DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – On Sunday, February 14, multiple Grammy Award winner and superstar Tim McGraw, who recently released his 10th studio album SOUTHERN VOICE, will perform the Daytona 500 Pre-Race Show, the pre-race extravaganza leading up to the start of “The Great American Race” at Daytona International Speedway. The Daytona 500 will be broadcast live on FOX, with pre-race coverage beginning at noon and the race starting at 1 p.m. EST.

McGraw, who has 30 #1 hits to his credit, will perform three songs prior to the start of the 52nd annual Daytona 500 – the season-opening event to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the biggest stock car race in the world.

All race fans that purchase Pre-Race/Sprint FANZONE access pass for the Daytona 500 will be able to view McGraw’s Daytona 500 Pre-Race Show as well as the driver introductions from the grass tri-oval area.

“Tim McGraw is one of the most popular entertainers in the world and we’re thrilled to have him perform the Daytona 500 Pre-Race Show,” Daytona International Speedway President Robin Braig said. “Year in and year out, the Daytona 500 attracts top performers in music for the pre-race show and we excitedly await Tim McGraw’s rousing performance that will kick off the Daytona 500 as well as the new NASCAR season.”

Since the release of his debut album in 1993, McGraw has won three Grammys, 14 Academy of Country Music Awards, 11 Country Music Association Awards, and 10 American Music Awards, while simultaneously maintaining a parallel career as a successful actor. He currently stars in the hit movie THE BLIND SIDE with actress Sandra Bullock.

McGraw joins a long list of star-studded names that have performed in the Daytona 500 Pre-Race Show such as Keith Urban, Brooks & Dunn, Bon Jovi, Kelly Clarkson and Mariah Carey.

In addition to his Daytona 500 Pre-Race Concert, a special $157 ticket package designed around McGraw has been created that includes a Daytona 500 ticket, Pre-Race/Sprint FANZONE access, VIP area access to McGraw’s performance and a copy of McGraw’s latest album SOUTHERN VOICE
For more information on tickets for the 52nd annual Daytona 500 and Sprint FANZONE/Pre-Race access, race fans can go online at http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or call 1-800-PITSHOP.
Fans can stay connected with Daytona International Speedway on Twitter (www.twitter.com/disupdates) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/DaytonaInternationalSpeedway)

Fatherhood Update – Carl Edwards and Elliott Sadler
Carl Edwards and Elliott Sadler are two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
drivers who are preparing to enter fatherhood in the coming months. When answering a question about his wife’s due date, Edwards told a funny story and talked about his plan if the baby comes during the Daytona 500 weekend.

“It’s funny, the other day we were walking across the parking lot at
this building. She stopped in the middle of the parking lot and said ‘my water just broke.’ I said ‘Holy!’ She said, ‘I’m just joking.’ She doesn’t joke around with stuff like that. She’s got me on my toes. February 17th is the due date, which I think is the Wednesday after the 500.

“Robbie’s got a plan for someone to practice the cars. I really want to be in the room. I think I want to be in the room if that happens.” “I asked Katy, I told her why don’t we just bring the doctor with us like, you know, on the plane, around the race track. She said that wasn’t cool. So, she’s going to stay at home and I’ll hopefully be there. That’s my
plan.” Sadler may be in the same boat as Edwards. His wife is due in four weeks.

“It has been the best off season I’ve ever had and it’s been so exciting getting the room ready, getting things ready for our little baby boy to come along,” said Sadler. “It’s up to him now, but I’m thinking in the next four or five weeks we’ll have him. My wife and I can’t be any more excited.”

Where Will Kevin Harvick Go?
Kevin Harvick is in the final year of his contract with Richard
Childress Racing, and there is plenty of speculation as to where he’ll end up. Harvick said his relationship with Childress is good and the two have common goals on how to make things right.
He also said he won’t set a deadline to getting a deal done with RCR
during the season. “I’m not going to push that side of it,” Harvick said. “They’ll all talk and do their things behind the scenes. I just want to be the driver. I don’t want to get in a big political war with anybody.” Childress said the “door’s open to talk on down the road.

