MWR NEWS

Trevor Bayne finishes 6th in NNS race at Dover

2010-09-25T18:24:00.000-04:00

Diamond-Waltrip Racing driver Trevor Bayne finished sixth Saturday in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Dover International Speedway. Bayne overcame tire issues early in the event and fell from seventh to 15th before rallying to finish sixth. The sixth-place finish is his 10th top-10 in 2010. The NASCAR Nationwide Series travels to Kansas next Saturday.

TREVOR BAYNE, No. 99 OUT! Pet Care Toyota
• Bayne started eighth and finished sixth
• Fell from seventh to 15th under caution on lap 70 when he experienced a tire issue
• Worked his way back to sixth by a caution on lap 135
• Never fell outside of the top-15 and remained on the lead lap the entire race
• Recorded his tenth top-10 of the season.

NNS Racing Results

• Kyle Busch won the Dover 200 - his 11th race of the NNS season setting a new single season record
• Sam Ard previously held the record with 10 NNS wins in 1983
• Busch recorded his third victory and eighth top-10 finish in 13 races at Dover International Speedway
• Joey Logano, Carl Edwards, Reed Sorenson and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top-five
• Series point leader Brad Keselowski finished 17th and holds a 320 point lead over Carl Edwards
• The race featured three lead changes among three drivers.
• The race was slowed by four cautions for a total of 19 laps.

BAYNE QUOTE: “We had a really good OUT! Pet Care Toyota today. We got behind a little bit today with a tire issue and had to come down pit road and lost some spots about halfway through, but we raced hard to get back towards the front. It’s tough to make up track position when you only have a couple cautions. I’m really proud of the whole No. 99 team today for working hard to get us back up there. Our pit stops were great all day and that definitely helped.”

Ryan Truex Wins Second Consecutive K&N Pro Series East Championship: Finishes Third at Monster Mile

2010-09-24T19:14:00.001-04:00

Youth Movement On The Monster Mile

Moffitt wins at Dover; Truex wraps up 2nd straight K&N East title

By Jason Christley, NASCAR

September 24, 2010 - 6:00pm

DOVER, Del. -- It was a pair of teenagers who conquered the "Monster Mile" like veterans Friday.

Eighteen-year-old Brett Moffitt picked up his second NASCAR K&N Pro Series East win in the season finale Friday in the Sunoco 150 at Dover International Speedway. And Ryan Truex, 18, clinched his second straight series championship simply by taking the green-flag and capped off his year with a third-place finish.

Max Gresham won the 21 Means 21 Pole Award presented by Coors Light earlier in the day and was leading the race on the first green-white-checkered attempt. However, he brought out the caution with major smoke coming out from underneath the car. That brought a second green-white-checkered finish and Moffitt pulled away from second-place finisher Corey LaJoie and Truex for the win.

Eddie MacDonald and Dale Quarterley rounded out the top 10.

IZOD IndyCar Series driver Danica Patrick finished sixth in her series debut. Brandon Ward, Sergio Pena, Kevin Swindell and DJ Shaw completed the top 10.

The Sunoco 150 will air on SPEED on Thursday, Oct. 7 at 6 p.m. ET.

Michael Waltrip Racing - Dover International Speedway 2 Qualifying Report

2010-09-24T16:25:00.000-04:00

Martin Truex Jr. — No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota — qualified fourth.
David Reutimann¬—No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota — qualified 18th.

Friday Recap

• Jimmie Johnson won his second Coors Light Pole Award of 2010 with a time of 23.116 sec/155.736 mph
• Non-Chase drivers AJ Allmendinger and Mark Martin rounded out top three.
• Point leader Denny Hamlin will start fifth
• JTG-Daugherty’s Marcos Ambrose will start 24th
• Sunday’s race begins at 1:00 p.m. (Eastern) on ESPN-TV, MRN Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio channel 128.

MARTIN TRUEX JR. — “It was a decent lap. You can always do better. You can always find more wrong with your lap versus what you did right. Today it’s been a decent practice day. Our last run ended up being our best we had been all day. It wasn’t quite good enough and we needed to make a few more changes. It was a good pick up for us. That might end up being one of the biggest pickups of the day when considering making adjustments and going back out running. All and all, it was a good pick up for us. It was perfect and we’ll still try and make it better yet. It was a good lap for the NAPA Toyota. It’s been awhile since I’ve been in victory lane, but the last time was here. I love coming up here to Dover. It’s been a great week we had two Martin Truex Jr. Foundation events that included my third annual golf tournament. It’s been a really good week and I would like to top it off with a win.”

DAVID REUTIMANN — "We really missed it today. We kept tightening up the Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota and when I went out to qualify it felt like it was plowing in the center. We just went too far in trying to tighten it up. It's disappointing - we normally qualify pretty well here and we ran well here in the spring. We'll just keep working on it tomorrow and try to get it better before the race on Sunday."

Ryan Truex Dover Preview

2010-09-22T15:09:00.000-04:00

CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 00 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota driver Ryan Truex earns his second consecutive K&N Pro Series East championship Friday when he starts the series finale at Dover International Speedway. The 18-year-old Mayetta, N.J. native won his second race in 2010 last weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway building a 118-point lead over the second-place driver. The lead guarantees Truex the title if he starts Friday’s race.

RYAN TRUEX QUOTES

Racing at Dover International Speedway: "Dover is a fun track to race at. You can go high in one and two and make a run on people, but it is also pretty strenuous with the speeds. You really have to be aggressive to do well. We went there last year and had a top-ten run, but this year we’re looking to put it all on the line for the win. I’ve had a neat opportunity to race so close to my hometown for the last two races of the season. I want to go out there and get another win for MWR. They’ve worked really hard for this and another trip to victory lane would be a good end to our East Series season.”

Clinching the East Series Championship: "Winning the championship was our season goal, and I’m lucky to have the opportunity to win it in front of my friends and family. I’m looking forward to going into Dover and being able to go out and win and not have to worry about points. It will most likely be my last race in the East Series so we’re really going to lay it on the line and try to get the win”

Looking back on the 2010 East Series Season: “It was a great year and everyone worked hard and gave me awesome race cars every week. We were always in contention for wins and were consistent and that is what it takes to win championships. I’m proud of my guys and everyone at MWR and very thankful to be where I’m at. Hopefully we can move on to bigger and better things.”

NOTES

• Only six drivers have won back-to-back East Series titles—none as a teenager.

• Dover International Speedway is 128 miles from Truex’s hometown of Mayetta, N.J.

• Truex owns five career East Series victories.

• Veteran Mike Greci, who once served as Martin Truex’s crew chief, has been working with Truex throughout his career in the East Series beginning in 2008.

• Truex is the first driver to earn a championship for Michael Waltrip Racing when he won the K&N Pro Series East Championship in 2009.

• Truex is the third member of his family to win in the K&N Pro Series East. His father, Martin Truex Sr. won at New Hampshire in 1994 and his brother NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver, Martin Truex Jr. won five times.

Trevor Bayne Dover Preview

2010-09-22T14:57:00.000-04:00

CORNELIUS, N.C. — Every time Trevor Bayne climbs into the No. 99 OUT! Pet Care Toyota he wonders if this will be the weekend he notches his first NASCAR Nationwide Series victory. He’s been getting closer and closer. The 19-year-old, Knoxville, Tenn., finished a career-best third in the series’ most recent race in Richmond. He’s scored the fifth most points of any driver and most points of a Nationwide Series only driver in the last 10 races. This weekend the Diamond-Waltrip Racing driver races at Dover International Speedway. Bayne is seventh in the standings with only eight races left in the 2010 season.

TREVOR BAYNE QUOTES

SEVENTH PLACE IN STANDINGS: “It’s cool to work our way up to seventh after the rough start we had in February. We’ve had a lot of ups and downs. We started the season off with a 41st-place finish at Daytona and just struggled until about May. Before that we struggled to get the finishes we deserved. Now, I think we’ve figured out how to run in the top five each week and finish. Our next step is to figure out that little bit extra to win a race. Hopefully, we’ll do that this weekend in Dover and get us closer to the top five in the standings.”

BAYNE ON DOVER: “I like racing at Dover a lot. I don’t have a ton of experience there but I do have some track time. I finished 29th there in May and I ran an East race there once. For us to be successful this weekend we have to be able to get to the throttle hard and fast up off the corners. I remember in the East Series cars we were almost wide open during qualifying and the Nationwide cars aren’t that far off. One thing Martin (Truex Jr.) told me was to make sure you get to the throttle wide open. If you have to get to the gas easy and wait on the car a little off the corners you will get your butt kicked at Dover.”

NOTES OF INTEREST

• Bayne will participate in an autograph session on Saturday from 8:30-9:30 a.m. at the Dover International Speedway FanZone.

• Gary and Blake Bechtel along with Michael Waltrip Racing own Diamond-Waltrip Racing that fields Toyota Camrys out of the MWR shop in Cornelius, N.C. The Bechtels have owned cars in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series since 1990. The Morgan Hill, California residents’ teams have visited victory lane 10 times in the Nationwide Series.

• Bayne owns only one Nationwide Series start on the one-mile concrete oval in Dover. On May 15, he started 23rd and raced well before a late race incident left him with a 29th-place finish. Bayne started third and finished 21st in the Sept. 19, 2008 NASCAR K&N Pro Cup East Series race at Dover.

• Bayne is the second highest series-only regular in the driver point standings.

• Only Bayne, Michael Waltrip, Jeff Gordon, and Sam Ard have notched three consecutive Nationwide poles. Bayne won poles at St. Louis, Indianapolis and Iowa in July.

• Bayne owns 42 NNS starts. He has four poles (Indianapolis –2009, 2010, Gateway—2010 and Iowa 2010), five top-fives and 10 top-10s and has led 129 laps. His best finish (third) came at Gateway International Raceway on July 17 and at Richmond International Raceway on September 10.

MW & The Inside NASCAR Gang Welcome Rick Hendrick

2010-09-22T14:22:00.000-04:00

Tonight (Wednesday) at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME®

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Sept. 22, 2010) – Just days after Richard Childress revealed on Inside NASCAR that he told his team that a Richard Childress Racing car should be the one to bring down four-time champion Jimmie Johnson, RCR driver Clint Bowyer scored the first victory of the Chase and his first win in 88 races at Loudon. This week, Rick Hendrick joins the Inside NASCAR panel to discuss his feelings on this season’s championship.

On the heels of Sunday’s Manning Bowl, Inside NASCAR called on some of the big name motorsports brothers for some insight into the Chase. Kurt Busch stopped in to talk about his season, last week’s race and the career of his younger brother Kyle Busch, while Darrell Waltrip dropped by to the set to battle his brother Michael Waltrip in this week’s Hot Laps segment.

In addition to exclusive highlights, expert analysis and behind-the-wheel action from Sunday’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the Inside NASCAR cast will look ahead to the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway. Below are some notable quotes.

Episode 29 premieres Tonight: Wednesday, September 22, at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME.

With so much chatter about this season’s aggressive driving, Hendrick proclaimed, “I predict the double file restarts are going to decide the championship. I believe in the next nine races we will have probably 30 attempts within the 75-laps-to-go window where it’s going to be double file restarts. And it’s going to be whoever can escape these next 30 opportunities without having a problem.” He elaborated, “It’s like a Saturday night shootout every time they have a restart.”

In reaction to the race at Loudon, Busch offered, “It was like I was on ice. I almost got into [Jeff] Burton and I ended up getting into [Joey] Logano. I feel bad about it.” He continued, “I think the intensity last week was just different than any other year that I’ve been in it to start it off. Every which way you looked there was action going on.”

When discussing this year’s Chase, Randy Pemberton asserted, “I don’t think we’ve seen more non-Chase guys capable of running upfront than we have right here in 2010.”

Inside NASCAR is hosted by Chris Myers with analysts Brad Daugherty, Pemberton and Waltrip. Inside NASCAR is produced in conjunction with the NASCAR Media Group. New episodes will air on SHOWTIME Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT for 38 weeks corresponding with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. The co-executive producers are Ken Hershman, Executive Vice President and General Manager of SHOWTIME Sports and Jay Abraham, Chief Operating Officer, NASCAR Media Group. The executive in charge of production is Jim Jorden with Mike Wells acting as consulting director.

For additional bonus content including behind-the-scenes video and photos visit the SHOWTIME Sports website at http://www.sho.com/sports.

David Reutimann - Sprint Cup Series Preview - Dover International Speedway

2010-09-21T10:18:00.001-04:00

CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine driver David Reutimann knows that it’s not where you start, but where you finish that matters most in NASCAR Sprint Cup racing. The 40-year-old, Zephyrhills, Fla. native’s most recent pole came at Dover International Speedway in May 2009 and he owns two top-five starts in the last three races at the Monster Mile. Reutimann has only nine races left this season to extend his pole streak to three consecutive seasons. This weekend’s race at Dover could serve as Reutimann’s best pole opportunity as well as second trip to victory lane in 2010. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver finished fifth on the concrete high banks in May posting 15 of the fastest laps in the 400 lap race.

REUTIMANN QUOTES

WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF QUALIFYING: “It’s got to the point that the racing is so competitive, it’s so difficult to pass and there are so many good cars that if you start up front it gives you a little bit of an opportunity to at least try to stay there. It’s also important because it give you the opportunity to get a good pit selection and things of that nature. Overall, just to be the fastest on that given day, mentally it’s just a big boost as well for yourself and the team, so while getting poles doesn’t get you into the Shootout in Daytona or anything of that nature any more it’s still just really, really important because of the racing aspect – it gives you the best possible start to the weekend that you can possibly have.”

HOW IMPORTANT IS WINNING AT LEAST ONE POLE A YEAR TO YOU: “I think it’s important and I take pride in winning a pole each year, unfortunately we haven’t been able to do that yet this year and that’s a little disappointing. We won a couple poles last year and I think one the year before at the Cup level, so we want to get one in the books before the end of the year. It’s important – you want to go out and win poles and win races. It’s a little disappointing so far because the last couple years we’ve been able to win one or two and we haven’t yet this year, so we need to try and step it up and get ourselves a pole … and another win.”

ON SOME OF THE CHASE GUYS THAT GAMBLED AND LOST AT NEW HAMPSHIRE: “Racing is a gamble anyway. I admire Tony (Stewart) and a couple of those guys for going all-in and taking that chance. They must have felt like that was the only way that they were going to win, so they went for it. They were all-in and it didn’t work out, but it just as easily could have. It’s just one of those things where you just don’t know and you take your shot. Fuel mileage and rain shortened events – you just don’t know how those things are going to shake out, but I applaud them for going out there and trying it. It didn’t work out for them, but at least they went down swinging.”

ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST

• The David Reutimann Foundation is hosting its sixth annual Charity Cook Out and Golf Outing Dec. 3-4, 2010 at Silverado Golf and Country Club located in Reutimann’s hometown of Zephyrhills, Fla. In 2009, The David Reutimann Foundation raised over $100,000 which he distributed to Florida-based charities, including: All Children’s Hospital, Kids Go to Camp, Zephyrhills Women’s Pregnancy Center and Camp Boggy Creek.

• Aaron’s, sponsor of the No. 00, will give away an autographed hat to a lucky race fan through Facebook and Twitter following any top-10 finish. Follow Aarons on Twitter (@AaronsSports) and become a fan on Facebook (Facebook.com/AaronsSports).

• David Reutimann already tied his single season career best in wins (one) and top-fives (five) and has the final 10 races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule to improve on his totals. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver also is closing in on several more personal bests:

Category Best (Year) - 2010
Wins: 1 (2009) - 1
Top-5: 5 (2009) - 5
Points: 16th (2009) - 15th
Avg. Start: 15.9 (2009) - 16.0
Avg. Finish: 16.4 (2009) - 16.8
Laps Led: 118 (2008) - 89

Martin Truex Jr. Dover 2 Preview

2010-09-20T16:40:00.000-04:00

CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 56 NAPA Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr. kicks off a week-long fundraising initiative in his home state of New Jersey before Sunday’s AAA 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Dover International Speedway. Truex won the pole at Dover in May and the mile-oval is the scene of his lone Sprint Cup victory in June 2007. It’s a busy week of events before Dover:

On Tuesday fans are invited to the Martin Truex Jr. Fan Event at the Holiday Inn in Manahawkin, N.J. for an autograph session, dinner with Truex along with entertainment, raffle prizes and auction items.

Wednesday is the day for the third annual Martin Truex Jr. Foundation Golf Tournament presented by NAPA. This year’s tournament at the Sea Oaks Country Club in Little Egg Harbor Township, N.J. will feature 144 golfers including NAPA Racing’s crew chief Pat Tryson. The event will be followed by the 19th Hole Dinner Celebration presented Sea Watch International. The highlight of the dinner will be the unveiling of the first Martin Truex Jr. Foundation “Humanitarian of the Year Award.” Proceeds finance the Martin Truex Jr. Pediatric Unit at Southern Ocean County Hospital in N.J. and fund the Iredell County (N.C.) Backpack program at Troutman Elementary School.

QUOTES

MARTIN TRUEX JR. ON HIS FUNDRAISING EFFORTS: “I’m really proud of what my foundation has accomplished since Sherry and I launched it back in 2007. So far, we’ve raised more than $400,000 for a bunch of community programs. We’re getting ready to build a children’s wing at Southern Ocean County Hospital. It’s the local hospital where I was born. It’s going to be a really cool place where kids can go and get treated. This month, we’ve launched a backpack program for kids who go to the Troutman Elementary School in Troutman, N.C. We chose that school because it’s not far from where I live. Each Friday, kids who participate, will get a backpack filled with food. We heard stories about some of the kids coming into school saying they were hungry and didn’t have much to eat on the weekends.”

ON RETURNING TO DOVER: “It’s a track that has been very good to me and my family. I won races there in both the Nationwide and Cup Series events. Back in May, I won the pole with my NAPA AUTO PARTS team and that was pretty cool. Now we want to get our first win there as a new team.

“Since the first time I took a lap on it, I have loved the place. When you find a track like that it usually makes it easier to be good there. I like the fact that the concrete is very unforgiving. The speeds are high and the banking makes it intimidating. It’s pretty fast. I find it to be a track that you really have to attack, but at the same time, respect that it is very unforgiving. You have to be willing to put it right there on the edge and have the discipline not to cross over it.”

NOTES OF INTEREST

Sunday marks Truex’s 181st NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.

Truex owns nine starts at the 1.058-mile concrete oval. He’s earned one top-five, three top-10 and eight top-25 finishes. His average start is 19th and average finish is 15th.

Truex made his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut at Dover driving for his father in 2001. He went on to win two more Nationwide races at the “Monster Mile” in 2004 and 2005.

Join the 23,000 fans who signed up for NAPA’s free Track Pass offer and listen to Truex’s in-car audio during the race. Register at www.nascar.com/napatruexscanner or www.NAPAonline.com. The offer is good through the remainder of the season.

MWR New Hampshire Race Report

2010-09-19T17:34:00.001-04:00

David Reutimann, No. 00 TUMS Toyota Camry - finished seventh and now 15th in points.

Martin Truex Jr., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry - finished 20th and now 20th in points.

David Reutimann Race Summary: No. 00 TUMS Toyota driver David Reutimann overcame an ill-handling racecar to record a seventh-place finish in the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday. Reutimann started seventh and worked his way up to fourth over the first 75 laps. A loose handling condition dropped the No. 00 to 20th just past the half-way mark. Following a pit stop on lap 208, crew chief Rodney Childers called for Reutimann to stay out and save fuel over the final four cautions. The call moved Reutimann from 16th to fourth. The No. 00 raced in the top-10 over the final 75 laps and moved from ninth to seventh in the closing laps when two cars ran out of fuel. Reutimann moves to 15th in the standings. The Michael Waltrip Racing team returns to action Sunday at Dover International Speedway.

David Reutimann, No. 00 TUMS Toyota Camry

Started seventh and finished seventh

Battled a loose in, loose off condition for the majority of the afternoon and dropped out of the top 15 by half way.

Worked on the car under caution to correct the issue, but continued to race between 15th and 20th.

Stayed out under caution on Lap 223 to climb from 16th to 4th.

Stayed out following quick cautions on lap 238 and 241 to restart seventh on lap 245.

Remained in the top-10 the rest of the race and picked up two spots as leaders ran out of fuel to finish seventh.

REUTIMANN QUOTE: "That was ugly, but I'll take it! To struggle the way we did today and still come out of here with a seventh-place finish is pretty amazing. Our TUMS Toyota was loose in and off all day and really couldn't get a handle on it. Rodney (Childers) and (race engineer) Dax (Gerringer) really did a great job working on our fuel and pit strategy. We took a pretty big gamble by staying out toward the end and not pitting, but with the way the cautions worked out it was pretty good - we saved fuel and picked up a top-10. I can't thank our team enough for the job they did today and TUMS for its support."

Martin Truex Jr. Race Summary: The No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr. earned a 20th-place finish Sunday in the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Truex saw his Toyota come to life at the halfway mark and nearly climb into the top 10, but late-race cautions and handling issued slowed his charge to the front. Truex remains 20th in points as the series visits Dover International Speedway on Sunday. Only nine races remain in the 2010 season.

Martin Truex Jr., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota

Started 16th and finished 20th.

Ran in the top 20 in first half of race. Struggled with chattering tires and not turning well.

By halfway, car started turning good lap times and by lap 194, it started running times similar to the leader’s.

Dodged wreck on lap 222 when Kurt Busch and Jeff Burton made contact.

Raced in 12th, telling crew car was loose in top groove.

Late race handling issues kept him from climbing higher in the closing laps.

TRUEX QUOTE: "We got pretty darn good there for awhile. I don't know what happened at the end on the restarts. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. We were extremely loose on the restarts and the tires chattered. Then on the final green-flag run, it ended up plowing. We took a chance by staying out and it didn't quite work out like we needed it to. Glad to see it worked out for David though."

RACE NOTES:

Clint Bowyer won the first race of the 2010 Chase for the Championship and is now second in points.

Denny Hamlin finished second and Jamie McMurray third. Tony Stewart and Jeff Burton were racing in the top-five, but ran out of gas in the closing laps.

Denny Hamlin now leads Clint Bowyer by 35 points

The race last 2 hours and 58 minutes. Cautions slowed race slowed race eight times for 34 laps.

Twenty-one lead changes among eight drivers.

NASCAR estimated attendance at 95,000.

MWR New Hampshire Motor Speedway - Qualifying Report

2010-09-17T23:18:00.000-04:00

David Reutimann —No. 00 TUMS Toyota — qualified seventh. Martin Truex Jr. — No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota — qualified 16th.

Friday Recap

Brad Keselowski won the Coors Light Pole Award
Chase drivers Clint Bowyer and Tony Stewart rounded out top three.
Point leader Denny Hamlin will start 22nd
JTG-Daugherty’s Marcos Ambrose will start 23nd
Sunday’s race begins at 1:00 p.m. (Eastern) on ESPN-TV, PRN Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio channel 128.

DAVID REUTIMANN — How will your car be in Sunday’s race? “I hope it’ll run real good. We got to do a little bit of race stuff early on today and we weren’t really where we needed to be with that. Hopefully, tomorrow, we have couple hours of practice, we can get the TUMS Toyota a little bit happier and the driver a little bit happier and have a good race here and maybe repeat what we did in Chicago.”

How important is starting up front at New Hampshire? “Everywhere we go, it’s really, really important. It seems like the smaller the race track, the more confined the area is, the more important it is to start up front. It would be great to stay up in the front and get a good starting position and good pit selection to pay off on Sunday.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR. — How was your qualifying lap? “It was a big improvement from practice. We completely changed the setup to what one of our teammate’s had. It was a big help. It’s hard to go out there and haven’t driven it before. It was so much different. I could’ve done a better job driving it, had I ran it in practice. But, big improvement for us so I’m looking forward to working on it tomorrow.”

Ryan Truex wins K&N Pro Series East race at New Hampshire

2010-09-17T22:34:00.002-04:00

No. 00 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota driver Ryan Truex won his second K&N Pro Series East race of the season Friday night at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and took a commanding lead in the standings. The 18-year-old must only start the season finale to clinch his second consecutive East Series title. Truex led a race high 49 laps but retook the lead on lap 122 of the 125-lap race then held on through two green-white checkered finishes to sweep both New Hampshire races in 2010. The 2010 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East title will be decided on Friday, Sept. 24 at Dover (Del.) International Speedway in the Sunoco 150.

Ryan Truex— No. 00 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota

• Started fifth and finished first.
• Led a race-high 49 laps in sweeping both East races at New Hampshire in 2010.
• Retook the lead on lap 123 of the 125 lap race when Alan Tardiff and Corey LaJoie wrecked battling for the lead.
• Truex has won five of his 21 career East series starts.
• Truex ran out of gas in turn 1 before heading to victory lane.
• Truex expanded his points lead from 66 to 118 points.
• He only must start the season finale at Dover on Sept. 24 to clinch a second consecutive title.
• SPEED-TV will replay this race Thurs. Sept. 23 at 6 p.m.

TRUEX QUOTE: "It was a good day from the time we rolled off pit lane to the end of the race. I can’t take all the credit when the race car is that good. There near the end, I saw the guys in front of me racing pretty hard, they started roughing each other up so I backed off a bit. I think we were better than them but it was a matter of passing them. I thought we had the best car today. They just both spun out and I went to the bottom. This isn't just a big track for me and my family, it's a big track for all drivers from the Northeast and they really look at this as kind of the Daytona 500 of short track racing up here. To be able to win two of them is pretty special. My guys at Michael Waltrip Racing deserve all the credit."

