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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Ford Race Cars Ready to Chase the Sprint Cup Championship

Mooresville, NC (September 13, 2010) On Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway three Ford drivers raced their way into the Chase, earning 25% of the twelve spots that makeup the 10-race “playoff” that will determine the 2010 Sprint Cup Champion.  Roush Fenway drivers Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, and Greg Biffle will be competing against some of NASCAR’s top teams starting in New Hampshire next weekend.
Roush Fenway has fielded at least two cars in the Chase every year since the format began in 2004. In addition, they have placed more cars in the Chase field (17) than any other team.  Roush Fenway is just one of two teams who have three cars in this year’s Chase.  Richard Childress Racing’s three chase contenders Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, and Clint Bowyer will be hard to beat, but Ford drivers feel good about their chances of putting the blue oval on top this season.
“All of us at Roush Fenway have been working hard and I don’t believe we have won an amount that’s representative of that hard work,” said Chase contender Greg Biffle.  “The goal is to win the Championship.  There are a couple of things we’ve been working on and it starts with that engine – the FR9 that Doug Yates and those guys have been developing.  I think that helps us everywhere, so, right off the bat we unload and we’re a little faster.”
Biffle won earlier in the season at Pocono, giving Roush Yates Engines their first points paying win with the new FR9 engine.  
Known for their power and performance in all series of racing, Roush Yates Engines earned multiple wins this weekend.
Chris Buescher drove his No. 17 Roulo Brothers-prepared David Ragan Fan Club-Shriners Hospital Ford to Victory Lane, earning the second ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards win of his career Sunday afternoon at Toledo Speedway.  After starting 23rd, 17-year-old Buescher worked hard to race his way into contention and win the Northwest Ohio Ford Dealers 200.
“It was nice to come back to Toledo,” said Buescher.  “We got our first win here in the spring. We’ve had races where we’ve been really competitive but had bad luck; so we were just really happy to pull it off today.”
This is the second win of the season for Roush Yates Engines in the ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards.  With just three races left, Roush Yates driver Frank Kimmel is fourth in the point standings, racing for his tenth ARCA Championship.
Another big win for Roush Yates Engines came in the Sprint Car 410 Series. Bobby East won at Dells Raceway Park, giving Roush Yates their first ever win with the 410 Sprint Car engine.  East led over half the laps in his first asphalt winged race in the MustSeeRacing Biobased-USA Xtreme Sprint Series and he credits the unmatched performance of his new engine package for the incredible victory.
“It’s really exciting to win my first winged race,” said East.  “I kept moving my wing back as the race went along, and the car kept getting faster.  This was a new experience for me, but I’m hoping to have the opportunity to do more of this winged racing in the future.”
USAR Pro Cup Series driver Benny Gordon raced to Victory Lane in the American Freedom Spectacular 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday night.  In the World 100 at Eldora, 130 Dirt Late Models raced for just 24 coveted spots.  Roush Yates Engines had two heat race wins and started four cars in the top twelve.  Scott Bloomquist was the top finishing Roush Yates car, earning second place.  
To learn more about Roush Yates Engines and Roush Yates Performance Products, please visit www.roushyatesparts.com or call Jeff Clark at (704) 658-1540.
About Roush Yates Engines
Roush Yates Engines designs, engineers and crafts high performance racing engines with the power to perform and the horsepower and durability you’d expect from legendary NASCAR pioneers Jack Roush and Robert Yates. The partnership of power and precision has come from merging the knowledge and experience of two legendary engine builders, both with a passion for winning today and powering up for tomorrow. In 2009 Doug Yates purchased his father’s half of Roush Yates Engines to become a co-owner in the company.
As CEO, Doug Yates leads a staff of 180 engineers and technicians who design, assemble, test, and service racing engines at two separate state-of-the-art facilities in Mooresville, North Carolina. Here, the best minds and latest technology are hard at work producing nearly 1,500 racing engines each year for teams in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, ARCA, Grand-Am, FIA GT3, Dirt Late Model, Sprint cars, and NHRA Pro Stock. At Roush Yates Engines, the mission is Power Performance, which is achieved through innovation design, precision engineering, and skillful craftsmanship. Building the best engines in racing today, providing service that’s second to none, and honoring a commitment to research and development are the heart of Roush Yates Engines.

Air Guard 400 Next on the Ford Racing Menu

Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion, Biffle and the 3M team remain 11th in the point standings and are currently 475 points behind Kevin Harvick who retained the lead.  He has a 161-point advantage over Ryan Newman in the 13th position. Biffle needs to start the race and finish ahead of one car in Richmond to lock in his Chase spot. 

