifth or whatever. You do have to keep conscious of not putting yourself in bad positions or wrecking out and finishing back in the 20s or 30s.”

Team members look on as Joe Gibbs, owner of Joe Gibbs Racing, speaks with the media during the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway on Jan. 23 in Concord, N.C. - Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images for NASCAR

Are you excited to have Jason Ratcliff as your new NSCS crew chief? “Me and Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief), we’ve worked together for two races over in the Nationwide side and I felt like we connected really quick. I felt like the two of us, the communication at the race track, at the shop — it really accelerated at a really quick rate. So, I was excited about that. When the decision came up, I think Jason was kind of a shoe-in for that deal. I think he’s the perfect match for me. I think even in practice, we come in, sit down and talk to each other and try to make the best decision with the race car we possibly can. I feel like we’ve done a really good job for those first two races. I always felt like, ‘Man, I need to work with him more.’ I think we can do good things with it. I think he’s the right man for our Home Depot/Dollar General Toyota and we’ll go out there and do the best we can this year.”

What do you think about Greg Zipadelli leaving Joe Gibbs Racing? “Sometimes things just don’t match up perfectly. I love Zip (Greg Zipadelli) to death. I’m going up to New York this weekend to do his charity ride. The friendship is still there. Things sometimes just don’t match up perfectly and we probably will get along a lot better now that we’re not working with each other. I still like him. I think it’s a good call for him to go over there. He wants to be home with his kids more. His kids are growing up. I don’t have kids so I don’t know what that’s like, but I would assume you want to be with them a lot. I think that’s a really good call for him and I think it’s going to be really neat. I think it’s going to be the best for both of us in the long run. I think it’s something that the No. 20 team itself needed and I think Zip needed it, too.”

Do you feel more pressure this season? “No, not right now. I’m very relaxed. I feel like my head is in the right spot. I feel like I’m very confident in myself, I’m very confident in Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief) and my whole team and doing the right thing. I tell you, Jason – I’ve talked to him a ton. Everyday we’re on the phone, I’m at the shop talking to him, doing something with him. I think that’s gone along really well. Then, Jason is one of the hardest working guys I’ve ever seen in my life. He’s there all the time. Between Dave (Rogers, No. 18 crew chief) and Jason, I’ve seen them on the Nationwide side before and those two will keep getting each other to work harder and harder and they’re going to do that over here on the Cup side along with Darian (Grubb, No. 11 crew chief) involved with that too, it’s going to be unreal. I’m pretty pumped up about it. I think there are some really good changes at Joe Gibbs Racing that I think are going to help all three teams.”

Is it important for you to make the Chase this year? “Yes, it’s a hard to set goals. You go to race track to win every one of them, so I think everyone’s goal is to win a championship. I think you have to shoot for the moon. That’s the only way you are going to do it. If you just shoot for making the Chase, that’s all you’re going to do. You’re not going to do anything better than that. I think you have to shoot for the moon and keep shooting for that and see what comes out of it.”

Have you experienced any changes since Darian Grubb joined Joe Gibbs Racing? “Yeah, I think it’s refreshing. There’s new faces and there’s new changes. I think bringing Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief) in and Darian (Grubb, No. 11 crew chief), both of them are bringing a lot of new energy and a lot of new life. I think it’s something that was needed to be done. I think Joe (Gibbs, team owner) and J.D. (Gibbs, team president) made some really good calls. I know they’re tough decisions. I couldn’t imagine being put in that spot. I think it’s the right thing for our race teams and we’ll make it happen.”

What lessons have you learned in your racing career? “When you’re little and your mother is like, ‘You just wait, I’m stupid right now but you’ll get older and discover how smart I was.’ Yeah, that was the same thing, but in racing for me. Obviously you want to be confident, you need to think that you know a lot and think that you’re the best race car driver out there. But, at the same time you have to be humble and go ask questions, talk to the guys — do whatever you can to make yourself a better race car driver. I’ve learned that stuff very quickly. It’s something that is a very valuable experience. I’m going to take that in the rest of my life, whether that’s in racing or not.”

Is this going to be a make it or break it year for you? “I don’t make anything of it. It’s no difference to me. You should treat every year like it’s a make it or break it year. So, what’s the difference? That’s how I look at it. I should go out there and try to win every race, whether it’s contract year or not. There’s no difference there for me.”