Ryan Truex New Hampshire Preview

2010-09-15T16:37:00.000-04:00

CORNELIUS, N.C. — In June, No. 00 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota driver Ryan Truex joined his father Martin Sr. and older brother Martin Jr. on the K&N Pro Series East win list at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The East Series returns to the “Magic Mile” for Friday’s penultimate race of the 2010 season. The 18-year-old’s 66-point lead gives him an outside chance to join five other drivers in clinching a second consecutive East Series title. Instead of concentrating on points, the Michael Waltrip Racing driver says he prefers to concentrate on the checkered flag. Truex hasn’t finished worse than third and has led 103 total laps in three East starts at NHMS.

QUOTES

RYAN TRUEX ON A SECOND CHAMPIONSHIP: “We’re focused on winning. That’s all that matters. If we win the race the championship stuff will take care of itself. I still believe this will come down to the final race at Dover and probably the final few laps. In the East Series, anything can happen and probably will. It’s been a wild year so far and I don’t see that changing.”

ON NEW HAMPSHIRE SUCCESS IN JUNE: “That was a special moment for my family in June. We won the race and my Dad, brother and Mom were all in victory lane with me. That’s one of the highlights of my career and even my life. New Hampshire is a special place not just for us but for every driver from the Northeast. It’s been a place where a lot of drivers have gotten the attention of people in NASCAR.”

ON WINNING A SECOND CHAMPIONSHIP: “Obviously, that’s our goal. My crew chief Mike Greci and the guys at MWR worked really hard all summer to make it happen. Winning two in a row would be an honor. There’s some great racers on that list.”

NOTES

Martin Truex Sr.’s lone victory in 135 East Series starts came at NHMS in 1994. Martin Truex Jr. started 62 East races visiting victory lane five times including wins at NHMS in 2000 and 2003.

Martin Truex Sr. competed in 15 Nationwide Series races 1989-1998. His best career finish of 12th came at Nazareth Speedway in 1994. He won an East Series race at New Hampshire in 1994. Martin Truex Jr. won the 2004 and 2005 Nationwide Series titles.

Veteran Mike Greci, who once served as Martin Truex Jr.’s crew chief, has been working with Truex throughout his East Series career beginning in 2008.

Truex will race Kansas, Charlotte and Homestead in the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series.

New Hampshire– Truex Clinch Scenarios

Truex Winning and:

Wallace finishing 35th or worse (lead no laps); OR 36th (lead one lap)

Whitt finishing 11th or worse (lead no laps); OR 12th or worse (lead one lap); OR 14th or worse (lead most laps)

Moffitt finishing 10th or worse (lead no laps); OR 12th or worse (lead one lap); OR 13th of worse (lead most laps)

Truex Winning and Leading Most Laps:

Wallace finishing 33th or worse (lead no laps); OR 35th (lead one lap)

Whitt finishing 10th or worse (lead no laps); OR 11th or worse (lead one lap); OR 12th or worse (lead most laps)

Moffitt finishing 9th or worse (lead no laps); OR 10th or worse (lead one lap); OR 12th of worse (lead most laps)

Truex Second and Leading Most Laps:

Wallace finishing 36th or worse (lead no laps)

Whitt finishing 13th or worse (lead no laps); OR 14th or worse (lead one lap); OR 16th or worse (lead most laps)

Moffitt finishing 12th or worse (lead no laps); OR 11th or worse (lead one lap); OR 16th of worse (lead most laps)

Martin Truex Jr. New Hampshire Preview

2010-09-14T17:37:00.001-04:00

CORNELIUS, N.C. — New Hampshire Motor Speedway is the site of several firsts for Martin Truex Jr. and the Truex family. The No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota driver made his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut on Oct. 31, 2004 as relief driver for Dale Earnhardt Jr. In June, younger brother Ryan won his first race at NHMS and become the third Truex to score a K&N Pro Series East victory on the “Magic Mile.” NHMS is also the site of Martin Truex Sr.’s lone East Series victory in 1994. This weekend the Truex family returns to the mile oval with the potential of adding two more NASCAR victories to the Truex resume as Martin Jr. races in Sunday’s Sprint Cup race while Ryan seeks to clinch a second-straight K&N Pro Series East championship on Friday.

QUOTES

MARTIN TRUEX JR. ON HIS SPRINT CUP DEBUT AT NEW HAMPSHIRE: “It wasn’t the way I wanted to make my first start obviously, but it was a big deal for me to drive Dale Jr.’s car. Everybody was going crazy. I had to wear his fire suit and all that. It was kind of wild. I had a good weekend. I practiced the car and qualified it in third position. New Hampshire was a cool place to get my Cup start. It’s my home track because my family has raced there forever.”

ON WATCHING RYAN SCORE HIS FIRST NHMS WIN IN JUNE: “It was awesome. I was so proud of him. When I stand up on that trailer and watch him race, it really brings me back to my younger days of going to the track with my dad. And to see how happy my dad was when Ryan won made me appreciate the times I had with my father doing the same thing. At times it feels like Ryan is my son because he is so much younger than me. We have never actually raced together except on computers. Even then it gets pretty competitive. Believe it or not, I will be more nervous this weekend watching him try to win and clinch the championship than racing against him in the future.”

ON RACING AT NEW HAMPSHIRE: “The pressure is off of us now because we didn't make the Chase. But what we do have is the opportunity to still win races in the NAPA Toyota. This weekend we can take a few more chances and try a few more things. New Hampshire is like my home track and to be honest, I just want to get back to victory lane. It’s been way too long and we’re trying really, really hard. We just need to make it happen and put it all together. I love that place and know how to win there.”

NOTES OF INTEREST

• Martin Truex Jr. is 11 years, 8 months and 19 days older than Ryan Truex.

• Truex competes in his 180th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Truex has nine starts at the 1.058-mile oval. His best start is second (Sept. 16, 2007) and best finish is third (July 1, 2007). He’s earned three top-five, four top-10 and eight top-25 finishes. His average start is 12th and average finish is 15th.

• The Martin Truex Jr. Foundation will host its third annual MTJF Golf Tournament presented by NAPA AUTO PARTS on Sept. 22 at Sea Oaks Country Club in Little Egg Harbor Township, N.J. The 19th Hole Dinner Celebration presented by Sea Watch International will be immediately following the tournament: www.martintruexjrfoundation.org.

• Time is running out to sign up for the NAPA Belden Spark Plug Wire “Take the Lead” Sweepstakes. Ten lucky winners will ride with Truex at Charlotte Motor Speedway. To enter, visit NAPABELDEN.com or NAPAonline.com now through Sept. 20.

• Over 19,600 fans signed up for NAPA’s free Track Pass offer and you can too. To listen to Truex’s in-car audio, register at www.nascar.com/napatruexscanner or www.NAPAonline.com. The offer is good through the remainder of the season.

David Reutimann - New Hampshire Motor Speedway Sprint Cup Series Preview

2010-09-14T14:38:00.001-04:00

CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 00 TUMS Toyota driver David Reutimann has already tied his single season career best in wins (one) and top-fives (five) and has the final 10 races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule to improve on his totals. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver also is closing in on several more personal bests:

Category: Best (Year) - 2010
Wins: 1 (2009) - 1
Top-5: 5 (2009) - 5
Points Finish: 16th (2009) - 17th
Avg. Start: 15.9 (2009) - 16.3
Avg. Finish: 16.4 (2009) - 17.2
Laps Led: 118 (2008) - 89

REUTIMANN QUOTES

ONE OF FOUR DRIVERS NOT IN THE CHASE WHO HAVE WON A RACE: “I don’t think that getting a win should automatically put you in the Chase, but it’d be nice if there was a little more emphasis on gaining some points in that area. That being said, it’s just odd how it worked out for us, but now we’re on the outside looking in unfortunately and we’re just going to have to do a better job next year. The No. 00 team has made amazing strides this year in how fast we are and how the cars handle, but we’ve had some bad breaks and need to be a little more consistent for next year to be one of the teams competing for the Chase.”

FIVE TOP-10 FINISHES THIS YEAR – ALL OF WHICH WERE TOP-FIVE: “Those statistics are a little misleading - our Toyotas have been better than that. We’ve had really good cars all year and we should have quite a few more top-10s, but I feel like there are a lot of situations where we finished somewhere from 11th-15th or 16th and we left some points on the table at the very end of the race. A perfect example is the last couple weekends we had really good cars and we didn’t finish like we needed to finish. At Atlanta we had a radio issue and fell multiple laps down and didn’t have much of an opportunity to get our laps back until the very end. Last week in Richmond we cut a tire early and lost a ton of track position that caused us to fall a couple laps down, but we were still running top-10 lap times all night. We had one of the stronger cars, but just had some tough luck at the start and couldn’t get back on the lead lap to gain any more positions. There’s been situations like that all year where we’ve had fast race cars and just haven’t finished like I know we are capable of.”

ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST

• New Hampshire marks the fourth of five primary schemes for TUMS in 2010. The No. 00 TUMS Toyota last raced at Chicagoland, where Reutimann recorded his only win of 2010 and the second of his career. The No. 00 TUMS Toyota will appear for the final time in 2010 at Phoenix.

• TUMS, Levy and NHMS have partnered on the TUMS “Chowdah” Cook-Off. After submitting entries online at NHMS.com, five contestants have been selected to compete in the at-track cooking competition. Cooking will begin Sunday, Sept. 19 at 8 a.m. ET at the TUMS Fast Relief Zone located in the fan midway at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. NASCAR personalities Jimmy Spencer and Michael Waltrip will join the judging panel which takes place at 10 a.m.

• The David Reutimann Foundation is hosting its sixth annual Charity Cook Out and Golf Outing Dec. 3-4, 2010 at Eldorado Golf and Country Club located in Reutimann’s hometown of Zephyrhills, Fla. In 2009, The David Reutimann Foundation raised over $100,000 which he distributed to Florida-based charities, including: All Children’s Hospital, Kids Go to Camp, Zephyrhills Women’s Pregnancy Center and Camp Boggy Creek.

MWR Richmond Race Report

2010-09-12T00:09:00.000-04:00

David Reutimann, No. 00 AARON’S Dream Machine Toyota Camry - finished 19th and now 17th in points.

Martin Truex Jr., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry - finished 22nd and now 20th in points.

David Reutimann Race Summary: No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota driver David Reutimann overcame an early-race spin and an untimely caution after a pit stop to finish 19th Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway. Reutimann qualified fifth and ran in the top six until Kurt Busch made contact with his left rear tire. The spin and visits to pit lane to repair the body damage dropped Reutimann to 34th place. The Michael Waltrip Racing team returned Reutimann to the track where he turned lap times equal to cars in the top 10. He pitted on lap 145 after losing a lap to the leader, but the race’s second caution fell seconds after the stop dropping Reutimann two laps behind the leaders. Reutimann nearly returned to the lead lap, but the race ran without incident after lap 242. The Michael Waltrip Racing team and the Sprint Cup Series return to action Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

David Reutimann, No. 00 AARON’S DREAM MACHINE Toyota Camry

Started fifth and finished 19th.

Ran in the top six until lap 55 when contact by Kurt Busch cut Reutimann’s tire sending him into a spin.

Fell to 34th after stops on pit lane to repair body damage. Turned 10th-place lap times on return to track.

Pitted on lap 145 after losing a lap to the leaders. Race’s second caution flew seconds after the stop dropping him two laps behind leader. Took wave around before lap 153 restart.

Lap 225 caution enabled him to make up one of the two laps.

Ran 19th in the free pass position for remainder of the race but the much-needed caution never flew.

REUTIMANN QUOTE: "That was a frustrating night. We had a good Aaron's Dream Machine, qualified well and I thought we were going to have a pretty good night. Unfortunately the No. 2 car (Kurt Busch) hit one of our tires with his splitter and it caused us to spin and lose a ton of track position. Then we got stuck on pit road when the caution came out. I really thought we had a top-10 car easy tonight, but we could never get back on the lead lap. I give my crew a ton of credit though. They worked hard and did everything they could to put us in position to get back on the lead lap. We just never caught that final break. We'll regroup and try to get better next week in New Hampshire."

Martin Truex Jr. Race Summary: No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr. and his Michael Waltrip Racing team finished 22nd Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway. Truex crashed just minutes after Friday’s practice started. The accident forced him to use a backup car during qualifying and Saturday’s race. Truex suffered bad luck during the race when a caution came out on lap 145 seconds after he made a green flag stop dropping him two laps behind the leaders. With only three cautions there were no chances to regain the lost laps. Truex and the Sprint Cup Series returns to action Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Martin Truex Jr., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota

Started 29th and finished 22nd.

Fell down a lap to leaders on lap 137.

Pitted around lap 145— seconds before caution flag flew dropping him two laps behind leaders.

Took wave around before lap 153 restart.

Lap 225 caution enabled him to make up one of the two laps.

Fell down a second lap with 81 laps remaining.

Truex crashed early in Friday practice forcing him to qualify and race the backup car.

TRUEX QUOTE: "This was an all-around rough weekend for the NAPA AUTO PARTS team. We wrecked a car in practice and we never seemed to get the handling during the race. I am really proud of my guys for the job they did all weekend. Hopefully the next 10 races we can use to make our cars better for next year."

RACE NOTES:

Denny Hamlin won Saturday night’s race at Richmond.

Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano and Marcos Ambrose rounded out top five.

Race took 2 hours and 54 minutes with three cautions for 28 laps and none after lap 242.

Six leaders exchanged the lead 14 times with only 14 cars on the lead lap when checkered flag fell.

Richmond concluded regular season. Ten-race “Chase for Championship” among a dozen drivers begins Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Diamond Waltrip/Michael Waltrip Richmond Nationwide Race Report

2010-09-10T22:47:00.000-04:00

Diamond Waltrip Racing’s Trevor Bayne, driving the No. 99 OUT! Pet Care Toyota finished third— now seventh in points.

Michael Waltrip Racing’s Ryan Truex, driver of the No. 00 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry - finished 26th.

Trevor Bayne Race Summary: No. 99 OUT! Pet Care Toyota driver Trevor Bayne posted a third-place finish Friday night at Richmond International Raceway. The finish equals the best of the 19-year-old’s 42-race career and moved him to seventh in the 2010 driver standings. The Diamond-Waltrip driver started eighth and ran in the top five before briefly fading to mid-pack. A late-race charge saw him climb as high as second place in the closing laps before claiming the third-place finish. Bayne now owns five top-five finishes in his brief career. Bayne and the Nationwide Series returns to action at Dover on Sept. 25.

Bayne started eighth and battled a loose race car in the early going running about seventh.

Moved into the top five on lap 66 but fell to 16th by lap 90 struggling with handling

Issues corrected by lap 130 and charged to the front of the field.

Bayne restarted fifth on lap 205 and immediately moved to second.

Highest finishing Toyota, highest finishing non-Sprint Cup driver.

Marks Bayne’s fifth career top-five finish. Bayne also finished third at Gateway on July 17.

Winner Kevin Harvick and second-place Brad Keselowski nearly collided on the final two laps almost handing the victory to Bayne.

BAYNE QUOTES: “Really excited about this run we had today. That was awesome to get a top-three here with these new cars. Everybody at our shop has worked their butts off to get these new cars right and they were that way when we unloaded. Just a great run for this Out! Pet Care Toyota. That was a pretty cool restart there. We went down into that turn one and everybody just scattered and it was like the seas parted and the hole opened up and we got to second all of the sudden. That was pretty cool, it put us in position to finish up third here I think. Everyone at Diamond-Waltrip Racing just is working their butts off to get these cars right. We didn’t have to make many changes. Also, Out! Pet Care, we’ve had a lot of fun with them so far this year with all their competitions. We had a dog on our deck-lid again this week so that’s an every week thing and it’s pretty cool. I really like these new cars. I actually like the way they drive a little bit better than the current style cars.”

Ryan Truex Race Summary: No. 00 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota driver Ryan Truex finished 26th Friday night at Richmond International Raceway. Making his third Nationwide Series appearance, the 18-year-old driver battled a loose handling race car in the early going that saw him fall down a lap to the leaders by the half way mark as the race slowed for just one caution. Truex and his Michael Waltrip Racing team corrected the handling issues and he began working his way through the field. Truex’s next race is at Kansas Speedway on Oct. 2.

Truex qualified 15th

Battled loose race car and brake vibration in early going of race.

Lost lap to leader Kevin Harvick at lap 70 and another during pit sequence.

Truex ran his three fastest laps of the race 150 laps in to the event.

NAPA crew corrected handling issues and Truex got faster and faster throughout race.

On final run, Truex’s lap times were as fast as leaders.

RYAN TRUEX: “That wasn’t what we were hoping for. We were pretty loose at the beginning and we struggled. But the second half of the race we were good. That last run we were as quick as the best cars. It was too little too late. That stinks. I wish we could run this race again right now because I think we’d have a really good finish. That’s just part of the learning curve and we start better at Kansas.”

RACE NOTES:

Kevin Harvick won his third race of the 2010 Nationwide season and 37th of career.

Brad Keselowski, Bayne, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Reed Sorenson rounded out top five.

Race took 2 hours and 55 minutes with nine lead changes among six leaders.

Six cautions slowed the race for 30 laps slowing the average speed to 98 mph.

42 of the field’s 43 starters were racing at the end of the race.

Qualifying Report - Richmond International Raceway

2010-09-10T19:17:00.000-04:00

David Reutimann¬—No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota — qualified fifth.
Martin Truex Jr. — No. 56 NAPA BRAKES Toyota — qualified 29th.

Friday Recap
• Carl Edwards won the Coors Light Pole Award
• Juan Pablo Montoya and AJ Allmendinger rounded out top three.
• Point leader Kevin Harvick will start 20th
• JTG-Daugherty’s Marcos Ambrose will start 12nd
• Saturday’s race begins at 7:30 p.m. (Eastern) on ABC-TV, MRN Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio channel 128.

DAVID REUTIMANN — How was your car in practice today and how was your qualifying lap?

“We had a pretty good practice with the Aaron’s Dream Machine and we were just a little too free on our second lap. We couldn’t be as productive as we needed to be and missed it a little bit. All in all, pretty good effort for the guys. We unloaded good, I made some smart changes and I feel like this is probably the best car we’ve ever had here. I am kind of disappointed though, I feel like we should have been better in qualifying. We got loose on our second lap and it cost us some time. When you have opportunities to get poles, you want to get them. When you miss them, it bums you out.”

Will you approach these final 11 races differently not being in the Chase?

“It’s our own fault for not getting in the Chase. It’s a situation where we just go out here and race hard like we have been. I’m not going to approach anything any different. It may give us a chance to take some different chances and gamble a little bit on occasion when we probably wouldn’t. Other than that, I think it’s business as usual for us.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR. — How was your qualifying lap?

“It was not very good. We were pretty decent in that second practice there in race trim. Our car just doesn’t have good speed on new tires right out of the gate. It takes a few laps for it to come around and pretty much what it did right there. Just the front tires just never hooked up. I’m disappointed in the lap, but I’m proud of the guys and the job that they did after the problem we had in the first practice.”

What happened to force you to go to a backup car?

“The throttle stuck wide open going into turn one. It was unfortunate and a bit of an error on our part back at the shop as far as getting the car prepared. It had a little trouble with the throttle pedal assembly in the car. A bit of a mistake that set us back, but they recovered well -- the guys did on the NAPA Toyota. I’m just real disappointed on that lap right now.”

Martin Truex Jr. Richmond Race Preview

2010-09-08T11:02:00.001-04:00

CORNELIUS, N.C. — Martin Truex Jr. reminded NASCAR fans how good he and his Michael Waltrip Racing team are Sunday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway when he raced in the top five throughout the 500-mile race before finishing 12th. His pit crew came within a tenth of a second of winning its third Tissot Pit Crew award. Truex expects that momentum to carry into Saturday night’s race at Richmond International Raceway where he finished seventh in April. Truex’s No. 56 will have a silver look for Saturday’s race. The NAPA Brakes paint scheme adorns Truex’s ride to help kick off NAPA’s Great Breaks on Great Brakes promotion. Customers can receive up to a $50 mail-in rebate with purchase of qualifying NAPA Brakes products at any participating NAPA AUTO PARTS store or AutoCare Center through Sept. 30.

QUOTES

MARTIN TRUEX JR. ON RETURNING TO RICHMOND: “Richmond has been one of those tracks that’s been up and down for me. I’ve had great runs and some disappointing deals. It’s short-track racing where a lot of stuff happens. It’s a fun place to race and for the NAPA team, we had a good run during the spring race. We finished seventh. We didn’t qualify very well, but we were able to drive our way up through the field for a top-10 finish.”

ON RACING AGAINST DRIVERS TRYING TO MAKE THE CHASE: “A few weeks back I was one of those guys. I was a contender. I won’t race them any differently or cut them any slack because they don’t cut me any breaks. I race them clean anyway so my focus is on winning races in the NAPA Toyota. And to be honest, it’s Clint Bowyer’s deal to lose. He’s been running well and Richmond is a good track for him. I don’t see him dropping out unless something really crazy happens.”

ON NEW NAPA BRAKES PROMOTION: “The NAPA Brakes Toyota is an awesome looking car. I am looking forward to driving the scheme this weekend. NAPA knows how to create great promotions for customers and this one is no exception. I hope fans will go to www.napaonline.com and take advantage of the offer. I’m hoping this new look with change up our luck a little bit. Maybe we’ll get a good break too in the last few laps on Saturday night to end up in victory lane.”

NOTES OF INTEREST

Truex will appear on SPEED-TV’s Trackside Friday at 11 p.m. EDT

The No. 56 team tested at Gresham Motorsports Park in Georgia on Tuesday in preparation for Saturday’s race.

Saturday marks Truex’s 179th Sprint Cup start and 10th at Richmond. His best start is second (Sept. 12, 2009) and best finish is fifth (May 3, 2008). He owns one top–five and two top-10 finishes at Richmond with and average start of 14th and average finish of 24th.

The Martin Truex Jr. Foundation will host its third annual MTJF Golf Tournament presented by NAPA AUTO PARTS on Sept. 22 at Sea Oaks Country Club in Little Egg Harbor Township, N.J. The 19th Hole Dinner Celebration presented by Sea Watch International will be immediately following the tournament: www.martintruexjrfoundation.org.

Sign up for the NAPA Belden Spark Plug Wire “Take the Lead” Sweepstakes. Ten lucky winners will be chosen to ride with Truex at Charlotte Motor Speedway. They’ll also get to drive a few laps with the Richard Petty Driving Experience and take a behind-the-scenes tour of Michael Waltrip Racing. To enter, visit NAPABELDEN.com or NAPAonline.com now through Sept. 20.

Take advantage of NAPA’s free Track Pass offer. To listen in to Truex’s in-car audio, register at www.nascar.com/napatruexscanner or www.NAPAonline.com. The offer is good through the remainder of the season.

Ryan Truex - Richmond Preview

2010-09-07T17:09:00.000-04:00

CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 00 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota driver Ryan Truex makes his third NASCAR Nationwide Series start Friday night at Richmond International Raceway.

The 18-year-old Mayetta, N.J. native qualified second and raced there for 45 laps at Michigan last month in only his second Nationwide Series start. At his debut in St. Louis he started 19th and raced his way into the top 10 by the halfway mark. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver competes fulltime in the K&N Pro Series East where he is the defending champion and 2010 points leader.

Truex is the son of race car driver Martin Truex Sr. and the younger brother of Martin Truex Jr. who drives the No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The Nationwide Series practices Thursday at Richmond then practices, qualifies and races Friday night.

QUOTES

Truex on racing at Richmond International Raceway: “I’m all about learning and finishing the race. Where we finish is important but it isn't as important as what we learn. We’ve started off the first two races really good. At St. Louis we drove to the front and at Michigan we ran second a long time. We have to work on dialing our car in for later in the race. That’s where these Nationwide guys and especially the Cup drivers have something over us. They know what these cars will do as the race goes on. That’ll come with experience.”

Truex and teammate Trevor Bayne: “Trevor has been great to talk to in the last few months. We bounce stuff off each other. I know my crew chief (Mike Greci) and his crew chief (Jerry Baxter) talk a lot at the shop then at the track. The No. 99 team has really improved over the season. That’s what we are counting on with our team. The more we race the more we learn and the better we’ll be.”

Notes

• Ryan Truex will race at Richmond, Kansas, Charlotte and Homestead in 2010 Nationwide Series competition.

• Martin Truex Sr. competed in 15 Nationwide Series races 1989-1998. His best career finish of 12th came at Nazareth Speedway in 1994. He won an East Series race at New Hampshire in 1994. Martin Truex Jr. won the 2004 and 2005 Nationwide Series titles.

• Ryan is the first driver to earn a championship for Michael Waltrip Racing when he won the K&N Pro Series East Championship in 2009. He leads the 2010 standings by 66 points over Darrell Wallace Jr. New Hampshire and Dover are the only remaining races in the 2010 East schedule.

• Michael Waltrip Racing fields Ryan Truex’s racecars in the Nationwide series as well as the East Series while Diamond-Waltrip Racing fields cars for Trevor Bayne in the Nationwide Series. Gary and Blake Bechtel along with MWR own the Diamond-Waltrip organization.

