[media-credit name=”charlottemotorspeedway.com” align=”alignright” width=”187″]
[/media-credit]John Wes Townley
No. 09 Toyota ‘Save in May’ Sales Event Toyota Tundra
Event Preview Fact Sheet
Event/Date: N.C. Education Lottery 200 – May 18, 2012
Venue: Charlotte Motor Speedway
Notes:
This Week’s Toyota ‘Save in May’ Sales Event Tundra … John Wes Townley will pilot RAB Racing Chassis No. 48 in this Friday’s N.C. Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.This Toyota Tundra last saw action a month ago at Kansas Speedway, where the 22-year-old driver brought home a 16th-place finish. I’ve Been Here Before… While Townley has not yet raced at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Camping World Truck Series competition, he has raced there before. Driving the No. 09 machine for RAB Racing in the Nationwide Series, Townley finished 27th and 28th, respectively, in the fall events of 2008 and 2009.
RAB at Charlotte …In addition to Townley’s two showings at the Concord, N.C.-based team’s home track, RAB Racing with Brack Maggard fielded four additional Nationwide Series entries from 2010 to 2011 with drivers Chad McCumbee, Brian Scott, and Kenny Wallace. The team’s best showing at the 1.5-mile oval is a 16th-place finish, which was posted when the series last raced there in October.
Homecoming … Robby Benton, owner of RAB Racing, is the only North Carolina native on the No. 09 team. Benton hails from Harrisburg, N.C., graduated from North Mecklenberg High School and attended UNC Charlotte. He began his racing career racing go-carts at Woodleaf Speedway in Salisbury, NC when he was 14 years old. Benton went on to race in the ARCA Series, where he earned one top-five and three top-10 finishes in 11 starts. From there, Benton made a combined seven starts in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and Nationwide Series, before climbing out of the driver’s seat and focusing on team ownership. Benton’s Concord, N.C.-based RAB Racing has earned one win, two top-five and 14 top-10 finishes in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, and one top-five finish in five NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races.
Meet the Driver … Fans can meet Townley on Friday, May 18 at the Toyota PitPass Display, located in the midway at Charlotte Motor Speedway, from 2 – 2:30 p.m.
Get to the Points … With his 16th-place finish at Kansas Speedway, Townley advanced three positions, to 24th, in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver point standings.
Your Point Is … As we head into the fifth race of the 2012 NASCAR Nationwide Camping World Truck Series season, RAB Racing has become a fixture in the owner point standings top 15. RAB Racing currently occupies the 12th position, only seven points behind 10th-place Steve Urvan.
Catch the Action … The N.C. Education Lottery 200 from Charlotte Motor Speedway will be televised live Friday, May 18th beginning at 7:30 p.m. EDT on SPEED and broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network. Qualifying will be televised live Friday, May 18th beginning at 4 p.m. EDT on SPEED.
John Wes Townley Quotes
“I am really excited to race at Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend. We’re bringing the same truck that we raced at Kansas, but this time around it will have the colors of Toyota’s ‘Save in May’ Sales Event on it. We had a decent finish there, and I know the guys have worked on it since that race, so I think we can improve on that. I am gaining confidence every race, I’m taking it one step at a time and being patient, giving and taking on the racetrack. I think as a team, we’ll continue to improve as the season progresses.”
Chris Rice Quotes
“Charlotte Motor Speedway is really sensitive to temperature. Since the schedule calls for practice during the day and racing at night, it is going a tough path to get the truck where it needs to be. We are really looking forward to making gains in our Toyota ‘Save in May’ Sales Event Tundra. It was fast at Kansas Speedway and I’m planning on a good showing here in our home town.”