Was last season a disappointing year for you? “Obviously last year was a disappointment I think for all three teams. I can speak for myself — that was terrible last year. We did everything as a team completely wrong in a lot cases, whether it’s driver mistakes, team mistakes — whatever it was, we weren’t on it. With a year like that, talk about being humble, that will humble you in a hurry. That’s when you have to dig down deep. You don’t want to do that again. It was seriously no fun at all to do something like that. That motivates you a ton to go out there and do a lot better. I know I have the guys behind me now. I’m very confident going into this season, probably more confident than I’ve ever been going into a season. Obviously with Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief), signing on a new sponsor like Dollar General, that brings some new life into the team, too. We’re excited about that.”

What can you do to make yourself better? “You can’t just pin point one thing. There’s a lot of different things. I can say now, I feel like I’m a lot more involved with what’s going on with Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief) — I feel like we’re working on the same level now. We’re bouncing ideas off of each other a lot more. The communication is huge. If you wanted to point out one thing, it would be communication and I feel that’s going to come naturally with me and Jason.”

Does getting a new sponsor this season put pressure on you? “It is pressure bringing them in, but it’s confidence when you get them. Think about how hard it is to get a great company like Dollar General in our sport. It’s very hard to do, there are a lot of other teams out there trying to get them. A lot of other teams with great drivers trying to get them. For us to be able to reel them in and get them, that puts a lot of confidence in our team and myself for sure.”

How have you been able to be positive with what your team experienced last year? “Positive thinking is very important no matter what is going on. That’s something I’ve learned more this last year than I’ve ever thought of. I went to a sports psychologist, you talk to those people and you find a new way of going to a race track and a new whole way of thinking about a lot of things. That’s very, very important. I was able to see the gains you can make in that stuff. That’s the stuff when you’re down, you look at anything. I think that was some really good things to look at. Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief) is good in that department.”

Source: Toyota Motorsports, Press Release

Hattori Racing Enterprises

Pena, an 18-year old Winchester, VA native will enter his 3rd season on the K & N Pro Series East in 2012, his first two were as part of the NASCAR Diversity Program. Pena made the racing world take notice in his NASCAR debut at the Toyota All-Star Showdown at Irwindale Speedway in 2010 when he beat Sprint Cup veteran Joey Logano for the pole award and finished 2nd in the event – his first time in a K & N Pro Series car. Last season, in just 12 races, he scored three wins, seven top-10 finishes and finished 5th in the series point standings.

“I am so excited for this opportunity,” stated Pena, a current Radford University freshman. “I couldn’t be more thankful to Shige and the best group of guys behind me such as Matt Goslant and Andy Santerre. We all work together very well and with them behind me, I know we will definitely be one of the teams to beat this year.”

Pena will be driving for Hattori Racing Enterprises. Formed in 2005, this will be the first year they have competed full-time on a NASCAR touring series. Owner, Shigeaki Hattori is a Championship-winning former racer. He earned the Formula Toyota title in 1994 and competed in the Indy Racing League’s Indy Lights and IndyCar Series. He also competed in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Born in Okayama, Japan, Hattori currently resides in Cornelius, NC and knows what it takes to win. “People in an organization are the key to the organization’s success . If you hire the right people with knowledge and experience, success will follow,” explains Hattori.

Setting the foundation for Hattori Racing Enterprises are four-time NASCAR K & N Pro Series Champion Andy Santerre, who will manage the race team and Championship-winning Crew Chief, Matt Goslant. Goslant and Pena were a team last season where Pena won three of 12 races, scored seven top-10 finishes and finished 5th in the series point standings.

“I am excited to be working with Sergio again this season,” Said Northfield, VT native, Goslant. “He has the talent to be a champion and we are a good team together. We communicate well and he trusts me to put the car under him. He gives me 100% and I could not ask for anything more in a driver.”

HRE will field Toyota Camry’s with manufacturer backing from Toyota Racing Development . “We are thrilled to have Toyota on board,” stated Hattori, who has had a long-standing relationship with the brand. “Toyota cars won every race in the series last year and I don’t expect this season to be any different.”

HRE is located in a state-of-the-art building owned by Germain Racing in Mooresville, NC and was designed by Hattori so he could continue to enjoy American stock car racing while developing young, talented drivers.