David Reutimann - Richmond Sprint Cup Series Preview

2010-09-07T17:06:00.000-04:00

CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota driver David Reutimann has two goals for the remaining eleven races in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. The 40-year-old Zephyrhills, Fla. native plans to win every race and wind up the season in 13th-place before turning his attention to the 2011 season. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver charged from 30th place in points after Texas in April to 16th place after last weekend’s 16th-place finish at Atlanta.

Reutimann is one of four drivers outside the top-12 in championship driver points to record a Sprint Cup Series win in 2010. Five drivers inside the top-12 are winless in 2010.

QUOTES

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE SEASON?: “My goals haven’t changed all year – my goal is to put the Aaron’s Dream Machine in victory lane every week. I show up at Daytona in February with the goal of winning 36 point races, a couple of exhibition races and a Sprint Cup Series championship. It’s a personal mind set and I know our No. 00 team feels the same way. I don’t come to the racetrack on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday wanting to finish second – that’s just not the way we do things. So now that we are on the outside looking in at the rest of the Chase guys it’s my goal to finish the season with 12 wins. I already have one win and we have 11 more races until the end of the year. Wouldn’t it be fun to see one of the guys outside the top-12 finish the season with the most wins? I want to be that guy! If I’m not in the Chase I want to spoil all the fun for everyone else by winning the next 11 races.”

ON BEING ONE OF FOUR DRIVERS WITH A WIN OUTSIDE THE TOP-12 IN POINTS GOING TO RICHMOND: “I wish I was one of the 12 guys inside the top-12 in points with a couple wins, but sometimes that’s just how it goes. We’ve had a good season and I know that the No. 00 Aaron’s team and all of Michael Waltrip Racing continues to get better every week. We caught some bad breaks early in the season that cost us a lot of points, but we’ve kept at it. At one point this year we were 30th in points and we’ve climbed our way back to 16th and keep on gaining spots each week. We’re not the only team in this situation – Jamie McMurray has two wins this year, but a couple of bad days cost him too. Same with (Juan Pablo) Montoya and (Ryan) Newman. It’s just frustrating to know we have a team that in my opinion is one of the 12 best in the garage and have to be on the outside looking in for the last 11 weeks.”

ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST

• No. 00 crew chief Rodney Childers will join Larry McReynolds and Steve Post in-studio for MRN’s NASCAR Performance Live 7-8 p.m. on Wednesday.

• Reutimann led 104 laps at the fall Richmond race in 2008—a career best.

• Reutimann has three top-five finishes under the lights in 2010, including a win at Chicagoland Speedway - his second career Sprint Cup Series win. Reutimann also recorded top-five finishes in the Coke 600 at Charlotte (fifth) and the night race at Bristol (second). Reutimann has finished in the top-15 in six out of seven night races in 2010.

• Reutimann has already tied his single season career best in wins (one) and top-five (five) finishes with 11 races remaining in 2010.

• Only 10 drivers have more top-five finishes than Reutimann’s five in 2010.

• Reutimann is 16th in the championship point standings, trailing the top-12 by 186 with one race remaining before the “Chase.”

Trevor Bayne - Richmond Preview

2010-09-07T17:04:00.002-04:00

CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 99 OUT! Pet Care driver Trevor Bayne races at Richmond International Raceway Friday night in the third of four 2010 races featuring the NASCAR Nationwide Series’ new car. The Knoxville, Tenn., native raced in the top five at Michigan and the top 10 in Daytona in previous appearances of the safer, more cost efficient car that will run full-time in 2011.

Racing the new or old car doesn't seem to matter to the 19-year-old Diamond-Waltrip Racing driver who’s scored the fifth most points of any driver in the last 10 Nationwide races posting three poles, three top-fives and five top-10 finishes.

QUOTES

TREVOR BAYNE ON RACING THE NEW CAR AT RICHMOND: “We tested the new car at Milwaukee a couple of months ago and we were pretty fast. I am hoping our information from Milwaukee can transfer over to Richmond. The new car seems to turn really well on short tracks and I think they will be really fun to drive at Richmond. However, I think we will fight forward bite this weekend. Whoever has the best forward bite and can turn the center will fight for the win at Richmond.”

BAYNE ON GOALS FOR THE FINAL RACES OF THE SEASON: “I think our goal is to win a race in the last nine races. We want to continue to be consistent and run for top five each week. I think if we can run top five each week the wins will start to come around. I would really like to be top five in the drivers’ points and top 10 in the owners’ points by the end of the season. It would be pretty cool to be recognized at the awards banquet in my first full season of Nationwide racing.”

CREW CHIEF JERRY BAXTER ON THE NEW CAR: “Our new car program is pretty solid. We have had some success early. Since the new car is so similar to the cup car we are able to use a lot of information from the cup program. With the car we run right now everything is so different that we don’t have all the support. With the new car we have a lot right in front of us so it’s a lot easier to get the cars set up to be successful.”

NOTES OF INTEREST

• Gary and Blake Bechtel along with Michael Waltrip Racing own Diamond-Waltrip Racing that fields Toyota Camrys out of the MWR shop in Cornelius, N.C. The Bechtels have owned cars in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series since 1990. The Morgan Hill, California residents’ teams have visited victory lane 10 times in the Nationwide Series.

• Bayne will participate in a NNS new car “Tech Talk” at the Nationwide Insurance mobile display unit in the FanZone on Friday at 3 p.m.

• Bayne will participate in an autograph session on Thursday from 4:30-5:15 p.m. in the amphitheater area.

• Bayne has two starts at Richmond. His best finish came in Sept. 2009 when he started ninth and finished seventh. In April he started sixth and finished 21st.

• Bayne owns 41 NNS starts. He has four poles (Indianapolis –2009, 2010, Gateway—2010 and Iowa 2010), four top-fives and 10 top-10s and has led 129 laps. His best finish (third) came at Gateway International Raceway on July 17.

MWR Atlanta Race Report

2010-09-06T00:50:00.000-04:00

Martin Truex Jr., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry - finished 12th and now 20th in points.

David Reutimann, No. 00 AARON’S Outdoors Dream Machine Camry - finished 16th and now 16th in points.

Martin Truex Jr. Race Summary: No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr. and his Michael Waltrip Racing team finished 12th Sunday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Truex started sixth and ran in the top 10 throughout the 500-mile race running as high as second-place late in the race. The team’s 17th top-20 finish in 2010 keeps Truex 20th in the points race with 11 races remaining in the season. The Sprint Cup Series returns to action Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway.

Martin Truex Jr., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota

Started sixth and finished 12th.
Like most drivers battled a loose condition on long runs during the 325-lap race.
Quick pit stops during the race gained Truex several spots.
Ran in the top 10 throughout the race and climbed to second with 61 laps to go.
Restarted race in ninth with 25 laps remaining and moved to 8th with 18 laps to go.
Fell to 12th fighting a tight handling condition on the final green flag run.

TRUEX QUOTE: "The NAPA Toyota ran half the race in the top five so to finish in 12th is a little disappointing. We battled a tight condition on the short run and that hurt us on the final restart. On the long runs, we were loose. The NAPA Know How crew did a great job for me tonight; I just wish we would have gotten a better finish."

David Reutimann Race Summary: No. 00 Aaron’s Outdoors Dream Machine Toyota driver David Reutimann overcame an early-race black flag that dropped him two laps behind the leader to finish 16th Sunday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Reutimann made an unscheduled green flag stop about a third of the way into the 500-mile race to reconnect the radio inside his Camry. He made up the first lap quickly and second of the two laps with less than 30 laps left in the race. Reutimann had little time to pass lead lap cars but he gained about six positions over the final laps for the 16th-place finish. Reutimann moves to 16th in the point’s race. The Michael Waltrip Racing team and the Sprint Cup Series return to action Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway.

David Reutimann, No. 00 AARON’S DREAM MACHINE Toyota Camry

Started 13th and finished 16th
Fell to 19th in the first 50 laps due to ill-handling car but climbed back to 14th.
NASCAR black-flagged Reutimann on lap 105 to reconnect his car radio.
The unscheduled stop dropped him two laps down to leaders.
Took the wave-around on lap 148 and immediately regained one lost lap at the next caution.
Raced hard a lap down for most of the race before getting the second lap back with 30 laps remaining.
Restarted the race in 22nd with 25 laps remaining and worked his way to 16th when the checkered flag fell.

REUTIMANN QUOTE: "That was just a long night. We had an issue with the radio early on and I couldn't hear the spotter or crew chief, so NASCAR black flagged us and we ended up two laps down. We got one back pretty quick, but it took us almost all night to finally get the lucky dog and get back on the lead lap. And once we finally got back on the lead lap we were almost out of time to make up any significant ground. It was a pretty frustrating night, but I'm proud of my guys. They gave me a great Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota. We just never had the opportunity to show how good the car was after the deal with the radio. That was a tough night. Hopefully we can do a little better next week in Richmond."

RACE NOTES:

Tony Stewart edged Carl Edwards by 1.3 seconds for his first victory since Kansas Speedway in October.

Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Burton and Kyle Busch comprised the top-five finishers

Race ran caution-free for the first 135 laps nearly equaling a track record.

The race last 3 hours and 55 minutes. Cautions slowed race slowed race eight times for 53 laps.

Twenty two lead changes among seven drivers.

NASCAR estimated attendance at 93,200.

Diamond-Waltrip Racing - Atlanta Post Race Report

2010-09-05T09:57:00.000-04:00

• Trevor Bayne, No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry - finished 24th - now seventh in points.

Trevor Bayne Race Summary: Trevor Bayne and the No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine team jumped one spot to seventh in the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship point standings. The Knoxville, Tenn., native started the Great Clips 300 from Atlanta Motor Speedway in 11th but an ill-handling racecar was evident from the drop of the green flag. Crew chief Jerry Baxter took several major swings at the No. 99 Toyota but nothing seemed to fix the problem. After suffering from a difficult handling condition along with several unfortunate events, Bayne crossed the finish line 24th and two laps down to the leaders. Next week the NNS travels to Richmond for it’s third new Nationwide car race on the NNS schedule.

TREVOR BAYNE, Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota

• Started 11th, finished 24th
• Suffered from an ill-handling race car throughout the 195 laps
• Raced in the top 20 for the majority of the race
• Went a lap down to the leaders on lap 98
• Brought out the third caution when he spun after making contact with Ryan Newman
• In the closing laps made an unscheduled pit stop while running 19th for a right-rear flat costing him five positions
• Bayne in now seventh in the NNS point standings

BAYNE QUOTES: “Our Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota was just off all day. We never could get it to handle right in practice and that just carried over to the race. This is the first time we’ve struggled like this in a long time. You’re going to have weeks like this. We just can’t let this mess with our momentum that we’ve had the last several months. We just need to go to Richmond and have a good run.”

NNS Racing Results

• Jamie McMurray won the Great Clips 300, his eighth victory in 179 NNS races
• This is his first victory and sixth top-10 finish in 2010.
• His last victory came on Nov. 13, 2004 at Darlington Raceway.
• Kyle Busch (second) posted his fourth top-10 finish in seven races at AMS.
• Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top five.
• The race featured nine lead changes among five drivers. Cautions slowed the race four time for 17 laps.
• NASCAR estimated 71,300 race fans in attendance at Atlanta

Michael Waltrip Racing Qualifying Report - Atlanta Motor Speedway

2010-09-04T18:41:00.000-04:00

Atlanta Motor Speedway Qualifying Results

Martin Truex Jr. — No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota — qualified sixth.
David Reutimann¬—No. 00 Aaron’s Outdoors Dream Machine Toyota — qualified 13th.

Friday Recap

• Denny Hamlin won the Coors Light Pole Award—his first of the season and first at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
• Ryan Newman and Kyle Busch rounded out top three.
• Point leader Kevin Harvick will start 29th
• JTG-Daugherty’s Marcos Ambrose will start 32nd
• Saturday’s race begins at 7:30 p.m. (Eastern) on ESPN-TV, PRN Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio channel 128.

MARTIN TRUEX JR. — “It was a good pickup from practice. We had a long day. Two hours and 45 minutes was a long day. We made a lot of changes from practice. We struggled off the trailer and we continued to work on the NAPA Toyota all day. It was a really good lap for us. At the end of the second practice we felt good. We did some race runs to start it and a couple qualifying runs at the end of it. We had a good lap and we should be in good shape for the race tomorrow.”

DAVID REUTIMANN — “It was a good lap. We were good all the way around and I felt like we had a lot more grip in Turns 1 and 2. I think we’ll be very good in the race, but for the most part I just under-drove my lap a little bit. I always over-drive my qualifying laps here and today I tried really hard not to do that and just ended up under-driving it a little. I think we’ll be good tomorrow on the longer runs and be strong in the race.”

Aaron’s To Sponsor Michael Waltrip at Talladega Two-Time Daytona 500 Champ To Race No. 55 Toyota

2010-09-02T08:34:00.000-04:00

ATLANTA – Aaron’s, Inc. will sponsor driver Michael Waltrip at Talladega Superspeedway on Oct. 31 as part of its 55th anniversary celebration. The two-time Daytona 500 champion and former Talladega winner returns to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driving the No. 55 Toyota fielded by his Michael Waltrip Racing organization.

Waltrip drove the Aaron’s 55th anniversary paint scheme at Talladega in April in a Toyota fielded by Prism Motorsports. He started last but led laps 31-34 before a multi-car crash ended his race. Waltrip also finished 18th in the 2010 Daytona 500.

“If the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series raced every weekend at Talladega and Daytona I’d still be driving full-time,” laughed Waltrip. “That’s how much I like those tracks and restrictor plate racing. The only place better than sitting in the stands or watching a restrictor plate race on television is behind the wheel of the Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota.”

Aaron’s sponsorship of this race program is designed to develop awareness of Aaron’s 55th Anniversary Super Sweepstakes with scratch-off chances to win every month through November 2010 and grand prize drawings in December including multiple chances to win a Toyota Camry Hybrid. People may pick up a game card each month at any of Aaron’s 1,700+ stores. And they should register their game cards each month at Aarons.com/55.

“We could not be more pleased having Michael racing the No. 55 Anniversary Dream Machine at Talladega,” said Aaron’s Chief Operating Officer Ken Butler. “His experience at superspeedways is like no other and we are confident that he will be at the front of the pack contending for the win.”

Aaron's, Inc. entered NASCAR racing in 2000 when it agreed to sponsor the Nationwide Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Waltrip agreed to serve as spokesman for the race in a television commercial, and Aaron's agreed to sponsor Waltrip's Nationwide team then housed in the backyard of his home.

As Butler, Waltrip and Aaron's became more visible through television commercials during race broadcasts, the Aaron's race car began to develop a public identity of its own and become synonymous with the number 99, Michael Waltrip and Aaron's.

Aaron’s support of Waltrip continued over the years as Waltrip opened his 140,000-square-foot race shop in Cornelius, N.C. Michael Waltrip Racing now fields Toyotas for David Reutimann’s No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine and Martin Truex Jr.’s No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS entry in the Sprint Cup series and Ryan Truex’s No. 00 in the K&N Pro Series. MWR along with Gary and Blake Bechtel co-own Diamond-Waltrip Racing that fields the OUT! Pet Care/Aaron’s Toyota for Trevor Bayne in the Nationwide Series.

###

About Aaron’s, Inc.

Aaron’s, Inc. (NYSE: AAN), the nation’s leader in the sales and lease ownership and specialty retailing of residential furniture, consumer electronics, home appliances and accessories, has more than 1,735 Company-operated and franchised stores in 48 states and Canada. Founded in 1955 by entrepreneur R. Charles Loudermilk, Sr. and headquartered in Atlanta, Aaron’s has been publicly traded since 1982. For more information, visit www.aaronsinc.com.

Martin Truex Jr. Atlanta Preview

2010-08-31T15:15:00.000-04:00

CORNELIUS, N.C. — In the NASCAR world, Labor Day weekend means it’s time for the Sunday night Sprint Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but to families across the country, the holiday signifies the start of a new school year. No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr. wants to help out about 200 of those school kids near his North Carolina home.

Truex will host the third annual Martin Truex Jr. Foundation Golf Tournament presented by NAPA on Sept. 22 at the Sea Oaks Country Club in Little Egg Harbor Township, N.J. Proceeds from the golf tournament will help build the Martin Truex Jr. Pediatric Unit at Southern Ocean County Hospital in N.J. as well as assist Troutman (N.C.) Elementary School students. Through the Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina’s Backpack Program, Truex plans to pass out backpacks to the children stuffed with food.

QUOTES

MARTIN TRUEX JR. ON MTJ FOUNDATION AND BACKPACK PROGRAM: “A few years ago, Sherry and I wanted to start a foundation because as kids, we knew we were lucky and there were a lot of kids out there that weren’t has fortunate. In 2007, we were able to launch the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation. Over the years we have been introduced to a lot of great organizations and one that has become important to us is the Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina. We wanted to help after hearing how children who participated in its Backpack program said if it wasn’t for their backpack food, they wouldn’t have had anything to eat. Hearing that harsh reality, we wanted to get involved. This year we’ll be assisting students at Troutman Elementary.”

ON RETURNING TO ATLANTA: “I absolutely love racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway. It’s one of my favorites and that’s a good thing considering the track is in NAPA Headquarters backyard. Both Pat Tryson and I have had good runs there. Pat won there last year with Kurt Busch. I’ve come close to winning several times including this past spring. We simply got caught up in the wreck on that green-white-checkered finish. I feel like you can really drive the car hard there. The track is really wide and you’ll see guys running up top, in the middle and down low. I like the fact that we won’t be fighting for one lane. If you are faster than a guy, you can find a way to get around him. I like my chances this weekend in the NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota. We’ve got a lot of NAPA folks joining us so it would be great to end up in victory lane.”

NOTES OF INTEREST

Sunday is Truex’s 178th Sprint Cup Series race and 12th at the 1.533-mile track. His best start is first (Sept. 6, 2009) and best finish is eighth (Oct. 30 , 2005). During his career, Truex has earned two top-10 and five top-25 finishes at AMS. His average start is 18th and his average finish is 24th. He has led 204 laps in competition.

In just two years, the MTJ Foundation has raised more than $400,000 for various community programs and initiatives such as the Backpack Program and building the Martin Truex Jr. Pediatric Unit at Southern Ocean County Hospital in N.J. To find out more, visit www.martintruexjrfoundation.org.

Don’t be left out. Over 10,000 fans have taken advantage of NAPA’s free Track Pass offer. To listen in to Truex’s in-car audio, register at www.nascar.com/napatruexscanner or www.NAPAonline.com. The offer is good through the remainder of the season.

David Reutimann - No. 00 Aaron's Outdoor's Dream Machine Atlanta Preview

2010-08-31T14:38:00.001-04:00

CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 00 Aaron’s Outdoors Dream Machine Toyota driver David Reutimann learned at Bristol Motor Speedway how difficult it is to make up ground in the point standings this late in the Sprint Cup Season. Reutimann battled through flu-like symptoms all weekend to finish second—his second best finish of the 2010 season—but only gained 10 points in pursuit of the 12th and final spot in the Chase for the Championship. With only two races remaining before the Chase, Reutimann is 17th trailing 12th-place Clint Bowyer by 155 points. Reutimann has extra reasons to look forward to Sunday’s race that begins at 7 p.m. at the 1.5-mile Atlanta Motor Speedway. Both of Reutimann’s two career victories came on 1.5-mile tracks and he owns top 15 finishes at each of the six 2010 races held under the lights.

QUOTES

WHAT IS IT ABOUT NIGHT RACES THAT YOU LIKE?: “Night races are just a whole different feel. They’re just a whole different vibe. It almost takes you back to when you started out racing. Almost all of us, at least at one time or another, raced local short tracks on Friday or Saturday nights. It almost takes you back to having that same feel. That same vibe that I did when I was growing up. I think that’s one of the things that I like so much about it. It takes me back to my earlier days of racing."

ON RETURNING TO ATLANTA: “I feel like at the fall night race last year we had a really strong run and we felt like we found some things at that point. Rodney (Childers) and the guys came up with some stuff that really seemed to work well there. We kind of went along the same lines when we went there earlier this year in Atlanta and again we had another really, really good racecar. I just think that we continue to build each time we go there. I’ve been talking to Rodney and I think that we may be going there with a little bit different approach, but also knowing that we have some things in our back pocket to fall back on that we know have been good in the past. So, we’ll start off with one thing and know that if it doesn’t work out that we can switch to another. It’s a good racetrack – a 1.5-mile track that we’ve been good at and I really enjoy racing on the 1.5-mile tracks. We’ve been really strong at those places.”

MWR TOYOTA STRENGTH ON THE 1.5-MILE TRACKS: “I think Rodney (Childers) and the guys, (engineer) Dax (Gerringer) and the guys , have a really good feel for what makes our cars good at those places. I also just like the 1.5-mile racetracks as a driver, so if you combine all that stuff I think it just ends up being a better fit for us.”

ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST

• In the last 12 races on 1.5-mile racetracks (including Atlanta - technically a 1.54-mile track), Reutimann has two wins, four top-fives, five top-10s, nine top-15s and led 60 laps.

• The last time Reutimann visited a 1.5 mile racetrack under the lights he recorded the win at Chicagoland Speedway - his second career Sprint Cup Series win. Reutimann has consecutive top-five finishes at night races on 1.5-mile tracks (Chicago, fifth at Charlotte).

• Reutimann is currently 17th in the championship point standings, trailing the top-12 by 155 with two races remaining. With 12 races remaining in 2010, Reutimann has already tied his single season career best in wins (one) and top-five (five) finishes. Reutimann has scored 20 fewer points in 2010 then at the same point in 2009. He has three DNFs in 2010 after not recording one in all of 2009.

• Reutimann will spend the day on Wednesday, Sept. 1, on the ESPN Campus in Bristol, Conn. Reutimann is participating in the ESPN “Car Wash” in which a NASCAR driver travels to Bristol to take part in various media opportunities across the ESPN television, radio and electronic media properties.

Trevor Bayne - Atlanta Preview

2010-08-31T14:23:00.001-04:00

CORNELIUS, N.C. — It’s easy to forget No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine driver Trevor Bayne is 19-years-old. He acts and drives like a veteran but the Knoxville, Tenn., native showed up at Bristol Motor Speedway two weeks ago with braces. Since then the Diamond-Waltrip Racing driver lost 10 lbs. but still managed to score two top-10 finishes. This weekend Bayne visits Atlanta Motor Speedway hoping to continue his recent streak of good performances in the Nationwide Series. In the last 6 races, Bayne scored the fourth most points—the best of any non-Sprint Cup driver.

QUOTES

TREVOR BAYNE ON HIS BRACES: “I decided to get braces because I had a small gap between my two front teeth. It was just something that had been bothering me for the last couple of years. Since I am in front of the camera a lot I wanted my teeth to be perfect. When the orthodontist told me it would only take six months I was all in. I have only had them on for two weeks and the gap between my two front teeth is almost gone. By this time next year I will have the best smile of any NASCAR driver.”

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN EATING SINCE: “I have lost 10 pounds since I got my braces. The first couple of days my teeth were so sore. I pretty much lived off mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese. Last weekend in Montreal was the first time I could actually bite down on food. I really didn’t think my teeth would be this sore. I just got them readjusted on Monday so I think I will be back to eating soft foods again this week. I am glad that I only have to wear them for six months and not a couple of years like a lot of people.”

ON ATLANTA: “Atlanta is probably one of my favorite tracks on the circuit. Last year we were really fast right off the truck. I like it because its really fast but the race track isn’t smooth it has it’s own unique characteristics I like how your car slide all over the race track. You really have to search around for a groove that has the most grip for your car. You want to get you car working good on the long runs. As the run goes on the less grip you will have. You have to be able to be able to carry a lot of corner speed and the car has to work good over the bumps.”

ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST

• Gary and Blake Bechtel along with Michael Waltrip Racing own Diamond-Waltrip Racing. It fields Toyota Camrys out of the MWR shop in Cornelius, N.C. The Bechtels have owned cars in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series since 1990. The Morgan Hill, California residents’ teams have visited victory lane 10 times in the Nationwide Series.

• Bayne started seventh and finished 16th in his lone Atlanta Motor appearance in 2009.

• Bayne owns 40 NNS starts. He has four poles (Indianapolis –2009, 2010, Gateway—2010 and Iowa 2010), four top-fives and 10 top-10s and has led 129 laps. His best finish (third) came at Gateway International Raceway on July 17.

• In the last six races Bayne has scored two poles, two top-five and four top-10 finishes. He has also scored the fourth most points and has an average starting position of 11tth and a average finishing position of 10.8.

• Aaron’s, proud sponsor of the No. 99, will give away an autographed hat to a lucky race fan through Facebook and Twitter following any top-10 finish. Follow Aaron’s on Twitter (@aaronssports) and become a fan on Facebook (Facebook.com/AaronsSports).

Diamond-Waltrip Racing - Montreal Post Race

2010-08-29T21:02:00.000-04:00

• Trevor Bayne, No. 99 OUT! Pet Care Toyota Camry - Finished 10th - Now eighth in points. • Patrick Carpentier, No. 00 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry - Finished 32nd

Trevor Bayne Race Summary: In only his third NASCAR Nationwide Series road course race in his brief career, No. 99 OUT! Pet Care driver Trevor Bayne earned a 10th-place finish and remained eighth in the championship point standings. The 19-year-old driver started the race 20th, but climbed into the top 10 by lap 19. The Knoxville, Tenn., native raced sixth and appeared ready to compete for the victory in the closing laps. With four laps remaining Bayne and J.R. Fitzpatrick made contact sending the No. 99 Toyota into the wall. The OUT! Pet Care Camry suffered major damage, forcing it to limp home in 10th— the eighth top-10 finish of the season. Next weekend the Nationwide series heads to Atlanta for Saturday night’s race.

