Valvoline Racing News

Statements from Richard Petty Motorsports and AJ Allmendinger

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 01:00:00 EDT

Please see below for statements regarding last night's unfortunate event involving AJ Allmendinger. AJ will be driving this weekend in Talladega and will honor all partner/media commitments.

AJ Allmendinger:
"I made an error in judgment last night for which I take full responsibility. I went out to dinner and I had a couple of drinks. I honestly felt fine but I obviously should have erred more on the side of caution particularly given what I do for a living. It was a bad judgment call and I apologize for that... To my fans, sponsors, team and NASCAR. If anything good can come of this then hopefully I can be an example of being more aware of drinking responsibly and if even if you feel fine, take a cab, call a friend...just don't risk it. I will do my best to make it right and use this to learn myself and hopefully educate others."

Richard Petty:
"I am deeply disappointed this has happened. AJ has accepted full responsibility for his actions and will work to make this right. On behalf of everyone at Richard Petty Motorsports we sincerely apologize to our fans and partners."

McMurray Leads Team Valvoline with 6th-Place Finish in Martinsville Cup Race

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 01:00:00 EDT

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (Oct. 25, 2009) -- Team Valvoline was led by Jamie McMurray's sixth-place finish in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Martinsville Speedway.

"We had a solid day -- our car was better than average," said McMurray. "We made good pit calls and had great pit strategy.

Though McMurray was the only Valvoline driver in the top 10, former Cup champions Bobby Labonte and Matt Kenseth each had respectable finishes for the Big V with Labonte posting a 13th-place result and Kenseth 14th.

Of the three Valvoline Chase drivers -- Edwards had the best result of 20th. Greg Biffle was 25th and Kasey Kahne 32nd.

"We really couldn't do anything with our car," said Biffle. "With practice rained out yesterday it really hurt us."

The race winner was Denny Hamlin. Rounding out the top five in order were: Jimmie Johnson, Juan Pablo Montoya, Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon.

In the Chase point standings Biffle is eighth, Edwards 10th and Kahne 11th. There are four races remaining -- Talladega (Nov. 1), Texas (Nov. 8), Phoenix (Nov. 15) and Homestead-Miami (Nov. 22).

Current Chase Point Standings as of Oct. 25 2009
1. Jimmie Johnson, 6098 points
2. Mark Martin, 5980 (-118 behind leader)
3. Jeff Gordon, 5948 (-150)
4. Tony Stewart, 5906 (-192)
5. Juan Pablo Montoya, 5898 (-200)
6. Kurt Busch, 5858 (-240)
7. Ryan Newman, 5786 (-312)
8. Greg Biffle, 5748 (-350)
9. Denny Hamlin, 5746 (-352)
10. Carl Edwards, 5685 (-413)
11. Kasey Kahne, 5659 (-439)
12. Brian Vickers, 5568 (-530)

Team Valvoline NASCAR Race Results

Sprint Cup Series
Oct. 25, 2009
Martinsville Speedway
Martinsville, Va.

(starting position in parenthesis)

AJ Allmendinger, No. 44 Richard Petty
Motorsports Dodge Charger
Finished: 34th (16th)
Point Standing: 25th

Greg Biffle, No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Fusion
Finished: 25th (20th)
Point Standing: 8th

Carl Edwards, No. 99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Fusion
Finished: 20th (29th)
Point Standing: 10th

Kasey Kahne, No. 9 Richard Petty Motorsports Dodge Charger
Finished: 32nd (26th)
Point Standing:11th

Matt Kenseth, No. 17 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Fusion
Finished: 14th (32nd)
Point Standing: 14th

Bobby Labonte, No. 96 Yates Racing Ford Fusion
Finished: 13th (8th)
Point Standing: 31st

Jamie McMurray, No. 26 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Fusion
Finished: 6th (23rd)
Point Standing: 22nd

David Ragan, No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Fusion
Finished: 22nd (14th)
Point Standing: 28th

Elliott Sadler, No. 19 Richard Petty
Motorsports Dodge Charger
Finished: 21st (40th)
Point Standing: 26th

Reed Sorenson, No. 43 Richard Petty
Motorsports Dodge Charger
Finished: 24th (9th)
Point Standing: 29th

Next NASCAR Sprint Cup Event
Nov. 1
Talladega Superspeedway
Talladega, Ala.

