(October 20, 2011) Mooresville, N.C. – TRG Motorsports will once again be fielding two entries in this Sunday’s Good Sam Club 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Andy Lally will race the No. 71 TRG Motorsports Ford Fusion while T.J. Bell will attempt to qualify the No. 77 TRG Motorsports entry into the race.
On the track, Lally, who finished 19th in the spring race at Talladega, is looking forward to returning to the venue in which he earned his best finish this season.
“Restrictor plate racing isn’t something I have a ton of experience with, but it is some of the most fun and exciting racing I’ve ever done. We had our best run of the season here earlier this year and had a tremendous qualifying effort at Daytona in July. I have a lot of faith in our restrictor plate program and am looking for a solid run this weekend. It would be awesome to have T.J. qualify his way into the race so that I can have a drafting partner heading into the race.”
Bell will be seeking to make his fifth Sprint Cup Series start of 2011 on Sunday. The Nevada native holds one career top-10 finish in three career NASCAR Camping World Truck Series starts at Talladega.
“I’m happy to be here racing with TRG Motorsports this weekend. They are a really great group of guys that have put together a phenomenal program. I saw what they’ve done at the restrictor plate tracks this season and it was a pretty easy decision that this was the seat to be in this weekend. It’s with mixed emotions that we’re honoring Dan Wheldon on our No. 77 car this weekend. His loss is tragic, but I am more than honored to celebrate his life on my car this weekend” says Bell.
Wheldon was driving a car numbered 77 when last weekend’s tragedy occurred. His name will adorn the namerail of Bell’s entry.
Andy Lally further commented saying, “I’ve known Dan since 1998 and met him the first week he moved to the United States. We were competing in the same series back then and I knew he was a winner back in England. He proved the same thing here right away and it was obvious he had a great career ahead of him. He was a huge talent and a good person. I will be one of many people paying tribute to him this weekend. I’ll miss him and keep both Dan and his family in my thoughts.”
The team will be honoring the memory of Dan Wheldon in this Sunday’s Good Sam Club 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Wheldon, a former IndyCar Series Champion and Two-Time Indy 500 winner passed away this past Sunday due to injuries sustained while racing at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Both Lally and Bell raced with Wheldon as they made their way through the racing ranks and will honor his memory this weekend.
The No. 71 team sits in the 35th position of NASCAR’s Owner’s Point Standings with four races to go in the season. The team currently holds a sixteen point margin over 36th.
“We lost a little bit of ground last weekend, but are far from panicking. I have a ton of faith in our program and believe we have everything we need in place to finish in the top-35 for the second year in a row. I’m happy to have Andy and T.J. driving for us this weekend. Both of those guys are tremendous talents who can drive almost anything. Sadly, both of them have a good amount of experience racing with Dan Wheldon and had to deal with the loss of a fellow competitor last weekend. I applaud their efforts to commemorate Sunday’s race to his memory” commented Buckler.
Coverage of the Good Sam Club 500 will begin Sunday at 2:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.
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TRG is a full-service motorsports company offering a total driver ladder approach. This approach starts with track days, goes to club events, up into street stock series and culminates in the ultimate goal of professional motorsports. With sports car focused facilities in Petaluma, California (Infineon Raceway) and Mooresville, North Carolina, the team can offer turn-key support as well as arrive-and-drive programs.
The company’s NASCAR operations are headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina. The team fields a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series entry and has the capacity to run ARCA, Nationwide and the Camping World Truck Series.
The Racer’s Group was founded in 1993 and has been competing at the top level of motor racing. The team boasts Rolex Series GT championships in 2005 and 2006 and holds the record for the most wins in Grand-Am with 32. The team’s resume is highlighted by five championships, four Rolex 24 Hour at Daytona victories and a Le Mans 24 Hour win.
Detailed team info can be viewed at www.trgmotorsports.com and www.theracersgroup.com.