TREVOR BAYNE, OUT! Pet Care Toyota
• Bayne started 20th and finished 10th
• Eighth top-10 finish of the season and 10th of his career
• Narrowly avoided several incidents early in the race
• Raced in 10th by lap 19 and as high as fourth during a pit cycle with 27 laps remaining
• Restarted sixth on lap 67 then involved in two on-track incidents
• Suffered front and rear damage as he attempted to avoid a wreck on lap 68, but stayed out.
• Bumped by J.R. Fitzpatrick and made contact with the outside wall causing a flat tire on lap 73
• Bayne restarted 10th—the last car on the lead lap for the green-white-checkered finish and finished 10th.
• In 40 starts, Bayne has four poles, four top-five and 10 top-10 finishes

BAYNE QUOTE: "We had a really good OUT! Pet Care Toyota today. I learned so much. I had a lot of fun today. Once we were able to run consecutive green flag laps I started to get a lot faster. I am really happy with a top-10 finish however I think we could have finished top five if we didn't get wrecked. Overall, it was a great day for the No. 99 team."

Patrick Carpentier Race Summary: In his first NASCAR Nationwide Series start since Montreal last year, No. 00 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota driver Patrick Carpentier looked fast before mechanical gremlins brought an early end to his race and left him with a 32nd-place finish. The Quebec native started 13th, but quickly found himself racing at the front of the field. The Michael Waltrip Racing team employed a fuel-mileage strategy early in the race that saw Carpentier make multiple fuel stops around lap 16 hoping it would pay off at the end of the race. The stops dropped the No. 00 back to 29th, but Carpentier didn’t stay there long as he worked his way back up to fifth by lap 34. His race ended when he pulled behind the wall on lap 51 due to an issue with the car’s track bar.

PATRICK CARPENTIER, NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota
• Carpentier started 13th and finished 32nd
• First Nationwide Series start since he finished 38th at Montreal last season
• Quickly moved the No. 00 NAPA Toyota into the top-10 by lap 10
• Pitted several times for fuel around lap 16 to try a fuel mileage strategy that dropped him back to 29th
• Raced back into the top-10 and as high as fifth by lap 34
• Rolled behind the wall and eventually retired on lap 51 due to an issue with the track bar.

CARPENTIER QUOTE: "An unfortunate circumstance for the NAPA team. (Crew Chief) Bootie (Barker) called a great race and we were looking forward to challenging for a win in front of all the NAPA Canada people in the stands. It just wasn't meant to happen. I can’t thank Michael Waltrip Racing and Robert Hattem (President and COO, NAPA Canada) with Napa Canada enough for the opportunity to race in front of so many friends and fans.”

NNS Racing Results
• Boris Said beat Max Papis to the finish line by .012 seconds to win his first NASCAR Nationwide Series race
• The margin of victory is the fifth closest in series history
• The win is the first for Boris Said in 22 career Nationwide Series starts
• Jacques Villeneuve, Brad Keselowski and Paul Menard rounded out the top five
• Brad Keselowski leads the point standings by 365 over second-place Carl Edwards
• The race featured 11 lead changes among eight drivers. Cautions slowed the race seven time for 19 laps.
• The race lasted three hours, 17 minutes.
• NASCAR estimated 70,000 race fans in attendance at Montreal

Ryan Truex Gresham Motorsports Park Preview

2010-08-24T18:24:00.000-04:00

CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 00 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota driver Ryan Truex continues his chase for the K&N Pro Series East championship Saturday at Gresham Motorsports Park in Jefferson, Ga. The 18-year-old Mayetta, N.J. native has three races left to achieve his back-to-back championship quest as well as garner his second title for Michael Waltrip Racing.

Truex is the son of race car driver Martin Truex Sr. and the younger brother of Martin Truex Jr. who drives the No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Truex tested his East Series car with crew chief Mike Greci at Gresham on Aug. 19.

QUOTES

Truex on racing at Gresham Motorsports Park: "Gresham is a fast track. I really like running there a lot. This will be my first time actually racing there, and I’m confident that my NAPA team can go there and do well. It’s a track that I feel comfortable on. I’ve heard a lot of guys compare it to Bristol, but with less banking so I’ll have to stay on my toes. I think our main strategy will be to make sure the car rotates in the center, and to qualify well for the track position. I’m definitely looking forward to getting on the track Saturday.”

Truex on his chase for the East Series Championship: "We are just trying to take this one race at a time right now. The championship is our long term goal, but we can’t get ahead of ourselves. We have Gresham to focus on this weekend and two more races after that. Greci and I have both just been focusing on one race at a time and I think that has worked out well for us.”

Truex on testing at Gresham: “Our test went really well. Greci and my guys put a great car together for this track. We unloaded and were immediately fast, that’s always a fun way to start a testing session. We worked making minor changes and picked up time towards the end of the test. I think this was a great confidence boost for my whole team and really got us all excited to go back and race on Saturday night.”

Greci on working with Ryan at Gresham: “He did an exceptional job at the test on Thursday. We were fast when we unloaded off of the trailer and he continued to get better as we continued. He really likes the track and is comfortable there. I think that all of the testing he has done in the Cup cars there has been a huge help to him.”

Notes

Veteran Mike Greci, who once served as Martin Truex Jr.’s crew chief, has been working with Truex throughout his career in the East Series beginning in 2008.

Truex is the first driver to earn a championship for Michael Waltrip Racing when he won the K&N Pro Series East Championship in 2009. He leads the 2010 standings by 33 points over Darrell Wallace Jr. with three races left in the championship.

Truex is the third member of his family to win in the K&N Pro Series East. His father, Martin Truex Sr. won at New Hampshire in 1994 and his brother Martin Truex Jr. won five times.

2010-08-24T16:50:00.000-04:00

CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 00 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota driver Patrick Carpentier returns to the NASCAR Nationwide Series with Michael Waltrip Racing Saturday at his home track of Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal.

The 39-year-old is sure to be one of the race favorites on Sunday. He won the pole and led 14 laps in his series debut in the 2007 Montreal race. In just three races at the 2.71-mile road course, he has back-to-back runner up finishes and looked sporty last season before a mechanical issue ended his day. In Nationwide Series competition, he’s earned five top-10 finishes in 13 events.

Carpentier also reunites with crew chief Robert “Bootie” Barker III who worked with the Joliette (Quebec) native on MWR’s No. 55 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota in the 2009 Infineon and Watkins Glen Sprint Cup races.

QUOTES

Carpentier on racing in Montreal: "Every race car driver wants to do well, but when you race in front of all your friends and family in your hometown it becomes something extra special. We've been so close in Montreal, and last year I thought we were going to have a shot at the win. NAPA and Michael Waltrip Racing gave me a great car last year and I expect to contend for the victory again this year. Winning in Montreal would definitely be a highlight in my career.

“The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is an awesome track and every year it puts on a heck of a show. Fans are going to see a lot of action with these Nationwide Series cars and I am looking forward to competing against some of the NASCAR Sprint Cup regulars like Carl Edwards. It will certainly be interesting and something that I have been looking forward to.”

Crew chief Bootie Barker on preparing for Montreal: “I’ve never been to Montreal before so I will be leaning heavily on Patrick and crew chief Jerry Baxter. They raced together last year and were very quick right off the truck. We are going back with a very similar set up. Common sense would say and I am hoping, it is close enough that we can adjust accordingly and remain as competitive as they were last year.

On reuniting with Carpentier: “I really enjoyed working with Patrick last year. We ran really well at Infineon and had a good run going at Watkins Glen before Patrick was wrecked. Patrick doesn’t consider himself a road-course racer with all of his oval experience, but he’s one of the best out there. He’s probably run more laps at Montreal than most of the other drivers. He knows exactly what he needs to run well at Montreal so he’ll have no problem telling me where he needs to turn better or what his issues may be. I’ll just do my job and communicate to the crew how to adjust for him. It helps that I’ve worked with him before and know the type of feel he is looking for and likes.”

Notes

• MEDIA AVAILABILITY—Trevor Bayne and Carpentier will attend Thursday’s media luncheon at Noon in the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve Media Center.

• Carpentier earned the Toyota Atlantic Series Championship title in 1996.

• Carpentier competed in 140 CART races earning five wins and five pole positions.

• Carpentier made his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut at Watkins Glen in 2007.

• Carpentier won the Sprint Cup pole at New Hampshire on June 27, 2008.

• Barker is a crew chief in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for the No. 13 Toyota.

• Carpentier owns two Sprint Cup starts in 2010.

Trevor Bayne - Montreal Preview

2010-08-24T16:33:00.000-04:00

CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 99 OUT! Pet Care driver Trevor Bayne makes his first trip outside the United States this weekend when he and the NASCAR Nationwide Series visit the 14-turn, 2.710-mile road course Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. Only Brad Keselowski, Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch have scored more points than the 19-year-old driver Diamond Waltrip driver in the last Nationwide races10 races. Road course expert Michael McDowell tutored the Knoxville, Tenn. native in preparation for Sunday’s NAPA AUTO PARTS 200. The duo spent time driving a simulator and racing go-karts at Kershaw Speedway in South Carolina. Michael Waltrip Racing will field the No. 00 NAPA Toyota for driver Patrick Carpentier this weekend.

QUOTES

TREVOR BAYNE ON MONTREAL: “This will be my first time I have ever been out of the country. I am really looking forward to another road course race. I’ve never raced at Montreal but Michael (McDowell) has been working with me lately to get ready. Even though we only have one good finish on a road course this year, I think it’s fun to change it up a little. We have been on a long stretch of racing so it’s fun to throw something different into the mix outside of oval racing. However, our oval program is really strong right now so I hate to deviate from that, but hopefully we can make this program strong as well.”

ON HAVING PATRICK CARPENTIER AS A TEAMMATE THIS WEEKEND: “I am going to lean on Patrick a lot this weekend. This is his home track and he ran so well there last year until the motor blew up. I am going to get with him at the race track before practice starts and pick his brain a little. I’ll also follow him a few laps to try and get my rhythm down. I have to use all my resources this weekend to give me that extra little edge over the other Nationwide regulars. We are going to the track this weekend with the same setup Patrick had last season so I think we should be pretty fast off the truck.”

ON SCORING THE FOURTH MOST POINTS IN THE LAST 10 RACES: “At the beginning of the season we said we wanted to be a top five team by the end of the year and I think we are there now. If we keep performing like we have the last month I think we can get close to the top five in points. It’s been great to have the feeling of success with this team. To overcome some obstacles in the beginning and now to be performing like we are and racing with the Cup guys every weekend. It’s been so exciting to be able to race with Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski and just running up front.”

NOTES OF INTEREST

• MEDIA AVAILABILITY—Bayne and Carpentier will attend Thursday’s media luncheon at Noon in the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve Media Center.

• Diamond-Waltrip Racing is owned by Gary and Blake Bechtel along with Michael Waltrip Racing. It fields Toyota Camrys out of the MWR shop in Cornelius, N.C. The Bechtels have owned cars in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series since 1990. The Morgan Hill, California residents’ teams have visited victory lane 10 times in the Nationwide Series.

• Bayne has three poles, three top-five and four top-10 finishes in the last six races.

• Bayne has led 95 laps – third most of any driver in the series and the most of any Nationwide Series only driver. He is one of four NNS only drivers (Allgaier– 2, Braun– 1, Leffler– 1) to lead laps over the last five races.

• Bayne owns 39 NNS starts. He has four poles (Indianapolis –2009, 2010, Gateway—2010 and Iowa 2010), four top-fives and nine top-10s and has led 129 laps. His best finish (third) came at Gateway International Raceway on July 17.

Reutimann’s Crew Captures Tissot Pit Road Award at Bristol; 2nd Tissot win of season for No. 00 team

2010-08-24T13:29:00.000-04:00

David Reutimann’s pit crew pocketed the Tissot Pit Road Precision Award in Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.

It was the second Tissot win of the season for Reutimann’s No. 00 crew, which moved into a four-way tie for third place in the weekly pit-road competition. Jeff Gordon’s No. 24 continues to lead the Tissot standings with four wins

The weekly Tissot winner receives $5,000 from Tissot plus a Tissot V8 Quartz Chronograph watch. The team with the most Tissot Pit Road Precision Award wins at the completion of the 36-race schedule will receive a $105,000 bonus plus Tissot watches for the over-the-wall crew members and driver.

Reutimann’s Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota spent the least amount of time on pit road – 199.713 seconds -- during the 500-lap race at the half-mile oval. The quick work by the No. 00 crew helped Reutimann to a second-place finish.

Coming in second was Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Doublemint Toyota – 199.763 seconds and third was Gordon’s No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet – 204.369.

Reutimann’s over-the-wall crew consists of: Ryan Langley (front-tire changer), Chris Hall (front-tire carrier), Lee Cunningham (rear-tire changer), Donnie Marvel (rear-tire carrier), Tony Cardamone (jackman), Aaron Pieratt (gasman) and Jeff Seaberg (catch can). The team’s crew chief is Rodney Childers and the pit crew coach is Greg Miller.

“The Aaron’s Dream Machine No. 00 crew has been great all season long and Saturday night at Bristol was no exception,” said Childers. “They knew we had a great starting position and needed to have consistently great stops all night to keep us up front. With David (Reutimann) feeling under the weather all weekend it was even more important to support him as best they could. It all came together very well. They guys did a great job and I can’t say enough about the job they’ve done all season.”

Tissot has been the official watch and timekeeper of NASCAR since 2006. The company is also the official timekeeper for a number of other sports, including the MotoGP World Championship, the Ice Hockey World Championship and the Cycling World Championship.

INSURANCE OFFICE OF AMERICA & MICHAEL WALTRIP RACING ANNOUNCE CORPORATE PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT

2010-08-24T09:28:00.000-04:00

CORNELIUS, N.C. – Michael Waltrip Racing and Insurance Office of America (IOA) today announced a corporate partnership agreement in which IOA becomes a partner of Michael Waltrip Racing. The agreement marks IOA’s debut in NASCAR.

The partnership between MWR and IOA is for an initial five-year term with a five-year option. In addition to the insurance brokerage services, the IOA program includes hospitality and intellectual property usage that IOA will add to its national branding campaign.

IOA’s program uses sports and entertainment as its lead platform for strategic growth. MWR joins a growing number of professional sports teams as IOA’s client, including partnerships with teams in the National Football League (Jaguars), National Basketball Association (Magic) National Hockey League (Devils) and the NCAA (University of Central Florida).

“This is an exciting time for IOA to enter into NASCAR. We look forward to working with Michael, (MWR Co-owner) Rob Kauffman and the entire team at MWR,” said IOA founder John Ritenour.

Chris Marciani, vice president of sales and service at Michael Waltrip Racing, said the team is honored IOA chose MWR as its first NASCAR team.

"We're glad IOA saw the value in MWR," said Marciani. "We're building a ton of momentum here and feel like IOA will serve as a valued partner in the coming years as we continue our growth."

Paul Garofolo of Premier Partnerships in Cleveland brokered the agreement. Premier Partnerships is an industry leading sports sales and consulting firm focused on revenue generation for facilities, events and properties. Premier Partnerships is based in Los Angeles with offices in New York, Dallas and Cleveland.

Insurance Office of America is one of the largest full service insurance agencies in the United States and is based in Longwood, Fla. a suburb of Orlando. Founded over 20 years ago by Chairman John Ritenour, IOA is among the fastest growing independent insurance agencies and is one of the largest, privately-held insurance agencies in the United States. IOA partners with many insurance companies which offer clients a wide choice of commercial insurance policies custom-tailored to the unique requirements of professional sports & entertainment properties.

MWR fields fulltime NASCAR Sprint Cup teams for Martin Truex Jr. and David Reutimann as well as a K&N Pro Series entry for Ryan Truex. MWR along with Gary and Blake Bechtel co-own Diamond-Waltrip Racing that fields a Nationwide entry for Trevor Bayne.

MWR Bristol Race Report

2010-08-21T23:32:00.001-04:00

David Reutimann, No. 00 AARON’S Dream Machine Toyota Camry - finished second and now 17th in points.

Martin Truex Jr., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry - finished 17th and now 20th in points.

David Reutimann Race Summary: No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota driver David Reutimann endured food poisoning on Friday then posted a second-place finish Saturday night in the 500-lap NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Saturday marked the first time in his Sprint Cup career Reutimann earned a second-place finish. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver started fifth and raced in the top five throughout the night leading 25 laps around the 400-lap mark before Kyle Busch made the race winning pass with just 81 laps remaining. Reutimann held off Jamie McMurray in the closing laps to secure second place. Reutimann is 17th in points and 155 points out of the 12th and final Chase position with two races remaining. The Sprint Cup Series enjoys an off weekend before traveling to Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sept. 5.

David Reutimann, No. 00 AARON’S DREAM MACHINE Toyota Camry

Started fifth and finished second.

Reutimann led 25 laps and raced in the top five throughout the race.

Marked his first second-place finish in his Sprint Cup career.

17th in points—155 points behind Clint Bowyer in the final spot in the “Chase for the Championship.”

Fifth top-five of the season and 10th of his career.

Suffered from food poisoning on Friday. He and Aric Almirola shared driving duties in Friday practice.

REUTIMANN QUOTE: "(Crew Chief) Rodney Childers and the guys gave me exactly what I asked for tonight. All in all it was a great team effort by Michael Waltrip Racing this weekend. My team did a really good job. They had to work with two drivers on Friday with two different styles and they were able to make it work. We know we are capable of winning races. My team is an excellent team. We have some good race tracks coming up for us so we are going to keep digging and see how this thing turns out.”

Martin Truex Jr. Race Summary: No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr. and his Michael Waltrip Racing team recorded its 16th top-20 finish of the season at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday night. Truex started ninth and finished 17th. Truex raced in the top 10 for the first 200 laps but handling issues midway through the race halted progress. An inopportune caution put the team a lap down. Truex is now 20th in points. The Sprint Cup Series enjoys an off weekend before traveling to Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sept. 5.

Martin Truex Jr., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota

Started ninth and finished 17th.

Climbed as high as fifth on lap 132.

Reported difficulty turning and dropped to 18th after the lap 200 restart.

Raced 17th at the lap 300 mark.

Pitted under green on lap 401, but nine laps later the caution came out dropping him down a lap.

Marked his 16th top-20 finish in 2010.

TRUEX QUOTE: "Our car was so unpredictable tonight for some reason. It would bounce so bad that I didn't know what it was going to do. It was just confusing. It went wrong for us somewhere after such a strong start. We'll figure it out and keep working on it."

RACE NOTES:

Kyle Busch led 284 of the 500 laps to claim the victory.

Became the first driver to win the truck, Nationwide and Sprint Cup races in one weekend.

Reutimann, Jamie McMurray and Clint Bowyer and Kasey Kahne rounded out top five.

There were seven cautions for 39 laps and 17 lead changes among nine leaders.

Average speed 99.077 mph with only 13 cars on lead lap at the end of the race.

Diamond-Waltrip Racing - Bristol Post Race

2010-08-21T10:42:00.000-04:00

Trevor Bayne, No. 99 OUT! Pet Care Toyota Camry - finished sixth - remains eighth in points.

Trevor Bayne Race Summary: No. 99 OUT! Pet Care Toyota driver Trevor Bayne raced his way to a career-best finish of sixth at Bristol Motor Speedway. Before tonight the Diamond-Waltrip Racing drivers best finish at the ’Worlds Fastest Half-Mile’ was 23rd. The Knoxville, Tenn., native started 17th and quickly moved through the field. However, a ill-handling race car, along with some fender damage, forced the No. 99 OUT! Pet Care Toyota to pit road more than his competitors. With just over 50 laps remaining, Bayne restarted 20th but he was able to slice his way to sixth before the checkered flag waved on lap 250. The solid top-10 finish allowed Bayne to remain eight in the NASCAR Nationwide Series championship point standings. Next weekend the NNS travel north of the boarder to Montreal for the final road course event of the season.

TREVOR BAYNE, OUT! Pet Care Toyota

• Bayne started 17th and finished sixth

• This was Bayne’s seventh top-10 finish of the season and ninth of his career

• Bayne struggled with and ill-handling race car during the middle part of the race

• Bayne suffered left-front fender damage with just over 50 laps remaining in the race

• Bayne grabbed 13 spots in the closing laps to finish sixth

• In 39 starts, Bayne has four poles, four top-five and nine top-10 finishes

BAYNE QUOTE: “Not bad. We finally got a good finish at Bristol. We got a sixth-place finish. This team has so much momentum. When we finish sixth now we feel like it’s a 15th back in the day. We’re like, ‘Man, we’re so ready to get into the top-three or victory lane.’ It was an awesome Out! Pet Care Toyota today. A little bit tight and that’s what we fought all day. It seemed like we dropped back quite a bit, but we got through the field at the end and got a sixth-place finish.”

NNS Racing Results

• Kyle Busch won the Food City 250, his 40th victory in 193 NNS races

• This is this 10th victory and 17th top-10 finish in 2010. This is his second victory and 10th top10 finish in 13 races at Bristol Motor Speedway

• Jason Leffler (second) posted his seventh top-10 finish in 15 races at BMS

• Elliott Sadler, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Carl Edward rounded out the top five

• The race featured 10 lead changes among six drivers. Cautions slowed the race eight time for 48 laps.

• NASCAR estimated 112,000 race fans in attendance at Bristol

Bristol Motor Speedway - Qualifying Report

2010-08-20T19:05:00.000-04:00

Bristol Motor Speedway Qualifying Results

David Reutimann¬—No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota — qualified fifth.
Martin Truex Jr. — No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota — qualified ninth.

Friday Recap

• Jimmie Johnson won the Coors Light Pole Award—his first of the season and first at Bristol.
• Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart rounded out top three.
• Point leader Kevin Harvick will start 28th
• JTG-Daugherty’s Marcos Ambrose will start 22nd
• Saturday’s race begins at 7 p.m. (Eastern) on ABC-TV, PRN Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio channel 128.

DAVID REUTIMANN — “It was a good lap. The guys did a really, really good job all day having to work with two different drivers. (Aric) Almirola helped us out a lot today and I have to thank him. Rodney Childers (crew chief) and all my guys, they hustled. We weren’t that good in our mock qualifying runs, but the car was a lot better. I owe a lot to those guys. Those guys hustled and made all those changes to get two drivers in and out. I didn’t make it easy for them today, but I appreciate all they do.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR. — “Our lap was pretty good. An early draw is obviously not what we wanted but I felt pretty good about the lap. It’s a good pick up from practice. We had a really good practice in our NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota. We weren’t the fastest on the quick lap, but on the long runs, we were really good. I think we’ll be pretty good for tomorrow night. I’m pretty happy with the changes we made right there. Turns 1 and 2 were really good. We were a little bit too loose in Turns 3 and 4 with the sun on it. We’ll just have to wait and see what the draw will do. All and all, it was a good pick up for us -- a good lap and a good job by the NAPA Know How crew.”

AAA MID-ATLANTIC & MICHAEL WALTRIP RACING ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP ON MARTIN TRUEX’S NO. 56 TOYOTA

2010-08-20T09:45:00.001-04:00

AAA MID-ATLANTIC & MICHAEL WALTRIP RACING ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP ON MARTIN TRUEX’S NO. 56 TOYOTA

DOVER, Del. – Michael Waltrip Racing announced today AAA Mid-Atlantic will join Martin Truex Jr. ’s No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota as an associate sponsor at the Sept. 26 NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Dover International Speedway.

The company’s decal will adorn the No. 56 Toyota’s lower quarter panels during the AAA 400 at the Monster Mile.

In addition, AAA will be conducting the AAA Ultimate Monster Mile Sweepstakes which will include heavy involvement from Michael Waltrip Racing, especially Truex. The winner of the month-long sweepstakes will receive four tickets to the AAA 400, a meet and greet with Truex along with garage access passes, a pre-race tour of the No. 56 hauler, a pre-race meal with the Michael Waltrip Racing Team and participation in the pre-race driver introductions. Truex will record radio spots and AAA plans to feature the No. 56 Toyota in promotional collateral.

AAA Mid-Atlantic is based in Wilmington, Delaware, and serves nearly four million members in New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and the District of Columbia, with personal insurance, financial, automotive and travel services through 53 retail branches, regional operations centers and the Internet, at aaa.com/community

Company officials said it is no coincidence Truex, a Mayetta, N.J. native, will carry the AAA Mid-Atlantic decals.

“Our area of the country is very passionate about racing particularly NASCAR,” said Matthew Haas, Director, Partnership & Event Marketing, AAA Mid-Atlantic. “Sunday’s race in Dover is one of the biggest sporting events of the year and we couldn’t pass up an opportunity to add to the excitement of the AAA 400 by supporting one of our own in Martin Truex Jr. We have a lot of AAA members in the area who are big supporters of the Truex family.”

Truex said he appreciated the support.

“A lot of people don’t realize the amount of interest in racing in this area,” said the 30-year-old Truex whose father Martin raced and whose younger brother Ryan is a champion driver for MWR. “Dover is as close (about 150 miles) to my hometown in New Jersey as we get so it’s always a special weekend for me when we go there.”

MWR fields fulltime NASCAR Sprint Cup teams for Truex and David Reutimann as well as a K&N Pro Series entry for Ryan Truex. MWR along with Gary and Blake Bechtel co-own Diamond-Waltrip Racing that fields a fulltime Nationwide entry for Trevor Bayne.