Nationwide Series Race
Oct. 24
Memphis Motorsports Park
Memphis, Tenn.

Erik Darnell, No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Fusion
Finished: 31st (22nd)
Point Standing:*

Carl Edwards, No. 60 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Fusion
Finished: 6th (35th)
Point Standing: 2nd

Matt Kenseth, No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Fusion
Finished: 11th (18th)
Point Standing:*

*Not competing full-time in Nationwide Series

Next Nationwide Series Race
Nov. 7
Texas Motor Speedway
Fort Worth, Texas

Camping World Truck Series
Oct. 24
Martinsville Speedway
Martinsville, Va.

Colin Braun, No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford
Finished: 3rd (12th)
Point Standing: 6th

Next Camping World Truck Series Race
Oct. 31
Talladega Superspeedway
Talladega, Ala.

Next NHRA Event
Nov. 1
The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas

Martinsville Speedway Race Report

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 01:00:00 EDT

Richard Petty Motorsports results:

21st - Elliott Sadler - Best Buy Dodge - now 26th in points.
24th - Reed Sorenson - Monopoly at McDonalds Dodge - now 29th in points.
32nd - Kasey Kahne - Budweiser Dodge - now 11th in points
34th - AJ Allmendinger- Coleman Natural Foods Dodge - now 25th in points.

Notes:

Denny Hamlin held off Jimmie Johnson on the green-white-checkered finish
Hamlin recorded his third victory and 17th top-10 of 2009
Hamlin now has two victories and eight top-10s in nine career starts at Martinsville
Juan Pablo Montoya, Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon rounded out the top-five
Johnson has a 118 championship point lead over second place Mark Martin
The race featured 21 lead changes among 12 drivers
There were 15 cautions for 77 laps
The race lasted just short of three hours and thirty-five minutes
No attendance has been announced at this time
All race fans attending Sunday's race served as Grand Marshal and honorary race starters.
Richard Petty led all teams in a coordinated thank you to the fans.
Next race is Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Ala.

NOTES AND QUOTES

ELLIOTT SADLER

Started 40th and finished 21st
Tight in the center, loose off and struggled with forward grip at the beginning of the race
Tried various pit strategies to gain track position
Raced as high as seventh on lap 178 restart
Restarted in the third position on lap 306
Fell at lap down to leader Denny Hamlin on lap 389
Flat tire caused the No. 19 to make contact with the No. 34 to bring out the caution on lap 443
Narrowly missed the lucky dog during the final caution on lap 498 (awarded to Clint Bowyer)
Highest finishing RPM entry

SADLER: "An interesting day for sure with our Best Buy Dodge. Anytime that you start 40th at Martinsville it's going to make for some tough sledding. We fought a race car that was tight in the center all day and couldn't get our car to turn through the middle of the corner. But I'm proud of my guys because we worked our way all the way up to third and we're running with the leaders until the car just fell off a bit."

REED SORENSON

Sorenson started ninth and finished 24th
Suffered damage to the hood on lap 89 making it difficult for Sorenson to see
Struggled with a "tight center" handing condition throughout the race
Went a lap down to leader Jimmie Johnson on lap 355
Finished one lap down

SORENSON: "My guys never gave up today. We just couldn't get the handling down. We made a ton of changes but never could get the car where we wanted it. But we stayed out of trouble and had good stops today. We did what we needed to do. "

KASEY KAHNE

Kahne started 26th and finished 32nd.
Involved in a racing incident to bring out the caution on lap 210
Fell two laps down while crew worked on repairs to the right rear
Contact with the No. 34 caused the 10th caution of the afternoon on lap 275
Flat right front tire caused contact with the wall and bring out the 11th caution on lap 300
Finished seven laps off the pace

KAHNE: "It definitely wasn't our day. I can't tell you what happened when our tire went down, but the car just went around on me in Turn three and I was in the wall. We had some pretty significant damage to the fuel cell area, but the team was able to fix that. Then I just got loose a few laps later and up into the wall again. This hasn't been a great track for us, so we need to work on that. It was a pretty frustrating day."

