JR MOTORSPORTS TEAM PREVIEW
No. 88 GT Vodka Chevrolet / No. 7 iRacing.com Chevrolet
EVENT – 30th Annual Kroger 200 (200 laps / 137 miles)
TRACK – Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis (.686-mile oval)
DATE – Saturday, July 30, 2011
TV / RADIO – ESPN2 (coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. EST) / MRN (broadcast begins at 7:30 p.m. EST)
Aric Almirola No. 88 GT Vodka Chevrolet “It doesn’t seem like it’s been a year since I joined JRM. Time flies when you’re racing most weekends. It’s been a lot of fun. We’ve had our challenges, but the past two weeks I feel our GT Vodka team has shown a lot of progress. Knowing we’re going in the right direction is a good feeling.
“This is by far one of my favorite tracks. I think a lot of us have a bittersweet feeling heading out there this year. It’s going to be cool to race at the big track next year, but the Nationwide Series has been racing at Lucas Oil Raceway for a very long time, and there is a lot of history tied to that track. I can’t describe what it would mean to win there. To have your name tied to such a historic place and go down as a NASCAR winner there would be huge for myself and JR Motorsports.”
Josh Wise No. 7 iRacing.com Chevrolet “This is going to be an exciting weekend at Lucas Oil Raceway. It’s such a fun racetrack. I think I’ve logged more laps there than any other track. I’ll be running the USAC Silver Crown race on Thursday night, in addition to the Nationwide race on Saturday, so I’m looking forward to getting up there and turning some laps.
“This week we have iRacing on the car. I’m a big supporter of online racing, and I spend a lot of time playing iRacing during the week. Hopefully we can go out there and earn a solid finish. Our team has been in position to score much better finishes than our results show. Tony (Eury) Jr. puts a lot of thought into pit strategy, and we just haven’t had things fall our way in the closing laps. We just need to shake off some of this bad luck and stay positive. Good finishes will come for our team.”
JR MOTORSPORTS NOTEBOOK – ONE-YEAR MARK FOR ALMIROLA – This weekend’s race at Lucas Oil Raceway will mark Almirola’s one-year anniversary with JR Motorsports. Almirola joined the No. 88 GT Vodka team for this event last year, and after qualifying sixth he raced among the top-three for the bulk of the night en route to a third-place finish. The Tampa, Fla. native drove in seven more races in the organization’s flagship car last season and signed on to drive fulltime in 2011. During his tenure, Almirola has amassed four top-five and 14 top-10 finishes with JRM.
WISE RETURNS TO USAC ACTION – Prior to Saturday’s Kroger 200 Nationwide Series race, Wise returns to familiar territory on Thursday night in the USAC Series. He will compete in the USAC Silver Crown race at Lucas Oil Raceway in the No. 17 RW Motorsports entry, previously driven by Shane Hmeil. Hmeil will serve as Wise’s crew chief during the race. A veteran of the series, Wise is a five-time champion and winner of 34 events. In 1999 after securing his initial title, he became the youngest USAC champion at the age of 16.
FIRST OF TWO FOR IRACING.COM – Wise’s No. 7 Chevrolet will race under iRacing.com colors beginning this weekend at Lucas Oil Raceway and continuing next week at Iowa Speedway. Iracing.com, an online racing simulator, is celebrating a new software release titled iRacing 2.0. This long awaited release will add many user enhancements and features to the popular multi-player racing title.
SHORT TRACK SUCCESS – In eight starts at the .686-mile bull ring, JRM has earned two top-five and five top-10 finishes with four different drivers. The organization is averaging a finish of 10.6 at the track.
WISE UPDATE – Wise owns three starts at Lucas Oil Raceway with one top-five and one top-10 finish. It was the sight of his career-best Nationwide Series finish of fifth in 2008. He is averaging a finish of 13.3 at the facility. The 28-year-old native of Riverside, Calif. is currently 14th in driver points but has raced in only 18 of the 20 Nationwide Series events to date in 2011.
ALMIROLA’S LOOP DATA STATS – Almirola ranks among the top-five and the top-10 in the following NASCAR statistical services loop data stats, includes the past six races at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis: laps in the top-15 (second), fastest laps run (fourth), laps led (fourth), fastest on restarts (fifth), speed in traffic (fifth), fastest late in a run (sixth), green flag speed (sixth), driver rating of 104.2 (seventh), fastest early in a run (seventh) and average running position (10th).
ALMIROLA AT LOR – In four starts, Almirola secured one top-five and two top-10 finishes with one pole at Lucas Oil Raceway. He has also led 88 laps. After a pair of consecutive top-fives over the past two weeks of competition (New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Nashville Superspeedway), Almirola has cut into the championship gap by 17 points and is currently ranked fifth in driver points (-71).
CHASSIS INFO FOR 88 TEAM – The No. 88 crew will bring chassis no. 594 to Lucas Oil Raceway. Almirola raced to a fifth-place finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with this chassis. It also raced at Iowa, Phoenix, Richmond and Road America.
NO. 88 SEASON STATS – The No. 88 team owns three top-five and 10 top-10 finishes this season. The team is ranked ninth in owner points.
FIVE OF FIVE –All five drivers that have driven the No. 7 Chevrolet this year have scored top-10 finishes. The list encompasses an impressive cast of drivers, including Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ron Fellows, Kasey Kahne, Danica Patrick and Josh Wise.
CHASSIS INFO FOR THE 7 TEAM- The No. 7 team will unload chassis no. 621 this weekend. The team earned its second-best finish of the season (third) with it at New Hampshire Motor Speedway two weeks ago. It also previously raced at Bristol, Dover, Charlotte, Kentucky, Michigan and Phoenix.
NO. 7 SEASON STATS – The No. 7 team holds four top-five and nine top-10 finishes in 2011. The team occupies 11th position in owner points.
JRM AUTOGRAPH SIGNINGS – Aric Almirola and Josh Wise will sign autographs at the JR Nation merchandise hauler, located in the fan concourse area, on Saturday, July 30, from 3:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.
EST. WIN DALE JR.’S RIDE – There is still time to win the keys to Dale Jr.’s Camaro. The Dale Jr. Foundation is giving fans the chance to win one of three prizes with the purchase of a $25 raffle ticket, including a shot at Earnhardt Jr.’s own 2011 Chevrolet Camaro. The contest will run through Sept. 1, 2011, with all proceeds benefitting The Dale Jr. Foundation. Additionally, the purchase of a Camaro raffle ticket also makes fans eligible for a number of other prizes, including Dale Jr. autographed memorabilia and a Dale Jr. tailgating tent during the month of July.
