Brandon McReynolds No. 4 Wolfpack Rentals Chevrolet Impala Event Preview Fact Sheet
Event/Date: 3 Amigos 250 – April 15, 2011
Venue: Talladega Superspeedway – Talladega, Ala.
* Starting off on the Right Foot … Brandon McReynolds will make his 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards debut this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway in the No. 4 Wolfpack Rentals Chevrolet Impala fielded by Turner Motorsports. This is the same Turner Motorsports-prepared Chevrolet Ricky Carmichael raced to a fourth-place finish in the season-opening Lucas Oil Slick Mist 250 at Daytona International Speedway. The 19-year-old driver started 18th last April in his lone start at Talladega but overheating issues sent his Eddie Sharp-owned machine to the garage area for a short time leaving him with a 23rd-place result.
* Remembering Beau …This weekend at Talladega, Turner Motorsports’ four NASCAR Nationwide Series entries, along with McReynolds’ No. 4 machine, will carry decals honoring the life of former ARCA Series competitor and Turner Motorsports employee Beau Slocumb who lost his heroic battle with cancer last weekend. Slocumb made four ARCA starts in 2009, logging an impressive 7.0 starting average combined with a solid 11.2 average finish. The 26-year-old driver logged a pair of top-10 finishes over those four starts including a career-best fifth-place finish at Kansas Speedway. Slocumb began his career racing Legends cars and climbed the professional ladder through the late model ranks, earning 131 feature wins in Legends and late model competition, and eventually making his mark in the ARCA series. He is survived by his wife Jessica, parents Burke “Buster” and Jeanne, brothers Seth and Daniel and sister Maggie. Memorials can be made to the Ryan Newman Foundation, Hospice of Iredell County (N.C.) or Hospice of Central Georgia. * ARCA Racing at a Glance …. McReynolds has logged four career ARCA starts, including last year’s stop at Talladega. Over those same four events, McReynolds has earned one top-10 finish, logged a solid 10.8 starting average, a 20th-place average finish and completed 396 of the 544 laps contested (72.8 percent).
* Hailto the Chief … Mark Rette, crew chief for Ricky Carmichael and the No. 4 Monster Energy team in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, will call the shots for No. 4 Wolfpack Rentals Chevrolet at Talladega. Rette will be flanked by Carmichael’s Truck Series team as the group gets dialed in for the 3 Amigos 250.
* Catch the Action … The 3 Amigos 250 from Talladega Superspeedway will be televised live on SPEED Fri., April 15 beginning at 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Qualifying for the second race on the 2011 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule will take place on Thurs., April 14 at 5:05 p.m. local time.
BRANDON MCREYNOLDS QUOTES How did the opportunity to drive for Turner Motorsports at Talladega come about? “My dad started talking to Mr. Turner back in October about what he was doing with his race teams and if there were any potential driver development opportunities. At the time, Mr. Turner wasn’t exactly sure what the plan was but it worked out well because he allowed me to go test with his Truck Series team down at New Smyrna Speedway. I worked with Mark Rette and that whole bunch and had a really good test. After that, they started talking about doing some things with me. I was hanging out with those guys after the ARCA race at Daytona and they asked me if I wanted to run the car in Talladega. I’m very thankful for the opportunity. I’m not sure where it’s going to lead but I’m hoping everything goes well.”
You’ve got an experienced crew chief in Mark Rette and Ricky Carmichael’s Camping World Truck Series team preparing the car for you. That has to really boost your confidence coming into Talladega.
“It makes it so much easier on me knowing that Ricky Carmichael works with those guys on a full-time basis and that it’s the same group I worked with at the test at New Smyrna. The communication barrier has already been knocked down and Mark Rette has always been a good friend of mine. I’m also really close with Andrew (Overstreet), the team engineer. I’ve spent a lot of time with everyone just waiting on this opportunity. We should be able to go down to Talladega and have a pretty smooth race.”
What are your expectations for Talladega and what would define a successful weekend for you? “Going down there and winning is what I’m out to do. I know Turner Motorsports has top-notch equipment. They run Hendrick motors and have very solid, experienced guys. After they ran fourth with Ricky (Carmichael) in February at Daytona, anything short of a win will be a disappointment. You always want to go to the race track and make winning your goal and anything short of that should be disappointing. That’s how we’re built as racers. It’s also important for me to gain the respect of the team and of my fellow competitors on the race track. I want to have a solid afternoon, stay out of trouble, learn a little bit and hopefully, come home with the trophy.” What else do you have going on outside of this opportunity with Turner Motorsports? “Obviously, it’s a tough market out there, especially with the economy being the way it is. Right now, I’m just looking at doing things on a race-by-race basis. I really hope that we can have a good outing at Talladega and maybe that will lead to some more races with Turner Motorsports. I ran the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race for Jeff Spraker at Greenville-Pickens Speedway and we’re looking at running a few more with him. Jeff runs Chevrolets so that’s a good opportunity for me to stay behind the wheel of a Chevy. Other than that, I’m working for Randy LaJoie at the Joie of Seating and doing whatever those guys need me to do. That helps me stay tuned in to what’s going on in the sport while I don’t have a full-time program.”
How did the ARCA race at Talladega go for you last year? “It was a solid day. I ran in the top 10 for most of the day but I got in the back of James Buescher and ended up overheating. We had to go to the garage and cool the motor down but once I got back out there, I pushed Dakoda Armstrong and Patrick Sheltra to the lead so I had a really good car. It was a solid afternoon and I learned a lot. It was good to mix it up with the leaders at the end of the race. I think I can rely on some of the things l learned last year, like how to keep the car cool, to help me this time.”
ollow Brandon McReynolds at: Brandonmcreynolds.com Twitter.com/franchize28 Facebook.com About Turner Motorsports: Turner Motorsports, LLC, established in 1999, is in the midst of its sophomore season of NASCAR competition. Owned by Texas businessman Steve Turner, the organization 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. Turner Motorsports operates out of an 110,000 square-foot state-of-the art facility in Mooresville, N.C., and will compete with three entries in the Camping World Truck Series and four entries in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. The team boasts an all-star driver line-up that includes Kasey Kahne, Mark Martin, Jason Leffler, Reed Sorenson, Justin Allgaier, Ricky Carmichael, James Buescher, Brad Sweet and Brandon McReynolds. The Chevrolet-backed team has created alliances with General Motors’ powerhouse teams Hendrick Motorsports, which will provide engine support for both its NNS and NCWTS programs, Kevin Harvick Inc. for body and aero support, and Earnhardt Technology Group for drive train and suspension technology assistance. Turner Motorsports’ marketing partners include Dollar General, Great Clips, Monster Energy, BRANDT, Rexall, Exide, AccuDoc Solutions, Wolfpack Rentals, Fraternal Order of Eagles and ABF Freight. For more information on Turner Motorsports, visit www.turnermotorsportsllc.com.