AJ ALLMENDINGER

Started 16th and finished 34th
Received front end damage on lap 95 restart causing the hood to bow making it difficult to see
Struggled with a "tight center" handing condition throughout the race
Wrecked by the No. 20 on lap 250 to bring out the ninth caution of the afternoon while in 20th
Returned to the racetrack on lap 338 in 35th position following 87 laps making repairs
Finished 86 laps off the pace

ALLMENDINGER: "Not much I can say. We just got taken out today. The 20 car (Logano) crashed us. Until then we were working on the car and getting it better. Our lap times were good and we were just trying to conserve our stuff and be there at the end."

RACE RESULTS
FINISH - DRIVER
1-Denny Hamlin
2-Jimmie Johnson
3-Juan Montoya
4-Kyle Busch
5-Jeff Gordon
6-Jamie McMurray
7-Ryan Newman
8-Mark Martin
9-Kevin Harvick
10-Tony Stewart
11-Brian Vickers
12-Joey Logano
13-Bobby Labonte
14-Matt Kenseth
15-Jeff Burton
16-Kurt Busch
17-David Reutimann
18-Casey Mears
19-Clint Bowyer
20-Carl Edwards
21-Elliott Sadler
22-David Ragan
23-Paul Menard
24-Reed Sorenson
25-Greg Biffle
26-John Andretti
27-Marcos Ambrose
28-Martin Truex Jr.
29-Dale Earnhardt Jr.
30-Michael Waltrip
31-Scott Speed
32-Kasey Kahne
33-David Stremme
34-A.J. Allmendinger
35-Sterling Marlin
36-Sam Hornish Jr.
37-Robby Gordon
38-Joe Nemechek
39-David Gilliland
40-Dave Blaney
41-Michael McDowell
42-Derrike Cope
43-Travis Kvapil

Amp Energy 500 Preview - Reed Sorenson

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 01:00:00 EDT

STATESVILLE, N.C. - No. 43 Liberty Medical Dodge driver Reed Sorenson knows as well as any driver the unpredictable nature of Talladega Superspeedway. After being sent to the back of the field due to an engine change, Sorenson fell a lap down to the leaders with less than 70 laps remaining after a cut tire nearly ended his day. Despite all the trouble, he charged back to the lead lap and after just missing a last lap accident posted an 11th-place finish-the best of his seven starts at Talladega.

QUOTES

REED SORENSON- "We just need to survive. We've shown we have a pretty good restrictor plate program. The key is just missing all wrecks. If we can do that, we are fast enough that we will finish well. It'll be exciting. Talladega always is for the fans."

SEVEN TIME CHAMPION CREW CHIEF DALE INMAN- "The racing has changed drastically at Talladega over the years. It used to be nose to tail drafting, but now its four and five cars wide. The middle lane can move, the top and the bottom lanes can move. Years ago it was just nose to tail and the drivers stayed in the same lane. Some things haven't changed. You still couldn't get away from people back then. In April, we saw that the drivers could really run fast if they got in a line until the back car got hot and had to pull off to get some air to the radiator. Kasey and AJ were tore up, but if they hooked up they could run as fast as the leaders despite being wrecked. Yeah, Talladega has definitely changed but it is still the same old Talladega. When the big one happens you better not be close to it because you can't get out of it."

Amp Energy 500 Preview - AJ Allmendinger

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 01:00:00 EDT

STATESVILLE, N.C- AJ Allmendinger visits Talladega Speedway-the final restrictor plate race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season-with hopes of equaling or bettering his third-place run at the season-opening Daytona 500 in February. In three restrictor plate races this season, Allmendinger has scored the 14th most points of any driver. He'll pilot the No. 44 Hunt Brothers Dodge for Richard Petty Motorsports this weekend.

QUOTES

AJ ALLMENDINGER: "We've run pretty well at restrictor plate tracks this season. We finished third at Daytona in February and then were pretty decent there in July, then we got caught in a wreck on lap 7 at Talladega. That's kind of the way this racing goes. If you miss the wrecks you will probably have a good day. If you don't miss the wreck it doesn't matter how fast you run. Your day will be junk."

RICHARD PETTY: "The secret to running well at Talladega is to have a fast car. I know that sounds simple but we used to go down there and get beat because we weren't fast enough. Handling doesn't matter as much as having a car that will go fast. If you do that and miss all the wrecks you'll have a pretty good day."

