CORNELIUS, N.C. — No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine driver Brett Moffitt gets a rare opportunity to race on a familiar track this weekend when the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series visits the high-banked, half-mile Bristol Motor Speedway.
In his 14 career Sprint Cup starts, Moffitt has made only two return visits to tracks—Atlanta and Texas Motor Speedways.
How valuable is familiarity?
Moffitt finished 34th in 2014 at Atlanta and eighth in March 2015. He finished 40th at Texas last year and 29th Saturday night.
The 22-year-old rookie, who is substituting for Brian Vickers as he recovers from blood clots, plans to show similar improvement in his second Sprint Cup race at Bristol where he finished 42nd in August 2014.
Adding to his confidence is a second-place finish at Bristol in the 2013 K&N Pro Series East race.
BRETT MOFFITT ON EXPERIENCE: “Nothing is more valuable than experience in Sprint Cup racing. These drivers out here are really good so you are going to have to be really good to compete with them. While they are making their cars go faster, rookies like me are learning the track. You have about two hours of practice to figure everything out then go qualifying. You get the same on Saturday to figure out your race setup on Sunday. It’s a huge challenge. ”
BRISTOL: “I feel a little bit more comfortable going into Bristol than some of the other tracks we raced on this year. I’ve run well there in the K&N car and we had a pretty good run going in August in the No. 66 before we broke. Michael Waltrip Racing always seems to run well at Bristol so I think we could surprise a few people this weekend. I’d really like a good qualifying spot and get a good start to the race. The pattern of the last few races has been to struggle at first then get pretty decent by the end of the race. I’d like to run better at the start of Bristol and have something for everyone at the end of the race as we did in Atlanta. Bristol is short track racing which fits my style and experience.”
NOTES:
· CHASSIS: Primary: 802 – Has not raced in 2015. Clint Bowyer raced this chassis in Las Vegas, Texas I, All-Star Race, and Chicago in 2014. Backup: 814 – finished eighth at Atlanta with Moffitt. In 2014 it finished 16th at Indianapolis with Bowyer, Vickers finished 13th at Richmond in September & 37th at Charlotte in October.
· TESTING: No. 55 team tested at Kentucky Speedway this week.
· ROOKIE AWARD: Brett Moffitt has earned NASCAR’s rookie of the race award for three consecutive races.
· No. 55 IN 2015: Michael Waltrip finished 26th at Daytona and Brett Moffitt finished eighth at Atlanta. Brian Vickers finished 15th and 41st at Las Vegas and Phoenix before Moffitt returned to the seat and finished 22nd at Fontana, 28th at Martinsville and 29th at Texas.
· K&N CAREER: Moffitt is a nine-time winner in NASCAR K&N Pro Series East competition and currently serves as a test driver for Toyota Racing Development (TRD) and Michael Waltrip Racing. In 63 career NASCAR K&N Pro Series races, Moffitt has earned 10 poles, 34 top-five finishes and 45 top-10 finishes.
· CAREER: In his 2012 NASCAR XFINITY Series debut at Iowa Speedway, Moffitt finished ninth. The following year, he also made his first start in NASCAR Camping World Truck Series competition, where he finished 14th at Kentucky Speedway and 17th at Michigan International Speedway.
Additional Moffitt stats:
XFINITY Series: 1 start, 1 top-10
Camping World Truck Series: 2 starts
K&N Pro Series: 63 starts, 9 wins, 34 top-5s, 45 top-10s, 10 poles
· AARON’S: The Atlanta-based company, with more than 2,100 stores across the country, helps customers own the life they want. Aaron’s carries only the best brand names in furniture, electronics, and appliances with a variety of flexible payment options. It’s really easy to “Own It” at Aaron’s with customers who are now pre-approved for up to $2,500 in merchandise – no credit needed.
· CREW CHIEF BILLY SCOTT: Scott began racing motorcycles as a 5-year-old and stock cars when he turned 15. He worked in the truck series as a mechanic before he returned to college to obtain an engineering degree. After graduating in 2005 Scott worked at Robert Yates Racing and began as an engineer at MWR in 2008. The 36-year-old served exclusively as the No. 55 team’s lead engineer before taking over crew chief duties in 2014.
· 55 CREW:
Billy Scott
Crew Chief
Ryan Langley
Front Tire Changer
Chris Hall
Front Tire Carrier
Shannon Myers
Rear Tire Changer
Blake Haugland
Rear Tire Carrier
Wes Evans
Jack Man
Jeff Kerr
Gas Man
Steve Channing
Car Chief
David Cropps
Interior Mechanic
Roman Pemberton
Spotter
Brandon Pope
Race Engineer
Joe Bisson
2nd Engineer
Jeremy Sharpley
Shock Specialist
Kevin White
Front Mechanic
Joe Zanolini
Rear Mechanic
Scott Swift
Tire Specialist
Kirk Butterfield
TRD
Tim Bruce
TRD
Stump Lewis
Truck Driver
Al Nelson
2nd Truck Driver
· FOLLOW US ON TWITTER:
@brett_moffitt
@brianlvickers
@mw55
@mwrteam
@aaronssports
@aaronsinc
@toyotaracing
· TELEVISION:
Friday, April 17
Noon, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, FOX Sports 1
1:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series practice, FOX Sports 1
2:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Weekend Edition, FOX Sports 1
3 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series final practice, FOX Sports 1
4:30 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, FOX Sports 1
Saturday, April 18
8:30 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series practice, FOX Sports 1
9:30 a.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series Coors Light Pole Qualifying, FOX Sports 1
11 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Weekend Edition, FOX Sports 1
11:30 a.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series final practice, FOX Sports 1
12:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Weekend Edition, FOX Sports 1
1 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: XFINITY, FOX Sports 1
1:30 p.m., NASCAR XFINITY Series: Drive to Stop Diabetes 300, FOX Sports 1
Sunday, April 19
11:30 a.m., NASCAR RaceDay, FOX Sports 1
12:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay – Texas, FOX
1 p.m., NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Food City 500, FOX
6 p.m., NASCAR Victory Lane, FOX Sports 1
