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Roush Fenway Racing Gateway/Kentucky Advance

Tuesday July 15, 2008

 

Roush Fenway Racing Advance
Gateway International Raceway – Madison, Ill.

NASCAR Nationwide Series: Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250
Saturday, July 19
9:00 PM Eastern TV – ESPN2
9:30 PM Eastern RADIO – MRN
David Ragan No. 6 Discount Tire Ford Fusion
Jamie Mcmurray No. 17 CitiFinancial Ford Fusion
Carl Edwards No. 60 Save-A-Lot Ford Fusion
Kentucky Speedway
Sparta, KY

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: Built Ford Tough 225 presented by
Saturday, July 19 the Greater Cincinnati Ford Dealers
6:30 PM Eastern TV – SPEED
7:00 PM Eastern RADIO – MRN
Colin Braun No. 6 Con-way Freight Ford F-150
John Wes Townley No. 09 Zaxby’s Ford F-150
Erik Darnell No. 99 Northern Tool + Equipment Ford F-150

Roush Fenway Racing – Track History
Current Roush Fenway Racing drivers in the Nationwide Series at Gateway International Raceway way:
Driver Starts Wins Top-5’s Top-10’s Poles
David Ragan 2 0 1 1 0
Jamie McMurray 2 0 0 1 0
Carl Edwards 4 1 2 3 0
Totals 8 1 3 5 0

Current Roush Fenway Racing drivers in the Craftsman Truck Series at Kentucky Speedway:
Driver Starts Wins Top-5’s Top-10’s Poles
Colin Braun 0 0 0 0 0
John Wes Townley 0 0 0 0 0
Erik Darnell 2 0 0 1 0
Totals 2 0 0 1 0

Roush Fenway Racing – Current Point Standings
NASCAR Nationwide Series- After 20 of 35
Place Driver Points Behind Starts Poles Wins Top-5’s Top-10’s
4. Carl Edwards 2711 -254 20 2 1 8 10
6. David Ragan 2613 -352 20 0 0 4 12
23. Greg Biffle 1366 -1599 10 0 0 2 6
43. Matt Kenseth 668 -2297 5 0 1 2 2
54. Jamie McMurray 494 -2471 4 0 0 1 2
61. Colin Braun 345 -2620 4 1 0 0 0
86. Erik Darnell 85 -2880 1 0 0 0 0

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series- After 12 of 25
Place Driver Points Behind Starts Poles Wins Top-5’s Top-10’s
10. Erik Darnell 1605 -137 12 1 1 5 5
15. Colin Braun 1346 -396 12 0 0 1 4
28. Travis Kvapil 675 -1067 5 0 0 1 3
33. Bobby East 484 -1258 4 0 0 0 2
46. John Wes Townley 191 -1551 2 0 0 0 0
66. Joey Clanton 67 -1675 1 0 0 0 0

David Ragan-NNS Advance
Team: No. 6 Discount Tire Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Mike Kelley
Chassis: RK-296 Last outing: Darlington Raceway, May ’08 – finished 27th
Ragan, Nationwide Series at Gateway International Raceway:
Date Event S F Laps Led Status Money
7-21-07 Busch Series 250 21 5 200/200 0 Running $29,575
7-30-05 Wallace Fam trib 250 43 32 188/200 0 Accident $20,860
Races Wins Top-5s Top-10s Poles Money
Cumulative 2 0 1 1 0 $50,435
Ragan on racing in the Nationwide Series at Gateway International Raceway:
“I am looking forward to this weekend at Gateway. I have a lot of family in the St. Louis area, so a good run would be a nice treat for the family. The key to this track is having a good motor that can carry you down the long straightaway. We are bringing the same Discount Tire Ford Fusion that ran at Darlington earlier in the year. We didn’t have a great finish, but we ran in the top-five all night. I am confident we can challenge for a win on Saturday night.”
Crew Chief Mike Kelley on racing at Gateway International Raceway:
“The Discount Tire team has worked hard preparing a fast racecar that sets up nicely for this track. David has some experience at Gateway so we are looking forward to a great run. When a driver is comfortable with a track they can do great things in a racecar. This weekend is very important for the Discount Tire team. We need a good run to stay in the hunt for a championship. We have run upfront all year long and it is time to see our hard work payoff with a trip to victory lane.”

