The excitement in the air is palpable as Martin and the TriStar Motorsports crew of the No.44 American Custom Yachts Toyota Camry complete final preparations on their racecar and begin the journey to Talladega. Martin last competed at Talladega Superspeedway in the ARCA Series in 2010 where he received a 10th place finish and again in 2011 where an accident ended his efforts early.
It’s Time to Celebrate: This year marks Clorox`s 100th anniversary and the No. 42 team will help them celebrate by running a special paint scheme this weekend. Montoya’s bullseye will be replaced with streamers and bright colors to commemorate the occasion.
Penalties have been levied to two NASCAR Nationwide Series teams as a result of their involvement in separate post-race incidents following last Friday’s race at Richmond International Raceway.
It’s “PEAK WEEK” for Michael Waltrip Racing and Clint Bowyer. MWR and Bowyer welcome PEAK Motor Oil as the primary sponsor of the No. 15 Toyota Camry for this weekend’s Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway.
Congratulations to Kevin Harvick, Gil Martin, the No. 29 crew, and everyone at Richard Childress Racing on the win Saturday in Richmond. It was great to see them get their first victory of 2013!
After running strong at Richmond International Raceway and recording the team’s best finish of 2013, Landon Cassill and the No. 4 Flex Seal Chevrolet will head to Talladega Superspeedway for the Aaron’s 299 on Saturday, May 4th. The top-20 finish moved the No. 4 car up 16 points in the owner’s standings, but still leaves the team outside the top-30 in points.
Talladega Superspeedway is one of two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) venues where Brad Keselowski has multiple wins. He picked up his first career series win at the mammoth oval in the 2009 edition of this race.
No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine driver Michael Waltrip returns to the driver’s seat at Talladega Superspeedway Sunday in the Aaron’s 499 NASCAR Sprint Cup race. The two-time Daytona 500 champion’s No. 55 will carry a special paint scheme honoring the 2012 University of Alabama’s BCS National Championship football team. Waltrip will sport an Alabama firesuit and a specially painted helmet similar to the school’s football helmet. Waltrip, winner of the Talladega fall race in 2003, nearly won the October race before a last lap wreck.
Despite just two NASCAR Nationwide Series starts at Talladega Superspeedway, Bayne is the fastest driver early in a run (first 25% of laps run since a pit stop), averaging 192 mph. He is also the third fastest late in a run (last 25% of laps run since a pit stop).
“I’m really looking forward to Talladega. We’ve been working really hard on our restrictor-plate program. We did a tire test for Goodyear at Daytona and so we think we learned a little bit of speed secrets. You never know what will happen at Talladega. It’s a lot wider race track and we are probably going to be three or four wide. For sure it will be an exciting finish.”
Ryan Preece, driver of the No. 60 RFK Racing Ford Mustang Dark Horse, is currently in a battle to qualify for the NASCAR Cup Series Chase, which will begin at Darlington Raceway on Sept. 6.
It was just three years ago that one of the sport’s most iconic venues, North Wilkesboro Speedway, was revived to welcome NASCAR back to its hallowed grounds.
