EFX PERFORMANCE ANNOUNCES NEW PARTNERSHIP
WITH TOP NASCAR DRIVERS

EFX Enters Licensing Agreement with Hendrick Motorsports and Stewart-Haas Racing – Welcomes Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman To Its Team of Elite Athletes

MISSION VIEJO, Calif. (May 16, 2011) – EFX Performance bracelets and necklaces have become ever-present in NASCAR recently, and they stand to become even more prominent as EFX announces the signing of licensing agreements with Hendrick Motorsports and Stewart-Haas Racing.
NASCAR superstars Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman will be the first to sport a new line of EFX Performance products made especially for the Hendrick Motorsports and Stewart-Haas Racing teams.

With professional drivers relentlessly searching for an edge that might give them an advantage over their competition, both teams were eager to partner with EFX Performance, a major producer of holographic performance products.

“The thing about EFX is that it’s all positive effects,” said 2008 Daytona 500 winner Ryan Newman. “It’s all positive for different people in different ways, depending on how you apply it – I’ve definitely had nothing but good experiences with EFX.”

“We look forward to contributing to the successful, record-breaking careers these gentlemen continue to bolster,” said Randy Largent, CEO of EFX Performance. “Ryan, Tony, Jeff, Jimmie and Mark are all top-notch athletes and EFX is very grateful for the opportunity to create a custom Hendrick Motorsports and Stewart-Haas line – we provide the best for the best.”

EFX Performance will create unique bands for Gordon, Johnson, Martin, Stewart and Newman. Each band will be adorned with the driver’s respective number on one side and the EFX logo emblazoned on the other. The new bands will be available for purchase in May 2011 at www.efxusa.com.

By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

(May 19, 2011)

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—The No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team, which pits the car of driver Denny Hamlin, became the first back-to-back winner of the Sprint Pit Crew Challenge, defeating the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team, which pits the car of five-time defending NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson.

In a matchup of the teams that finished 1-2 in last year’s Cup standings, the No. 11 completed its stop—jacking the car, fueling and changing front and rear tires—and pushed its Toyota across the finish line in 22.298 seconds to 22.714 for the No. 48 Chevrolet.

Scott Wood (gas man), Justin White (second gas can man), Nick Krizmanich (front tire changer), Brandon Pegram (front tire carrier), Mike Hicks (rear tire changer), Heath Cherry (rear tire carrier) and Nate Bolling (jack man) made up the winning team.

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Asked what the defining characteristic of his crew is, Hamlin joked, “They’re all bigger than me, and they can all beat my (butt).”

The team took particular pleasure in beating the No. 48 squad.

“Any time we can beat the 48 … it’s especially gratifying to beat them,” Wood said. “And going back-to-back is especially gratifying, too. But we’d trade this in a heartbeat to beat ’em at the end of the year—when it counts.”

As was the case last year, the victory in the Pit Crew Challenge will give Hamlin first choice of pit stalls for Saturday night’s Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The no-brainer selection is pit stall No. 1, closest to the exit from pit road.

The No. 11 crew beat the No. 22 (Kurt Busch) to set up a semifinal matchup against the crowd-favorite No. 88 (Dale Earnhardt Jr.), which beat the No. 27 (Paul Menard) Richard Childress Racing entry. Though Earnhardt was on hand to cheer his crew, Hamlin’s team prevailed in one of the closest races of the evening—22.259 seconds to 23.325.

In the other semifinal, the No. 14 team of owner/driver Tony Stewart beat the No. 48 across the finish line, but drew 10 seconds of penalties for fueling issues. As a result, the No. 48 team advanced.

Fueling problems with the new closed system mandated by NASCAR this year cost Stewart dearly in last Sunday’s race at Dover. Though the Pit Crew Challenge featured the fueling system in place last year, it nevertheless proved the downfall of the No. 14 Chevrolet team, which had performed flawlessly in advancing to the semifinals.

The individual competition was dominated by the No. 33 Chevrolet team of Clint Bowyer and Stewart’s No. 14 team, as members of those two crews broke event records in every individual category.

The rear tire changer/rear tire carrier combination of Dustin Necaise and Matt Kreuter (No. 33) completed their skills in 13.846 seconds in winning the competition for the second straight year. They joined teammates Jason Pulver and Austin Craven (front tire changer/carrier) who completed their skills in 13.901 seconds.

