KENNY WALLACE, NO. 09 FAMILY FARMERS TOYOTA CAMRY, CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY, STP 300

Jun 03, 2011  |  Today's News

June 3--KENNY WALLACE, NO. 09 FAMILY FARMERS TOYOTA CAMRY, CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY, STP 300

 Here Comes Chicago…RAB Racing and Kenny Wallace will compete in the inaugural NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) STP 300 under the lights Saturday night at Chicagoland Speedway. For the first time, Chicagoland will host the Nationwide Series for two events in 2011. The STP 300 this weekend is the first stop in the “Windy City” this season, with the second event taking place on September 17, 2011. Wallace, a native of St. Louis, Missouri, will pilot the No. 09 Toyota Camry featuring primary race sponsors Marquis Energy and Family Farmers.

Team:  RAB Racing with Brack Maggard

Car:  No. 09 Marquis Energy/Family Farmer Toyota Camry

Race 14 of 34:  STP 300 at Chicagoland Speedway

Event Info:  Saturday, June 4, 2011, live on ESPN at 8:00PM EST and MRN at 7:45PM EST

Keeping Tabs...After two consecutive weeks with finishes inside the top-10, the Top Gear 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway delivered Wallace and RAB Racing their first finish outside of the top-15 since competing at Talladega Superspeedway in April. Wallace ultimately managed to stay away from the five cautions to bring the No. 09 Family Farmers Toyota Camry to the checkered flag in the 20th position. Following the 13th race of the Nationwide Series season, Wallace holds the seventh position in the driver standing and the No. 09 remains in the 13th position in the car owner standings heading in to the Chicagoland Speedway event.

 

Chicagoland Details…

 

·         Although Wallace is one of the most experienced drivers in the Nationwide Series, he has only 11 combined starts in NASCAR’s top-two divisions at Chicago.

·         Making his ninth start this Saturday night in the STP 300, Wallace competed in  his first NNS event at Chicagoland in 2001, where he finished 14th. 

·         RAB Racing will make its third appearance at the 1.5-mile “Windy City” track.

 

Making Their “Marquis”…Marquis Energy, an Illinois-based ethanol plant that strives to challenge conventional practices that promote the dependence on foreign fuels as America's energy source, will make its mark in the Nationwide Series this weekend when it partners with RAB Racing as co-primary sponsor of Wallace’s No. 09 Toyota Camry.  Marquis Energy is dedicated to producing a renewable, clean-burning fuel that will not only abate dependency on foreign oil, but also benefits the local and national economy. By producing ethanol and its co-products from renewable feed stocks, Marquis Energy continually fosters new innovation for energy sustainability.

 

 

STP 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series

WHAT: NASCAR Nationwide Series race.

WHEN: Saturday, June 4, 2011 at 7:00 p.m., “Under the Lights”

WHERE: Chicagoland Speedway

RACE LENGTH: 200 laps (300 miles)

TV/RADIO: Televised on ESPN & broadcasted on MRN Radio

QUALIFYING: Scheduled for Friday, June 3

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Inaugural Event

DEFENDING POLE SITTER: Inaugural Event

QUALIFYING RECORD: Ryan Neuman, 186.438 mph (28.694 sec), July 9, 2005

RACE RECORD: Joey Logano, 147.340 mph (2 hrs, 2 min, 10 sec), July 10, 2009

Chicagoland Speedway

LENGTH: 1.5 mile

SHAPE: D-Shaped, oval

BANKING: 18 degrees in turns, 11 degrees in the front stretch & 5 degrees in the backstretch

SEATING: 75,000

HISTORY: Celebrating its 10th year of racing, Chicagoland Speedway is a 1.5-mile, paved oval race track located in Joliet, Ill. The track has hosted racing events of the major U.S. racing series, and currently conducts races in all three NASCAR national series, including the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, the NASCAR Nationwide Series, and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Along with Route 66 Raceway, a drag racing facility located on the same property, Chicagoland Speedway is wholly-owned by International Speedway Corporation (ISC), a major promoter of motorsports activities. ISC owns and/or operates 13 of the nation’s major racing venues, including Daytona International Speedway. For more information on Chicagoland Speedway, visit www.ChicagolandSpeedway.com.

Danica Patrick back racing in NASCAR at Chicagoland Speedway: Danica Patrick is back after a nine-race NASCAR layoff. The native of Roscoe, Ill., was 10th last Sunday at the Indianapolis 500 where she once again led laps. She also brings speculation that the NASCAR Nationwide Series may be her full-time racing destination next season. Showing steady improvement in her young stock car career – the STP 300 will be her 18th NASCAR race since February, 2010 – Patrick was ninth in the series point’s standings and had collected the best finish ever for a female driver in NASCAR’s national series (fourth at Las Vegas) before starting the IRL season.

 

Trevor Bayne Making his Return to Racing: Trevor Bayne, the youngest-ever Daytona 500 winner, is expected to join Patrick in a trumpeted return to the series. Bayne, 20, has been recovering from symptoms including nausea, fatigue and impaired vision and has not raced since finishing sixth on April 23 at Nashville. He’s currently 16th in the driver standings, 54 points out of 10th. He’s also running a part-time double-duty schedule for the Wood Brothers, the legendary team with which he won the “Great American Race” in February. Bayne is expected back in the No. 21 Ford for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race in two weeks at Michigan.

 

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Drivers Pulling Double-Duty: Kevin Harvick will drive his No. 33 KHI Chevrolet at Chicago Saturday, a track where he has won twice in both NNS and NASCAR Sprint Cup competition. He’s one of three double-duty drivers expected to run at Chicagoland and Kansas this weekend joining 2010 NNS champion Brad Keselowski and 2007 series champion Carl Edwards. David Mayhew will practice for Harvick. Sam Hornish Jr. will practice for Keselowski.

 

Justin Allgaier Returns to his Hometown Track: Patrick isn’t the only Illinois native expecting a big homecoming. Riverton’s Justin Allgaier, last year’s Sunoco Rookie of the Year, currently ranks fourth in the standings 22 points behind Sadler. He led the standings for three consecutive weeks earlier in the year but needs to regain that consistency. Since his last lead after Darlington, Allgaier’s average finish is 14.0 including a did not finish (DNF) at Dover, his first DNF since last August at Bristol.

 

 

Chicagoland Speedway to Host the First Race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup: September 16, 17 & 18 Chicagoland Speedway will host the first of ten “play-off” style NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races in pursuit of the 2011 championship.

Sept 16 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series

Sept 17 Dollar General 300 presented by Coca-Cola (NASCAR Nationwide Series)

Sept 18 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

 

Country music superstar, Darius Rucker, will kick off the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup on Sunday, Sept. 18 with a live performance in the infield. For 3-day weekend passes or single-day tickets, log onto www.chicagolandspeedway.com or call the office at (888)-629-RACE.