ESPN will broadcast the race at 1 p.m.

Contact: Eric Goldscher, Aquarius Sports & Entertainment 240-547-3483

Contact: Matthew Haas, AAA Mid-Atlantic 302-299-4434

David Reutimann - Bristol Motor Speedway Preview

2010-08-17T16:22:00.000-04:00

CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota driver David Reutimann knows he has a lot of ground to make up in a very short amount of time to earn a spot in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series “Chase for the Championship.” With races remaining at Bristol, Atlanta and Richmond, Reutimann finds himself 18th in points trailing the top-12 by 165 points. But Reutimann and the Michael Waltrip Racing crew have reason for optimism. In the spring races at both Bristol and Atlanta, Reutimann raced in the top-five chasing down the leaders before mechanical problems ended both races early. He recorded a 15th-place finish at Richmond after starting second.

QUOTES

ON THE FINAL THREE RACES BEFORE THE CHASE CUT OFF: “I love Bristol! I love Atlanta. Richmond is one of those places that I really like, we’ve struggled a little bit there, but I do like the racetrack. We have some good racetracks coming up for us. I’m looking forward to getting back to the mile-and-a-half at Atlanta. We had a really good run going there earlier this year, but again, we didn’t get the finish we would have liked. We had two great races going earlier this year at Bristol and Atlanta, but ended the race early due to some issues that forced us behind the wall. I was second at Bristol and hanging around the top-five at Atlanta and we weren’t able to finish either of those races – so I’d like to get back there and run the way I know we are capable of running. We have a great team. The guys on the No. 00 have been working hard and I know we have some good cars capable of running up front. Hopefully we’ll see that again in these last three races before the (Chase) cutoff.”

SATURDAY’S RACE AT BRISTOL: “We had an excellent Aaron’s Dream Machine our first trip to Bristol this year – probably the best car we’ve ever had there. It didn’t turn out the way we’d of liked, but I know that we’re going to have a good car this time around. Goodyear’s got a little different tire this time, but in our business you can never just go back with the exact same stuff and expect to run well. That never seems to work – you always have to constantly evolve and change this up. I feel good about going back there this time – I’m pretty excited about it because we’ve struggled a little bit lately.”

No. 00 TEAM PERFORMANCE SINCE WINNING CHICAGO: “Honestly, we just haven’t been very good. Since our Chicago win the rest of our races have been pretty disappointing. We just have to get back on our game and start running like we are capable of doing. That’s really the long and short of it. I know everybody is working really, really hard, but sometimes things just don’t go your way. Things haven’t gone our way. I know that we’re a much better team than where we’re running right now, and that makes it even worse. We’ll get back on the other side of it. Hopefully we’ll do it at Bristol this week.”

ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST

• Reutimann chose “The Game” by Motorhead as his introduction song prior to Saturday night’s race. Motörhead is a British rock power trio well-known in the professional wrestling community for performing “The Game” as the entrance music for popular WWE wrestler Triple H.

• Reutimann has finished on the lead lap in 18 of 20 races that he was running at the finish and 18 out of 23 total races in 2010. He has finished 20th or better in 16 of the 20 races that he has been running at the finish in 2010—and 15th or better in 12 of the 20. Reutimann has collected 25 bonus points for leading laps in five races in 2010.

• Reutimann won the LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on July 10. The Sprint Cup Series win is his first of the season and second of his career. Reutimann led 52 laps in the win — the second highest total of any race in his career (Best, 104 laps at Richmond in fall 2008).

Martin Truex Jr. Bristol Preview

2010-08-17T15:48:00.000-04:00

CORNELIUS, N.C. — Martin Truex Jr. and the NAPA Know How team visit Bristol Motor Speedway Saturday night for one of the most exciting races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season. The No. 56 Michael Waltrip Racing team’s string of recent success includes scoring the 12th-most points in the last five races including two top-10 finishes in the last three events. Truex said nearly every driver and all fans enjoy races on the half-mile track that celebrates its 100th Sprint Cup race this weekend.

Truex is busy off the track as well this week. Today, he launched the Martin Truex Jr. Authentics website www.mtjauthentics.com for NASCAR fans and outdoor enthusiasts. The website includes hunting and fishing tips from Truex plus recommended products.

QUOTES

TRUEX ON RACING AT BRISTOL: “Bristol is one of those tracks that I think all of us like no matter where we grew up racing. The NAPA team had a good run there back in March and in 2004, I won my first Nationwide Series race there. I’ve always enjoyed racing there especially after they redid the concrete and the banking. It’s a lot of fun to race on because you can go two, three wide. You can also run the top groove now so it’s a lot more fun to drive. I just enjoy having options. If your car isn’t working right on the bottom, you can try going high and maybe pick up three or four-tenths a lap. Who wouldn’t like to be able to do that? It also creates great racing for the fans.”

CREW CHIEF PAT TRYSON ON BRISTOL: “Bristol is a little harder on crew chiefs because we don’t have as much time to think about things. My job is to watch and base decisions on what is right for the team and what most teams will do. Lately, Bristol has seen a lot of long, green-flag runs. It has changed a lot as far as how the race is run. Our NAPA team has been really running well starting in May. We should have more points, but there were some races where something happened that was out of our control. Our goal for this race is to win, obviously, or at least leave with another top-10.”

ON MTJAUTHENTICS.COM: "I'm really excited to create a place for people like me who enjoy NASCAR, hunting and fishing. It should be a good place to interact online. I'll be visiting the site a lot to upload my personal hunting and fishing pictures, give fans a few tips and feature products that work for me."

NOTES OF INTEREST

Saturday night is Truex’s 177th Sprint Cup Series race and 10th at the 0.533-mile track. His best start (March 16, 2008) and finish (Aug. 25, 2007) is 11th. During his Cup career, Truex has earned three top–15 and five top-25 finishes at BMS. His average start is 19th and his average finish is 24th. In Nationwide Series competition, Truex has one victory, one top-five and four top-10 finishes.

Crew Chief Pat Tryson called the winning race at Bristol back on March 25, 2001 with driver Elliott Sadler.

Trevor Bayne - Bristol Preview

2010-08-17T13:50:00.000-04:00

CORNELIUS, N.C. — When Trevor Bayne visited Bristol Motor Speedway in March his goal was to log laps and finish the race. When the Knoxville native fires up his No. 99 OUT! Pet Care Toyota in Friday night’s NASCAR Nationwide race he’ll be disappointed with any finish outside the top five. That’s a measure of the progress made by the 19-year-old Diamond-Waltrip Racing driver in his first full season in the series. Only two drivers have scored more points than Bayne over the last five races and no Nationwide only driver has outscored Bayne. During those five races Bayne owns three poles, three top-five, four top-15 finishes and led 95 laps.

QUOTES

TREVOR BAYNE ON THE PAST FIVE RACES: “We’ve had a lot of success the past month or two. I think Jerry Baxter (crew chief) and I are really starting to gel. We have been able to bring really fast race cars to the track each week. We have been able to unload really fast so we aren’t spending all practice chasing our tails. I also think it helps that we are starting to go back to tracks that I have raced on before. I know what I need in the car to run up front. It’s been really cool to race against some of the veterans of the sport lately. I think I have started to prove myself to them and they are starting to show me some respect.”

HOW IMPORTANT IS TRACK POSITION AT BRISTOL? “Track position is huge at Bristol. Before they repaved the track you stayed single-file and had room to move or bump people out of the way. Now when they’re two and three wide, you can get shuffled out in a hurry. We need to qualify well. That will help us stay out of all the havoc that happens in the middle of the pack. They race like maniacs in the back of the pack. You can go a lap down pretty quick at Bristol so you really want to stay with the leaders and stay out of trouble.”

NOTES OF INTEREST

• Diamond-Waltrip Racing is owned by Gary and Blake Bechtel along with Michael Waltrip Racing. It fields Toyota Camrys out of the MWR shop in Cornelius, N.C. The Bechtels have owned cars in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series since 1990. The Morgan Hill, California residents’ teams have visited victory lane 10 times in the Nationwide Series.

• In the last five races, Bayne has led 95 laps – third most of any driver in the series and the most of any NASCAR Nationwide Series only driver (See Sidebar). He is one of four NNS only drivers (Allgaier– 2, Braun– 1, Leffler– 1) to lead laps over the last five races.

• Bayne started 26th and finished 23rd in his first career NNS start at Bristol in March 2009.

• The 19-year-old driver is no rookie to BMS. He has six career starts at the .533-mile oval with his best finish of third coming behind the wheel of a USAR Pro Cup Series car in 2007. Additionally, in 2006, Bayne led the USAR field with 15 laps remaining but finished outside the top 20 after a spin.

• Bayne owns 38 NNS starts. He has four poles (Indianapolis –2009, 2010, Gateway—2010 and Iowa 2010), four top-fives and eight top-10s and has led 129 laps. His best finish (third) came at Gateway International Raceway on July 17.

• The Knoxville native will sign autographs at the Food City Race Night. He will be at the Knoxville Expo Center on Wednesday 6–8 p.m. The Diamond-Waltrip driver will also be at State Street in Bristol on Thursday 5–6 p.m.

MWR Michigan Race Report

2010-08-15T18:56:00.000-04:00

Martin Truex Jr., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry - finished eighth-now 20th in points.

David Reutimann, No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry - finished 16th-now 18th in points.

Martin Truex Jr. Race Summary: Martin Truex Jr. and the NAPA racing team finished eighth in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Michigan International Speedway marking the sixth top-10 finish in 2010 for the Michael Waltrip Racing team. The Mayetta, N.J., native started ninth and raced in the top 12 for most of the race. During a caution with about 45 laps to go, Crew chief Pat Tryson kept Truex on the track while most of the frontrunners pitted. The NAPA Toyota restarted second then quickly took the lead on the restart and stayed at the front of the field for five laps. Truex pitted during the following caution and battled his way to eighth when the checkered flag waved. Truex remains 20th in the point standings. The Sprint Cup series returns to action Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway.

MARTIN TRUEX JR.: "Overall it was a good day for the NAPA Toyota. Pat (Tryson, crew chief) did a really good job calling the race. We stayed out that one time and got track position and then were able to get our four tires and we were able to stay up there. We had a really good car on the long run. It took us a while to get going on the short run and that hurt us. We were as good as anyone on the long run. It just took us too long. It's something to work with. We were a lot better than we were here last time. The guys are working good and making the cars better and we feel good about that."

Truex Notes:

Truex started ninth and finished eighth—now 20th in points.

The No. 56 climbed from ninth to fifth in the early going.

On lap 83 the No. 56 dropped from ninth to 20th due to a loose handling condition.

The NAPA team tried several adjustments over the next 75 laps to tighten the car.

On lap 154 Truex stayed out under caution and restarted second.

Truex grabbed the lead on the restart then led laps 160-164— upping his total to 13 for the 2010 season.

Owns six top-10 finishes in 23 starts completing 96 percent of the laps.

David Reutimann Race Summary: No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota driver David Reutimann spent most of Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Michigan International Speedway adjusting to the constantly changing track conditions before earning a hard fought 16th-place finish. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver moved from 14th to 10th in the first 60 laps, but struggled with the balance of the racecar as the day progressed. The No. 00 team stayed out to gain track position on lap 159, but a series of quick cautions dropped Reutimann to 19th at the final restart on lap 172. Reutimann raced his way to 16th before the checked flag flew on lap 200. Reutimann remains 18th in the point standings, trailing the top 12 by 165 points with three races remaining before the Chase cutoff. The series returns to action Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway.

DAVID REUTIMANN: “We just fought it all day today. We’d work to correct one thing and it would hurt something else. We tried some pit strategy by staying out late in the race to gain some track position, but really we just did the best we could with the Aaron’s Dream Machine. The track conditions were tough today, but on a day like today you just do what you can to gain every position. We’ll take it and head to Bristol.”

Reutimann Notes:

Reutimann started 14th and finished 16th.

The No. 00 raced its way from 14th to 10th in the first 60 laps

The Aaron’s Dream Machine struggled with a tight center, loose off handling condition

The No. 00 fell a lap down during a green flag stop on lap 135, but raced back to the lead lap within seven laps.

Reutimann stayed out under caution on lap 159 to restart fourth.

Reutimann restarted 19th on the final restart on lap 172 and improved to 16th when the race ended.

RACE NOTES:

Kevin Harvick recorded his third win of the year.

Harvick is the first driver to clinch a berth in the Chase for the Championship

Denny Hamlin, Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top five.

Kevin Harvick leads the point standings by 293 over Jeff Gordon

Race took 2 hours, 46 minutes and 38 seconds and included five cautions for 25 laps.

There were nine leaders and 17 lead changes.

NASCAR estimated the race attendance at 105,000 fans.

Diamond Waltrip/Michael Waltrip Racing Michigan Nationwide Report

2010-08-14T17:30:00.000-04:00

Diamond Waltrip Racing’s Trevor Bayne, driving the No. 99 Out Pet Care Toyota finished 11th—stays eighth in points.

Michael Waltrip Racing’s Ryan Truex, driver of the No. 00 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry - finished 12th.

Trevor Bayne Race Summary: No. 99 Out Pet Care Toyota driver Trevor Bayne posted an 11th-place finish Saturday in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Michigan International Speedway. The 19-year-old Diamond-Waltrip driver appeared destined for a top-three finish, but a caution in the final laps jumbled the field. Bayne pitted for four tires while some stayed on the track. He restarted the race 14th with less than 10 laps remaining. Bayne raced up to 11th when the checkered flag fell. Bayne remained eighth in points. The Nationwide Series returns to action Friday night at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Bayne started 8th then climbed into the top five by lap 50.

Bayne was one of the fastest cars on the track especially on long green flag runs.

Moved into the top three and raced third with 12 laps left in the race when the caution fell.

Pitted for four tires and restarted the race in 14th place.

Fought for clean air on the restart and climbed to 11th when checked flag fell.

BAYNE QUOTE: “We had a really good Out! Pet Care Camry today and were able to run up front all afternoon. It was a really tough call by Jerry (Baxter, crew chief) there at the end. We really thought that four tires would give us what we needed to get up front, but other guys only took two tires and that was the difference. We ran well all weekend and I think we had a car that could have finished in the top-five.”

Ryan Truex Race Summary: No. 00 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota driver Ryan Truex qualified second and raced in the top 10 most of the race before finishing 12th in Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Michigan International Speedway. The 18-year-old Michael Waltrip Racing driver ran in the top three the first 40 laps of the race outrunning Sprint Cup stars like Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch. A tight handling condition in the second half of the race prevented Truex from maintaining his pace, but he never ventured far outside the top 10. Truex makes his third Nationwide appearance at Richmond International Raceway on Sept. 10.

Truex qualified second in just his second NASCAR Nationwide Series race.

Truex ran second for the first 45 laps of the race.

Remained in the top ten through the first 100 laps as he battled a tight handling condition.

Brother Martin Truex Jr. sat on Ryan’s pit box and gave advice over the team radio throughout the race.

Saturday’s race marked Truex’s second of six scheduled 2010 Nationwide races.

Truex’s next Nationwide appearance is at Richmond on Sept. 10.

RYAN TRUEX: “It was a lot of fun. We had a good car. We were running with the 22 (Brad Keselowski) there at the beginning. We made a pit stop and with this car being new and us never running it before we weren’t sure about adjustments. We made an adjustment and it just didn’t agree with the car. We learned for next time. At the end there we got it better and we were running up there. I had a lot of fun and have to thank NAPA and Tow Truck in a Box for helping me out this weekend and this team for giving me a good car. I think me and Trevor (Bayne) finished right in front of each other. It was a fun day and a lot of fun racing. I learned a lot for next time.”

How much did your brother help you this weekend? “He taught me pretty much everything I used in the race. He’s been a lot of help and he was talking to me during the race and telling me what to do. He’s definitely been a big help. It’s been a fun weekend and I’m just happy we got out of here in one piece.”

Did you have any nervous moments in the race? “That last restart when that car blew up in front of me, I thought that race was over. I was dead sideways and I thought I was plowing into the wall. Somehow got through it, but that cost us a couple spots. It is what it is and I had a lot of fun. Happy to have the car in one piece and have a decent run.”

RACE NOTES:

Brad Keselowski won his fourth race of the season.

Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch rounded out the top three.

There were two cautions for nine laps.

The 1 hour and 39 minute race saw 11 lead changes among seven drivers.

NASCAR estimated 40,000 attended the race.

Michael Waltrip Racing - Michigan International Speedway Qualifying Report

2010-08-13T19:12:00.000-04:00

Martin Truex Jr. — No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota — qualified ninth.
David Reutimann¬—No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota — qualified 14th.

Friday Recap

• Kasey Kahne won the Coors Light Pole Award—his second of the season.
• Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer rounded out top three.
• Point leader Kevin Harvick will start eighth
• JTG-Daugherty’s Marcos Ambrose will start 37th
• Sunday’s race begins at 1 p.m. (Eastern) on ESPN.

MARTIN TRUEX JR.— ON QUALIFYING LAP: “It was a good pick up from practice so that is what you are always look-ing for is to better yourself. The guys did a good job making adjustments. I felt good about the car in practice. We were just off a little bit in three and four. We were too loose down there in practice and they actually got it a little too tight down there now. They did a good job adjusting, we just missed it a little bit today. Real happy with the effort and that was a good qualifying run for us.”

WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO WORK ON FOR PRACTICE TOMORROW? “Here, just grip. Long runs here and the tires wear out then it gets really, really slick. It was slick today, it will be worse tomorrow, it always is. Just work on getting the car driving decent and being good on long runs. That’s usually what it takes to be good here.”

DAVID REUTIMANN—ON QUALIFYING LAP: “We were loose coming to the green and I think that cost us some in getting up to speed. We were better than we were in practice, but we were still a fair way off from where we need to be. Just have to see how it stacks up.”

HOW MUCH DOES THIS TRACK CHANGE FROM JUNE TO AUGUST? “It doesn’t really matter – it seems to be the same from year to year. It just depends on what the temperature is and how much cloud cover there is and stuff like that. It doesn’t really seem to matter when, it just seems to matter what the temperatures are.”

Trevor Bayne - Michigan Preview

2010-08-10T16:14:00.000-04:00

CORNELIUS, N.C. — A past champion and a potential champion have enjoyed a pretty good streak of racing lately. Since No. 99 OUT! Pet Care Toyota driver Trevor Bayne came under the tutelage of his “driving coach” Johnny Benson in late July, Bayne has captured two poles and two top-five finishes as well as moved up three spots to eighth in the NASCAR Nationwide Series point standings.

Benson, the 1995 Nationwide Series and 2008 Craftsman Truck champion, will race his late model at area short tracks this weekend so he won’t attend Saturday’s race at Michigan International Speedway. The pair plan several phone conversations throughout the weekend to help speed the 19-year-old’s learning curve on the two-mile oval. Saturday marks the first race for the Nationwide Series’ new car on an intermediate track. The Diamond-Waltrip Racing team will test at MIS on Thursday, practice Friday, qualify and race Saturday.

QUOTES

DRIVING COACH JOHNNY BENSON ON WORKING WITH TREVOR BAYNE: “Trevor has done a tremendous job for Diamond-Waltrip Racing this season. They brought me on board to help him with a few things where my experience could help him move on a little quicker. Trevor has been great to work with so far and you can tell he is a really good kid. What I am really impressed with is his willingness to listen to what you want him to do. He will go out on the track and try anything that I want him to do. I think that really says a lot about him as a person. A lot of young kids don’t like to take advice from people and he has been real receptive. I think the way he takes things and how quickly he learns from his mistakes are going to be a huge positive for him now and in the future.”

CREW CHIEF JERRY BAXTER ON THE ADDTION OF JOHNNY BENSON: “Johnny has been a great asset to the team since we hired him a month or so ago. He is the first person that has focused on Trevor from a driver’s perspective. David Reutimann and Martin Truex Jr. try to help Trevor as much as they can but they just don’t have the time to focus 100 percent on him. If we would have had Johnny in February, Trevor would be light years ahead of where he is right now. Johnny helps Trevor stay focused and helps him relay what needs to be fixed about the car. I also think Trevor has done a great job in trusting Johnny and taking all his advice.”

TREVOR BAYNE ON RACING THE NEW CAR AT MICHIGAN: “I’m actually pretty excited about it more so than the current style cars. That’s because I have the opportunity to drive for a team at Diamond-Waltrip Racing that has the affiliation with a Cup team (Michael Waltrip Racing) under the same roof. We can feed off them. MWR’s COT program in the Cup series has been really strong here lately. David Reutimann won at Chicago and they’ve been running top-five almost every weekend. I’m actually pretty excited about it. We got to go test our car at Milwaukee and we ran with the current style cars. We were just as quick so I know that the new cars are going to be fast and have a little bit more drag. They’re going to be a handful. It’s going to separate the boys from the men a little bit. I love how you have to hustle them. It’s fun.”

NOTES OF INTEREST

• Bayne started second and finished 30th in June at MIS—his lone appearance at the track.

• Bayne will hold a media availability session in the media center on Thursday at 12:10 p.m.

• Diamond-Waltrip Racing is owned by Gary and Blake Bechtel along with Michael Waltrip Racing. It fields Toyota Camrys out of the MWR shop in Cornelius, N.C. The Bechtels have owned cars in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series since 1990. The Morgan Hill, California residents’ teams have visited victory lane 10 times in the Nationwide Series.

• Bayne owns 37 NNS starts. He has four poles (Indianapolis –2009, 2010, Gateway—2010 and Iowa 2010), four top-fives and eight top-10s and has led 129 laps. His best finish (third) came at Gateway International Raceway on July 17.

• Bayne continues to remain consistent in his qualifying efforts over his first 36 starts. During his short career, the Knoxville, Tenn., native has grabbed four poles (Indianapolis –2, Gateway - 1 and Iowa-1), 11 top-five and 20 top-10 starting positions. He boasts an 11.3 starting average and has only started 11 races outside the top 15

Martin Truex Jr. Michigan 2 Preview

2010-08-10T15:06:00.000-04:00

CORNELIUS, N.C. — NAPA Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. visits Michigan International Speedway after enjoying three days of smallmouth bass and salmon fishing at one of his favorite fishing holes in Grand Traverse Bay in Traverse City, Mich. The welcomed break comes after last weekend’s 15th-place finish at Watkins Glen International, his 10th top-15 of the season, and a trip to Philadelphia to throw out the first pitch at the Phillies-Mets game.

The 30-year-old Mayetta, N.J. native likes his chances this weekend and expects to improve upon his 17th-place finish at MIS on June 13. He and Crew Chief Pat Tryson should excel as the pair visit tracks for the second time together this season. Twelve of the final 14 races are at venues that have hosted a NASCAR Sprint Cup race in 2010.

QUOTES

TRUEX ON FISHING IN MICHIGAN: “This is the second time this season that I have come up here to take a break from it all and just fish. I absolutely love it because I enjoy the challenge of catching fish. Since I was a little kid I loved to fish. For me, it’s all about the catch and the challenge of finding the fish and making them bite when they don’t want to bite.”

ON ATTENDING SATURDAY’S PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES GAME: “I have thrown out a pitch before, but I did it along with five or six other guys. This time it was just me and it was a real honor to do it. It was a packed house at the Citizens Bank Park. I did not realize it, but it was Toyota Phillies Alumni Night! I literally walked out onto the field with 40 players from the Phillies past and it included Hall of Famers Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton and Jim Bunning! It was such an added bonus for me to experience that.”

ON RETURNING TO MICHIGAN: “I absolutely expect the NAPA team to be even better now that we are returning to tracks for a second time. We’ve learned a lot as a new team and are bringing back even better NAPA Toyotas. Sometimes it’s not a matter of what to do but what not to do based on what we’ve learned. I expect nothing but good things because with this being me and Pat’s first year together, we finally have a book of notes to work off of so it will be an advantage for us.”

NOTES OF INTEREST

• Sunday is Truex’s 176th Sprint Cup Series race and 10th at Michigan International Speedway. His best start of fifth came last season (Aug. 16). In 2007, he recorded back-to-back second-place finishes at the two-mile oval. He’s earned two top-five, two-top 10 and seven top-25 finishes. His average start is 14th and average finish is 17th. He has run 1,726 of 1,735 laps of competition (99.5%) and has led a total of 54 laps in competition.

• In his first race at MIS driving the No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota, Truex started 13th and finished 17th.

• Sign up for the NAPA Belden Spark Plug Wire “Take the Lead” Sweepstakes. Ten lucky winners will be chosen to ride with Truex at Charlotte Motor Speedway. They’ll also get to drive a few laps with the Richard Petty Driving Experience and take a behind-the-scenes tour of Michael Waltrip Racing. To enter, visit NAPABELDEN.com or NAPAonline.com now through Sept. 20.

• Don’t be left out. Over 10,000 fans have taken advantage of NAPA’s free Track Pass offer. To listen in to Truex’s in-car audio, register at www.nascar.com/napatruexscanner or www.NAPAonline.com. The offer is good through the remainder of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

• Check out Martin’s trip to the Philadelphia Phillies game: http://tiny.cc/l526n

David Reutimann - Michigan International Speedway Preview

2010-08-10T13:34:00.000-04:00

CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota driver David Reutimann spent his Monday traveling to Chicago to assist Chicagoland Speedway in announcing it will become the first race in the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chase for the Championship. The press conference took place at Fulton’s on the River in downtown Chicago and was attended by NASCAR VP of racing operations Steve O’Donnell, Reutimann, Kevin Harvick and Chicagoland Speedway president Craig Rust.