We’ll be talking some. We’ll just see what comes out of it.”
Harvick did say he didn’t think his contract situation would be a
distraction. “I’ve been there before,” Harvick said. “The best year we ever had was a contract year: 2006 was a contract year, and we won five or six races and had a chance to win the championship. We won the Nationwide
championship. That was the last contract year, so that one went pretty good.”

Stewart, Kurt Busch, Biffle, Vickers Use Current Wing And New Spoiler Packages On Opening Day Of Two-Day Goodyear Tire Test
New Spoiler Package To Be Evaluated And May Be Implemented For April’s Samsung Mobile 500 At TMS
Drivers A Big Hit At “Gear Up For The Green Flag” Fan Event

FORT WORTH, Texas (January 19, 2010) – NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch, Greg Biffle and Brian Vickers became the first drivers to conduct an on-track test with a new aluminum spoiler package that could be implemented for the 2010 season during Tuesday’s Goodyear Tire test at Texas Motor Speedway.
Stewart (No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet Impala) was the first of the group to test the spoiler in the morning session, which was delayed nearly two hours from its 9 a.m. CT start time due to moisture on the 1.5-mile, high-banked oval from heavy morning dew.
The session kicked off at approximately 10:53 a.m. with temperatures in the 60s as Stewart rolled out with the wing and less than 40 minutes later was utilizing the spoiler. Vickers (No. 83 Red Bull Toyota Camry) also got an opportunity to run the spoiler in the abbreviated morning session.

