The Race Cars of NASCAR Legend Return to the Charlotte Motor Speedway

CONCORD, N.C. (June 17, 2011) – The second annual Legends Million

returns to Charlotte Motor Speedway Aug. 1 and 2. The largest grassroots

race in history will once again offer the largest Legend Car and Bandolero

purse of the year, as drivers do battle on the speedway’s frontstretch

quarter-mile oval.

Registration for the Legends Million begins today and is scheduled

to close on July 18. The purse structure for the 2011 Legends Million will

be prorated, based on total cars registered, so competitors are encouraged

to register early.

“As the car count goes up, the purse goes up,” said Don Hawk, vice

president of business affairs, Speedway Motorsports, Inc. “We’re asking

competitors to get their registration in as early as possible so we can get

the purse locked in.”

In the inaugural Legends Million last year, Kannapolis, N.C., native

Daniel Hemric was victorious, taking home an unprecedented $250,000. More

than 300 drivers from 36 states and two foreign countries, ranging from 12

to 72 years old, registered for the one-of-a-kind Legend Car race.

“These are the race cars that launched the careers of NASCAR drivers

like Dale Earnhardt Jr., Joey Logano, David Ragan, Kurt Busch and Kyle

Busch,” said Marcus Smith, president and general manager of Charlotte Motor

Speedway. “The Legends Million is a great opportunity for fans to come to

the track and see the future stars of NASCAR compete in the largest Legend

Car race in the world. It’s also an excellent opportunity for young drivers

to get noticed and hopefully take their career to the next level.”

Registration links are available online at

http://www.charlottmotorspeedway.com and at http://www.uslegendscars.com. The cost to

register is $500. Competitors who purchase a new Legend Car from U.S. Legend

Cars International will receive free entry into the Legends Million.

Competitors participating in the Legends Million are registered in

one of three divisions: Young Lions/Semi-Pro, Masters or the Legends

Million, which is open to all drivers. Each division will run heat races and

an A-Main race, with the Legends Million A-Feature serving as the grand

finale of the two-day event.

Competitors will complete time trials to determine their starting

position in the heat races. Drivers will then progress to B-Mains based on

their finishing position in the heats. The starting lineup for each A-Main

will consist of heat race winners and the first-place finishers from the

B-Mains. A total of 30 competitors will race in the Legends Million

A-Feature event, which will be 100 laps with a 15-minute break at lap 50.

Bandolero Beginner Bandit, Bandit and Outlaw drivers will also have

the opportunity to compete in a Bandolero Triple Crown event, with heat lap

and feature events spanning both days.

The Legends Million is open to all Legend Car competitors, 12 years

of age or older and is not restricted by division. All minors 17 and younger

must complete a minor waiver, which is available for download at

http://www.charlottemotorspeedway.com/waivers.

For additional information on the Legends Million, visit

http://www.charlottemotorspeedway.com or call the Charlotte Motor Speedway events

department at (704) 455-3205. For more information about U.S. Legend Cars

International and Legend Cars, visit http://www.uslegendscars.com or call U.S.

Legend Cars International’s headquarters at (704) 455-3896.

Connect with Charlotte Motor Speedway on Twitter at

http://www.twitter.com/CLTMotorSpdwy or become a Facebook fan at

http://www.facebook.com/charlottemotorspeedway.

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Denny Hamlin Top Seed in the Chase

