Paul Andrews To Lead Effort At “World Center of Racing”
THOMASVILLE, North Carolina (February 10, 2016) – – A familiar face will help kick off Rick Ware Racing’s (RWR) 25th year of competition later this month at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.
Stanton Barrett, a longtime fixture in the NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) returns to the team and will drive the No. 15 Dodge Charger in theFebruary 21 running of the PowerShares® QQQ 300.
Joining Barrett and Ware in the season-opening event is new marketing partner, Mozido and veteran industry crew chief Paul Andrews.
Mozido’s mobile payment solutions unlock financial freedom for roughly 2 billion people globally by providing trusted digital payments and mobile commerce.
Founded by Michael Liberty, Mozido’s worldwide presence and global offerings include operations in the US, China, India, Asia, Africa, Middle East, Europe and Latin America, enabling people to manage their money, payments and other services from their mobile phones.
“Having owned a NASCAR sanctioned track and sponsored Stanton in his first NASCAR Bush Series race, now the Xfinity series, this is an exciting opportunity to launch our first sponsorship both in NASCAR and with Stanton,” said Michael Liberty, Founder of Mozido.
“I couldn’t think of a better way to begin a new year than introducing a new sponsor to NASCAR,” said Barrett. “I’m really excited to have Mozido on-board for Daytona. I couldn’t think of a better race to introduce them to NASCAR other than the season-opening event at one of NASCAR’s most historic tracks. I can’t wait to get things going.”
Ironically, Barrett will begin his 25th year in XFINITY Series competition at Daytona later this month with the Bishop, California native looking to make his ninth career start at the “World Center of Racing” and first since 2010. Barrett is set to make his 199th career XFINITY race overall and 25th with RWR.
Barrett added that: “Daytona is one of those pinnacle moments in your career where you enjoy coming back each time and it’s been six years since I’ve competed there in an XFINITY car, so I’m more than ready to get down to business and have a good run for Mozido and Rick Ware Racing.”
In eight previous starts at Daytona, Barrett has earned a best finish of 15th. He hopes to better that effort this time around.
“That 15th place finish was a long time ago, so we’re due for a good run at Daytona, we have run far better but have had some really bad luck here.” said Barrett. “It’s going to be a strong field, but I feel we’re coming more prepared than we ever have and hope that transitions to a good finish in our No. 15 Mozido Dodge Charger.”
“You’re going to see a strong field of cars for Daytona, but we also know that great things can happen for smaller teams at places like Daytona, so we’re anxious to get there and get it all underway.”
Team principal Rick Ware is excited to have Barrett back with the team for 2016, especially when it means bringing a new sponsor to the sport.
“Can’t wait to get back to Daytona, especially with Stanton,” Ware said. “It’s our 25th anniversary this season and we’d like nothing more than to come out of the box strong with a finish that will give us some momentum to carry for the year.”
Andrews, a former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship crew chief will oversee the efforts at Daytona. The season-opening race will mark the fifth race where Andrews has oversaw a RWR effort on a superspeedway.
“Paul’s experience and leadership is an important piece of the puzzle,” added Ware. “To say we’re excited to have him partnered with Stanton is an understatement.”
The PowerShares® QQQ 300 (120 laps / 300 miles) is the first of 33 NASCAR XFINITY Series on the 2016 schedule. Practice begins onFriday, February 19 from 10:30 a.m. – 11:55 a.m. A second practice has been etched in from 1:00 p.m. – 1:55 p.m., while a final session is set for 3:00 p.m. – 3:55 p.m. Qualifying is set for race day, Saturday, February 20 beginning at 10:00 a.m. The 40-car field will take the green flag shortly after 3:30 p.m. with live coverage on FOX Sports 1, the Motor Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Satellite Radio, Channel 90).
Rick Ware Racing is on Twitter. Follow them @RickWareRacing.
Follow Mozido’s Global Mobile Engagement Products at mozido.com and on Twitter: @Mozido.
