Tuesday

Coleman Pressley to make R3 Motorsports debut at Bristol Motor Speedway

“Third generation NASCAR driver to wheel No. 23 Chevrolet with purpose”

China Grove, N.C. (March 16, 2010) – If a driver was able to pick one track where he might NOT want to make a debut with his new team, Bristol Motor Speedway might be at the top of the list.

But, when it comes to 21-year old Coleman Pressley, he simply says “bring it on.”

Pressley, a third-generation NASCAR driver, has made two starts at the concrete jungle of BMS. Last year, he qualified fourth in his family-owned UARA Late Model. And, he also made one NASCAR Nationwide Series start at the .533-mile, high-banked oval in 2009 for another team and was forced to exit the race early.

The difference this time is that Pressley will be looking to go the distance in the No. 23 Chevrolet of R3 Motorsports. Unsponsored and undaunted, the son of former Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series driver Robert Pressley, and grandson of multi-time short track champion Bob Pressley, this Pressley is wide eyed with anticipation.

Speaking of Robert, he’ll be on the spotter’s stand watching his son through all 250 laps of Saturday’s action-packed race. And, adding to the mix is Coleman’s crew chief, Steve Plattenberger, who was named to the position following the Las Vegas race. This won’t be the first time Plattenberger has called the shots for a Pressley. He did it for Robert back in the ST Motorsports days of his Nationwide Series career.

Chassis Info: The team will be utilizing Chassis No. 37, which was used last year at BMS, Memphis Motorsports Park and O’Reilly Raceway Park.

Fast Facts: This will be Pressley’s sixth career NASCAR Nationwide Series start. His best qualifying effort was 13th at Richmond last fall. Pressley is coming off a second-place finish last Sunday at Hickory Motor (NC) Speedway in the UARA Series.

Come meet Coleman: He will join other NASCAR Nationwide Series drivers at the Nationwide Souvenir hauler located in the North lot by the Hospitality Village on Friday, March 19 from 7 to 8 p.m.

Twitter Goal for Coleman: As he gets ready for his first NNS race of 2010, the driver has one goal he’d like to achieve before taking to the track. He wants to have 500 followers on his @colemanpressley twitter account before the first practice at 1:40 p.m. on Friday.

Testing, one-two-three, testing: To prepare for this weekend’s race at BMS, Plattenberger and the team went to Motor Mile (Va.) Speedway on Monday to test. According to all accounts from crew chief, driver and team – all went well.

Pepsi, Please: Pepsi has been named the “Official beverage company of R3 Motorsports.” The team will carry their fine line of products to the track each week, and have them available for the team at the R3 Motorsports shop in China Grove, N.C.

Coleman Pressley, a racing writer: You can follow along with the thoughts of the third-generation NASCAR driver as he does a daily diary on www.NNSRacing.com during the race weekend.

Coleman Pressley quotes

Talk about making your first start with R3 and Steve Plattenberger being on the pit box: “This is a great opportunity and I’m thankful to Mr. Richardson (team owner) and everyone there for making this happen. I’ve been by the shop a few times and tested with them twice now, and it’s a real good fit for me with their equipment and people. I sat on the pit box and listened to Steve talk to my dad on the radio when he was racing. Now, I’m going to be the one sitting in the race car with my dad listening. That’s pretty cool all in itself, I think.”

Bristol doesn’t scare you in regards to it being your first start with the team: “Nope, I’ve raced there before in my Late Model and felt real comfortable making laps there. I understand it’s a different story with a Nationwide car and the level of talent is a little taller. But, I’m just looking forward to making laps, earning respect from my fellow drivers and learning as much as possible. The two test sessions with R3 allowed me to get real comfortable with Steve and all the guys. I just hope I can do my part on the track so we can get a good finish.”

Speaking of finishes, what are you hoping for at BMS on Saturday: “Seriously, I’d like to get a top-20 finish out of this deal on Saturday. I think that would be pretty good.”

- R3 Motorsports Press Release