QUOTES

ON CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY BEING ADDED TO THE 2011 CHASE SCHEDULE:
“Chicagoland Speedway is a cool place. It’s a neat racetrack, the facility is phenomenal and the people are great. People can talk about the markets and all the other things that are really, really important to our sport, but I think what it comes down to for us, what’s important for a driver, is that it’s a fun racetrack. Anytime a driver can go out there and have fun at a racetrack you are going to see better racing. You’ll see guys run at the top or the bottom or the middle and I just think that adds excitement to the event. What makes Chicago such a cool racetrack – I mean you have a back straightaway that’s not straight, so I don’t know what you’d call that, but whatever you want to call it – maybe the curveaway. It’s a unique racetrack and great facility. I just think it’s a perfect place to start the Chase. Hopefully next year I’m part of that equation as well.”

ON THE ADDITION OF THE 1.5-MILE RACETRACK TO THE CHASE: “People say that Chicagoland Speedway is just another mile-and-a-half racetrack and it is, but that’s where the similarities end from a lot of the other racetracks that we go to. It’s just unique, especially with the entrance of the corners. Every year you go back the racetrack gets a little more personality. I always consider racetracks to be a living breathing thing and their attitudes change over the years as well. One bump that was not that big one year will be maybe a little bit bigger issue the next. With that being said, it’s a cool racetrack and it’s a challenge.”

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON ADDING ANOTHER 1.5-MILE TRACK TO THE CHASE?
“I’m all for it, especially since I won there. The only problem that I have is that they changed it to a day race, and that’s just going to completely mess my deal up. (Laughs). I finally for one race in my entire life get things figured out and then they change it on me. I think the reason behind the move to a day race was like – well, Reutimann ran pretty good there, so what can we do to mess up his program. (Laughs). I’m sure they had a big meeting on that.

“What’s important is that we have good racing on the racetrack and I think this particular racetrack adds to that. I think this is a win-win personally.”

ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST

• Reutimann has finished on the lead lap in 17 of 19 races that he was running at the finish and 17 out of 22 total races in 2010.

• Reutimann won the LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on July 10. The Sprint Cup Series win is his first of the season and second of his career. Reutimann led 52 laps in the win — the second highest total of any race in his career (Best,104 laps at Richmond in fall 2008).

• Reutimann has won at least one race in all three of NASCAR’s National Touring Series - Sprint Cup Series (Charlotte-1 2009, Chicago 2010), Nationwide (Memphis 2007) and Camping World Truck Series (Nashville 2005).

• Reutimann has finished 20th or better in 15 of the 19 races that he has been running at the finish in 2010—and 15th or better in 12 of the 19. Reutimann has collected 25 bonus points for leading laps in five races in 2010.

MWR Watkins Glen Post Race Report

2010-08-08T17:57:00.003-04:00

Martin Truex Jr., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry - finished 15th – 20th in points.
David Reutimann, No. 00 AARON’S Dream Machine Toyota Camry - finished 23rd - 18th in points.

Martin Truex Jr. Race Summary: No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr. overcame a mid-race spin to post a 15th-place finish Sunday at Watkins Glen International in the second and final road course race of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Truex started 25th and worked his way into the top 15 by lap 23 of the 90-lap race. He raced midpack through the race’s middle stages but spun on lap 48 dropping to 33rd place. Truex charged from the back moving into the top 20 on lap 69. Truex kept moving up the scoring chart and ended the race with a top-15 finish—his 10th of the season. The Michael Waltrip Racing team returns to action Sunday at Michigan International Speedway.

Martin Truex Jr., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota

Truex started 25th and finished 15th.

Broke into top 15 by lap 23.

Truex told team he was loose off in the right-hand corners.

Spun on lap 48 and fell to 33rd.

Charged from back of the field climbing into the top 15 on lap 69.

Owns 10 top-15 finishes in 2010.

Truex threw out the first pitch at the Philadelphia Phillies game Saturday night.

TRUEX QUOTE: "It was okay. We battled hard. Obviously, we struggled in qualifying on Friday and made a lot of changes for the race. It wasn't bad once we got started. I could only run about five or six laps before we had a lot of fade in the front brakes. That made it really hard to pass. We fought our way up there once and spun out because the brakes went away. I was inside the 77 (Sam Hornish) trying to pass him, and instead of spinning him out, I just spun myself out because I didn't want to take him out. The car wasn't where we needed it, but we battled and got a decent finish with it."

David Reutimann Race Summary: David Reutimann drove the No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota to a 23rd place finish at Watkins Glen International on Sunday - his second best career road course finish. Reutimann started 30th and quickly raced way in to the top-25, while battling a loose racecar. Reutimann steadily worked his way around the road circuit holding his position while the No. 00 team worked to improve the car's balance. Reutimann brought the Aaron’s Dream Machine home in one piece and gained ground on the top-12 in championship driver points. With four races remaining, the No. 00 team remains 18th in points trailing Mark Martin for 12th by 166 points. Next week the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series travels to the two-mile Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan.

David Reutimann, No. 00 AARON’S DREAM MACHINE Toyota Camry

Reutimann started 30th and finished 23rd

The Aaron’s Dream Machine raced in the top-25 the majority of the race

During green flag pit stops around lap 60 Reutimann raced as high as 16th

This marks Reutimann’s second best career road course finish

Reutimann remains 18th in championship driver points, but is now only -166 points out of the top-12

REUTIMANN QUOTE: "We did the best we could today with the Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota, but it was a struggle. We were very, very loose all day and just never got in front of it. I would have liked a little better finish, but right now I'm just happy we don't have any more road courses this year. I’m ready to get back to ovals. I think we’ll be good at Michigan next weekend.”

RACE NOTES:

Juan Montoya earned his second career victory with Kurt Busch and Marcos Ambrose rounding out top three.

AJ Allmendinger and Carl Edwards finished fourth and fifth.

Race took 2 hours and 23 minutes and included five cautions for 13 laps with 10 lead changes among five drivers.

NASCAR estimated 90,000 fans attended Sunday’s race.

Diamond-Waltrip Racing - Watkins Glen International Post Race

2010-08-07T18:42:00.000-04:00

Trevor Bayne, No. 99 OUT! Pet Care Toyota Camry - finished 29th - now eighth in points.

Trevor Bayne Race Summary: No. 99 OUT! Pet Care Toyota driver Trevor Bayne ended his string of top-five finishes after being involved in a multi-car incident on lap 25 and finished 29th. The 19-year-old driver started the 82-lap event in 19th and maintained that position until he hit pit road for green flag pit stops on lap 18. The first caution flag flew on lap 19 and several teams opted to hit pit road for service. The Knoxville, Tenn., native stayed on the racing surface and restarted 13th on lap 23. Unfortunately, on the restart a big pile-up occurred in front of the No. 99 Toyota and Bayne had no where to go. The OUT! Pet Care Toyota received major damage and was forced to the garage for an extended period of time. The team returned to the track 22 laps down, but worked to maintain the eighth position in the NASCAR Nationwide Series point standings. Next week the NNS travels to Michigan for it’s second new Nationwide car race on the NNS schedule.

TREVOR BAYNE, OUT! Pet Care Toyota
• Started 19th, finished 29th
• Moved up to 13th before being involved in and incident on lap 23
• After approximately 25 minutes in the garage Bayne returned to the track 33rd, 22 laps down to the leaders
• After returning to track Bayne ran lap times just as fast as the top 10
• Bayne remains eighth in the NNS point standings

BAYNE QUOTES: “The track closed off. The 38 (Jason Leffler) bounced off the guardrail and got us. I saw the 16 (Colin Braun) spinning forever and I tried to check up and there were cars all behind us, so I veered to the left and as soon as I did the 38 bounced off the guardrail and caught us in the left rear, spun us around, put us in the guardrail. Nowhere for anybody to go. I told somebody earlier that I could’ve let go of the steering wheel and had about the same chance of getting through the crash because there was no way you could do anything to get through it no matter what you did. I hate it for this OUT! Pet Care Toyota, but we’ll see if we can get back out on the track.”

NNS Racing Results
• JTG-Daugherty’s Marcos Ambrose won the ZIPPO 200 at The Glen, his third victory in 73 NNS races
• This is his third consecutive victory at Watkins Glen. Terry Labonte is the only other driver to win three consecutive races at The Glen (1994-96)
• This is his third victory and third top-10 finish in four races at Watkins Glen
• Joey Logano (second) posted his second top-10 finish in three races at Watkins Glen
• The race featured three lead changes among three drivers. Cautions slowed the race four time for 10 laps.
• NASCAR estimated 40,000 race fans in attendance at Watkins Glen

MWR Watkins Glen Qualifying Report

2010-08-07T14:43:00.000-04:00

Watkins Glen Qualifying Results

Martin Truex Jr. — No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota—qualified 25th.
David Reutimann — No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota— qualified 30th.

Friday Recap
• Carl Edwards claimed his fifth Cup pole in 215 starts.
• Jamie McMurray and Juan Pablo Montoya rounded out top three.
• Point leader Kevin Harvick will start 20th
• JTG-Daugherty’s Marcos Ambrose will start 11th
• Sunday’s race begins at 1 p.m. (Eastern) on ESPN.

Martin Truex Jr. on qualifying lap: “Not too good. Not good at all, actually. I don’t know. We’ve been struggling here and I’m not real sure what’s going on. We were good at Sonoma and we typically always run well here. We’re just struggling with the car being really loose this weekend and we can’t figure it out.”

David Reutimann on qualifying lap: “We struggled with the same thing we struggle with every time we visit a road course. We were just too loose. We have our work cut out for us tomorrow, but I’m going to give it everything I have and see where we finish.”
POS CAR DRIVER TIME BEHIND

1 99 Carl Edwards 70.882 Leader

2 1 Jamie McMurray 71.236 -0.354

3 42 Juan Montoya 71.302 -0.420

4 43 A.J. Allmendinger 71.348 -0.466

5 2 Kurt Busch 71.403 -0.521

6 14 Tony Stewart 71.458 -0.576

7 16 Greg Biffle 71.469 -0.587

8 82 Scott Speed 71.493 -0.611

9 48 Jimmie Johnson 71.518 -0.636

10 18 Kyle Busch 71.571 -0.689

11 47 Marcos Ambrose 71.611 -0.729

12 77 Sam Hornish Jr. 71.648 -0.766

13 83 Boris Said 71.662 -0.780

14 11 Denny Hamlin 71.744 -0.862

15 7 Robby Gordon 71.795 -0.913

16 24 Jeff Gordon 71.834 -0.952

17 26 Patrick Carpentier 71.921 -1.039

18 20 Joey Logano 71.952 -1.070

19 39 Ryan Newman 71.965 -1.083

20 29 Kevin Harvick 71.990 -1.108

21 36 Ron Fellows 72.095 -1.213

22 31 Jeff Burton 72.113 -1.231

23 98 Paul Menard 72.126 -1.244

24 5 Mark Martin 72.171 -1.289

25 56 Martin Truex Jr. 72.325 -1.443

26 55 Michael McDowell 72.413 -1.531

27 78 Regan Smith 72.419 -1.537

28 13 Max Papis 72.461 -1.579

29 09 Bobby Labonte 72.525 -1.643

30 00 David Reutimann 72.576 -1.694

31 17 Matt Kenseth 72.649 -1.767

32 12 Brad Keselowski 72.650 -1.768

33 71 Andy Lally 72.689 -1.807

34 33 Clint Bowyer 72.728 -1.846

35 6 David Ragan 72.885 -2.003

36 9 Kasey Kahne 73.135 -2.253

37 87 Joe Nemechek 73.171 -2.289

38 19 Elliott Sadler 73.202 -2.320

39 207 P.J. Jones 73.341 -2.459

40 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 73.396 -2.514

41 37 Travis Kvapil+ 74.126 -3.244

42 34 Kevin Conway+* 74.561 -3.679

43 38 David Gilliland 73.370 -2.488

Martin Truex Jr. Watkins Glen Preview

2010-08-05T15:02:00.000-04:00

CORNELIUS, N.C. — As a youngster, Martin Truex Jr. dreamed of two professions— race car driving and playing baseball. He’ll live both dreams this weekend. The No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota driver plans to take batting practice and throw out the first pitch before the Saturday’s Philadelphia Phillies-New York Mets baseball game. The 30-year-old Mayetta, N.J. native is an avid Philadelphia sports fan supporting the Eagles, Flyers and Phillies. Truex attended Games 3, 4 and 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals as well as the Flyers’ conference final against Montreal hours after the May Dover race.

The Michael Waltrip Racing driver also has plenty of racing business to take care of this weekend. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series visits the historic road course of Watkins Glen International where Truex owns two top-six finishes in his four career starts. Last week at Pocono, Truex finished ninth—his fifth top-10 of the 2010 season.

QUOTES

TRUEX ON ATTENDING SATURDAY’S PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES GAME: “It’s going to be a lot of fun and I am looking forward to throwing out the first pitch. I’ve got a good arm so I’m not really nervous and as of right now, I’m not going to practice. I’m willing to take the risk. I’m very aware that if I don't throw it across the plate or in the strike zone, I’m going to get booed. It’s just part of the deal. I also really can’t wait to see the Philly Phanatic. He’s hilarious! I’ve been to a lot of Philadelphia Phillies games over the years and two years ago I got to attend Game 5 of the World Series. It was rained out so I didn’t get to see them finish the deal off, but I still had a great time.”

ON RACING AT WATKINS GLEN: “I’ve had some great runs at Watkins Glen in the past. Of the two road courses we go to, Watkins Glen has produced better results for me. Earlier this year, the NAPA team ran really well at Infineon Raceway. We had a top-three going until we got wrecked so we didn’t get the finish we wanted or deserved. But we had a very strong car and I think Michael Waltrip Racing’s road course program is really strong. I think a lot of that credit goes to Marcos Ambrose. He’s done a lot of testing and the experience he has brought to the table with the setups and feedback have been great. I am really looking forward to the race. I think our NAPA Toyota will be good. I really love the track so hopefully it will be a really great weekend. I think we have a good chance at being up front and challenge for the win.”

ON THE NAPA TEAM’S TOP-10 FINISH AT POCONO: “It is so nice to get a top-10 under us because the last few weeks we have had really strong cars, but haven’t delivered the good finishes. If we can continue to do this and take advantage of having really good cars then this NAPA team will be in good shape.”

NOTES OF INTEREST

Sunday is Truex’s 175th Sprint Cup Series race and fifth at Watkins Glen International. His best start is 12th (2007) and finish is fifth (2008). He’s earned one top-five and two top-10 finishes. His average start is 22nd and finish is 28th. He has run all 308 laps in competition.

Martin Truex Jr. Watkins Glen Preview

2010-08-04T09:48:00.000-04:00

QUOTES

NOTES OF INTEREST

• Sunday is Truex’s 175th Sprint Cup Series race and fifth at Watkins Glen International. His best start is 12th (2007) and finish is fifth (2008). He’s earned one top-five and two top-10 finishes. His average start is 22nd and finish is 28th. He has run all 308 laps in competition.

David Reutimann - Watkins Glen International Sprint Cup Series Preview

2010-08-03T17:53:00.001-04:00

CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota driver David Reutimann makes no secret that road course racing isn’t his specialty. But that hasn’t stopped the 40 year-old former dirt track racer from working hard to get better. Every time Reutimann has raced on a road course he’s set a career-best road course finish. Reutimann spent two days last week at Watkins Glen International in street cars in preparation for Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series visit to the 2.45-mile road course circuit in upstate New York.

Reutimann’s Improvement
2008 Infineon 40th
2008 Watkins Glen 33rd
2009 Infineon 31st
2009 Watkins Glen 25th
2010 Infineon 20th

QUOTES

ON TESTING AT WATKINS GLEN: “We were up there in a completely different car then we are going to race last week, so it’s hard to take away a great deal from it. I think the biggest thing is that it gets you freshened back up on the racing line and trying different things and doing different things throughout the course of the day. I think any time you get out on a track it’s a big help, but it’s a situation where you make the best of the test that you can, but we can’t be in the exact race car that we’re going to race.”

ON RACING IN THE NORTHEAST: “My family has raced up in Syracuse and areas like that, which is obviously not Watkins Glen, but in the same area of the country – just within a couple hours drive from Watkins Glen. The Mile at Syracuse, Brewerton, Canandaigua and Rolling Wheels in Weedsport and different places like that. We even race a little bit up at Black Rock on weekends when we race the Cup cars at The Glen, so I’ve raced at a lot of the racetracks around those areas, but I haven’t had much time to go hang out and see what Watkins Glen has to offer or really any of the areas in that part of the country other than just racetracks. I never had a great deal of success up in that part of the country to be quite honest. It was always a struggle. I met a lot of really, really good people that I still know and keep in contact with today, but for the most part the time I spent up there wasn’t the greatest time in my career certainly. I’ve kind of forgot a lot of what happened up there in my early racing life, because there wasn’t a whole lot of good to remember unfortunately. The racing was awesome, the people were awesome, and a lot of great racetracks, but our results weren’t exactly what you’d call awesome. I just wasn’t in a position to excel at that point.”

ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST

• The No. 00 and No. 56 Sprint Cup Series pit crews plan to make a special trip to the Victory Junction Gang Camp in Level Cross, N.C. on Tuesday night to take part in NASCARnival night at the camp. Both teams will perform pit stops and spend time with the campers.

• At Indianapolis, Reutimann snapped the longest streak of consecutive lead laps finishes at 11 races. He has finished on the lead lap in 16 of 18 races that he was running at the finish and 16 out of 21 total races in 2010.

• Reutimann won the LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on July 10. The Sprint Cup Series win is his first of the season and second of his career. Reutimann led 52 laps in the win — the second highest total of any race in his career (Best, 104 laps at Richmond in fall 2008).

• Reutimann has won at least one race in all three of NASCAR’s National Touring Series - Sprint Cup Series (Charlotte-1 2009, Chicago 2010), Nationwide (Memphis 2007) and Camping World Truck Series (Nashville 2005).Reutimann has finished 20th or better in 15 of the 18 races that he has been running at the finish in 2010—and 15th or better in 12 of the 18. Reutimann has collected 25 bonus points for leading laps in five races in 2010.

Trevor Bayne - Watkins Glen Preview

2010-08-03T17:26:00.001-04:00

CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 99 OUT! Pet Care Toyota driver Trevor Bayne owns three consecutive top-five finishes plus etched his name in the history books last week by surpassing Jeff Gordon as the youngest driver to capture three consecutive NASCAR Nationwide Series pole awards. This feat put the 19-year-old driver in exclusive company, tying the mark of consecutive poles set by Sam Ard (1983), Mark Martin (1987), his team co-owner Michael Waltrip (1989) and Jeff Gordon (1992). He’ll become the first driver in series history to win four consecutive pole awards if he wins the pole for Saturday’s race at Watkins Glen International.

QUOTES

TREVOR BAYNE ON THREE CONSECUTIVE POLE AWARDS: “It’s a pretty awesome accomplishment. I had no idea that it was going to be that big of an accomplishment until I realized that it put me in the same class with Michael Waltrip and Jeff Gordon. The last time someone got three pole awards in a row, I was a one year old. I really thought Kyle Busch or someone else had done it recently. It’s a real honor to be in that group. I just think it shows how much our team has grown over the last few months.”

BAYNE ON WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL: “Watkins Glen is an awesome road course. It’s probably the easiest road course that we have on the schedule. It’s way different from Road America and Montreal. It’s not as technical as those road courses. Watkins Glen is kind of wide open. You only have a couple tight corners. There is turn one and the left hander right before you get to the frontstretch. Other than that it’s pretty easy. The bus stop is probably my favorite part of the track. You carry so much speed through there. I am really looking forward to this weekend. I finished third there in the East Series so I think we could have another really good weekend.”

ON RECENT SUCCESS: “I think things started changing when I started taking advice from Kevin Harvick and Johnny Benson. I talked with Harvick in Dover. His main point to me was to finish races and not always try and get top-fives or top-10s when we have a car that’s not good enough. He told me that I really need to work on taking what the car will give me. I feel like that past several weeks or so we have really worked on that. For us to be able to get the top-fives the past few weeks we had to finish the race. Also, a couple of weeks ago we hired Benson as my driving coach. He has so much knowledge of the sport. I have been calling him ‘Bill Nye the Science Guy’ because he thinks about things you wouldn’t normally think about as a driver. I think long term he is going to be a great driving coach and teach me a lot about this sport.”

ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST

• Over the last seven weeks, Bayne has scored the fourth most points of any driver, gaining three positions to rank eighth in the championship point standings. The only drivers to score more points are Carl Edwards (1144), Brad Keselowski (1043) and Steve Wallace (952). Bayne grabbed three pole awards, four top-fives, five top-10s and led 95 laps.

• Diamond-Waltrip Racing is owned by Gary and Blake Bechtel along with Michael Waltrip Racing. It fields Toyota Camrys out of the MWR shop in Cornelius, N.C. The Bechtels have owned cars in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series since 1990. The Morgan Hill, California residents’ teams have visited victory lane 10 times in the Nationwide Series.

• In just 36 NASCAR Nationwide Series starts, Bayne has four poles (Indianapolis –2009, 2010, Gateway—2010 and Iowa 2010), four top-fives and eight top-10s and has led 129 laps. His best finish (third) came at Gateway International Raceway on July 17.

• Bayne started 11th and finished third in his lone start at Watkins Glen in the K&N Pro East Series.

• Get your dog’s picture on Bayne’s No. 99 OUT! Pet Care Toyota by going to www.outpetcare.com and register for the “Top Dog of the Week.”

MWR Pocono Race Report

2010-08-01T21:29:00.001-04:00

Martin Truex Jr., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry - finished ninth, 20th in points.

David Reutimann, No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry - finished 17th now 18th in points.

Martin Truex Jr. Race Summary: The black cloud that's hovered over the No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS team for two months appeared during today's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Pocono Raceway. But this time in the form of dark rain clouds versus bad luck. On the final pit stop crew chief Pat Tryson opted to take two tires and this allowed Truex to restart seventh with 23 laps remaining in the race. The two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series champion was able to hold off most of the field who took four tires on the final pit stop to cross the finish line ninth. This was Truex’s fifth top-10 finish of the season and he remains 20th in the NASCAR Cup Series point standings. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to action next Sunday at Watkins Glen.

Truex: “It was okay. I guess ninth is a pretty decent result for our NAPA Toyota looking back on Friday and how bad we were when we got here. The guys worked hard all weekend. Like I said, we struggled on Friday, struggled during qualifying and worked real hard on Saturday throughout practice. We made a lot of head way. At the start of the race we weren’t very good throughout the race. A little bit of strategy played into it. We were sitting about 12th before we took the two tires, so we gained a few spots. We were about a 12th or 15th-place car and we finished ninth. That’s the kind of days we like to have and the kind of days we’ve needed to have for the last two months, we’ve just been caught in wrecks. I’m just glad we got a decent finish out of the NAPA Toyota and I’m proud of all the guys on the team.”

Truex Notes:

Truex started 28th and finished ninth and is 20th in points.

NAPA Toyota started to come to life at the 50-lap mark. Drove from 22nd to 17th.

Truex Jr. and the No. 56 team broke into top-15 on lap 123.

The No. 99 and No. 56 made contact on lap 132, but no major damage reported

After pitting for four tires on lap 159, Truex took the restart and drove from 24th to 16th in one lap.

The No. 56 was scored in 12th as the red flag flew on lap 166 for a multi-car crash.

The “NAPA Know How” team took two tires on final pit stop which allowed Truex to jump in to the top 10

The No. 56 team won the Mobil 1 Command Performance of the Race award

David Reutimann Race Summary: No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota driver David Reutimann fought hard all day to work his way through the field on Sunday at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa. He raced his way from 24th up to 12th before a flurry of cautions toward the end of the race set up teams to take various strategies to try and gain track position. The No. 00 team continuously turned quick stops, but fell due to teams gambling on tires in favor of track position. Reutimann found himself in 20th position at the final restart on lap 179 and raced his way to 17th before the checked flag flew on lap 200. Reutimann remains 18th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings, trailing the top 12 by 183 points, with four races remaining before the Chase cutoff. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to action Sunday at Watkins Glen.

REUTIMANN: How was your car today?

"That was a tough day. I feel like I raced as hard as I could, we had a good Aaron's Dream Machine most of they day, but it just didn't work out for us. The weather made things a little crazy as far as strategy - some cars taking two tires, some taking four, some taking fuel only. We had a couple red flags, some rain. It seems like we had a little bit of everything today. I just wish we could have finished a little better. We'll keep working on it and try again next week."

Reutimann Notes:

Reutimann started 24th and finished 17th.

Reutimann raced his way from 24th to 18th in the first 15 laps prior to a competition caution

The No. 00 raced its way to 16th by lap 90 and remained there until a lap 120 caution bunched the field

The Aaron’s Dream Machine continued it’s march forward up to 12th position by lap 146

Reutimann came to pit road for four tires in 13th position on lap 170, but various pit strategies by several teams returned the No. 00 to the track in 20th position.

Reutimann restarted 20th on the final restart on lap 179 and improved to 17th by the checkered flag.

RACE NOTES:

Greg Biffle recorded his first win of the year and the first Ford win of the year.

Biffle snapped a 64-race winless streak.

Top five order after Biffle: Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin.