GREG BIFFLE – No. 16 3M Ford Fusion – 3M HAS RENEWED ITS SPONSORSHIP WITH NASCAR, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO YOU AS A RACER, BUT ALSO TO THE SPORT ITSELF?  “It is really neat to see how innovative of a company 3M is and to see the products that they make. It is amazing, the amount of technology the company has and the products that they come up with. If anybody has ever used a 3M product, they know exactly what I am talking about.  It is the best quality product and they are always innovative in engineering new products. Whether it is the deals that you can stick on the wall to hang a picture and then pull it off without leaving a mark or all of their products. I am sure all of you have used Post-It notes and things like that. They are huge in the medical industry and all over the place. When I first heard of 3M, I thought they just made sandpaper, because I had used their sandpaper forever in my race shop. It is neat to be involved with a company that makes so many different things. For them to re-up their partnership for a long term deal with NASCAR is pretty neat. To see them activate outside all of these racetracks and see the things they do with the promotions to get fans to come in and try the products are great. Once you use a 3M product, you realize it is superior to all the other products on the market. It is neat to see the decal on all the other cars too. Hopefully when I am passing them, going forward, I see that 3M on the side of everyone else’s cars. It is nice for them to be an official partner of NASCAR on all the levels with all the products. We are working on an extension as well to continue our plan and we are excited about that.”  
 
GREG BIFFLE CONTINUED … YOU ARE ON THE CUSP OF QUALIFYING FOR THE CHASE. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT BEING IN THE CHASE THIS SEASON?  “I am really excited about it. A lot of people have done the math and all I need to do is start tomorrow night and finish in front of one car. That is provided that the 39 leads the most laps and wins. If he doesn’t do that, then I have a little more relief which automatically puts me in after tomorrow night. We are going to use this race, at least I am hopefully, to try to test and tune and figure out some stuff. This is the first time we have had this new front suspension package on a short track really other than Bristol. Hopefully we can learn something here that we can take to Loudon next week and Phoenix. Hopefully this Richmond race track will give us some answers on how our short track program is going forward. Martinsville is a big question mark for us in the Chase. We will see if this package works well there too. I am excited about the prospects of being in the Chase and what we are going to be able to accomplish. You know, somebody asked me the other day who was the favorite for the championship this year. I thought about that and I couldn’t name one guy of the 12 in the Chase that I would count out.  It is a remarkable number of guys in there that are capable. I think any of the guys are capable of winning it.”  WHAT ISSUES DO YOU FEEL YOUR TEAM NEEDS TO RESOLVE GOING INTO THE CHASE TO BE A STRONG CONTENDER?  “Well, like I just talked about, I think this race track will be an answer for us. As a company, we have struggled for the last year and a half and that is well documented. Since Chicago, we have really been competitive. As a team we have run really well. Carl finished second, we ran great at Indy.  I won at Pocono and then we led the most laps at Michigan. We were running very well at Atlanta last week and Carl finished second again. So our program really turned around for us and is very competitive at mile-and-a-half tracks. We need to figure out how it is going to do on one-mile tracks and under. We always run pretty well at Dover, so we really have Loudon, Phoenix and Martinsville as kind of question marks in the Chase for us. We need to figure out how our cars will perform on those tracks. Obviously this weekend, tomorrow night, will give us some bench mark of how our cars are going to act on those race tracks, hopefully.”  AS DIFFICULT AS YOU SAID IT WAS TO PREDICT A FAVORITE, HOW MUCH MORE DIFFICULT WOULD IT BE TO IDENTIFY A SLEEPER IN THIS FIELD AND WHAT IS YOUR DEFINITION OF A SLEEPER?  “My definition of a sleeper is basically the 12 guys that are in it. I think that I am capable of winning it. I think Jeff Burton is capable of winning it. I think that Tony Stewart is capable of winning it. I could go down the list, you know what I mean?  I think that every one of us really are capable of winning the championship. Although some of us haven’t had the stellar performance. You look at Jeff Gordon, he hasn’t performed that great, but he is totally capable of winning this championship. So is Kevin, Jimmie, Denny Hamlin. I look at the 12 guys being the closest competitive wise and the way they are running, if you look at their last six or eight races and look at what they have done, man it is a really close Chase, probably one of the closest.”  
  