- Hattori Racing Enterprises Press Release

Sports Clips Haircuts

“We are excited to continue our growth and partnership with Joe Gibbs Racing for the upcoming 2012 season,” said Gordon Logan, founder and CEO of Sport Clips. “The sport has allowed us to build brand presence with broad exposure among the large and very loyal NASCAR fan base. We are proud to have both Denny and Joey continue to represent us in such a positive manner while they are running up front. Darlington will be a special weekend for Sport Clips, as we will partner with the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) in the title sponsorship of the Nationwide Series race Friday night and will be on board with Denny in both the Nationwide and Sprint Cup races.”

This is the fourth year Sport Clips has been a sponsor with JGR and the eight total races (seven Nationwide and one Cup) is the most the organization has ever sponsored in a single season.

“It is always a thrill to have a sponsor come on board and fully realize how the program can benefit their business and marketing efforts,” said J.D. Gibbs, president of JGR. “Sport Clips has been a great partner and we want to continue to deliver the type of success they have grown accustomed to over the past three years.”

In addition to the Darlington Sprint Cup Series race, Sport Clips will appear on JGR’s No. 18 and No. 20 Nationwide Series Toyota a total of seven times in 2012 with drivers Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano. The schedule of Nationwide races is as follows:

DATE RACE CAR # DRIVER

April 13 Texas No. 18 Denny Hamlin

May 11 Darlington* No. 18 Denny Hamlin

May 26 Charlotte No. 18 Denny Hamlin

July 6 Daytona No. 20 Joey Logano

July 28 Indianapolis No. 18 Denny Hamlin

Sept. 7 Richmond No. 20 Denny Hamlin

Sept. 29 Dover No. 20 Joey Logano

*Also the Nationwide Series Race Sponsor (Events are subject to change.)

About Sport Clips:

Sport Clips is headquartered in Georgetown, Texas and was established in 1995 by founder and CEO Gordon Logan. The franchise ranks in Entrepreneur Magazine’s top 20 “fastest growing franchises” and in the top 100 in the “Franchise 500”, in the top 10 in Forbes’ “Top 20 Franchises To Start”, and in the top 50 in Dun & Bradstreet’s AllBusiness.com “2012 AllBusiness AllStars”. Sport Clips is the “Official Haircutter” of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and offers veterans preferential pricing on haircuts and franchises. Our “Help a Hero” program has donated more than three-quarters of a million dollars to help soldiers overseas and in hospitals call home through the VFW’s Operation Uplink. Sport Clips is a proud sponsor of Joe Gibbs Racing’s NASCAR drivers, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin, and holds partnerships with several NCAA programs, and teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Baseball (MLB), and National Hockey League (NHL). To learn about franchise opportunities click here, and for locations throughout the United States, visit SportClips.com. For media resources and additional information on Sport Clips, visit SportClipsMedia.com.

Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR)

Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is one of the premier organizations in NASCAR, currently fielding three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams, three NASCAR Nationwide Series teams and a driver development program. Its driver lineup consists of Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano in the Sprint Cup Series, while Brian Scott joins those three in the Nationwide Series along with Michael McDowell, Drew Herring, and Ryan Truex.. JGR also boasts Darrell Wallace, Jr. in its driver development program and he will compete in the 2012 K&N Pro Series East and the Nationwide Series. Based in Huntersville, N.C., and owned by Joe Gibbs – a three-time Super Bowl winner as head coach of the Washington Redskins and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame – JGR has competed in NASCAR since 1992, winning three Cup Series championships, and three Nationwide Series owner’s championship along with more than 150 NASCAR races, including three Brickyard 400s and the 1993 Daytona 500.

- Joe Gibbs Racing 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

Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR)

Lucas, who has spent the past two seasons as the race engineer for the No. 18 team, replaces Jason Ratcliff, who was named crew chief for JGR’s No. 20 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team last month. Lucas’ background in racing is deep with extensive experience as an engineer and mechanic in NASCAR as well as CART and IndyCar racing.

“Matt has done a great job for us the past two years and he will provide the team continuity going into next season,” said J.D. Gibbs, president of Joe Gibbs Racing. “He has a close relationship with Jason (Ratcliff) that will also be beneficial as he fills that role. We are fortunate to have people here at JGR like Matt that allow us the opportunity to promote from within. That team has been one of the best in the Nationwide Series over the past several years and we look forward to Matt continuing to build upon that success.”

