Rockingham Speedway Logo

Since Andy Hillenburg, ARCA RE/MAX Series champion in 1995, reopened “The Rock” last year, he has spent countless hours and tireless nights trying to bring back Rockingham Speedway, the track that the fans of North Carolina grew up with and love.

With almost two years in the books, he’s getting closer to making that dream a reality.

A lot is on tap for that wild weekend in October and even with Halloween just a few short weeks following ARCA’s season finale and USAR’s third of four championship events – the track is bound to see some spooktacular action.

As far as the storylines are considered, if you dig deep – there is more then plenty to talk about.

Each series has a championship on the line.

In the ARCA RE/MAX Series it’s been the Parker Klingerman vs. Justin Lofton show with each of the drivers swapping victory after victory during the course of the 2009 season. Other than wins by James Buescher, Patrick Sheltra, Patrick Long and Spring Rockingham winner Sean Caisse, it’s been the Eddie Sharp Racing or Cunningham Motorsports entries lighting them up before heading to victory lane.

Should that trend not continue heading into Rockingham – odds are that someone else out of the ARCA crop could pop into victory lane in the American 200. Some obvious choices include; nine-time ARCA RE/MAX Series champion Frank Kimmel, newcomer Joey Coulter, Rockingham favorite Bryan Silas; Eddie Sharp Racing rookie Craig Goess Jr, Venturini Motorsports new pilot Steve Arpin or could Daytona Beach, Florida native Alli Owens make history and become the first woman in the history of ARCA to win an event?

How about the other championship race? In the point standings, fifth through eighth is extremely tight; a championship race in itself. Rockingham has been known time and time again to cause a ruckus when you least expect it.

With every ARCA RE/MAX Series event comes a few surprises too. Don’t be surprised to see some NASCAR Sprint Cup Series or NASCAR Nationwide Series drivers piled into the mix. Kasey Kahne’s driver, Brad Sweet is expected to drive the No. 90 Great Clips Toyota.

Long-time ARCA competitor Ken Schrader will look for redemption after running out of fuel two laps from the finish in May. Another female driver is expected to be in the lineup and it’s not Gabi DiCarlo – the entry list will grow and grow as the time nears.

The race is also a perfect venue for prospective drivers to get ahead of their game for the 2010 season.

Before the ARCA RE/MAX Series takes center stage on Sunday, October 11, the stars and cars of the USAR Pro Cup Series will take the presence of the one-mile track on Saturday, October 10 setting up what is expected to be one of their finest races of the year.

Long-time racer Clay Rogers is leading the pursuit in the USAR championship chase but Winston Salem, North Carolina resident Brandon Ward is trying to reel in the part-time ARCA RE/MAX Series driver.

Drew Herring made his ARCA debut at Rockingham in April but focused on a full season of USAR competition which has locked him third in the championship race.

Newcomer’s J.P. Morgan and Lucas Ransone are also going to try and make some noise of their own in the Aaron’s 100.

Series veterans Caleb Holman, Jeff Agnew, Matt Lofton, Bobby Gill and Billy Bigley Jr. are also expected to mix up the heat.

Rockingham could be a very busy weekend for Brett Butler. The recently married driver has had a busy 2009 season between racing a jammed packed USAR schedule, a few NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races not to mention piloting the No. 1 LoanMax Ford Fusion for Andy Belmont Racing in the ARCA RE/MAX Series. Rumor on the street is that the Georgia native will be pulling double-duty between USAR and ARCA.

Other drivers expected to contend at Rockingham include: Derek Kale, A.J. Frank, Michael Ritch, Benny Gordon and Kyle Fowler.

Some of the untold and unknown stories in the ARCA RE/MAX Series and USAR Pro Cup Series are so much alike. To the driving all night with no sleep and a mattress in the back of the van – how about working a full-time job then piling up with your fellow crew members and energy drinks to get that rush? This is racing – at its finest.

All the roads whether they come from North, South, West or East lead to Rockingham Speedway and I can’t imagine it getting much better than this.

No. 09 Zaxbys Ford Fusion

Event: Dollar General 300 presented by Coca-Cola

Date/Time: Friday, July 10th/8:00 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN, 8:00 p.m. ET

Radio: MRN and Sirius, 8:00 p.m. ET

Distance: 200 Laps/300 Miles

Track: 1.5-mile Tri-oval

2008 Winner: Kyle Busch

Fast & Fun Facts:

· John Wes Townley led his very first lap of NASCAR Nationwide Series competition on lap 13 of the Subway Jalapeno 250 at Daytona International Speedway last Friday night.

· Lap 100 of the Dollar General 300 this weekend will officially mark the half-way segment of the 35 race schedule in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

John Wes Townley at Chicagoland: Townley has one previous start at Chicagoland Speedway in the 2008 ARCA RE/MAX Series Chicagoland ARCA 200; starting 5th.

RAB Racing at Chicagoland: In just four starts at the 1.5-mile tri-oval, RAB Racing has one top-five finish (2nd, Justin Marks, 2007); an average starting position of 7.25 and an average finish of 27.75.

This Week’s No. 09 Zaxby’s Ford: Townley will pilot chassis No. 032 in this weekend’s Dollar General 300 at Chicagoland Speedway. This is the same chassis that Townley steered to an 18th place finish at Nashville Superspeedway in April and was last seen at Nashville Superspeedway in June.

After 17: After 17 of the scheduled 35 events on the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule, Townley has three top-20 and five top-25 finishes. The 19-year-old rookie has an average starting position of 25.57 an average finish of 29.64 and has completed 71.77% of all laps attempted (1943 out of 2707).