Amp Energy 500 Preview - Elliott Sadler

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 01:00:00 EDT

STATESVILLE, N.C. - Elliott Sadler's No. 19 Stanley car will race as a Ford for the first time in NASCAR Sprint Cup competition this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway. Sadler is racing the Ford Fusion in preparation for Richard Petty Motorsports switch to Ford beginning in 2010. Sadler will return to his familiar No. 19 Dodge entry for the final three races of 2009.

Sadler Quotes

ON DRIVING A FORD AT TALLADEGA: "Richard Petty Motorsports is working with Ford Racing as we get ready to make the full-time switch at Daytona in 2010. Since this is the final restrictor plate race of the season, we made the decision to run a Ford to get some work done in advance. This will be our first time to practice and work on a Fusion under real race conditions. It should help us get ready to make a strong showing at Daytona and put us in the best position to start next season. I'll be back in a Dodge at Texas, Phoenix and Homestead, but since it's important to start a season off on the right foot we thought we'd try to get a head start."

Petty in Ford

This is the first Ford entry in the history of Richard Petty Motorsports.
In 1969, Richard Petty made 48 out of 50 starts in a Ford. He recorded nine wins, 29 top-fives, 36 top-10s and led 2,291 laps. Petty raced a Plymouth the first two races of the season recording a win at Macon and a second-place finish at Montgomery.
Richard Petty's last race driving a Ford entry was Dec. 2, 1969 at Texas World Speedway (College Station, Texas). Petty drove the entry to a 21st-place finish.
The last time a Petty-owned team (Petty Enterprises) fielded a Ford Sprint Cup Series entry was April 14, 1985 in the TransSouth 500 at Darlington Raceway (Darlington, S.C.). Morgan Shepherd drove the No.1 entry to an 18th-place finish.

Richard Petty Motorsports

Formed in a January 2009 merger of Gillett Evernham Motorsports (GEM) and Petty Holdings. GEM (formerly Evernham Motorsports) was founded in 2000 with support from Dodge.
Evernham Motorsports fielded three Ford entries for Casey Atwood in 2000. Atwood's best finish was 10th at the Miami-Homestead Speedway to end the season.

Elliott Sadler in Ford

Sadler will drive a No. 19 Stanley Ford Fusion at Talladega, before returning to a Dodge for the final three races of 2009.
Sadler drove 130 points races in a Robert Yates Racing Ford from the 2003 Daytona 500 to Watkins Glen 2006.
Sadler has seven career pole awards, all coming in a Yates-prepared Ford. (Last, May 1, 2006 at Talladega).
Sadler has 269 career Sprint Cup Series starts in a Ford with the Wood Brothers and Robert Yates Racing from Daytona-1, 1999 to Watkins Glen '06.
Sadler has three career Sprint Cup Series wins - all in a Ford. Two of Sadler's three wins came in a Yates prepared entry. (Last Sept. 5, 2004 at Fontana)
Sadler's last 118 Sprint Cup Series races prior to this weekend have come in a Dodge. (First, Aug. 20, 2006 at Michigan)
Sadler's only appearance in the Sprint Cup Series Chase for the Championship came in 2004. Sadler collected two wins, eight top-fives, 14 top-10s and led 254 laps in route to a ninth-place points finish in a Ford for Robert Yates Racing.

NASCAR Banking 500 Preview - Reed Sorenson

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 01:00:00 EDT

STATESVILLE, N.C.- Richard Petty has a busy week ahead. NASCAR's most victorious driver hosts the inaugural Richard Petty Charity Golf Classic Wednesday in Greensboro, N.C. the same day he finds out if he'll be part of the initial class inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte.

In addition to his usual assortment of hospitalities, media sessions and appearances around Charlotte's NASCAR Sprint Cup race weekend, he'll serve as the track's "Homecoming King." Petty will also sport brown Charlie 1 Horse cowboy hat with pink highlights during the weekend that will be auctioned to raise money to promote breast cancer awareness.

Quotes

RICHARD PETTY - "It's a lot of work but it's all pretty exciting stuff. You only get to have one inaugural golf tournament and there is only one initial Hall of Fame class. The racing in Charlotte is always a big deal. They had me a crown and a throne at the track a few weeks ago when we announced I was going to be their Homecoming King. The deal with the pink hat is really cool also. I'm not a big fan of pink, but when it is for something as important as fighting breast cancer then I'll wear whatever color they want me to wear."