Photo Credit: Texas Motor Speedway

“It (the spoiler) was on a bunch. It didn’t seem to be a big balance change which was good,” Stewart said. “That means you won’t have to invent the wheel necessarily. It was a balance shift, but it wasn’t a big balance shift. You’ve got two kinds of grip – you’ve got aero grip and you’ve got mechanical grip. The spoiler is the aero grip and the tires are mechanical. The mechanical grip is real important because it doesn’t know if you are running first in line or 10th in line. I’m more of a mechanical guy.”
“I thought it (spoiler) was good,” Vickers said. “I thought it added a little bit of front downforce, which is a good thing. I think it’s going to be more accepted to the fans. It looks cooler – a little more retro back to the older car.
“We haven’t been in a lot of traffic yet, so the big question is how it’s going to handle in traffic. Theoretically, from what I’ve been told, the difference between the two is that the spoiler is better in traffic. The spoiler is going to be more efficient in dirty air and a wing will be more efficient in clean air. Once you get in a lot of turbulence, the spoiler’s not going to lose a lot of efficiency while a wing really will.”
NASCAR has not determined the specific dimensions as yet for the spoiler, but the one that was being used as a baseline at Tuesday’s session was 64.5 inches wide and four inches in height with no contour in the design. Also, the rear quarter panels were extended four inches toward the ground.
NASCAR phased out the traditional spoiler on the rear deck lid of the Sprint Cup Series cars and went to a rear wing when the “Car of Tomorrow” project was unveiled in 2007. The return to the traditional look provides fans with the ability to differentiate between the four manufacturers more easily and hopefully enhance the passing ability of the cars and overall race action. Tuesday’s tire test was the first opportunity for drivers to test the package and provide feedback on its effects on the car.
“We’ve got one of the biggest spectator sports in America and they want to keep it interesting,” Biffle said. They want to keep our fans interested and they listen to the fans. They wanted double-file restarts and they did it, and a lot of fans don’t like the wing because they say it’s not traditional NASCAR. NASCAR asked us about it (the change) and we thought it would be good to put a spoiler back on the car or at least try it. I think it will be good.”
“I guess there was a part of me that was surprised (about the change), but then there was a part of me that wasn’t. I’m really proud of them (NASCAR),” Vickers said. “Last year this started with that big meeting where they (NASCAR) got everybody together and started saying ‘Hey guys, you know what, we’ve got a job to do here and that’s to provide the best racing possible and right now we feel like we can improve in some areas, so let’s all get together and put our heads together instead of bickering over what we’re going to do in the media. Let’s get together and do this right.’
“That started that meeting last year and this year talking about the spoiler they had. I was down there for the NASCAR meeting and it went really well. Last year they did the double-file restarts. You can definitely see they’re headed in the right direction. They’re headed back more toward some traditional stuff and really giving the fans what they want. That’s something the fans have seemed to want. Is it going to be a major difference for us on the track? Probably not, maybe a little better, but I think the most important part is what the fans want. That’s why they do it.”
Biffle (No. 16 3M Ford Fusion) and Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger) had to wait until the afternoon session to test out the spoiler, with Busch not getting an opportunity until nearly the culmination of the session.
“I liked the way the car drove,” Biffle said. “It drove a little bit different on corner exit than the wing did. I don’t want to jump to conclusions, but it may have had a little feel like the old car in some scenarios. You can tell it has some more drag because they made it a little bit bigger and wider. I’m anxious to get side-by-side with some guys and around other cars and see how it drives.”
“With the spoiler on, the car had a looser feel to it,” Busch said. “The car was turning better and it felt like the car was sliding a bit more. When you ‘A-B’ the sets of tires – like last year’s tires that we won on with the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge – and the tire that Goodyear wants to head in the general direction of, it tightened the car back up for a nice comfortable feel. And that’s what we have to do is ultimately, but together a better package for drivers to drive on the track which would create more side-by-side excitement for our fans to enjoy.”
Stewart, Busch, Biffle and Vickers will conclude the Goodyear test Wednesday, where they are scheduled to test the spoiler package once again. NASCAR will conduct another test with the spoiler March 23-24 at Charlotte Motor Speedway – another 1.5-mile oval and sister track to TMS – that will be open to all Sprint Cup teams.
“(Team owner) Jack (Roush) is all about competition,” Biffle said. “One thing for us is that it could possibly be a disruption to Hendrick’s dominance. They may not miss a beat, but when there is a change in the rules you’re going to have to find out what works. There may be a little bit in there where we can narrow that gap.”
“I think we’re stirring up the pot (with the change), but it’s in a positive direction,” Busch said. “A lot of times NASCAR throws changes our way and the drivers and owners grumble about it. With the spoiler, it seems like a positive reaction has been made already and just driving in it today, I don’t see any problem with it at all.
“I hope it creates the aesthetic view that the fans want to see with the spoiler back on the deck lid of these cars. The wings were a change for more of the four-cylinder cars that you see driving around on the streets; they weren’t our hardcore fans that drive V-8s.”
If NASCAR is pleased with the progress and performance of the spoiler, the new package could be implemented for the Samsung Mobile 500 scheduled for April 15-18 at Texas Motor Speedway.
“If you do that math, that’s a very good guesstimate on what’s going to happen, because if we test Charlotte at the end of March, the next mile-and-a-half is here at Texas in April,” Busch said.
“I think six to eight races into the season they can implement the spoiler easily,” Biffle said. “The only thing they have left to do is restrictor plates. For all theintermediate tracks(likeTexas), this car will respond fine to this spoiler or if they adjust it some.”

Following Tuesday’s test session, Stewart, Busch, Biffle and Vickers graciously volunteered their time to participate in the “Gear Up For The Green Flag” fan event in the Grand Ballroom of The Speedway Club. A full house of more than 500 season ticket holders and special guests were on hand for a dinner, giveaways and a question-and-answer session with the drivers to officially kick off the upcoming racing season.
“This was truly a special treat for our fans and the thanks goes to Tony, Kurt, Greg and Brian for making the time to be part of this event,” Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage said. “We had a ton of laughs and shared some entertaining stories to make for a great evening.”
Tickets for the Samsung Mobile 500/O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 NASCAR doubleheader weekend are available by calling (817) 215-8500 or by visiting the speedway’s website at http://www.texasmotorspeedway.com.
Video with on-track footage and driver sound bites as well as photographs from the opening day of the Goodyear Tire test will be available on image.net on Wednesday. Users of the free service will receive an alert when the material is uploaded. For new users, please use the referral code of 3516 when signing up.

