Drew Herring / No. 20 Sport Clips Toyota Preview – John Deere Dealers 250 at Iowa Speedway

Drew Herring / No. 20 Sport Clips Toyota Preview

John Deere Dealers 250 at Iowa Speedway

No. 20 Sport Clips Toyota News & Notes:

·     HIS BIRTHDAY GIFT?  A RIDE IN THE No. 20 SPORT CLIPS TOYOTA:  Drew Herring celebrated his 24th birthday just a couple of weeks ago.  And what did fate bring him for a birthday present?  How about a ride in the NASCAR Nationwide Series Owner’s Championship leading car… the No. 20 Sport Clips Toyota.  Herring will make his first Nationwide Series start of the season and his first for Joe Gibbs Racing on Sunday afternoon when he competes in the John Deere Dealers 250 at the .875-mile Iowa Speedway in Newton, IA.  The event will mark Herring’s fifth-career Nationwide Series start.  All four previous starts came in 2010, where he finished a season-best 15th at Iowa.

·     SPORT CLIPS MAKING THE No. 20 LOOK GOOD & RUN FAST:  Sport Clips, a national sport-themed hair-care franchise for men and boys that can be found in 38 states,will return as sponsor of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota with a little momentum on its side.  When sponsoring the No. 20, Sport Clips and the No. 20 JGR team have found victory lane in two of the last three events (with Joey Logano at Kansas in 2010 and Denny Hamlin at Richmond in 2011).  Founded in 1995, Sport Clips has over 750 stores nationwide.  Sport Clips will also be the primary sponsor on the No. 20 at Daytona International Speedway in July (with Logano), Chicagoland Speedway in September (Logano) and at Dover International Speedway in October (Logano). 

·     IOWA A FAMILIAR PLACE FOR WOLFPACK MEMBER:  While one of Herring’s four-career NASCAR Nationwide Series starts have come at Iowa, he’s raced at the track several other times.  Twice Herring has competed in the USAR Pro Cup division at Iowa Speedway, coming in 2008 and 2009.  Herring started sixth and finished ninth at the track in 2008, while in 2009, he won the pole, led 128 of the race’s 200 laps, and finished a strong second.  Herring, who is a full-time student at NC State University studying mechanical engineering, was crowned the 2008 Pro Cup Series Rookie of the Year and finished third in the points in 2009.

·     STILL IN THE OWNER’S CHAMPIONSHIPHUNT:  The No. 20 Sport Clips Toyota team is still leading the NASCAR Natiionwide Series Owner’s Championship point standings despite their 13th-place finish last weekend at Dover.  The team, which has featured both Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin behind the wheel this season, sits 29 points ahead of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing team in the owner’s standings heading into Dover.  The team, which has led the point standings since Texas, has six top-five and nine top-10 finishes in 11 starts this season.  Both finishes outside of the top-10, coming at Daytona and Dover, were results of accidents on the final lap while the team was racing for the lead.

·     CHASSIS:  The JGR team will take chassis #20107 to Iowa this weekend.  The chassis normally serves as the team’s primary backup car, but has also raced once this season, at Bristol Motor Speedway with Logano behind the wheel.  That race, Logano started 10th and finished 5th.

·     STAT OF THE WEEK:  3.85.  Drew knows how to qualify.  During Drew’s 2009 Pro Cup Series season, the youngster averaged a starting position of 3.85 over the course of the season.  In fact, in 14 series events, Herring never qualified outside of the top-10.

·     THE RACE:  The John Deere Dealers 250 at Iowa Speedway ( Newton , IA ; 0.875-mile banked oval) is set for Sunday, May 22, 2011.  The race will be broadcast on ABC at 2:00 p.m. EST, with radio coverage on MRN starting at 1:30 p.m. EST.

Herring’s Season-To-Date NASCAR Nationwide Series Stats: Starts Wins Top 5 Top 10 Poles Laps Led Earnings Avg. Start Avg. Finish 0 0 0 0 0 0 $0 – –

Herring’s Career NASCAR Nationwide Series Stats: Starts Wins Top 5 Top 10 Poles Laps Led Earnings Avg. Start Avg. Finish 4 0 0 0 0 0 $95,847 19.3 23.0

Herring’s Career NASCAR Nationwide Series Stats at Iowa Speedway: Starts Wins Top 5 Top 10 Poles Laps Led Earnings Avg. Start Avg. Finish 1 0 0 0 0 0 $26,393 15.0 15.0

Drew Herring Quotes: “This is a huge opportunity for me; having the chance to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing as well as going to a track that I am familiar with like Iowa.  I’ve been racing since I was 10 years old and it’s always been a dream of mine to be a part of NASCAR and this is a chance for me to prove that I am not only capable of being competitive, but also deserving of being here.  Anyone who knows anything about racing associates Joe Gibbs Racing with top quality equipment, great people and winning and that is exactly what their Nationwide program is all about.  I’m very blessed and thankful for the opportunity that I’ve got this weekend and will do nothing short of taking full advantage of the resources around me and giving everything I have to offer for the race weekend at Iowa.

“Iowa has been a really good track for me, having run there three times in different series.  I have been there twice with the Pro Cup Series and made my Nationwide debut there last year.  We had a solid day and ran as high as fourth in that race, finished on the lead laps and came home with what I think was a really respectable top-15 finish.  But now, with this opportunity ahead of me, I’m just ready to get to Iowa and get in the car, or my office so to speak, on Friday and just focus on getting acclimated in the car and dialing it in to be competitive on Sunday.

“I’m also really happy to be representing a company like Sport Clips.  Sport Clips is so well recognized and already such a big part of the sport and of Joe Gibbs Racing that getting a chance to sit behind the wheel with a company like Sport Clips on the side of the car is a dream come true for me.  Everything has happened so fast and we’re working so hard at making this race a total success, I just can’t wait to get it all going come Sunday.”

No. 20 Sport Clips Toyota / Joe Gibbs Racing Team

Driver – Drew Herring                                            Crew Chief – Adam Stevens                                   Car Chief – Mike Sibley Race Engineer – Curtis Ratzlaff                             Shock Specialist – Joel Weidman                         Front-end – Nick Fuller Rear-end – Dave Rudy                                           Tire Specialist – Chris “Yoshi” Jones                      Engine Tuner – Roger Purcell Truck Driver – Tim Clancy                                      Jackman – Jason Tate                                          Gasman – John Eicher                            Front Tire Changer – John Royer                         Front Tire Carrier – Brett Morrell                           Rear Tire Changer – Coleman Dollarhide              Rear Tire Carrier – Eric Groen

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

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