Last Time Around-Daytona: After a promising start to the weekend including a solid starting position, John Wes Townley and the Zaxby’s Racing team lead their first lap of NNS competition on lap 13 but electrical problems on the No. 09 machine resulted in a 36th-place finish, 21 laps down to race winner Clint Bowyer in the Subway Jalapeno 250.

Points Check: Following the NNS event at Daytona Int’l Speedway John Wes Townley remains 29th in the 2009 driver point standings with 942 points. Owner, Jay Robinson remains 35th in the 2009 owner point standings with 1011 points; 322 markers outside the top-30 and therefore required to qualify in the field on time at Chicagoland Speedway.

Rookie Race: Townley remains 6th in the 2009 Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings with 86 points.

News from the ARCA RE/MAX Series Garage: RAB Racing announced today that Tom Hessert III will pilot the No. 09 Cherry Hill Classic Cars Ford Fusion for the remainder of the 2009 ARCA RE/MAX Series season. Hessert will be driving for the seasoned ARCA RE/MAX Series team RAB Racing with Brack Maggard, beginning at Iowa Speedway on July 11th.

“I am very excited about the opportunity to drive for RAB Racing,” stated Hessert. “The reputation and dedication to excellence that this team has is something that I look forward to becoming a part of. Just spending some time at the shop over the last two weeks and watching the team prepare the cars that I’m going to drive makes me very confident before I even hit the track.”

Hessert, a veteran of the USAR Racing Series, USAC Sprints and USAC Midgets completed his first full season of ARCA RE/MAX Series racing in 2008; finishing eighth in the overall driver point standings. The 23-year-old Cherry Hill, NJ native has competed in each of the first nine ARCA RE/MAX Series events of 2009 and currently sits ninth in the driver point standings with one top-5 and three top-10 finishes.

A Proven Champion: David Green, the 1994 NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion has been working with John Wes since Dover (May) as his driver coach and spotter. Green has worked with other rookie drivers such as Stephen Leicht and Landon Cassill.

Raybestos Rookie Class Appearance: John Wes Townley will take part in a go-kart race between Rusty Wallace and/or Dale Jarrett and other members of the 2009 Raybestos Rookie class on Wednesday, July 8th at 6:00 p.m. CT. The event will be held at the Addison, IL location of Chicago Indoor Racing.

We’re Guessing He Signs His Name Fast Too: Townley will also take part in an autograph session scheduled from 9:00-10:00 p.m. CT in conjunction with Race Fan Rally on Wednesday night, July 8th. For more information on Race Fan Rally please visit www. Racefanrally.com.

And The Voting Begins: You can log onto www.nascar.com and vote for your favorite NASCAR Nationwide Series driver starting today. Only one vote per day but you are encouraged to vote throughout the remainder of the season. Results of the voting will be announced at the awards banquet at the end of the year.

Birthday Wishes: The No. 09 Zaxby’s Racing team is celebrating four birthdays this week. V.P of Business Operations, Jacquelyn Briscoe will be celebrating her 29th birthday on Tuesday, July 7th. Tire specialist Mark Norman will celebrate his 45th birthday on Wednesday, July 8th. Mechanic and rear tire carrier, Brett Sumpter will celebrate his 24th birthday Friday, July 10th and crew chief Brad Parrott will celebrate his 42nd birthday on Monday, July 13th.

John Wes Townley

Do you look at Chicagoland as a cookie-cutter race track or do you think it has its own personality?

“I think every track has its own personality and identity. When you think cookie cutter track you usually think of Chicago, Kansas or Las Vegas but all the mile-and-a-half tracks have their own characteristics. You may have the same set-ups but you don’t drive them the same. For example Chicago has a bump in the middle of turns one and two.”

“The good thing is I have experience qualifying at Chicago and with the entry list in the upwards of 50 cars, it will be very beneficial come Friday when we qualify.”

- RAB Racing with Brack Maggard Press Release

RAB Racing with Brack Maggard Logo

“I am very excited about the opportunity to drive for RAB Racing,” stated Hessert. “The reputation and dedication to excellence that this team has is something that I look forward to becoming a part of. Just spending some time at the shop over the last two weeks and watching the team prepare the cars that I’m going to drive makes me very confident before I even hit the track.”

Hessert, a veteran of the USAR Racing Series, USAC Sprints and USAC Midgets completed his first full season of ARCA RE/MAX Series racing in 2008; finishing eighth in the overall driver point standings. The 23-year-old Cherry Hill, NJ native has competed in each of the first nine ARCA RE/MAX Series events of 2009 and currently sits ninth in the driver point standings with one top-5 and three top-10 finishes.

“Currently I sit 9th in the series standings, 495 points outside the lead but it is not impossible,” continued Hessert. “We are going to fight hard to make up as much ground as we can. It is a realistic goal to get back into the top five before the end of the season, and my main focus will be on winning a race or two before the end of the 09’ season.”

Before heading to the Hawkeye State for the Prairie Meadows 200, Hessert and his No. 09 team are taking part in the open ARCA test at Kentucky Speedway today in preparation for the July 18th Click It Or Ticket Buckle-Up Kentucky 150.

“I feel like this Kentucky test is a great opportunity for the program to show how competitive we can be,” said Tom. As a team we are looking for competitive finishes right out of the box.”

On track activity at Kentucky Speedway is scheduled from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. local time today.

The Prairie Meadows 200 from Iowa Speedway is the 10th of 21 events on the 2009 ARCA RE/MAX Series schedule. Hessert finished 11th at the .875-mile oval in 2008.

For more information on RAB Racing please visit: www.teamrab.com

For more information on Tom Hessert please visit: www.tomhessert.com

For more information on Cherry Hill Classic Cars please visit: www.cherryhillclassiccars.com

- RAB Racing Press Release