Jamie McMurray – NNS ADVANCE
Team: No. 17 CitiFinancial Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Pierre Kuettel
Chassis: RK-395 (last ran by Matt Kenseth at Richmond, finished 12th)
McMurray, NNS at Gateway International Raceway:
Date Event S F Laps Led Status Money
7-20-02 Charter Pipeline 250 9 8 200/200 0 Running $26,000
7-21-01 Carquest Auto Parts 250 14 11 200/200 0 Running $26,700
Races Wins Top-5s Top-10s Poles Led Money
Cumulative 2 0 0 1 0 0 $52,700
McMurray on racing at Gateway International Raceway: “This is my first race with Pierre Kuettel as my crew chief. Working with a new crew chief is always a challenge but PK has proven he can win races and championships and I know he’ll give me a great car. It’s been a long time since I raced at Gateway and I’m really looking forward to coming back. It will be great to come back to such a challenging track and hopefully, I can put the No. 17 CitiFinancial Fusion in victory lane in front of a hometown crowd.”
Crew Chief Pierre Kuettel on racing at Gateway International Raceway: “I like Gateway. The No. 17 team didn’t run out there last year but the track is similar to Darlington and the team had a good car there in May. This is my first race with Jamie and it’s pretty cool that it comes at his home track. I’m still getting acclimated to these guys but I’m really happy with how everything is going so far. Jamie is a very talented driver and I’m looking forward to having him keep the CitiFinancial Ford Fusion up front all day.”

Carl Edwards – NNS ADVANCE
Team: No. 60 Save-A-Lot Ford Fusion
Crew Chief: Drew Blickensderfer
Chassis: RK-349 Brand-new chassis
Edwards, NNS at Gateway International Raceway:
Date Event S F Laps Led Status Money
7-21-07 Nationwide Series 250 3 6 200/200 7 Running $34,200
7-29-06 Nationwide Silv Cel 250 2 1 200/200 26 Running $59,950
7-30-05 Wallace Family 250 43 3 200/200 0 Running $33,108
7-20-02 Charter Pipeline line 250 36 38 35/200 0 Engine $16,750
Races Wins Top-5s Top-10s Poles Money
Cumulative 4 1 2 3 0 $144,008
Edwards on racing at Gateway International Raceway:
“It’s going to be great racing at Gateway. I consider it my home track and I will have a lot of family and friends there. I won a race there a few years ago and it was one of my greatest accomplishments. Save-A-Lot’s headquarters are nearby, so I am going to try my best to get them into victory lane this weekend.”
Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer on racing at Gateway International Raceway:
“Carl knows what it takes to get to victory lane at Gateway. As a past winner, a repeat performance is very likely. I am confident our Save-A-Lot Ford Fusion will be fast this weekend. We struggled a bit last week, so we need to have a solid run to stay in championship contention. Our goal is to win a championship. Anything less would be a major disappointment for this team.”