McHenry, Ill. (September 13, 2010) Denny Hamlin earned the top seed in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup with an impressive victory Saturday night in the Air Guard 400 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.
The victory by Hamlin continued an impressive performance this season by Raybestos® brand Brakes, a member of the Affinia Group family of brands, on short tracks.  Raybestos® scored their NINTH NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win in 2010 and have now won FOUR OF FIVE short-track events this season.  Cars using Raybestos® brand Brakes have led the most laps in each of those races and have scored victories in eight of 11 events on tracks less than a mile in length over the past two seasons.
Hamlin qualified for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup for the FIFTH consecutive year and leads second-place Jimmie Johnson by 10 points and third-place Kevin Harvick by 30.
“I’ve made a lot of these Chases and made a lot of mistakes through these Chases,” Hamlin said.  “Every year I feel like we learn something.  I feel like this year I’m as clear as I’ve ever been and we’re winning at race tracks we don’t usually win at.  It means a lot for this whole race team.  A lot of people bash this race team about can’t finish this or can’t finish that, but we got the most wins and hopefully that’s going to carry us through 10 weeks of the Chase.”
Hamlin claimed his series leading sixth victory of the 2010 season at Richmond, beating Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch to the checkered flag by .537 seconds (about two car lengths).  He led six times for a race-high 251 of the event’s 400-laps, taking the lead for the final time on lap 332.
Hamlin said the key to holding off Busch down the stretch was patience.
“I just knew I had to keep the rear tires on the car,” Hamlin said.  “I knew how many laps we had to go to the finish and that the 18 (Kyle Busch) was going to get around us.  I knew I was going to have something left for the end.  I just drove patient and kept the rear tires on it as best I could. 
“It was just so tough to be patient and realize that you can’t race anyone in the mirror, you have to just race your own race.  Kyle put the pressure on us and he made a heck of a charge.  Luckily for me it was a teammate because if it had been anyone else, he probably would have moved us.  Just can’t say enough about this whole FedEx team.  It’s been an up and down year, but there’s been a lot of ups and I’m just thankful we’re going to enter this Chase number one.”
Hamlin claimed the second victory in 10 races at Richmond and the 14th victory in 177 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races.  He averaged 104.096 mph in a race that took 2 hours, 52 minutes and 55 seconds to complete.  The race was slowed by just three cautions for 28 laps.  There were 14 lead changes among six drivers.To gain a competitive advantage at Richmond, the Joe Gibbs cars used the Raybestos® Sprint Cup braking system.  The ultra-lightweight aluminum alloy six-piston calipers are the stiffest and lightest calipers available in all of NASCAR.  The innovative calipers were developed using Raybestos® technology partner Alcon’s state of the art “optimized design” process, and include an asymmetric body design and advanced between-piston and crossover cooling features.   The brake package also provides for the largest brake pad volume (surface area) and largest rotor (13.15” outside diameter, and 1.65” thick) available in NASCAR. 
 
Raybestos® brand brake and chassis parts are produced by affiliated companies in Affinia’s Global Brake and Chassis Group, the leading manufacturer of braking systems and chassis parts in the transportation industry.  The brake line includes everything from brake drums to rotors, pads, shoes and hydraulic parts, while the chassis line features tie rods, ball points, idler arms and sway bar links.  Raybestos brand braking and chassis systems are also the only systems used by NASCAR’s Joe Gibbs Racing in competition.  For more information about Raybestos brakes, visit Raybestos.com.  For more information on Raybestos Chassis visit RaybestosChassis.com
 
Affinia Group Inc. is an innovative global leader in the design, manufacture, distribution and marketing of industrial grade products and services, including extensive offerings of aftermarket parts for automotive and heavy-duty vehicles. With more than $1.8 billion in annual revenue, Affinia has operations in North and South America, Europe, Asia and India. For more information, visit www.affiniagroup.com.
 
Alcon Components USA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Alcon Components Limited, the UK based manufacturer of premium brake and clutch products. Alcon systems are engineered and designed for the most rigorous demands and are widely used throughout the world of motorsport, from Formula One to IndyCar to NASCAR, as well as in various high performance road vehicles including Jaguar, Land Rover and Bentley.  For more information, visit www.alconusa.com.
 
*Affinia Group Inc.’s affiliated companies include Brake Parts Inc. WIX Filtration Corp LLC, Affinia Products  Corp LLC and other high quality manufacturers of the Affinia family of brands.

NASCAR Stars Racing Under the Lights at Bristol on ESPN

NASCAR Stars Racing Under the Lights at Bristol on ESPN

One of the most popular and exciting races annually on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule is the night race at Bristol Motor Speedway, and ESPN will have live, flag-to-flag coverage in high definition as the stars and cars go for 500 laps on the half-mile track on Saturday, Aug. 22. The telecast is presented by Pennzoil and begins with NASCAR Countdown presented by Degree V12 at 6:30 p.m. ET. The race’s green flag is at 7:43 p.m.

In addition, coverage of NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying at Bristol will air Friday, Aug. 21, at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN2.

The final 17 races of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule will air on the ESPN Networks, with the first six on ESPN and the final 11 on ABC, including all 10 races in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Also at Bristol, ESPN2 continues its season-long coverage of the NASCAR Nationwide Series with a live, flag-to-flag telecast as the series races for 300 laps on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. The green flag is at 8:13 p.m. ESPN2 is the home of the NASCAR Nationwide Series all season, with selected races on ESPN and ABC.

Dr. Jerry Punch will be lap-by-lap announcer for all of ESPN’s telecasts from Bristol, with analysis by 1999 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Dale Jarrett and two-time NASCAR champion crew chief Andy Petree. Reporting from the pits will be Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Shannon Spake and Vince Welch, with two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion crew chief Tim Brewer in the ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage.

Allen Bestwick will host NASCAR Countdown both nights with analysis by 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty, co-owner of a winning team in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, in the ESPN pit studio.

Also this week, ESPN Classic will take NASCAR fans on a trip down memory lane with an episode of the ESPN Classic signature series SportsCentury. The one-hour program features legendary NASCAR star Tim Flock and airs Friday, Aug. 21, at 8 a.m.