GREG BIFFLE CONTINUED … WITH ONE WEAK TRACK, LIKE MARTINSVILLE FOR YOU, CAN YOU REALLY OVERCOME THAT IN THE CHASE? ALSO IN 2008 YOU STARTED OFF THIRD IN THE POINTS, WHAT IS THE VALUE OF THAT TYPE OF START?  “Certainly a good start is in your favor. We were able to finish third in the championship. Carl and Jimmie were just flawless that year. They were completely flawless. They never made a mistake and we were involved in that Talladega wreck when Carl was pushing me that year. Both Carl and I were involved in that accident. I think getting off to a good start is really important. I have really nine good race tracks. Actually, I will say eight and a half because Talladega you roll the dice on. Carl and I were running second and third and then something happens and you are running 10th and 11th.  Talladega is a wild card and Martinsville has been documented as not one of our best race tracks, although I was 10th in the spring and have a seventh place finish there. We can overcome that and get a top-10 finish there I think. I think that you need to finish in the top-15 as a worst case scenario in any one of the races. If you finish outside of that top-15 in one of the Chase races, it makes it really tough to make up those points because ultimately you need everybody else, 11 other guys, to have a 15th place finish to be even with them. I think we are capable of it and like I said I think a lot of guys are.”  AS IT STANDS NOW, YOU WOULD START WITH A 42 POINT DEFICIT TO JIMMIE AND DENNY GOING INTO THE CHASE. DO YOU VIEW THAT AS SIGNIFICANT OR MORE COSMETIC OVER THE COURSE OF A 10 RACE CHASE?   “That is really cosmetic. 40 points can be made up really quickly. Lead the most laps or a win will take a chunk out of that really quickly. I don’t feel that is that big of a difference. We know it is six or eight spots on the race track. It definitely gives them an advantage, but within a few races I feel like a guy can definitely overcome that.”  YOU HAVE HAD SOME SUCCESS AT MIAMI IN THE SEASON FINALE, DO YOU FEEL LIKE WINNING THAT RACE AND THIS RACE, THE VICTOR GETS OVERLOOKED WITH ALL FOCUS ON THE CHASE AND THE CHAMPION?  “Yeah, it does a little bit. One thing that is nice about Homestead is that you are the most recent winner until the Daytona 500. We win and bask in the glory for about 48 hours and then it is like ‘what about next week’. That is one thing about Homestead that is nice. I have been able to win it three times in a row, but you do get overshadowed because that is the season finale and the championship. I suppose tonight would be the same, maybe not as much because the story line isn’t as big about who is going to get into the Chase. I think Clint Bowyer has a fairly comfortable lead and as long as he has an uneventful night it won’t be that big of a deal. Definitely the winner gets a little overshadowed.”  WITH TALK OF CHANGES COMING TO THE CHASE NEXT YEAR POSSIBLY, DO YOU LIKE THE CURRENT FORMAT OR WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE CHANGED?  “I think the current format is great. It has worked well. It was a great idea in the beginning and has had some modifications. It rewards guys through the season for consistency, wins, and it gets the top-tier level guys of our sport in the playoffs. It captures the top 12 guys and let’s face it, the guys that aren’t in the top-12 probably aren’t championship caliber at this point in the season. I think it does a great job the way it is formatted now. Maybe some minor changes might make it a little more exciting. It is definitely fair. If you polled everyone to see if it was fair, some people are complaining about guys having wins or multiple wins and not getting in the Chase.  Do you take Jeff Gordon out and put Jamie McMurray in because he has two wins and Gordon doesn’t have any?  I don’t know. That is something that would have to be thought about for awhile. I hear a lot about people having multiple wins and not being in, or maybe that somehow qualifies you to be in the Chase. Certainly I would be open to whatever they decide.”  
 
