Concord, NC (March 18, 2013) – John Wes Townley made his return to the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) this past weekend driving the Venturini Motorsports No.25 Zaxby’s Toyota during the Jeff Foxworthy’s Grit Chips 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Arriving with much anticipation John Wes was eager to get back behind the wheel of his NNS car. After a strong first practice session Friday morning John Wes found himself 13th on the speed charts with a 15.78 second lap time. The team continued to work on the car set-up and prepared for Saturday’s main event.
After fighting a tight race car and qualifying 34th (16.149) the Venturini crew was confident based on John Wes’s practice speeds the car would improve once the race began.
“We didn’t get the qualifying position we were expecting but we never lost confidence knowing what we had during Friday’s practice sessions,” said crew chief, Dan Deeringhoff.
Once the race began, John Wes showed patience as he began to slowly improve his track position climbing up to the 23rd position. After a series of pit stops and changes to the No.25 Zaxby’s car midway through the 300-lap event John Wes settled in and focused on the second half of the race.
Inside 100-laps to go in the race, Townley broke into the top-20. Strong pit stops and valuable track position allowed Townley to creep into the 17th position where he ultimately finished.
“Obviously I wasn’t thrilled with my starting position but knew we were really good during race runs. All-in-all it was a great day and I was extremely happy with the team’s weekend performance. I feel we learned a lot and will improve the next time we hit the track,” stated Townley.
After starting 34th and finishing 17th, Townley gained the most positions of any driver during the event. In 44 career NNS starts, John Wes’s best finish (15th) came at Las Vegas in 2010 and Talladega in 2012.
Townley’s next NNS event with Venturini Motorsports will come on May 4th at Talladega Superspeedway. In the meantime, he’ll resume his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule at Martinsville on April 6thand will be back with Venturini in the ARCA car at Salem Speedway on April 28th.
About Zaxby’s
An alternative to fast food, Zaxby’s offers its guests prepared-at-order Chicken Fingerz, Traditional or Boneless Wings, sandwiches, Zalads and Zappetizers, along with a variety of nine sauces ranging from Wimpy and Tongue Torch to Nuclear and Insane. Childhood friends Zach McLeroy and Tony Townley hatched the Athens, Ga.-based chain in 1990 to provide a fun, relaxing atmosphere that would keep guests coming back for more. The company ranked number seven in the 2012 Top 10 Excellent Large Fast-Food Chains With 500 Or More U.S. Units Quick-Track study published by Sandelman & Associates. The chain also ranked number five in the nation for total sales and number one in the chicken segment in the 2012 Top 150 Fast-Casual Chain Restaurant Report published by Technomic. Zaxby’s operates more than 565 locations in 13 states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
For more information, please visit zaxbys.com,facebook.com/zaxbys, or follow on Twitter @Zaxbys.
About Venturini Motorsports
Venturini Motorsports (VMS), fielding cars for over 30 years in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards, is one of the premier NASCAR driver development programs in the country. With multiple team championships and consistent on-track success, VMS has evolved into one of the most recognizable names in motorsports. Since 2007, VMS has assisted in the career development of notable NASCAR drivers such as Joey Logano, Justin Allgaier, Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman, Brian Scott, Kevin Swindell, Miguel Paludo, John Wes Townley, Josh Richards, and Ryan Reed. In 2012, VMS was inducted into the National Italian Sports Hall of Fame, and 2013 will highlight the team’s debut in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
Official: www.VenturiniMotorsports.com | Twitter: @VenturiniMotor | Facebook: Venturini Motorsports