Colin Braun – NCTS ADVANCE
Team: No. 6 Con-way Freight Ford F-150
Crew Chief: Mike Beam
Chassis: RK-45 Last outing: Michigan in June – finished sixth
Braun, NCTS at Kentucky Speedway:
Date Event S F Laps Led Status Money
No prior starts at Kentucky
Races Wins Top-5s Top-10s Poles Led Money
Cumulative 0 0 0 0 0 0 $0
Braun on racing at Kentucky Speedway:
“I’ve never been to Kentucky Speedway before, other than a media event they had there a few weeks ago. I got to make a few laps around the track in the pace car so that is the only experience I have there so far. It seems like a great track and I’m looking forward to racing there this weekend. We’re taking the same truck that we ran at Michigan last month, which was a good truck. Mike Beam and the guys always give me fast trucks every week, we just have to stay out of trouble and as Mike says, ‘not beat ourselves.’ We’ve had a rough time the last few races, so we’re looking for at least a solid top-10 finish at Kentucky. We finished 31st and 29th in our last two races so we need to put an end to that streak immediately.”
Crew chief Mike Beam on racing at Kentucky Speedway:
“I expect Colin to run well this weekend at Kentucky. We’re taking the same truck he finished sixth with at Michigan last month and third at Kansas back in the spring. He likes the intermediate tracks and usually runs quite well on them. We’re basically starting the second half of the season now so every race counts toward the rookie title and finishing in the top 10 in points.”

John Wes Townley – NCTS ADVANCE
Team: No. 09 Zaxby’s Ford F-150
Crew Chief: Chad Norris
Chassis: RK-33 Last outing: Lowe’s – finished 18th with Travis Kvapil
Townley, NCTS at Kentucky Speedway:
Date Series Event S F Laps Led Status Winnings
No prior NASCAR starts – finished fifth in the ARCA race in May
Races Wins Top 5s Top 10s Led Poles
Cumulative 0 0 0 0 0 0
John Wes Townley on racing at Kentucky Speedway:
“I feel very confident going into Saturday night’s truck race, primarily due to the great finish I had at Kentucky in the ARCA race back in May. I have a lot of confidence at that track. I love the way it drives and the line at Kentucky. It’s my favorite track that I’ve been on this season. I’ll be running the ARCA race on Friday night too so I think it will be a big help. The more experience you get on a particular track, the better off you are.”
Crew chief Chad Norris on racing at Kentucky Speedway:
“I believe this will be a good race for John Wes. He’s got an ARCA race under his belt already so that experience will help him quite a bit. He’ll get a lot of track time this weekend between the truck and the ARCA car. It will be our job to help him make a smooth transition between the two different vehicles.”

Erik Darnell – NCTS ADVANCE
Team: No. 99 Northern Tool + Equipment Ford F-150
Crew Chief: Matt Puccia
Chassis: RK-58 Last outing: Michigan, June ‘08 – finished first
Also: Finished fourth at Charlotte in May ‘08
Erik Darnell, Craftsman Truck Series at Kentucky Speedway:
Date Event S F Laps Led Status Money
7-14-07 Built Ford Tough 225 6 29 94/150 0 Accident $11,700
7-8-06 Built Ford Tough 225 6 9 150/150 0 Running $16,825
Races Wins Top-5s Top-10s Poles Led Money
Cumulative 2 0 0 1 0 0 $28,525
Erik Darnell on racing at Kentucky Speedway:
“I’m really glad to be getting back in the truck after two weeks off. The time off was nice, but this No.99 team had built up so much momentum over the past three races that I hope we can keep it going heading into the Ford Built Tough 225. You can always expect to have a fight on your hands when the green flag drops at Kentucky. Last year’s race is one I would like to forget, starting right outside the top five and then finishing a disappointing 29th after blowing a tire. So, you could say I will have redemption on my mind come this weekend.”
Crew chief Matt Puccia on racing at Kentucky Speedway:
“Kentucky is one of those cookie-cutter tracks that Erik really enjoys racing at. It reminds me a lot of Charlotte and Texas, but a little flatter. Erik will be driving the same Ford F-150 that he brought home to victory lane back at Michigan. We have a couple of trucks that we use on these mile-and-a-half tracks, but it was a no brainer when deciding which one to bring to Kentucky. The truck was so dominant that day and I anticipate another great run out of the No.99 Saturday evening.”

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This report was provided by an outside PR source and posted by Kim DeHaven.

 

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