GREG BIFFLE CONTIUED … YOU TALKED ABOUT NEWMAN NEEDING TO LEAD THE MOST LAPS AND WIN THE RACE TO HAVE A SHOT AT THE CHASE. JEREMY MAYFIELD DID THAT BACK IN 2004, WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT THAT NIGHT? HOW CLUTCH DID YOU THINK THAT WAS? SECONDLY, DO YOU THINK THE ‘HAVE AT IT BOYS’ MENTALITY WILL CONTINUE IN THE CHASE WITH PERHAPS SOME GUYS LOOKING FOR REVENGE?  “I do. I think that will continue to play a factor. We are all racing hard for each position and this sport is getting tougher and tougher. The harder it is to pass and the harder it is for track position will continue to be a factor. I remember that night with Jeremy and it was a pretty spectacular night with him leading all the laps and winning the race. He proved he was competitive enough to be in the Chase. The flip side of that is that we have to finish 42nd or worse at least for him to beat us. I keep forgetting about Clint Bowyer. I don’t know what his starts are. He probably has more of an opportunity there than with me getting in with me having a problem. I remember that Chase though, I do.  It was pretty exciting for him to do that and exciting for his team. I don’t remember now who he was trying to displace, or who he put out to get in. All you remember about that is him getting in.”  CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF GETTING OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT IN LOUDON AND FOR ROUSH FENWAY IS THAT LIKE A HOME TRACK?  “Yeah, for us being involved with Fenway sports group it is. I get to go to the game Saturday night and I am excited about that. We have a lot of fans up there and I like that race track. I won there in 2008 and hopefully we can go up there and be competitive and win again. I cannot wait to get this new front geometry that we have had on our car since Chicago on the track in Loudon. The track here is quite a bit different. We hope this gives us a benchmark of how it is going to drive next week. I am thinking about next week right now. I want to get a good top-10 finish and obviously win the race for the bonus points, but I am really looking forward to the next 10. There, Dover and Kansas are good tracks for us, hopefully we get off to a great start,”  IN BIG GAMES, THE COACH ALWAYS TALKS ABOUT NOT OVERTHINKING YOURSELF AND APPROACHING IT AS SOMETHING NORMAL. WHEN YOU GO INTO THE CHASE, CAN YOU LOOK AT THOSE AS REGULAR RACES, OR IS IT IMPOSSIBLE TO SEPARATE THE FACT THAT IT IS THE CHASE?  “It is kind of impossible not to think about it. You know that they are Chase races and they are very important. At the same time though, you can’t over think it. We go to every race with the same mentality. Run in the top-five, get the best track position we can, keep the track position and adjust on the car and try to win the race. You can’t win the race unless you are in the top-five. You just can’t. Unless you have a fuel mileage win or you stay out and it rains or something like that. You have to get into the top five. How do you get the most points in the race? You get inside the top five. Nothing changes with the way you look at each race, even in the Chase. We want to run in the top five first and win second. That is kind of the progression, no matter where you start. You have to get yourself in there and be near the front at the end. If you aren’t around the top five or six you don’t have a chance at the checkered flag. That is how we are going to go after it, but it is definitely on your mind that you are in the Chase.”  TOMORROW IS SEPTEMBER 11TH, CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHAT THAT DATE MIGHT MEAN TO YOU AND WHAT IT MEANS TO RACE ON THAT DATE?  “That day means a great deal to I think all of us as Americans. Everybody remembers exactly to the minute where they were at and what they were doing. I certainly do. You think about all the men and women that defended our country for the last several years since then, it is definitely a day we won’t forget and a day to remember those that lost their lives then and since then.”  
 
GREG BIFFLE CONTINUED … WHAT WERE YOU DOING THAT DAY?  “I was putting up my shop building in Mooresville, North Carolina. My buddy brought over a 20-something foot travel trailer that we had to use to get out of the weather or eat lunch in or whatever. We happened to be in there watching a little 10-inch televisions with rabbit ears on it when that thing took place. We watched it on that little screen. I saw the first tower fall when I was sitting there in that deal.”  IF I AM ANOTHER COMPETITOR AND WE HAVE HAD AN ISSUE THIS SEASON, DO YOU HAVE A CERTAIN EXPECTATION THAT IF I HAVE ONE COMING TO ME OR VICE VERSA, IS IT OKAY THAT IT HAPPENS IN THE CHASE?  “Two things come to mind first of all. If I am the guy in the Chase and I am the guy that wrecked the other guy intentionally or something else, I should have thought ahead before I did that. Or I should have mended the fences before the Chase started. You made your bed, now you have to sleep in it.  Second, am I going to be the guy to change the outcome of the championship because I am pissed off at a guy and now I am going to pay him back. That doesn’t mean that you have to spin the guy out or wreck him. You may run the heck out of him and not let him by, or run him up in the marbles or something along the way. It doesn’t always mean that you are going to spin someone out. It might mean that I am going to make it the most difficult thing over the next 10 weeks for you to pass me. That happens. Most of the time you don’t see my name in the headlines when it come to the ‘family feud’, or at least I try not to.”  CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE ABOUT THE CONCEPT OF MOMENTUM AND WHY IT IS SO DIFFICULT TO OBTAIN AND THEN SUSTAIN IN THE CHASE?  “It is. It is funny that people say it doesn’t mean anything. It is hard to understand what it does for you, but it energizes you tremendously. It energizes your people and your team. Your though process becomes that you are unstoppable and are going to win without a doubt. That will only get you so far though. When we won the first two races, I thought there was no way we could go to Kansas and not win. That was one of our best race tracks. We went there and ran third to Carl and Jimmie. They were just clearly faster than I was. No matter how much momentum or will I had inside the race car, I could not get it to go any faster than it was going. I did all I could do. At some point, momentum and all of that, luck or whatever, only reaches its peak of what the car will do. The car will only do so much. In one aspect you say that momentum doesn’t really mean anything because I finished third at Kansas, but it does give you that extra energy and for the guys building the car at the shop too.”  WAS THAT A MOMENT OF CLARITY FOR YOU AT KANSAS TO SEE WHERE MOMENTUM TAKES YOU AND NOW YOU HAVE TO CATCH TO THOSE GUYS?  “Yeah it was. What I said was that it was okay. I was going to finish third and moved on to next week and started saying that we would win next week.”