Kevin Harvick leads the point standings by 189 over Jeff Gordon

The start of the race was delayed nearly one hour due to a rain shower shortly before the 1 p.m. scheduled start.

NASCAR displayed the red flag for more than 28 minutes to clean up a hard wreck on lap 166

Race took 3 hours, 46 minutes and 51 seconds and included five cautions for 31 laps.

There were nine leaders and 19 lead changes.

NASCAR estimated the race attendance at 100,000 fans.

Diamond-Waltrip Racing - Iowa Post Race

2010-08-01T09:18:00.000-04:00

Trevor Bayne, No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry - finished fifth - now eighth in points.
Trevor Bayne Race Summary: For the third consecutive week the No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota driver Trevor Bayne grabbed the pole and scored a top-five finish. Bayne started the 250-lap race from Iowa Speedway on the inside row, but Kyle Busch powered past the No. 99 Toyota coming off turn two. The Knoxville, Tenn., driver didn’t let Busch out of his site and was about to pass the 36-time NASCAR Nationwide Series winner when the second caution flew on lap 44 for a multi-car incident in turn two. The 19-year-old driver was pleased with the performance of his Aaron’s Dream Machine so crew chief Jerry Baxter made minor adjustments to keep up with changing track conditions. Bayne raced inside the top three until the final caution flag flew on lap 205. Baxter summoned his driver to pit road for four tires and a minor chassis adjustment. Some teams opted for two tires so the Diamond-Waltrip Racing driver restarted 10th on lap 209. The young phenom was able to use the four tires to his advantage and grabbed five spots before the checkered flag flew. The rising star is now eighth in the NNS championship point standings. Next week the NNS travels to Watkins Glen International for it’s second road course race on the NNS schedule.
TREVOR BAYNE, Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota

- Bayne won the pole award with a lap of 23.637 seconds, 133.266 mph
- This is his third consecutive and fourth career pole in 36 NASCAR Nationwide Series races
- He is the youngest, and first driver in 18 years, to post three consecutive poles in the NNS. Jeff Gordon last did it 02/29/1992.
- Bayne was the fourth driver to accomplish the feat. The others were Sam Ard, Jeff Gordon and Michael Waltrip.
- Bayne scored his third-consecutive top-five finish and his fourth career top-five finish
- Bayne led twice for 21 laps and raced in the top 10 for the entire 250-lap race
- In 36 NNS starts Bayne has four poles, four top-five and eight top-10 finishes
BAYNE QUOTES:

What did you learn from racing with Kyle Busch tonight?
“I learned so much from following Kyle (Busch). He deserves every bit of the credit he gets. He’s in great equipment, great crew chief (Jason Ratcliff) and he’s an unbelievable driver. That first 50 laps he was sideways the whole time and I followed him up and learned that top groove. How to get the car straight to run off of the corner and get good drive. Our car was really free at the beginning, but as the night came on we got tighter and we kept getting tighter and tighter and that’s what really got us at the end. If that thing would’ve ended in daylight we probably could’ve got our first win here. But, we’re so happy about these top-fives every weekend. Three poles in a row, I mean, I hear that’s pretty tough to do so that’s awesome for this Aaron’s Dream Machine team. We’re just as excited as we can be.”
What happened to your car as it went from day to night?
“That was the biggest thing. We didn’t get any practice at night because it rained all day yesterday. We didn’t really know what the track was going to do and it just kept taking on rubber and kept getting more and more grip and that played into the other guys favor more so than us. It just kept getting tighter. Everybody was so free at the beginning. Their cars came to them. Us, we were pretty good at the beginning and we got tight at the end.”
NNS Racing Results
- Kyle Busch won the U.S. Cellular 250, his 39th victory in 190 NNS race
- This is his ninth victory and 14th top-10 finish in 2010
- This is his first victory and second top-10 finish in two races at Iowa Speedway
- Carl Edwards (second) posted his first top-10 finish in two races at Iowa Speedway
- Jason Leffler, Brad Keselowski and Bayne rounded out the top five
- The race was slowed by two red flag periods for just over 20 minutes
- The race featured seven lead changes among three drivers. Cautions slowed the race six time for 27 laps.
- NASCAR estimated a sell out crowd of 56,000 race fans in attendance at Iowa

Michael Waltrip Racing - Pocono Raceway Qualifying Report

2010-07-30T19:10:00.000-04:00

• David Reutimann, Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry - Qualified 24th

• Martin Truex Jr., NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry - Qualified 28th

Friday Recap

• Tony Stewart won the Coors Light Pole Award with a time of 52.511.
• This marks Stewart’s 12th pole in 416 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts.
• Point leader Kevin Harvick starts 14th.
• Juan Pablo Montoya, Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman round out the top-five.
• JTG-Daugherty Racing driver Marcos Ambrose qualified the No. 47 Toyota 19th.

DAVID REUTIMANN, No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry
Did you pick up any speed during qualifying? “Maybe a little bit, not as much as we should have. I missed it a little bit there in turn one and it screwed us up and cost us. The rest of the lap was good, just getting through turn one, I didn’t get through there very good. I should have ran a lot faster, the Aaron’s Dream Machine is capable of running a lot faster.”

How will your car be on Sunday?
“I feel like we found some stuff in race trim that should be helpful. I think we’ll be okay on Sunday.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry
How was your qualifying lap? “It’s been a tough day for us. We’ve been struggling with our NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota and made some changes for qualifying here that didn’t really help. We’ll work on it tonight and get better tomorrow.”

Waltrip,Kauffman Suit up for Spa 24 Hour Sportscar Race in Belgium

2010-07-30T18:31:00.000-04:00

Spa, Belgium (July 30, 2010) – Michael Waltrip Racing co-owners’, Michael Waltrip and Rob

Kauffman have teamed up with the AF Corse team for the second time in 2010 to run this weekend’s
Spa 24 Hours endurance race on the Spa-Franchorchamps circuit in Spa, Belgium.

The two-time Daytona 500 champion and his business partner look forward to the challenges of the
4.352-mile course. They’ll be going up against a field made up of four different categories and
consisting of top manufactures such as Ferrari, Audi, Porsche and BMW.

“The track is super challenging,” said Waltrip. “It’s a really high-speed road course that consists of a
lot of hills and blind corners. I am looking forward to the endurance portion of the race. I’m used to
competing in three hour NASCAR events and this is an opportunity to do something totally different.”

The AF Corse will compete in a Ferrari F430 GT2 and has captured two wins in this prestigious
event. The driver lineup will consist of Waltrip, Kauffman, Niki Cadei and Marco Cioci.

“The Spa 24 hour race is one of the greatest endurance racing challenges and I am just really
excited to be a part of the event,” said Kauffman. “Amato Ferrari and his AF Corse team have a lot
of experience and have won this event multiple times. We are looking forward to a successful outing
this weekend in Belgium.”

Earlier this year, Waltrip joined Kauffman along with JTG Daugherty Racing’s Marcos Ambrose for
the fifth annual Dubai 24 Hour sportscar race at the Dubai Autodrome on January 14-16. The AF
Corse team performed extremely well — running sixth overall and leading its class before getting
involved in an accident.

“Obviously the goal is to finish the event and if we accomplish that, a podium finish wouldn’t be out
of the question, “Waltrip added. “That would make the trip across the water a huge success. The
coolest part for me is seeing a new part of the world, hanging with my partner Rob Kauffman and
being able to race at this historic venue in Spa, Belgium. This place hosted its first 24 Hour
endurance race in 1924, now that’s some history!

AF Corse team joined forces with defending FIA GT1 champions Vitaphone Racing who will start
from the pole. The team consists of Eric van de Poele, Bert Longin, Toni Vilander and Gimmi
Bruni. Waltrip’s team will start the prestigious event 19th.

The 24-hour race gets underway on Saturday at 10 a.m. ET. For more information on the race visit
http://www.gt2europe.com/. Fans can also follow Waltrip during his Belgium trip on www.twitter.com/
mw55.

David Reutimann - No. 00 Aaron's Dream Machine Pocono Preview

2010-07-28T10:29:00.001-04:00

CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota driver David Reutimann knows a win to a NASCAR team can reach far beyond points or dollars, its influence impacts an organization’s morale, confidence and reputation in and out of the garage. Reutimann, who collected his second career Sprint Cup Series win in the Lifelock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on July 10th, has won in all three of NASCAR’s top touring series—The Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck series. A win this weekend’s event at the 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway could propel Reutimann and the No. 00 team back into serious Chase contention.

QUOTES

REUTIMANN ON WINNING VERSUS POINT RACING: “I think a lot of things do get lost in the fact that there's a lot of focus put on the Chase, and rightfully so. That's what you're obviously trying to do. You're trying to win races. It's important to win races, but it's also about being consistent and all those things that gain you the most points. Every driver, when he's strapped in on Sunday, you're out there to try to win the race. For the drivers, I think the most important thing is going out there and trying to win races, doing what you can to help your cause. If you win races, that's always the better way to get in the Chase as well. It's a win-win situation if you can go out and win races. I know that's what we're focused on doing.”

ON THE IMPACT OF WINNING A RACE: “It can change the whole outlook of your entire organization. If you're having a rough year, things aren't going well, you're able to go out and win a race, you automatically kind of forget everything that's happened bad up to that point. You can switch things around and make it so you're like, Wow. I mean, no matter how your season has gone up to that point, you win that race, you're like, the sky is the limit from that point on. It gives the driver confidence. It gives the team confidence. More importantly, it gives the guys back at the shop that aren't able to be at the racetrack with you, but are turning out your racecars, getting your stuff prepared, gives them added enthusiasm, a little pep in their step, so to speak. It makes them see what they're doing at the shop is really important. They're able to see the results on the racetrack. I think that's great for any race team.”

ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST
· Only Kevin Harvick (9.2), Jeff Gordon (9.5), Tony Stewart (10.5), Jeff Burton (10.7) and Denny Hamlin (12.0) have a better average finish than Reutimann (12.9) in the last 10 races. Reutimann (1302) also ranks seventh in total points during that span.

· Last weekend at Indianapolis, Reutimann snapped the longest streak of consecutive lead laps finishes at 11 races. He has finished on the lead lap in 15 of 17 races that he was running at the finish and 15 out of 20 total races in 2010.

· Reutimann won the LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on July 10. The Sprint Cup Series win is his first of the season and second of his career. Reutimann led 52 laps in the win — the second highest total of any race in his career (Best,104 laps at Richmond in fall 2008).

· Reutimann has won at least one race in all three of NASCAR’s National Touring Series - Sprint Cup Series (Charlotte-1 2009, Chicago 2010), Nationwide (Memphis 2007) and Camping World Truck Series (Nashville 2005).

· Reutimann has finished 20th or better in 14 of the 17 races that he has been running at the finish in 2010—and 15th or better in 12 of the 17. Reutimann has collected 25 bonus points for leading laps in five races in 2010.

Truex Jr. Previews His Return To Pocono

2010-07-27T17:10:00.002-04:00

CORNELIUS, N.C. — For the second time this month, NAPA is offering race fans a chance to get closer to Martin Truex Jr. and the NAPA Know How Crew. Fans are taking advantage of NAPA’s free Track Pass offer to listen to the No. 56 team radio during the race. Now, NAPA is giving fans the chance to take a ride with Truex in the No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota. It’s part of the NAPA Belden Spark Plug Wire “Take the Lead” Sweepstakes. Ten lucky winners will be chosen to ride with Truex at Charlotte Motor Speedway. They’ll also get to drive a few laps with the

Richard Petty Driving Experience and take a behind-the-scenes tour of Michael Waltrip Racing. To enter, visit NAPABELDEN.com or NAPAonline.com now through September 20.

Truex and the NAPA team return to Pocono Raceway where earlier this season, a top-10 run ended during a last-lap crash. The 30-year-old from Mayetta, N.J. believes his team in on the verge of a breakthrough and the 2.5-mile tricky triangle is the perfect place to accomplish it.

QUOTES

TRUEX ON NAPA PROMOTIONS: “I have never been associated with a sponsor who really activates its NASCAR promotions like NAPA. I think it’s great that NAPA gives fans as much access as possible. We’ve had fun with the Track Pass promotion. Dave Moody put me up to a bet to sing the NAPA Know How jingle on a warm-up lap if 1,000 fans registered. After doing some research, we found out the team radio doesn’t go live until the green flag drops so the bet couldn’t be totally pulled off. We’ve got another plan so tune in to Sirius Speedway next Monday at 3:40 p.m. As of Chicagoland, over 8,500 fans have signed up. That’s impressive. I thought 1,000 was a safe number because here’s the honest truth, I am not much of a singer. I’m not the most outgoing guy or even a big talker for that matter. I have no idea why anyone would want to hear me sing NAPA Know How. If that many people signed up to hear me sing, I cannot image how many people will register for the “Take the Lead” Sweepstakes. I expect big numbers as I look forward to driving with the race fans and not scaring them by singing NAPA Know How.”

ON RETURNING TO POCONO RACEWAY: “We had a really good run at Pocono earlier this year.

Unfortunately it came to an end on the last lap when we got caught up in a wreck. That’s been pretty

much the story for this team this year or at least the past two months. We had a strong car there and

we plan to go back with a similar setup, but the summertime race at Pocono is a lot different than the

June race. This time when we go back, we’ll be searching for more grip and since the track changes,

we’ll have to go there with an open mind. We’ll fine tune our NAPA Toyota. Pocono is one of those

places where we get plenty of practice so we’ll be ready to work on the car like we do every weekend.

I feel like our TRD engine program and the way our engine performed at Chicagoland and Indy, will

be a big help too when we hit the track this go around. I really look forward to going to this race.

“We are really close to breaking through and getting that first win for the NAPA AUTO PARTS team. For our first year together, I think we forget just how new we are together as a group. Pat and I are new together as well as our entire crew. We’ve never worked together before. I feel like we are doing

a great job, but are still coming into our own as a team. We’ve had really good performances and I feel like we are getting close to getting our first win. Hopefully, it will happen for us this weekend.”

NOTES OF INTEREST

· Sunday is Truex’s 174th Sprint Cup Series race and 10th at Pocono Raceway. His best start and finish is third (June 10, 2007). He’s earned one top-five, and six top-20 finishes. His

average start and finish is 17th. He has run 1,709 of 1,710 laps of competition (99.9%) and has led a total of four laps in competition.

· NAPA Belden enhanced spark plug wires give customers the perfect fit and patented

technology to guarantee advanced protection and ultimate power.

· NAPA continues to make the Michael Waltrip Racing team’s in-car audio available free o
charge to fans who register at www.nascar.com/napatruexscanner or www.NAPAonline.com. The offer is good through the remainder of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

Trevor Bayne - Iowa Preview

2010-07-27T16:28:00.000-04:00

CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota driver Trevor Bayne’s goal is to be in attendance at the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series banquet at the end of the season. He knows in order to get a formal invitation he must finish in the top 10 in the championship point standings. As of late, the youngest-fulltime competitor in the series has made a huge jump toward this goal.

Over the last six races, the 19-year-old driver has scored the fourth most points of any driver, gaining two positions to rank ninth in the championship point standings. The only drivers to score more points are Carl Edwards (1010), Brad Keselowski (883) and Steven Wallace (802). The Knoxville, Tenn., native has also grabbed two pole awards, three top-fives, four top-10s and led 74 laps of competition.

QUOTES

TREVOR BAYNE ON BEING NINTH IN POINTS: “It’s our goal to make it to the banquet, however; I think it’s way too early to focus on them. I have never really been a person to pay attention to the points. I know solid finishes equal good standings in the points. We have run really well the past couple of months and have a lot of momentum on our side. I think if we keep running like we are capable of doing, we could end up in the top five.”

BAYNE ON IOWA SPEEDWAY: “Iowa is probably one of the easier tracks that we go to on the schedule. The biggest challenge is not over driving the corners. The corners look huge until you get to the middle and realize they are almost like a short track. Iowa reminds me of a mile-and-a-half track just down sized. It’s a great place to race. When I was getting ready to race there for the first time, I thought it was huge since I grew up racing on short tracks. After racing Daytona and Talladega, Iowa is almost like a short track to me.”

BAYNE ON JOHNNY BENSON: “I think having Johnny Benson on board is going to be very helpful. I talked with him before we went to IRP and he gave me some really good tips on how to get around the racetrack. This weekend will be the first time he is coming to the track with us. I think he will be able to help me get adapted to the track quicker. I also think he could provide some benefit to the entire team. He can help communicate to Jerry Baxter what the car is doing around the race track.”

ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST

• Bayne has two starts at Iowa Speedway. His first start was in 2008 where he started sixth and finished third in the K&N Pro East Series race. Last season, Bayne started fourth and finished 26th in the NASCAR Nationwide Series race.

• Starting last week, Diamond-Waltrip Racing hired Johnny Benson as Bayne’s driving coach. Benson will attend a large majority of races with the No. 99 team. Benson owns a championship in both the NASCAR Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series.

• Bayne owns 35 NASCAR Nationwide Series starts. He has three poles (Indianapolis –2009, 2010 and Gateway—2010), three top-fives and seven top-10s and has led 108 laps. His best finish (third) came at Gateway International Raceway on July 17.

• Diamond-Waltrip Racing is owned by Gary and Blake Bechtel along with Michael Waltrip Racing. It fields Toyota Camrys out of the MWR shop in Cornelius, N.C. The Bechtels have owned cars in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series since 1990. The Morgan Hill, California residents’ teams have visited victory lane 10 times in the Nationwide Series.

• Bayne continues to remain consistent in his qualifying efforts over his first 35 starts. Over his short career, the Knoxville, Tenn., native has grabbed three poles (Indianapolis –2 and Gateway - 1), 10 top-five and 19 top-10 starting positions. He boasts a 11.3-starting average and has only started 10 races outside the top 15.

• Aaron’s, proud sponsor of the No. 99, will give away an autographed hat to a lucky race fan through Facebook and Twitter following any top-10 finish. Follow Aaron’s on Twitter (@aaronssports) and become a fan on Facebook (Facebook.com/AaronsSports).

• Bayne is ninth in points, but fourth among the non-Sprint Cup drivers in the Nationwide Series.

MWR Brickyard 400 Report

2010-07-25T18:07:00.001-04:00

Martin Truex Jr., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry - finished 26th – 20th in points.

David Reutimann, No. 00 AARON’S Dream Machine Toyota Camry - finished 28th - 18th in points.

Martin Truex Jr. Race Summary: No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr. saw a sure top-10 finish spoiled in the final quarter of Sunday’s Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis. The Michael Waltrip Racing driver suffered front end damage on a restart that took him out of contention for the victory. A late race pit stop for a loose wheel dropped him off the lead lap. Until then, the No. 56 looked to be the strongest Toyota and one of the strongest of all cars in the race never venturing outside the top 10 except during pit stop cycles. The 26th-place finish keeps Truex 20th in points. The Sprint Cup series returns to action Sunday at Pocono International Raceway.

Martin Truex Jr., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota

Truex Jr. started 12th and finished 26th.

Truex raced in the top 10 throughout the race as the highest running Toyota.

Raced in seventh when caution fell with 42 laps remaining.

Restarted the race in 13th after a problem with the jack during the pit stop.

Truex fell back to 22nd after making contact with another car on the restart causing extensive front end damage.

After repairs, a loose wheel forced Truex to pit in the final five laps dropping him off the lead lap.

TRUEX QUOTE: “It's a shame. We had a top-five Toyota and got back in traffic after a jack problem on our pit stop with about 40 to go. The restart bit us again when the cars started getting bunched up. We got damage to the nose and right side. The NAPA Know How crew did all they could. It just didn't handle competitively after that and then we had to pit late in the race for a vibration (loose right front wheel). I just hate it that our good runs are being taken away like this. I'm so disappointed.”

David Reutimann Race Summary: No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota driver David Reutimann’s 2010 Brickyard 400 went bad less than half a lap from the starting line in Indianapolis on Sunday. Kyle Busch triggered a multicar crash in turn two of the opening lap that saw several cars spin. Reutimann hit another car causing severe right front damage to Michael Waltrip Racing’s No. 00. Reutimann made several pit stops and spent much of the race making repairs. He ended the race in 28th down three laps to the leaders and fell from 15th to 18th in points. The Sprint Cup series returns to action Sunday at Pocono International Raceway.

David Reutimann, No. 00 AARON’S DREAM MACHINE Toyota Camry

The Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota started 29th and finished 28th

The No. 00 suffered severe damage in a first lap, multicar accident triggered by cars ahead of Reutimann.

Team made several stops to repair the damage and return Reutimann to the track.

Reutimann finished 28th—down three laps to the leaders.

Reutimann’s 11-race streak of finishing on the lead lap was the longest in Sprint Cup competition.

REUTIMANN QUOTE: "That's about as frustrating as it gets. We didn't even get a chance to race today. Something happened up in front and I had nowhere to go and hit pretty hard. They crew did a great job working on it so we could run the rest of the race and get a respectable finish. We'll get going again in Pocono."

RACE NOTES:

Jamie McMurray won the Brickyard 400 (17th Running), his fifth victory in 278 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.

Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer and Tony Stewart rounded out the top five.

There were 14 lead changes among 10 leaders and six cautions for 25 laps. Twenty five cars finished on lead lap.

Kevin Harvick leads the point standings by 184 points over Jeff Gordon.

Chip Ganassi became the first owner to win the Daytona 500, Brickyard 400 and the Indy 500 in the same year.

Diamond-Waltrip Indy Race Report

2010-07-25T08:22:00.001-04:00

Trevor Bayne, No. 99 OUT! Pet Care Toyota Camry - finished fourth - now ninth in points.

Trevor Bayne Race Summary: No. 99 OUT! Pet Care driver Trevor Bayne grabbed his second consecutive pole and top-five finish on Saturday night at Raceway Park in Indianapolis. Bayne chose to start the 200-lap race in the outside lane and wrestled the lead from Steven Wallace before they hit the start/finish line to complete the first lap. The 19-year-old driver led the first 39 laps before relinquishing the lead to eventual race-winner Kyle Busch. Following the first caution on lap 75, Bayne retook the lead from Busch and stayed out front until his OUT! Pet Care Toyota became a little too loose. The Knoxville, Tenn. native raced inside the top five until a late caution flag flew on lap 165. Crew Chief Jerry Baxter summoned Bayne to pit road for four fresh Goodyear tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. Some teams opted to stay out on the race track so the Diamond-Waltrip Racing driver restarted 14th on lap 172. Bayne sliced his way through the field and by lap 174 raced seventh then on lap 178 moved to fifth. Bayne gained another spot in the closing laps to cross the finish line fourth and score his third top-five finish of his NASCAR Nationwide Series career. Bayne is ninth in the NNS championship point standings as the series travels to Iowa Speedway for another Saturday night race.

TREVOR BAYNE, OUT! Pet Care Toyota

Bayne qualified on the pole for the second consecutive week

This was Bayne’s second consecutive pole at Indy and third career NNS pole

Bayne led twice for 55 laps

Bayne suffered from a loose-handling Toyota for the majority of the race

Bayne restarted 14th on the lap 172 but grabbed seven spots in just three laps

Bayne scored his second consecutive top-five finish and his third career top-five finish

In 35 NNS starts Bayne has three poles, three top-five and seven top-10 finishes

BAYNE QUOTE: “Man, I love this short track race. wish we could do it every weekend. ’s what I’ve grown up doing, it’s what I still love to do. ’s just beating and banging, but when you get together you can still gather it up because you’re not going too fast. had a couple close calls, but we fought back to another top-five. was just talking to Jerry (Baxter, crew chief), we’re starting to get greedy. get a top-five and now we want to win this thing. , I know how Kyle Busch and Joey Logano feel when they come in and are complaining about finishing second. ’s a great run all day for the Out! Pet Care Toyota. Everybody here, they work so hard. pit stops were pretty good and we unloaded fast, stayed fast all day. top-fives in a row – we’ll take it.”

NNS Racing Results

Kyle Busch won the Kroger 200 benefitting Riley Hospital for Children, his 38th victory in 189 NNS races.

This is his eighth victory and 13th top-10 finish in 2010

This is his third victory and fourth top-10 finish in six races at Indy

Carl Edwards (second) posted his fourth top-10 finish in six races at Indy

Aric Almirola, Bayne and Reed Sorenson rounded out the top five

The race featured seven lead changes among four drivers. Cautions slowed the race six times for 36 laps.

NASCAR estimated 40,000 race fans in attendance at Indy

MWR Indy Qualifying Report

2010-07-24T12:48:00.001-04:00

Martin Truex Jr., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry - Qualified 12th

David Reutimann, Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry - Qualified 29th.

Saturday Recap

Juan Montoya won the pole with a time of 49.375 sec. - 182.278 mph.

Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Jamie McMurray and Ryan Newman rounded out top five

47 cars qualified for 43 spots. Truex went out fifth and Reutimann 11th.

After qualifying, the Sprint Cup cars held two, hour-long practices Saturday afternoon.

Sunday’s 17th running of the Brickyard 400 begins at 1 p.m. on ESPN, MRN Radio and SiriusXM Satellite Radio 128.

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Camry- “I really look forward to coming here to Indy. It’s a totally different kind of track when comparing to most tracks we race on the NASCAR circuit. We had a good practice yesterday with our NAPA Toyota so I am looking forward to the Brickyard 400. We had a good early draw here, but I’m not sure if we took advantage of it as much as I would have liked. We’ll work hard on the NAPA Toyota in race trim this afternoon. I really enjoy racing here and it presents a big challenge obviously.”