Notes

Wednesday's golf tournament takes place Sedgefield Country Club, just a short distance from the Petty family home in Randleman, N.C. For more information on the Petty Family Foundation click here.
Richard Petty is one of the candidates for the inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame scheduled to be announced Wednesday at 4 p.m.
Visit www.richardpettymotorsports.com.
Follow Reed Sorenson and other Petty drivers at @rpmotorsports on Twitter
Fans visiting the Richard Petty Motorsports race shops in Statesville, N.C. are eligible for a 10 percent discount on souvenir merchandise if you are a Facebook or Twitter follower.
The gift shop is located off exit 146 on I-40. Hours are 9 a.m.– 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The shop will also offer discounted merchandise this week.
Sorenson endured his first DNF of season Sunday in California. The Petty team owned only one DNF until last week at California when a multi-car accident with six laps remaining eliminated all four cars.

NASCAR Banking 500 Preview - AJ Allmendinger

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 01:00:00 EDT

STATESVILLE, N.C- AJ Allmendinger says this weekend's race in Charlotte might be the most important of the races remaining in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. The 27-year-old Californian is making his 75th Sprint Cup start this weekend in the No. 44 Best Buy Dodge. The former open-wheel standout has shown improvement with each year in the sport posting four top-10 finishes in 2009 for Richard Petty Motorsports.

Quotes

ALLMENDINGER- "This might be the biggest race we have left this season. You always want to run well no matter where we race, but just about anyone whose involved in the sport shows up at Charlotte at some point during the weekend. It's cool this will be my 75th race. It sure hasn't been easy at times but it's gone by pretty fast. I'm still learning. This is the toughest series in the world and they drivers that race here are as good as any other series. This is where I want to make my career. When you run well here you know you have beaten the best."

NOTES

Allmendinger will sign autographs at 4 p.m. on Saturday at the Petty merchandise trailer for the first 100 fans who obtain tickets.
To join over 7,200 Richard Petty Motorsports fans on Facebook and view the latest news, videos and pictures please click here
Follow Allmendinger and other Petty drivers at @rpmotorsports on Twitter.
Fans visiting the Richard Petty Motorsports race shops in Statesville, N.C. are eligible for a 10 percent discount on souvenir merchandise if you are a Facebook or Twitter follower.
The gift shop is located off exit 146 on I-40. Hours are 9 a.m.– 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The gift shop will also offer discounted merchandise this week.
Visit www.richardpettymotorsports.com · Richard Petty is one of the candidates for the inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame scheduled to be announced Wednesday at 4 p.m.
Saturday's race marks Allmendinger's 75th start in Sprint Cup racin and his sixth race at Charlotte.
Allmendinger's Walldinger Racing, Inc. is now officially headquartered in Charlotte.
Allmendinger owns four top-10 finishes in 2009. He finished third at Daytona, seventh at Infineon and Dover and ninth at Martinsville.
Allmendinger endured his first DNF of season Sunday in California. The Petty team owned only one DNF until last week at California when a multi-car accident eliminated all four cars.

NASCAR Banking 500 Preview - Elliott Sadler

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 01:00:00 EDT

STATESVILLE, N.C. - For the second consecutive year, Elliott Sadler and the No. 19 Stanley Dodge are changing their look with a pink paint scheme for the NASCAR Banking 500 Sprint Cup Series race on Oct. 17 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The pink paint scheme is in support of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Sadler Quotes

SADLER ON RACING FOR THE CURE: "My Mom has always been by my side and my biggest fan. Last year when she walked out to the starting grid in Charlotte and took a picture with me in my pink Stanley/Susan G. Komen for the Cure firesuit in front of my pink No. 19 Dodge she told me it was one of the most special moments of her life. That entire weekend was extremely special to me."

"The folks at Susan G. Komen for the Cure came out to our Stanley hospitality and did one of the most interesting hospitality experiences I've ever been a part of - it started by asking who in the crowd has ever had a family member or friend diagnosed with cancer and within three questions everyone in the tent was standing up. It just goes to show you how many people have been touched by not only breast cancer, but cancer of any kind. Everyone knows someone close to them that's had to battle cancer."

