Statesville, N.C. (October 23, 2012) – With only four races remaining in the Sprint Cup Series season,Landon Cassill aims to make every lap count. His No. 83 Burger King/Dr Pepper team currently sits 32nd in the owner point standings, only 14 points out of 31st place. He hopes patience and concentration will pay dividends this weekend and allow him to dig into the lead in this weekend’s Tums Fast Relief 500 atMartinsville Speedway.
This weekend’s race marks the final short-track event of 2012. In Cassill’s first two short-track races of the season, he averaged a 29th-place finish. He picked up his performance to average a 21st-place finish in the three most recent short-track events.
Cassill has four previous Cup Series starts at Martinsville Speedway. His best finish is 26th place, which he earned last season.
Comments from BK Racing driver Landon Cassill heading into Martinsville:
“We’re down to our final short track race of the year. All of the races we’ve had at Richmond, Bristol and Martinsville have been really exciting and I’m sure the finale this weekend won’t disappoint. Our team is 32nd in the owner points. I think we can still pick up a couple of positions by the end of the season. Martinsville is a great opportunity for a big points swing. You never know what will happen at a short track, but if luck falls our way, it will give us a lot of momentum to close out the season.
“The key to Martinsville is survival. It’s a race of attrition. It’s tough on cars and it’s tough on drivers, too. All of the components on the car, and usually the driver’s temper, are worn out by the end of the race. That’s why there are so many cars that don’t make it to the end. It’s important to race smart and keep a cool head. If the Burger King/Dr Pepper Toyota is running at the end of the race, we’ll probably have a good finish to show for it.
“I only have a handful of races at Martinsville. It’s a tough place to get used to. We don’t go anywhere like it, so it’s hard to apply anything you’ve learned at other tracks. It’s not like some of the mile-and-a-half tracks that we go to, which you swap some of the setup info and can drive in a similar style. It’s a very unique place. I’m feeling more and more comfortable with every lap, though. I’m excited about this weekend and looking forward to a good race.”
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