Did you think you would run better having the early draw? “You are never perfect here. The four corners are all a little bit different. It is hard to hit them all right. It’s hard to get your car the same in all four corners. We fought one issue on one end and another issue on the other end. I am not sure if you can ever be perfectly happy. We weren’t happy with our lap and that’s after having picked up almost a second from our q-run in practice. We are around eight-tenths quicker. So it is a big pick up. You have to go out there willing to drive it harder than you did yesterday in practice and hope it is enough. It is a delicate balance to go out there and not over drive it. It is a difficult qualifying session here because you get to sit overnight and think about it. You make changes and go out there knowing you will have to pick it up. It’s a difficult qualifying session. I feel like in race trim we were as good as anyone in the first practice. We ran really good, consistent laps and that means we could be good here. We’ll just have to see. We’ll go to work during today’s practices and I think we are really close in race trim. Hopefully that qualifying run won’t be too bad and we’ll be able to take advantage of that and have a good NAPA Toyota this weekend.”

DAVID REUTIMANN, No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota Camry- “We’re pretty disappointed with that run. That isn't what we were expecting or hoping for. We’ll have our work cut out for us tomorrow. We’ll have a chance to put it in race trim this afternoon and if we are good on Sunday we shouldn’t have a problem getting the Aaron’s dream machine up to the front. It’s a long tough race.”

Aarons, MWR and David Reutimann Together Through 2012 in Sprint Cup Series

2010-07-23T12:20:00.001-04:00

Aaron’s Ups Primary Sponsorship From 24 to 30 races in 2010

Extends Agreement through 2011 & 2012

INDIANAPOLIS (JULY 25, 2010) – Michael Waltrip Racing announced today that it has signed agreements extending its relationships with driver David Reutimann and primary sponsor Aaron’s, Inc. on the No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota through the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup season.

“I’m glad both Michael Waltrip Racing and Aaron’s want to keep me around,” joked Reutimann. “I’ve been asked about my contract for the last month and we’ve had a handshake agreement, but now it’s done and I’m glad I can finally talk about it. I’m thrilled. This is where I want to be – at Michael Waltrip Racing driving the No. 00 with Aaron’s on the hood. Aaron’s has been a great partner and I consider myself a lucky dog every time I get behind the wheel of the Aaron’s Dream Machine.

“Michael and Darrell Waltrip have given me just about every chance I have ever had in NASCAR since 2004 and I don’t want to go anywhere else. Good things are happening here and I plan to be a part of it.”

Reutimann, 40, earned his second Sprint Cup victory on July 10 in Chicagoland. He earned his and MWR’s first Sprint Cup victory at Charlotte in May 2009. He owns victories all three NASCAR national touring series. No driver owns more Toyota starts than Reutimann in NASCAR.

MWR co-owner Michael Waltrip said he never doubted Reutimann’s return.

“We never wavered on wanting to extend David and neither did Aaron’s. David and Aaron’s are like family to me. They’ve both been a large part of Michael Waltrip Racing since the very beginning and have stuck with us through thick and thin,” said Waltrip. “In the beginning we all took a chance on each other. You might say it was a high-risk, high reward proposition for everyone involved, but we all believed in each other and we are now starting to see those rewards a little more each day.

“Aaron’s along with NAPA AUTO PARTS and Toyota are three of the cornerstones MWR built upon over the years. Their loyalty to us has been as important as any ingredient in our success of late. I’m very proud that these companies have stayed with us as long as they have. We have a very bright future and plan to reward their loyalty in the coming years as we grow and continue to visit victory lane.”

Aaron’s will increase its primary sponsorship of Reutimann’s No.00 from 24 to 30 races in 2010 with TUMS and Best Western completing the schedule. Aaron’s will remain at 30 races in 2011 and 2012 and assume associate sponsorship position with all MWR Toyotas.

“Increasing our involvement in the NACSAR Sprint Cup Series and extending our partnership with Michael Waltrip Racing and David Reutimann through 2012 is a testament to how successful this relationship has been for Aaron’s,” stated Ken Butler, Chief Operating Officer of Aaron’s, Inc. “Much of Aaron’s growth and success is a direct result of our partnership with MWR and we are thrilled to continue that for two more seasons. We have built a rich history with Michael Waltrip and this organization over the last 11 years and I could not imagine Aaron’s partnering with anyone else in this sport. We look forward to being a part of their continued success.”

Aaron’s relationship with Michael Waltrip Racing began in 2000 when the Atlanta-based company sponsored six races for Waltrip’s Nationwide team. The relationship grew from a partial Nationwide program to one of the most recognizable Cup partnerships in the sport with aggressive activation and extensive usage of Waltrip and Reutimann in television and radio commercials.

MWR fields fulltime NASCAR Sprint Cup teams for Reutimann and Martin Truex Jr. as well as a fulltime K&N Pro Series entry and a six-race Nationwide Series entry for Ryan Truex. MWR along with Gary and Blake Bechtel co-own Diamond-Waltrip Racing that fields a fulltime Nationwide entry for Trevor Bayne.

About Aaron’s, Inc.

Aaron’s, Inc. (NYSE: AAN), the nation’s leader in the sales and lease ownership and specialty retailing of residential furniture, consumer electronics, home appliances and accessories, has more than 1,730 Company-operated and franchised stores in 48 states and Canada. Founded in 1955 by entrepreneur R. Charles Loudermilk, Sr. and headquartered in Atlanta, Aaron’s has been publicly traded since 1982. For more information, visit www.aarons.com.

###

David Reutimann - Indianapolis Motor Speedway Preview

2010-07-20T17:01:00.000-04:00

CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota driver David Reutimann says racing and working on cars is the only business he’s ever known. Growing up, Reutimann followed his father Emil “Buzzie” Reutimann, a hall of fame dirt track racer, up and down the east coast racing at small town tracks and living off purse money. Now the roles are reversed and 69-year-old Buzzie follows his son from track to track on the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit. Two weeks ago at Chicagoland Speedway Buzzie stuck his head into David’s car window seconds after he pulled into victory lane to share a very special moment.

QUOTES

BUZZIE REUTIMANN ON DAVID’S CHICAGO WIN: “People want you to put into words what it feels like to watch your son win a race at the highest level, but I don’t think there are really words that can describe that feeling. We can sit and talk about winning races all night long, but it’s the ones we lose we don’t want to talk about a whole lot. It was just a great victory. I know that when David won that Coke 600 that he always felt that it was sort of a “gimmie” and he was living with that. I know when he won that race in Chicago that the weight of the world came off his shoulders - you could just tell the relief in him. The first thing I said to him when I stuck my head in the car in victory lane was, ‘Tonight we did it kid! There was no rain in sight and it was all about the racing.’ I said, ‘You whipped them all! Tonight we’re the best!’ but I think it took a couple days for it all to sink in.”

BUZZIE REUTIMANN ON THE SHOW OF RESPECT FROM OTHER DRIVERS: “The other drivers coming over and congratulating David meant just as much as winning the race to me. When Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards came to victory lane—and even back in the garage where they were working on the cars—all the guys on the other team came and offered congratulations. Getting the respect from the other drivers means a lot. You race guys like you want to be raced and that makes a big difference because if you start roughing guys up it’s going to come back to you—I taught him that. I told him don’t go out there and run over somebody because you’re likely to get run over the next time. David’s been pretty smart about that.”

PRESS CONFERENCE: Michael Waltrip Racing will make an announcement regarding the No. 00 team at noon Friday in the Economaki Press Conference Room at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Reutimann & Waltrip will be available to media after the announcement.

ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST

• Only Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton have a better average finish than Reutimann (11.6) in the last 10 races. Reutimann is tied with Denny Hamlin during that span.

• In the last 10 point races, Reutimann has scored 1,341 points - sixth most of any driver and moved from 27th in points to 15th. The 12-position gain is the largest gain among any driver over that span — Tony Stewart gained the second most positions at +6.

• Reutimann currently has the longest streak of consecutive lead laps finishes at 11 races. He has finished on the lead lap in 15 or 16 races that he was running at the finish and 15 out of 19 total races in 2010.

• Reutimann led 52 laps in his win at Chicagoland Speedway—the second highest total of any race in his career (Best, 104 laps at Richmond in fall 2008). He has collected 25 bonus points for leading laps in five of the 11 races. Reutimann has one win, three top-fives and nine top-15 finishes during that span.

• Reutimann has finished 20th or better in 14 of the 15 races that he has been running at the finish in 2010—and 15th or better in 11 of the 15.

Trevor Bayne - Indianapolis Preview

2010-07-20T16:38:00.000-04:00

CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 99 OUT! Pet Care Toyota driver Trevor Bayne burst onto the NASCAR scene at Indianapolis a year ago when he won his first pole and finished seventh in just his seventh Nationwide Series start. The 19-year-old will make his 35th career start —equal to a full season of NNS competition— on Saturday night at Indianapolis. The Diamond-Waltrip driver’s success of late is more like that of a veteran driver than a first year driver. Last weekend he won the pole, led 19 laps and posted a career-best third-place finish at Gateway. That came on the heels of recent good runs like the fifth-place finish at New Hampshire and a 10th-place finish at Road America—his first road course race.

QUOTES

CO-OWNER MICHAEL WALTRIP ON BAYNE: “Trevor is a 19-year-old kid that isn’t scared to go up there and mix it up with the Cup guys. We haven’t seen a lot of young guys that have been able to get up near the front and immediately contend, but Trevor has been able to do that. He is someone that races every lap like it might be his last. He kind of reminds me of Martin (Truex Jr.) when he first jumped onto the scene. His youthfulness, enthusiasm and willingness to listen and learn brings a special spark to this team. He wants to know what he is supposed to do in each situation. He wants the respect of his competitors.”

CREW CHIEF JERRY BAXTER ON BAYNE: “Trevor has learned a lot over the past year. The biggest thing we have worked on with him is patience. He likes to go out there and run every lap as hard as he can. We have really tried to get him to run 80 to 85 percent for the first two thirds of the race and keep the car in one piece. Over the last couple of months he has really started coming into his own. I think he has realized that when someone is fast let them by instead of racing the wheels off the race car. He has learned how to get everything he can out of the race car. I really think once Trevor starts going back to these tracks two and three times, he will start competing for wins every week.”

TREVOR BAYNE ON INDIANAPOLIS: “I like racing at Indy a lot—it fits my driving style. We won the pole, led 34 laps and finished seventh last year. The car was solid the entire race until Steven Wallace got into us when the caution flag flew and we got stuck back in traffic. I think we had a car to win but we just weren’t able to get back up to the front after the mishap.”

ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST

• Diamond-Waltrip Racing is owned by Gary and Blake Bechtel along with Michael Waltrip Racing. It fields Toyota Camrys out of the MWR shop in Cornelius, N.C. The Bechtels have owned cars in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series since 1990. The Morgan Hill, California residents’ teams have visited victory lane 10 times in the Nationwide Series.

• Bayne is 11th in points, but fifth among the non-Sprint Cup drivers in the Nationwide Series.

• Get your dog’s picture on Bayne’s No. 99 OUT! Pet Care Toyota by going to www.outpetcare.com and register for the “Top Dog of the Week.”

• Bayne owns 34 NASCAR Nationwide Series starts. He has two poles (Indianapolis –2009 and Gateway—2010), two top-fives and six top-10s and has led 53 laps. His average starting spot is 12th and average finish is 18th. His best finish (third) came at Gateway International Raceway on July 17.

Martin Truex Jr. Indy Preview

2010-07-20T16:37:00.001-04:00

CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 56 NAPA AUTO PARTS Toyota Crew Chief Pat Tryson and driver Martin Truex Jr. hope to replicate what teammate David Reutimann did two weeks ago in Chicagoland and make it two wins in a row for Michael Waltrip Racing. Sunday’s running of the Brickyard 400 is one of the most prestigious races on the schedule. For the 30-year-old from Mayetta, N.J., kissing the bricks would rank up there with winning a Daytona 500.

Truex spent the off weekend around his home in North Carolina and tuned in to ESPN2 to watch little brother Ryan make his Nationwide debut Saturday night at Gateway International Raceway. The younger Truex raced from mid-pack to eighth before an accident ended his race about 20 laps before the finish.

QUOTES

Martin Truex Jr. on Running at Indy: “The Brickyard 400 is a big deal. You really feel the history when you walk in there and think about all of the Indy 500s and Brickyard 400s and all of the great finishes and great drivers winning. It’s one of those key races of the year where everybody wants to go there and win it. It reminds me of the Daytona 500. Obviously we’re coming off a big weekend with David winning and we had a great night so things are going well at Michael Waltrip Racing. I’m looking forward to running the NAPA Toyota again. It’s funny. You get these weekends off and you think, ‘Oh yeah, a weekend off is coming up.’ Then you get to the weekend and you feel like you should be doing something. I can’t wait to get back to the track. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Truex on NAPA Team’s Indy Preparations: “Our team preparation for this big race is not that much different than what we do all year long. It’s not like we have to build a special car to go there like we do at Daytona and Talladega. It’s a flat track with long straight-aways. It’s somewhat similar to Pocono. I think a lot of guys look back at Pocono and judge from that race as to what they need to work on and prepare for Indy. I feel confident that we can use some of what we learned from Pocono for this event. Obviously we also want to take our best engine and TRD gave us something to work with at Chicago for sure.”

On Watching Brother Ryan’s Debut at Gateway Last Weekend: “I stayed home because I get really nervous watching him. I was still a little bit nervous following practice on the computer. I obviously watched qualifying and the race. He ended up doing probably better than I thought. He did a great job, and I think I’ll be OK to go to the next one. I just didn’t want to go there and put any extra pressure on him. I know he had a lot of people watching him and he had a lot of pressure on him, so I didn’t want to add to that. He did a great job and what impressed me was his ability to stay pretty calm both on and off the track. He did good with it. He ran a really good race all but the last 20 laps. I think he learned a lot and I think he earned respect from the other drivers and had a good first outing. I’m proud of him.”

Crew Chief Pat Tryson on Indy Challenges: “Qualifying can influence how well you run there. If you get a bad draw, it can get you behind because it is so tough to pass there unless you have a really, really good car. If you go back to last year, Juan Pablo Montoya had the best car there and was driving away with it until he got a pit road penalty. He came out 12th and could only pick up one spot on the track. It’s a tough track because it is so hard to pass. To have a chance at the win, you need a good motor and a car that can really turn well.”

NOTES

NAPA AUTO PARTS continues to bring Martin Truex Jr. fans a little bit closer to the action. On Sunday at Indy and lasting through the remainder of the season, NAPA is making the Michael Waltrip Racing team’s in-car audio available free of charge to fans who register at www.nascar.com/napatruexscanner or http://www.napaonline.com/. Tune in and enjoy the race!

Sunday’s race is Truex’s 172nd Sprint Cup Series start and sixth at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. His best start of 13th came last year and in 2007, he recorded his best finish of 12th. During his career, he has two top-15 and four top-25 finishes. His average start and finish is 22nd. He has led three laps in competition.

Bayne Starts From The Pole and Finishes A Career Best Third At Gateway

2010-07-18T07:31:00.000-04:00

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Trevor Bayne Race Summary: No. 99 Out Pet Care Toyota driver Trevor Bayne earned his second career pole and posted a career-best third-place finish Saturday night at Gateway International Raceway. Bayne opted to stay on the race track while the leaders pitted with just under 30 laps remaining to take the lead. Bayne relinquished two spots during the several restarts but was still able to hold off cars with fresher tires through the wild racing to hold on for the third-place finish. Bayne led the race’s opening lap and never faded outside the top-five in the first half of the race. The Jerry Baxter-led team prepared a Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota that looked good in every practice, qualifying and in the race on the 1.25-mile oval. Bayne’s finished, kept him in 11th-place in the series points race. The Nationwide Series returns to action Saturday night in Indianapolis.

‪·‬ Bayne won his second career pole in just his 34th career race.
‪·‬ His third-place finish was the best of his brief career.
‪·‬ Bayne led the first lap and never fell outside the top five in the first half of the race.
‪·‬ Ran in the top-10 in second half of the race.
‪·‬ With 20 laps remaining, crew chief Jerry Baxter had Bayne stay on the track giving him the lead.
‪·‬ Carl Edwards and Brad Kesolowski passed Bayne before a red flag stopped the race.
‪·‬ Bayne restarted the with two laps to go in fourth and finished third after Kesolowski and Edwards made contact.

BAYNE QUOTE: How do you feel after tonight’s race?
“It was just a really enduring race. It was hard for the drivers, it was hard for the team, but Jerry Baxter (crew chief) did a great job with the call there to not pit and got us our track position back. We had a strong enough car to be up there and that was the way it was for us in our Out! Pet Car Toyota all weekend. We unloaded fast, in the top three, qualified on the pole and then finished top three so it’s a great weekend for us. Can’t thank everyone enough for giving us this opportunity. It was a great weekend for us and we’re happy to be in the top three.”

How important was the call by Jerry Baxter to not pit on the last caution?
“That was a crucial call for us and we had fallen back to eighth. That wasn’t because of our car, that was just because of some coincidences that had happened when I got pinched down on the bottom by the 62 (Brendan Gaughan) and that cost us to lose a couple spots. We were coming back, but track position is so important here because you don’t have the gear to get off the corners. That was a really great call and it took a lot of guts for Jerry Baxter (crew chief) to do that, to leave us out when everybody was coming down pit road. It paid off for us. We got a top three out of it, we had a strong Out! Pet Care Toyota all weekend. We unloaded top three, stayed top three all through practices, qualified on the pole and then finished top three. Just a really strong weekend for us.”

What did you see on the final lap between Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski?
“I had a front row view of it for sure. I was just hoping I could get by the 32 (Reed Sorenson) because I figured for sure I would win the race if I got by him because I figured the 60 (Carl Edwards) and 22 (Brad Keselowski) would kind of take care of themselves just by the way turn one and two looked. It was insane from the very beginning of the restart. They went into one and two -- Keselowski overdrove it and slid up the track and it looked like the 22 just overdrove it a couple times and slid up the track and tried to run the 60 up and then the 60 just came down there at the end and got the 22 from what I saw. I was kind of focused on chasing my car through three and four because I overdrove it as well on the last lap. Fortunately, it helped us and we got our first top three. It doesn’t really matter how we got it, as long as we got it. I hate it for those guys because they were so dominant all day, but it was just a great run for us.”

Ryan Truex Race Summary: It only took half a race for No. 00 Ryan Truex to claw his way into the top-10 in his first NASCAR Nationwide Series appearance. The 2009 K&N Pro Series East Champion and 2010 points leader impressed competitors and fans at Gateway International Raceway on Saturday night by driving like a veteran. The 18-year-old qualified 18th then stormed into the top 10 at the halfway mark and even climbed as high as eighth. With just 22 laps remaining, Truex lost control of his car and slapped the wall. He parked the car after the accident but drove the No. 20 Toyota in relief for Matt DiBenedetto who was involved in an earlier accident. Truex returns to Nationwide race at Michigan on Aug. 14.

‪·‬ Truex started his first NASCAR Nationwide Series race in 18th.
‪·‬ Truex moved into the top-10 at the halfway mark of the race.
‪·‬ He climbed as high as eighth late in the race.
‪·‬ Raced in 10th on lap 178 when he hit the wall and pulled into the garage.
‪·‬ Served a relief driver for Matt DiBenedetto who was in an accident earlier in the race.

TRUEX QUOTE: "Man that was a lot of fun until I spun out. I was really surprised how well we ran. I didn’t know if we would run that well. Napa and my crew made all this happen. I just drive. I have a lot to learn but that started tonight. I was having fun out there. Really, I was. Next time will be more about racing. This weekend was getting in the field and learning. I got hot out there, but I think everyone did. Sounds like it was a cool finish.”

RACE NOTES:
‪·‬ Carl Edwards and Brad Kesolowski made contact the front stretch coming to the checkered flag.
‪·‬ Edwards survived the contact and claimed the victory. Kesolowski hit and wall and was struck by another car and finished 14th.
‪·‬ Reed Sorenson finished second and Bayne finished third.
‪·‬ The next race is July 24 at Raceway Park in Indianapolis.

Results
1           Carl Edwards
2           Reed Sorenson
3           Trevor Bayne
4           Paul Menard
5           Steve Wallace
6           Brian Scott *
7           Colin Braun *
8           Josh Wise
9           Ricky Stenhouse Jr. *
10         Tony Raines
11         Michael Annett
12         Shelby Howard
13         Steve Arpin
14         Brad Keselowski
15         Willie Allen
16         Kevin Harvick
17         Brendan Gaughan
18         Tayler Malsam
19         Mike Bliss
20         Kenny Wallace
21         Morgan Shepherd
22         Mike Wallace
23         Jason Leffler
24         Alex Kennedy
25         Justin Allgaier
26         Eric McClure
27         Joe Nemechek
28         Ryan Truex
29         Matt DiBenedetto
30         Brad Coleman
31         Landon Cassill
32         Kelly Bires
33         Brad Baker
34         Jason Keller
35         Kevin Lepage
36         Chase Miller
37         Danny O'Quinn Jr.
38         Brian Keselowski
39         Kevin Swindell
40         Johnny Chapman
41         Johnny Sauter
42         Dennis Setzer
‪43‬        Mark Green

Points
1           Brad Keselowski          Leader
2           Carl Edwards                -168
3           Justin Allgaier                -497
4           Kyle Busch                    -556
5           Kevin Harvick                -608
6           Paul Menard                  -675
7           Steve Wallace              -838
8           Brendan Gaughan       -915
9           Joey Logano                 -934
10         Jason Leffler                 -954
11         Trevor Bayne                -1002
12         Brian Scott*                   -1051
13         Michael Annett             -1069
14         Reed Sorenson            -1085
15         Tony Raines                  -1110
16         Kenny Wallace             -1296
17         Mike Wallace                 -1323
18         Mike Bliss                      -1341
19         Eric McClure                 -1483
20         Ricky Stenhouse Jr.*   -1494
21         Joe Nemechek             -1499
22         Michael McDowell        -1563
23         Jason Keller                  -1608
24         Colin Braun*                  -1633
25         Greg Biffle                     -1674
26         Scott Lagasse Jr.         -1714
27         Josh Wise                     -1847
28         Willie Allen                    -1962
29         Shelby Howard            -1972
30         Robert Richardson Jr. -1983
31         Jamie McMurray          -1998
32         Morgan Shepherd        -2014
33         Brian Keselowski         -2068
34         James Buescher*         -2139
35         Mark Green                   -2156
36         Clint Bowyer                  -2187

Trevor Bayne Race Advance - Gateway

2010-07-13T16:29:00.000-04:00

CORNELIUS, N.C. — After working with veteran drivers most of his career, No. 99 OUT! Pet Care crew chief Jerry Baxter carries the added responsibility of overseeing a NASCAR Nationwide team with a talented rookie. Baxter and his 19-year-old driver Trevor Bayne have turned in impressive performances throughout this season as well endured some disappointments—not all of their making— like closing lap accidents in the last two races that ruined runs by Bayne. This weekend at Gateway International Raceway Bayne and Baxter hope 18-year-old driver Ryan Truex’s Nationwide Series debut as Bayne’s teammate should help both drivers on the 1.25-mile St. Louis oval.

QUOTES

BAXTER ON VETERAN AND ROOKIE DRIVERS: “There is a big difference between working with Michael (Waltrip) and Trevor Bayne. The veteran drivers know what they want in a race car because they have done it for so long and you set it up the way they want it. With Trevor, we have to let him tell us what he is feeling and then we make a decision based on his input and our past experience. He hasn't been at these tracks a lot so he can’t relate past experiences so I think getting the car right lies more on my shoulders now than it did in the past.”

BAXTER ON WHAT YOU TELL A YOUNG DRIVER AFTER A TOUGH RACE: “Trevor doesn’t seem like he carries things over from the past weekend. He does a really good job of not carrying a grudge over from a prior incident. He does a really good about letting things roll of his chest and get focused for the next weekend.”

GATEWAY INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY: “(Ryan Truex Crew Chief) Mike Greci and I have worked really hard together over the past couple of weeks to get both of our cars ready for this weekend. I think it gives me an extra person do bounce ideas off of. Trevor and Ryan are both young drivers and they get along really well so they should be able to help each other out. We think this will benefit our whole Nationwide organization.”

BAYNE ON RYAN TRUEX: “I have been looking forward to having a teammate all season. It gives me someone to bounce ideas off of and it also gives us another car to try different setups. I believe there are some things that we can learn from each other that will make us better racers. We plan go to Gateway this weekend with identical setups and hopefully between the two cars, we can come up with a setup that can win the race.”

ADDITIONAL NOTES OF INTEREST

• Diamond-Waltrip Racing is owned by Gary and Blake Bechtel along with Michael Waltrip Racing. It fields Toyota Camrys out of the MWR shop in Cornelius, N.C. The Bechtels have owned cars in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series since 1990. The Morgan Hill, California residents’ teams have visited victory lane 10 times in the Nationwide Series.

• Bayne will sign autographs on pit road on Friday at 3:15 p.m.

• Bayne started 12th and finished 27th last year in his only Gateway start.

• Bayne is 11th in points, but fifth among the non-Sprint Cup drivers in the Nationwide Series.

• Get your dog’s picture on Bayne’s No. 99 OUT! Pet Care Toyota by going to www.outpetcare.com and register for the “Top Dog of the Week.”

• Bayne has five top-10 finishes in 33 career starts. His best finish (fifth) came at New Hampshire International Speedway on June 26.