Bass Pro Shops and RCR Partner to Bring Back Famous No. 3

WELCOME, N.C. (January 19, 2010) — Richard Childress Racing and Bass Pro Shops have reached a partnership agreement for third-generation driver Austin Dillon to compete in the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Silverado for the majority of the 2010 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule.

This RCR/Bass Pro Shops partnership is the latest chapter of a relationship which began in 1998 when the nation’s No. 1 outdoor retailer signed on as an associate sponsor of RCR’s No. 3 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet Monte Carlo with legendary driver Dale Earnhardt. The relationship continued with Kevin Harvick and the No 29 Chevrolet and, in 2004, Kerry Earnhardt, Dale’s eldest son, drove RCR’s No. 33 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Monte Carlo in six Sprint Cup Series races.

“All of us at Bass Pro Shops and Tracker Boats are tickled to death to once again partner with Richard Childress and the RCR team,” stated Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris. “Austin is a promising young driver with a great future ahead of him,” continued Morris. “He also has a passion for hunting, fishing, and conservation just like his grandpa.”

Bass Pro Shops was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Springfield, Mo. The outdoor retail leader has 56 stores throughout the United States and Canada, serving over 100 million sportsmen a year.

Dillon, 19, is the grandson of RCR President and CEO, Richard Childress, and the son of Mike Dillon, a former NASCAR driver who is now RCR’s vice president of competition. The Clemmons, N.C., native began his racing career in 2005 driving Bandaleros and Legends cars, progressing to dirt and asphalt Late Model cars by 2007. He earned rookie of the year honors and finished second in the 2008 NASCAR Camping World Series East point standings. That same year, Dillon made his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut at Richmond International Raceway in September and earned a fourth-place finish at Memphis Motorsports Park in October in only his second race.

In 2009, Dillon competed in the NASCAR Camping World Series, ARCA Series, Nationwide Series and made two starts in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driving RCR’s famous black No. 3 Chevrolet Silverado. In the fall of 2009, he enrolled in High Point University’s Nido R. Quebin School of Communications as an incoming freshman student.

“I’m very excited about welcoming Bass Pro Shops back to RCR,” said Dillon. “Hunting and racing have always been two of my family’s biggest passions and to be able to bring them together through Bass Pro Shops is truly special. This great partnership will create more awareness to hunting and wildlife conservation.”

RCR won the first NCWTS race, at Phoenix International Raceway, and went on to capture the series’ first championship in 1995 with Mike Skinner driving the No. 3 GM Goodwrench Service Chevrolet Silverado. Skinner won 16 races in two seasons and Jay Sauter would earn four more victories before RCR discontinued the program at the conclusion of the 1999 season. In 132 NCWTS starts, RCR-prepared trucks earned 20 victories, 59 top-five and 85 top-10 finishes.

“It’s great to see the black No. 3 Chevy Silverado back on the track, especially with Bass Pro Shops on board with the program,” said Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing. “I’m proud to have personally endorsed Bass Pro Shops since 1998 and I look forward to this exciting new chapter of our partnership. The great things Johnny Morris and Bass Pro Shops do for wildlife and outdoor conservation is very important. Austin and I are proud to spread the word about conservation as well as making the youth of America more aware of the importance and fun of hunting and fishing and conserving the great outdoors.”

RCR has fielded Chevrolet Silverados for eight drivers in the NCWTS: Bill Cooper, Austin Dillon, Mike Dillon, Tim George Jr., Dave Marcis, Jay Sauter, Jim Sauter, and Skinner.