Prior to joining Joe Gibbs Racing at the start of the 2010 season as race engineer for the No. 18 Nationwide Series team, Lucas spent four seasons with Roush Fenway Racing as a Nationwide Series engineer. As a member of the No. 60 team from 2006-2008, he would help lead Carl Edwards to the 2007 Nationwide Series Championship. In 2009 he worked with the No. 98 car driven by Paul Menard.

“I am excited about the opportunity to lead our No. 18 team going into next season,” said Lucas. “We have a tremendous group of guys on this team and throughout our Nationwide shop and we plan to continue to deliver the type of success our sponsors expect and deserve.”

Lucas spent five seasons as a race engineer with Penske Racing prior to joining Roush Fenway. In addition, he has extensive experience in racing as a mechanic having worked with A.J. Foyt Racing in IndyCar and Dan Gurney’s All-American Racers in CART.

He is a graduate of Cedarville College in Cedarville, Ohio and currently lives in Mooresville, N.C.

About Joe Gibbs Racing:

Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is one of the premier organizations in NASCAR, currently fielding three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams, three NASCAR Nationwide Series teams and a driver development program. Its driver lineup consists of Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano in the Sprint Cup Series, while Brian Scott joins those three in the Nationwide Series along with Michael McDowell and Mark Martin. JGR also boasts Darrell Wallace, Jr. in its driver development program and he will compete in the 2012 K&N Pro Series East and the Nationwide Series. Based in Huntersville, N.C., and owned by Joe Gibbs – a three-time Super Bowl winner as head coach of the Washington Redskins and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame – JGR has competed in NASCAR since 1992, winning three Cup Series championships, and three Nationwide Series owner’s championship along with more than 150 NASCAR races, including three Brickyard 400s and the 1993 Daytona 500.

- Joe Gibbs Racing Press Release

Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR)

“We’ve always hoped to have the opportunity for Mark to drive for us and to have him behind the wheel of our Interstate Batteries Toyota for the Nationwide race in Vegas is exciting,” said J.D. Gibbs, president of Joe Gibbs Racing. “He is a great example to all drivers of the dedication it takes to be successful and certainly we’re honored to have him part of our efforts in 2012.”

While Martin is only currently scheduled to race in Las Vegas for JGR, the team is still working on opportunities for the veteran driver to secure additional races.

Martin currently has 49 career victories in 235 Nationwide Series starts, Martin has amassed 111 top-five and 151 top-ten finishes, while leading 8,093 laps. His most recent victory came just last season when he piloted the No. 32 car to victory lane in Las Vegas. He had four total starts in 2011, with the one victory and three top-ten finishes.

“This is exciting,” said Martin. “No organization has been better in the Nationwide Series over the past three or four seasons and to have the chance to get behind the wheel of a Joe Gibbs Racing Nationwide car will be a thrill. Maybe I can pick up a few more races and try to catch Kyle to get my record back again.”

About Joe Gibbs Racing:

Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is one of the premier organizations in NASCAR, currently fielding three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams, three NASCAR Nationwide Series teams and a driver development program. Its driver lineup consists of Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano in the Sprint Cup Series, while Brian Scott joins those three in the Nationwide Series along with Michael McDowell, Drew Herring, and Ryan Truex.. JGR also boasts Darrell Wallace, Jr. in its driver development program and he will compete in the 2012 K&N Pro Series East and the Nationwide Series. Based in Huntersville, N.C., and owned by Joe Gibbs – a three-time Super Bowl winner as head coach of the Washington Redskins and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame – JGR has competed in NASCAR since 1992, winning three Cup Series championships, and three Nationwide Series owner’s championship along with more than 150 NASCAR races, including three Brickyard 400s and the 1993 Daytona 500.

- Joe Gibbs Racing Press Release

Venturini Motorsports Thumbnail

Ryan Reed, originally from Bakersfield, CA moved across the country by himself at the age of 17 to Mooresville, NC in order to surround himself with the racing community.

In February 2011, Ryan was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes as he was preparing his move to North Carolina but he didn’t let that slow him down. The aspiring young NASCAR driver completed his move to North Carolina to pursue his driving career professionally.

