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No. 9 Ragu Dodge Charger ORP Preview

Tuesday July 22, 2008

 

For the second week in a row, NASCAR rookie Chase Miller will climb behind the wheel of the No. 9 Ragu Dodge Charger.

The native of Canton, Ga. claims that running in consecutive races is not only a privilege but helps him gain valuable seat time.

“Most drivers get the advantage of being in the car week after week,” Miller explained. “It’s a little different for me. Since I’m not running a full schedule it’s a bit of a challenge to jump back in the car after being out of it for a few weeks. But this week is different and I’m excited to be in the car for two weeks in a row. That kind of seat time helps me keep focused and hopefully the team can carry our good momentum into ORP.”

Miller and the Ultimate Chargers team are coming off its best finish at Gateway. The team finished 13th, marking Miller’s fifth top-15 of the year.

In 2008, Miller has competed in eight Nationwide Series events. His best finish of eighth came at Darlington Raceway.

TV and Radio Times: Qualifying is set for Saturday at 4:30 p.m. (ET) on ESPN2. Race time on Saturday is 8 p.m. (ET) on ESPN.

DRIVER CHASE MILLER QUOTES:

“We took what we learned from Gateway last week back to the shop to help get things ready for ORP. The guys have been doing an awesome job at the track and at the shop. Each week we unload fast cars and that helps keep us a step ahead. This team is capable of getting top-10s every weekend and that is something we hope to do this week.

“ORP is a pretty unique track. It’s a short track with multiple grooves so that makes it a driver friendly track. I’ve raced there in the ARCA Series before and that means it won’t be completely new to me. It almost seems like a Martinsville type track but the corners are a little longer and they aren’t as tight.

“Most drivers get the advantage of being in the car week after week. It’s a little different for me. Since I’m not running a full schedule it’s a bit of a challenge to jump back in the car after being out of it for a few weeks. But this week is different and I’m excited to be in the car for two weeks in a row. That kind of seat time helps me keep focused and hopefully the team can carry our good momentum into ORP.”

NOTES

IRP
Miller has one career start at ORP in the ARCA Series.

Season to date:
Has made eight starts earning one top-10 finish [Darlington] with best qualifying position of 15th [Milwaukee].
Career:
In 14 previous starts, Miller has one outside pole [Kentucky ’07] and best finish of eighth [Darlington ‘08]. In those 14 races, eight finishes have been in the top-20.

2008 Season:
Kasey Kahne drove the No. 9 to a sixth-place finish at Daytona.
The No. 9 Ragu Dodge Charger is ranked 12th in owner points, 21 points outside the top-10.
The team has seven top-10s this season.
Kahne grabbed the Ragu Dodge team its first pole of the season at Richmond.
At Talladega the Ragu Dodge finished eighth, earning Patrick Carpentier his second straight top-10 and rookie of the race honors.
The No.9 team nearly grabbed their first victory of the season at Bristol. Kahne ran out of laps to make the winning pass in the rain-shortened race, but earned the team its first top-five of the year.
Patrick Carpentier earned the Ragu team its first top-10 of the season after finishing eighth at Las Vegas. Carpentier didn’t have any practice laps in the car before taking the green flag.

History
· Gillett Evernham Motorsports had two victories in the Nationwide Series last year. They came at Charlotte and Bristol with Kahne behind the wheel.
· Since joining forces with Gillett Evernham Motorsports in 2005, Kahne has won at least two races each season in the Nationwide Series.

Gillett Evernham Motorsports
· Ray Evernham served as Jeff Gordon’s crew chief from 1992-’99 winning 47 races and three Cup championships.
· Evernham founded Evernham Motorsports in 2000 and began first full season of competition in 2001 serving as the cornerstone of Dodge’s return to NASCAR.
· George Gillett Jr. became co-owner with Evernham in October 2007. Gillett also owns the Montreal Canadiens in the NHL and the Liverpool soccer team in the English Premier League.
· Gillett Evernham Motorsports campaigns Kasey Kahne in the No. 9, Patrick Carpentier in the No. 10, and Elliott Sadler in the No. 19 in NASCAR Sprint Cup competition.
· The organization also fields the No. 9 in NASCAR Nationwide Series races with its Sprint Cup drivers plus rookie Chase Miller.

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

 

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