BRAD SWEET QUICK FACTS
No. 32 Great Clips Chevrolet Silverado
Daytona International Speedway
NextEra Energy Resources 250
February 18, 2011
No. 32 Great Clips Chevrolet Silverado News and Notes
. Start of a new era for Turner Motorsports. The NASCAR season-opener weekend will mark the start of a new era for Turner Motorsports. The team has expanded in 2011 from a two-truck operation in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) to become the largest stand-alone multi-series team in NASCAR’s top-tier touring series, fielding three entries in the NCWTS and four entries in the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS). The goal for team owner, Steve Turner? Championships in both series.
. Brad Sweet behind the wheel of the No. 32 Great Clips Silverado at Daytona Int’l Speedway (DIS) . In this weekend’s NCWTS season-opener, Brad Sweet will return to action in the seat of the No. 32 Great Clips Chevrolet Silverado for Turner Motorsports. No stranger to the Great Clips Racing family, Sweet made 10 NCWTS starts with Great Clips in 2009 and 2010 with one top-10 finish to his credit. He even made his NNS debut with the sponsor adorning the hood of his No. 11 entry in October, 2010, all while still racing in the USAC Mopar Midget Series.
. Sweet following if the footsteps of his mentor, Kasey Kahne. Sweet is following in the footsteps of his mentor, owner and teammate, Kasey Kahne. He is making the same transition from open-wheel to stock cars with the continued support of Great Clips, just as Kahne did. Kahne drove the No. 38 Great Clips machine in the NNS from 2003-2005, before stepping back into the ride for select races in 2010 and 2011. Kahne will continue to be a mentor to the young driver as he progresses into NCWTS competition and beyond.
. A little bit about Brad Sweet. Like his Turner Motorsports and Great Clips Racing teammate, Jason Leffler, 25-year-old Brad Sweet is a California kid who made a name for himself in the national open-wheel racing circuits. After being tapped to drive for Kasey Kahne Racing (KKR) in 2007 by the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series star himself, Sweet became superstar in his own right in the USAC racing world with victories including the Belleville Midget Nationals, the Knoxville Midget Nationals and both the Sprint Car and Midget “Four Crown Nationals” at Eldora Speedway. Showing no signs of slowing his success, he will race a limited schedule in the NCWTS in 2011 in the Turner Motorsports No. 32 Great Clips Silverado.
Q & A with Brad Sweet:
Q: This is going to be your first superspeedway race. What are your thoughts going into Daytona?
A: “Obviously, I’m excited. I think every young driver wants to eventually have the opportunity to race at Daytona. It’s one of the most famous race tracks in America, so this is a huge opportunity for me. Anytime someone like me can race at a place like Daytona is very exciting especially knowing I’ll have a fast truck when I get there. It’s been awesome to go there the last three or four years to watch all the races. I’ve been down in Florida racing Sprint Cars and there have always been tons of fans. The truck race is always one of the most exciting races of the weekend so I’m excited to be a part of that. To be able to drive on the banking at Daytona is what I’ve dreamed about since I was a kid.”
Q: Have you been picking anyone’s brain about racing at Daytona?
A: “My first race at Daytona will be on a newly paved track so I don’t think it will be quite as technical as it has been in the past. That should take out a lot of the handling aspects out of the equation and allow me to focus more on drafting. I’ll definitely talk to Kasey (Kahne) and Jason (Leffler) about it. I’ll also work with my teammates Ricky (Carmichael) and James (Buescher) and basically, just try to keep my nose clean. I’ve been watching a lot of video and it seems like half the battle is just surviving and being there at the end. You never know what can happen.”
Q: What have those guys told you?
A: “Basically, ‘good luck.’ A lot of it was ‘keep your nose clean and hopefully, you don’t get in the wreck.’ There are certain times when you need to be careful if you’re going to bump draft with someone. They also told me to pick someone who’s fast and knows what’s going on. I don’t really need to be working with another rookie. I need to try and find someone who will work with me who has some experience. They’ve been giving me little tips. I’m sure when we get down there I’ll get a lot more.”
Q: You’re running the first eight races of the year. What are your thoughts about that opportunity and working with Turner Motorsports?
A: “Over the last couple of years I’ve run a total of 11 truck races and they’ve been so spread out that I haven’t really been able to build any momentum or focus on one thing. Being able to run the first eight races at the beginning of the year and kind of being able to see where we’re at will be good for me. Working with Turner Motorsports will be great. They showed a ton of speed last year. It’s going to be a huge improvement for me. I think we should be able to run really well.”
Q: Do you see this as a legitimate opportunity to show people what you can do in the right situation?
A: “Absolutely. This is, by far, the best opportunity that I’ve had to show people who I am. There were times last year where we’d be fast but I was still learning and we were still trying to build trucks so there’s always a lot behind the scenes that people don’t necessarily see. At Turner Motorsports, people know those trucks are fast. I think as long as we can run good and show that we can do it, maybe more opportunities will present themselves. It’s definitely a great opportunity for me. Trent Owens is going to be on the box calling the race so that’s going to go a long way for me.”
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