Ryan Reed

Focusing on his commitment and determination, Ryan has set records and compiled an impressive list of racing accomplishments. As an outspoken diabetic who puts his passion for racing into “Ryan’s Mission,” helps build awareness and support for people with diabetes around the world.

Since the age of 4, Ryan has moved up through the racing structure with high levels of success and 5 racing Championships in his career. Ryan has continued to show his ability and talent on and off the track.

In 2009, Ryan became the Legends Division Track Champion at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale (Irwindale, CA). Ryan backed up his Championship the following year at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale by becoming the 2010 Rookie-of-the-Year in the Super Late Model Division. He took home one win in the 2010 season becoming the youngest winner at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale in the Super Late Model Divison.

In 2011 season, Reed raced in many different series, racing surfaces, tracks, and cars, including the Pro Allstars Series, NASCAR Whelen All American and the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. The diversity of racing in the 2011 will better prepare Ryan for the variety of tracks that the ARCA Racing Series offers; including superspeedways, intermediate tracks, short tracks, and a road course.

Ryan Reed looks to achieve high levels of success with the Venturini Motorsports development platform to showcase his talent and put him in position to achieve his professional goals.

Venturini Motorsports, fielding cars in the ARCA Racing Series, is one of the premier NASCAR Driver Development Programs in the country. Since 2007, Venturini Motorsports has assisted in the career development of notable NASCAR drivers Joey Logano, Justin Allgaier, Scott Lagasse Jr., Brian Scott, John Wes Townley, Marc Davis, Steve Arpin and Mikey Kile.

As an up and coming driver, Ryan Reed looks to add to the storied history of successful drivers and team of Venturini Motorsports.

For more information on Ryan Reed visit www.RyanReedRacing.com

For more information on Venturini Motorsports visit www.VenturiniMotorsports.com

- Venturini Motorsports Press Release

No. 11 Shore Lodge Toyota Camry (Brian Scott) - Photo Credit: Chris Graythen / Getty Images for NASCAR

Miami 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway

November 19, 2011

Race Highlights:

· Brian Scott and the No. 11 Shore Lodge Toyota Team picked up the 11th starting position for the NASCAR Nationwide Series finale in Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday afternoon. The Shore Lodge Toyota was a little too free for Scott during qualifying so the team went into Saturday’s race with a plan to tighten the car at the first opportunity.

· The loose-handling issue on the Shore Lodge Toyota was a problem during the first several laps of the race but Scott struggled more with the restarts – an issue exacerbated by the loose-handling problem. As a result, Scott was back in the 13th position by the time the competition caution waved at lap 35.

· A super-fast pit stop by the No. 11 Shore Lodge crew placed Scott in the sixth position for the restart at lap 39. The loose-handling issue persisted during the next run however and Scott once again found himself losing a handful of positions. The team elected to make a track bar adjustment during the next stop at lap 90 while also changing four tires and adding fuel.

· Scott was once again running in the 13th position by the time the field reached the halfway point in the race so the team took another swing at the adjustments on the car during a stop under caution at lap 131. Scott restarted the race from the 10th position and from that point on, would never drop further than the 11th position.

· A series of cautions would come out during the final 25 laps of the race. The Shore Lodge Toyota team made its final stop of the race during the seventh caution at lap 175. Scott restarted the race from the 10th position. As the laps wound down, Scott battled his way to the ninth position where he was running when the checkered flag finally waved.

· Scott’s Joe Gibbs Racing Teammates Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano finished the race in the fifth and 10th positions, respectively.

· The team’s ninth-place finish on Saturday evening moved Scott back up to eighth place in the final 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Series driver point standings. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., finished second in Saturday’s race and captured the 2011 Nationwide Series driver championship.

Brian Scott - Photo Credit: Rainier Ehrhardt / Getty Images for NASCAR

“I’ll take a top 10 to end the year. We fought hard ever since Daytona. We didn’t have the performance or the results that we wanted until about the middle of the year. This team – we flipped the switch. Kevin (Kidd, crew chief) and I really got on the same page and we started having good runs. We were a pretty good team the second half of the year. Definitely performed the last quarter of the year with some top-five finishes, and got a pole at Chicago. We’re going to focus really on the last part of the year and continue to build and do the things that we started doing at the middle of the year that will make us better to come back in 2012 and be even stronger.