Additional Notes of Interest

Sadler's mother, Bell, was diagnosed with breast cancer on June 30, 2007.
Susan G. Komen representatives met with Mrs. Sadler at the fall Charlotte race in 2007 to let her know what to expect in her battle with breast cancer.
Mrs. Sadler's breast cancer has been in remission for more than a year.
The No. 19 Stanley/Susan G. Komen for the Cure Dodge features breast cancer survivor Brandy Hickman's name on the TV panel.
Brandy Hickman is the winner of the Stanley "Lady in Pink" essay contest. Mrs. Hickman's winning essay is posted at www.stanleymotorsports.com.
Stanley is donating a minimum of $50,000 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure® to support the breast cancer movement.
Sadler raced a dirt car at East Lincoln Speedway (Stanley, N.C.) on Sept. 30th. The "Real Drivers Wear Pink presented by Stanley" featured drivers Kasey Kahne, David Reutimann and Erik Darnell. Reutimann won the 10-lap feature, Sadler finished fourth.
Richard Petty is wearing a brown Charlie 1 Horse hat with pink highlights throughout the Charlotte race weekend in support of breast cancer awareness.
Sadler's No. 19 Stanley Dodge is racing with a special Susan G. Komen for the Cure® logoed steering wheel.
Petty's hat, Sadler's steering wheel as well as firesuit, shoes and gloves are all going to be part of three auction packages featured on SadlerFoundation.org from Oct. 19 to Nov. 19 to raise additional funds for Susan G. Komen for the Cure®.
The Elliott and Hermie Sadler Foundation has two primary focuses-to raise money and awareness for breast cancer and autism related causes.
Sadler's No. 19 Dodge always features two ribbons next to his name above the driver's side door-a pink breast cancer awareness ribbon in honor of his mother and a puzzle piece autism ribbon in honor of his niece.
Elliott Sadler gave a ride-a-long to Susan G. Komen for the Cure® founder Nancy Bricker at Talladega in April.

NASCAR Banking 500 Preview - Kasey Kahne

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 01:00:00 EDT

STATESVILLE, N.C.- Kasey Kahne climbs behind the wheel of the No. 43 Auto Value/Bumper to Bumper Nationwide car Friday night in Charlotte for his fourth start of the 2009 season. Richard Petty Motorsports partnered with Braun Racing in 2009 to field cars in five races with Kahne driving in four of the five. His best finish came at Daytona in July where he finished fifth for the Stewart Cooper-led team. Kahne is a seven-time winner in the series. Friday's race marks the first time Kahne has ever driven the No. 43-the winningest car number in NASCAR history.

Quotes

DRIVING THE NO. 43- "This is something I never thought I would have the chance to do. I hope the fans like it as much as I do. This is one of the most historic car numbers in our sport so it's a huge thrill to drive the No. 43. I'd like to add my name to the list of people who have won in the No. 43. I think the King would get a kick out of that." CHARLOTTE- "We're going there with every intention of getting the Auto Value/ Bumper to Bumper car in victory lane. We've had a good car in every one of our races this year and Friday shouldn't be any different. (Crew Chief) Stewart Cooper and the Braun guys are really good at what they do. This series is a lot of fun for me to race in. There isn't a whole lot of strategy. We just go for the win."

Additional Notes of Interest

Friday's race marks Kahne's 155th Nationwide Series race and 15th at Charlotte.
Kahne owns series victories at: Homestead in 2003, Texas and Kansas in 2005, Las Vegas and Fontana in 2006, Charlotte and Bristol in 2007.
Kahne won the pole at Charlotte in May 2005.
For in-race twitter updates Friday night and updates throughout the season go to @rpmotorsports.
For additional information go to: www.facebook.com/richardpettymotorsports
At Charlotte, Kahne has raced car numbers 9, 38, 98, 6 and now 43.
Michael Johnson of Marietta, Ga. won the grand prize in The King & Kasey Sweepstakes. Johnson received a 2009 Dodge Challenger, a trip for two to this weekend's race, and a chance to meet Petty and Kahne."I've won other prizes, but nothing of this magnitude," said Johnson. "This will be my first new car and one I will treasure. Plus, I have always wanted to have an up-close and personal meeting with Kasey and Richard Petty. Thanks to all of the folks at Auto Value/Bumper to Bumper for making this all possible."