“The thing was, those old records were on short wheel studs,” Kreuter said, noting that the wheels studs were lengthened before the start of 2011 season. “That tells you how far all these tire changers have come.”

Mike Casto of the No. 14 Chevy won the competition for fastest jack man in 5.071 seconds, while teammates Rick Pigeon and Ryan Flores won the individual competition among gas men in 8.652 seconds.

Each individual champion won $10,000. The winning team collected $70,675.

Roush Fenway and Wood Brothers to Withhold Bayne from Racing this Weekend

CONCORD, N.C. (May 19, 2011) – Roush Fenway and the Wood Brothers have decided to withhold Trevor Bayne from NASCAR competition this weekend, including Sunday’s Nationwide Series race at Iowa Speedway and Saturday night’s Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“Although we would like for Trevor to be on the track this weekend, we want to make sure that he is fully back to prime condition before he goes out to compete with the best drivers in the world,” said Roush Fenway president Steve Newmark.

“He has been undergoing tests and out of his routine for almost a month now. With that disruption in his schedule, he has not been able to take part in our daily training activities and he’s going to need a little more time to get acclimated to the strenuous demands of a NASCAR racing schedule,” added Newmark. “Obviously we would love to have him back out on the track, but we are not prepared to do that until we are sure that he’s 100 percent. His symptoms have improved tremendously, but we’re still not all the way back to where we want to be.”

“We knew all along that there was not a timetable for his return,” said Eddie Wood, co-owner of Wood Brothers Racing. “We knew it would be a process and we continue to work towards his return. Trevor really wants to be back, and we remain hopeful that we’ll have him competing again soon.”

Neither the Roush Fenway No. 16 Nationwide Series entry, nor the Wood Brothers No. 21 Sprint Cup entry, will participate in the NASCAR races this weekend. The Wood Brothers, however, do intend to participate in the Pit Crew Challenge this evening.

It’s unique. It’s exciting. It’s the 2011 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. This one-of-a-kind professional all-star showcase awards $1,000,000 to the winner in an all-or-nothing race to the checkered flag. Here’s how it works.

• NASCAR Sprint Showdown Qualifying
• When: 5 p.m. Friday, Charlotte Motor Speedway
• TV: SPEED
• Normal time trial: 2 laps, all positions

• NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race
• When: 6 p.m. Friday, Charlotte Motor Speedway
• TV: SPEED
• Time trial consists of three laps, including a four-tire pit stop
• The total time determines the starting lineup for the 2011 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race

• When: 7:30 p.m Saturday, Charlotte Motor Speedway
• TV: SPEED
• Drivers who don’t automatically qualify for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race are given a chance to race their way into the main event
• AUDIO PODCAST: The Final Lap #157 – All Star Race 101

• Teams start the first of two 20 lap segments
• Teams can opt to pit under yellow following this segment

• Only green-flag laps are counted
• Top two finishers earn a berth in the NASCAR Sprint All-Star race

• The driver with the most votes who finishes on the lead lap of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Showdown also earns a NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race berth
• Fans can vote by texting “NASCAR” to “7777” or online at NASCAR.COM
• Votes cast from Sprint, Nextel, Virgin Mobile and Boost Mobile handsets count double

• When: 9 p.m., Charlotte Motor Speedway
• TV: SPEED

• Green flag drops on 2011 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race
• Drivers must make a four-tire, green-flag pit stop
• Cars must past start/finish line on the race track on Lap 25
• Caution flag waves at the end of the segment for an optional pit stop

• Another caution waves at the end of the segment for an optional pit stop

• After the segment, teams may add fuel & make normal chassis adjustments during a 10-minute break
• Prior to the start of Segment 4, cars will line up single file in the order of finish of segment 3 for one lap
• On the second lap, all teams must then make a four-tire pit stop
• Lineup for final segment determined by the order of exit off of pit road

• Only green-flag laps are counted
• The winner receives $1,000,000

SHOW #157 – We recap the Dover weekend, plus get you all set for the All Star Race weekend and talk to Jimmie Johnson about topping the Forbes Magazine list of influential athletes. Hosted by Kerry Murphey and Paul Northrop

LISTEN HERE (About 40 mins)

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CREDITS:
Hosts: Kerry Murphey & Paul Northrop
Production: Kerry Murphey
Music: Radium Sound
Voice Over: Thomas Moog