I don’t see any reason why this team can’t make the progress through the off-season and come back with the yellow and black Dollar General car and have a team good enough to run for the championship. I feel like Kevin Kidd (crew chief) and I have a relationship that is on really good terms. We’re really communicating well. We’re going to continue to work through the off-season just as hard – if not harder – than we worked all year. Come back and be a really strong team.”

- Joe Gibbs Racing Press Release

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

The Race Recap: Logano and the GameStop team got limited practice Friday due to rain but we’re still able to qualify ninth Saturday afternoon in the Gamestop/PDP/Afterglow Toyota. When the green flag flew on the final NASCAR Nationwide Series event of the season, Logano began a slow and steady charge to the front, picking off cars one at a time despite multiple early cautions, settling into a nice rhythm riding around sixth place. Following the first round of pit stops it quickly became apparent that Logano’s No. 20 Toyota was too loose and the team would have to work on the handling, especially the few laps coming after restarts.

As the car continued to free up, Logano and Crew Chief Adam Stevens started making a plan on how to tighten the car up without affecting Logano’s middle. Logano hit pit road under green just prior to halfway for his second stop when Stevens noticed a car spinning on the front stretch. A great pit call by Stevens had Logano continue on through the pits without stopping, finding him one of just 10 cars still on the lead lap. When he came back in to pit under caution Stevens called for “wholesale” changes including adding a spring rubber and making a shock adjustment among other changes.

For the remainder of the event, Logano continued to struggle on restarts, often losing several spots before the No. 20 Toyota came around. Logano found himself seventh late in the going and catching fifth and sixth, but several late-race cautions played against the GameStop team. Logano spent the remainder of the event just trying to hold on, eventually coming home 10th as the checkers flew to end the 200-lap event and the 2011 Nationwide Series season.

Joey Logano - Photo Credit: John Harrelson / Getty Images for NASCAR

The guys up front have clean air and you are stuck in dirty air and by the time the car comes around, you are already a few seconds behind and that’s tough to make up even when you are faster. I felt like we were on par with those front guys 10 or 15 laps into the run, but with all of the restarts that we had tonight, it just bit us. We fell back and fell back and just couldn’t make up the ground. I’m happy we were able to finish 10th, but that isn’t where we wanted to be or where we should be.

“All in all, it was a pretty good season. There were a few races that I feel like we really should have won and left something on the table. We were able to win at Daytona which was huge for me and for the team. It still stands as probably the biggest win of my career. And we were in contention for a lot of races. Two races that I’ll think about for sure was the first Dover race where we got together with Carl (Edwards) coming to the white flag while racing for the lead and ended up wrecked on the front stretch; and the Bristol night race, where we ran Kyle (Busch) down late in the race from a couple of seconds back and had that photo finish for the win. It was a blast to get to work with Adam (Stevens) all season long and watch him and this No. 20 team mature.

All but one of those guys was new to the team this year, so it was a growing year for all of us. It was also a lot of fun to work with Jason (Ratcliff) and the No. 18 guys for a couple of races. The more you work with people, the more you can take away from it all. And of course, it was great to work with GameStop again. They are just an awesome sponsor and they’ve been there from the start of my Nationwide Series career. You don’t see that very often these days, so to have a sponsor there that keeps coming back and that has such a great relationship with a driver and team is pretty cool. I look forward to working with them well into the future and seeing more and more of their cool paint schemes. Congrats to Ricky Stenhouse for winning the Nationwide Series Championship. It’s been cool to get to know him a little more this year and he’s well deserving of the title, especially after the year he had last year. All-in-all, it was a good year and hopefully next year will be even better.”

- Joe Gibbs Racing Press Release

Toyota Motorsports Logo

Homestead-Miami Speedway – November 19, 2011

- Denny Hamlin (fifth) was the highest finishing Toyota driver in Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

- Camry drivers Brian Scott (ninth) and Joey Logano (10th) also earned top-10 finishes in the 200-lap event.

- Other Toyota drivers in the field included Joe Nemechek (16th), Michael Annett (19th), Kevin Conway (26th), Kenny Wallace (33rd) and Steve Wallace (34th).

- Four Camry drivers finished among the top-10 in the unofficial NNS driver point standings — K. Wallace (seventh), Scott (eighth), Annett (ninth), and S. Wallace (10th).

