No. 23 Allegiant Chevrolet
Toyota Speedway at Irwindale
NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown
January 26, 2011
Spencer Gallagher Geared Up for Showdown Action at Irwindale!
Clark-Diederich Racing, the Spencer Clark Driven Foundation (SCDF) and Allegiant Travel Company have partnered together to compete in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West for 2011 with Spencer Gallagher behind the wheel. Gallagher will pilot the No. 23 Allegiant Chevrolet and challenge for one of the coveted spots in the Toyota All-Star Showdown at Irwindale. The Los Angeles-area event known as the most prestigious race on NASCAR’s developmental series calendar will be televised live on SPEED and likely include the 2010 season champions from all seven of NASCAR’s Regional Series.
Notes of Interest:
- Clark-Diederich Racing and the No. 23 Allegiant team make their All-Star debut!
Clark-Diederich Racing was created this year by TJ and Debbie Clark who have reunited their late son’s sponsor (Allegiant) and Crew Chief (Chris Diederich) to continue Spencer Clark’s legacy in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. The Clark family has been working with young, aspiring race car drivers for the past several years in Legends, Bandoleros and Late Models through the Spencer Clark Driven Foundation (SCDF). Spencer Gallagher has been a student of the SCDF since he first started racing Bandoleros at the age of 12. Since then he has competed in Legend Cars and Superlate Models at the “Bullring” in Las Vegas, winning the world title on the road course in 2010. He’s a 21 year old student at University of Nevada, Las Vegas who is known for his heart, dedication and desire to be an extremely successful race car driver.
- Spencer Gallagher on upcoming NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Season and Showdown
“I am really looking forward to the 2011 racing season, competing against some of the best young talent on the west coast, as well as some of the guys in the K&N East Series and the ARCA Series. We’re really just trying to get as much seat time and experience as possible this year. Our goals are to try and be as consistent as possible, keep the fenders on the car and be in contention for the Rookie of the Year Honors. TJ, Debbie and the Spencer Clark Driven Foundation have all played a crucial part in my development not only as a driver, but as a person. I am truly grateful to have the support of so many wonderful people and I cannot thank them enough. Hopefully we will have a good weekend at the Toyota All-Star Showdown and come away with a top-10, maybe even a top-5. We’ll have to see how it all shakes out.”
- Spencer Clark’s Legacy to continue in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West
Las Vegas native, Spencer Clark started his NASCAR career in the K&N Pro Series West with great success. By the age of 19, Clark had proven to be an immensely talented young race car driver with one pole, three top-5’s and four top-10’s in his first eight K&N Pro Series West starts. In March of 2006, he made his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut at his hometown track, the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Sadly Spencer Clark’s career and life were cut short on May 21, 2006 when he was a passenger in a fatal car accident outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
- Crew Chief, Chris Diederich, to help fulfill the Clark’s Dream
Chris Diederich has been a longtime family friend of the Clark’s and has worked with TJ since the mid 90’s in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. In 2005, Diederich reunited with the Clark’s and was the Crew Chief for Spencer Clark in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West and Nationwide Series. After the tragic accident in 2006, Diederich continued to further his career in NASCAR by moving to Charlotte and becoming the Crew Chief for Kenny Wallace in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. The upcoming 2011 season will bring back together the Clark’s, Diederich and Allegiant as they set out to fulfill the Spencer Clark dream with the young and talented Gallagher.
TJ Clark on the Spencer Clark Driven Foundation:
“I felt my son encouraging me to help others strive for their dreams as he did. I never knew the depth of young drivers that he was helping. In a time of grief, many people were telling me how Spencer helped them or their kid and what that meant to them. It made me very proud and thankful and I realized this would be a great way to honor my son. So the Spencer Clark Driven Foundation was created in 2008 and started with a team of 2 Bandoleros, 10 Legends and 2 Superlate Models racing at the “Bullring,” Spencer’s home track. We have continued every year since and helped 26 different kids improve and grow as they chase their racing dreams. Now the opportunity has come for us to take it to the next level.”
About Allegiant:
Allegiant, travel is our deal. Las Vegas-based Allegiant Travel Company (NASDAQ: ALGT), is focused on linking travelers in small cities to world-class leisure destinations such as Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix-Mesa, Orlando, Fla., and Tampa/St. Petersburg, Fla. Through its subsidiary, Allegiant Air, the company operates a low-cost, high-efficiency, all-jet passenger airline offering air travel both on a stand-alone basis and bundled with hotel rooms, rental cars and other travel-related services. In 2010, Allegiant was ranked number one for low-cost carriers in Aviation Week’s Top Performing Airline study and ranked 25 on FORTUNE magazine’s Fastest-Growing Companies list.
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