- Camry drivers earned 10 wins and five pole positions during the 2011 season. Toyota has recorded 64 victories and 54 poles since joining the series in 2007.

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 18 Z-Line Designs Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 5th

How was your race?

“We struggled with our race car all day long and we had very limited practice time with the rain. Just didn’t have it today. It looked like all of the Roush cars were extremely strong. We just didn’t have the car that could hang with them in the end.”

How happy were you with your pit crew in tonight’s race?

“Yeah, this pit crew gave us a shot at it, no doubt about it. They were just an amazing pit crew. When you can gain us three spots and a clutch position like that, they deserve a lot of credit. They’re the ones who gave us a shot at it anyway.”

How are you feeling going into the Sprint Cup race on Sunday after two races so far this weekend?

“Good. I feel like we’re making strides. We just have got to keep digging. We’re a little off right now. As an organization I feel like we need to be better. Obviously, we’ve got a ways to go, but just have to thank everyone from Z- Line Designs for putting me in the car and obviously this whole 18 team for putting me in. Jim and Monica (Sexton, Z- Line Design owners) have done a lot for this program. FedEx, Toyota, Coca-Cola, Gillette and Wiley X. Couldn’t do it without everyone.”

Did you think you had a chance to beat the 60 car tonight to give Joe Gibbs Racing the owner’s championship?

“Carl (Edwards) had an extremely strong car. It looked like all of their cars were really good today. We just struggled with our Z-Line Designs Toyota. We felt like for the most part we had a fifth to seventh-place car for most of the day. It’s kind of where we ended up. The pit crew did an amazing job at least giving me a shot at it there at the end. We just couldn’t hang on. We just didn’t have the car for it today.”

Were you unhappy with the way your car handled during the race?

“I wish we had some more practice time. We were banking on that second practice. We just didn’t get enough track time with this car this weekend. We struggled. We struggled all day and just could not get the speed out of it that we needed. We ended up fifth.”

BRIAN SCOTT, No. 11 Shore Lodge Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 9th

Are you happy finishing the year with a top-10?

“I’ll take a top-10 to end the year. We fought hard ever since Daytona. We didn’t have the performance or the results that we wanted until about the middle of the year. This team — we flipped the switch. Kevin (Kidd, crew chief) and I really got on the same page and we started having good runs. We were a pretty good team the second half of the year. Definitely performed the last quarter of the year with some top-five finishes, and got a pole at Chicago. We’re going to focus really on the last part of the year and continue to build and do the things that we started doing at the middle of the year that will make us better to come back in 2012 and be even stronger.

I don’t see any reason why this team can’t make the progress through the off-season and come back with the yellow and black Dollar General car and have a team good enough to run for the championship. I feel like Kevin Kidd (crew chief) and I have a relationship that is on really good terms. We’re really communicating well. We’re going to continue to work through the off-season just as hard — if not harder — than we worked all year. Come back and be a really strong team.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 20 GameStop Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 10th

JOE NEMECHEK, No. 97 AM / FM Energy Pellet & Wood Stoves Toyota Camry, NEMCO Motorsports

Finishing Position: 16th

MICHAEL ANNETT, No. 62 Pilot Flying J Toyota Camry, Rusty Wallace Racing

Finishing Position: 19th

How would you look back at the 2011 season?

“Someone asked me the grade that I’d give this season — and I’d probably say a C+ — just because we started off so slow and behind. We made up a lot of ground throughout the summer and fell back behind it, and then made more gains. We know there are places we can make a lot of improvement in our program — mile-and-a-half tracks especially. So, that’s something we’re really going to work on in the off-season and come back on board with Rusty Wallace Racing and the No. 62. Hopefully, some more partners will come on board and help Steven’s (Wallace) car a little bit and that way can have a strong two car effort after the off-season.”

KEVIN CONWAY, No. 87 Extenze Toyota Camry, NEMCO Motorsports

Finishing Position: 25th

KENNY WALLACE, No. 09 Federated Auto Parts Toyota Camry, RAB Racing with Brack Maggard

Finishing Position: 33rd

STEVE WALLACE, No. 66 5-Hour Energy Toyota Camry, Rusty Wallace Racing

Finishing Position: 34th

- Toyota Motorsports Press Release