Chuck Barnes Jr to debut at Toledo

Chuck Barnes Jr. To Make ARCA RE/MAX Series Debut Friday At Toledo Speedway

Louisville, KY (August 27, 2006) -- Louisville, Kentucky native Chuck Barnes Jr. is set to make his ARCA RE/MAX Series debut this Friday night in the Hantz Group 200 Presented By Belle Tire at Toledo Speedway in Toledo, Ohio. The event will be televised live on Speedvision at 9pm Eastern Time. Barnes Jr. will be driving the #35 TC Motorsports Chevrolet owned by Tammy and C.E. Clower of Loganville, Georgia.

"I am really excited to get the opportunity to compete in my first ARCA RE/MAX Series event," remarked Barnes Jr. "Richard Woolums of Crown Spray Power introduced me to C.E. at Kentucky Speedway in June, in fact I ended up working on their pit crew that night. I started talking to C.E. about getting a chance to race his car sometime this year in ARCA, we worked it out to were I would be able to race this Friday at Toledo Speedway, I've been looking forward to getting this type opportunity for a long time!"

TC Motorsports has competed in a limited schedule in both the NASCAR Busch Series and the ARCA RE/MAX Series during the 2006 season. Tammy and C.E. have been involved in racing for 25 years and have been racing mostly in the ARCA RE/MAX Series the last three years. They started the race team in the Legends of Georgia Series and moved to the ARCA RE/MAX Series in April 2003.

"I want to thank C.E. and Tammy for giving me this great opportunity. I want to thank Richard Woolums for his sponsorship of my racing this season and for introducing me to C.E. Clower. I also have to thank my family, all my friends and supporters, if it wasn't for them, I would never have accomplished anything in my racing career."

Barnes Jr. started racing go-karts competitively in January 1994 when he was 11 years old winning several championships through the 1997 season. At 15 years raced his ever first stock car race at Salem Speedway in Salem, Indiana in September of 1997 finishing in seventh. In 1998 Barnes Jr. competed in his first full season of stock car racing. He finished in the top twenty in points at Louisville Speedway in the NASCAR Sportsman Division and was Rookie Of The Year in the Street Stock Division at Salem Speedway at 16 years old. In 2000 Barnes Jr. claimed the Salem Speedway Street Stock Championship with three feature wins, making him the youngest driver in the history of Salem Speedway to win a championship.

Barnes Jr. moved up to compete in a late model starting in the 2001 season. The 2002 and 2003 season's showed Barnes Jr. had the talent to move up in competition getting four wins and several top five finishes. In 2003 Barnes Jr. was the CRA Super Series Rookie Of The Year against one of the best rookie classes the series has ever had, the title was not decided until the series final event of the 2003 season. Barnes Jr. came back the next season and captured the 2004 CRA Super Series Points Championship getting his first series win along with nine top five finishes, of which four were second place finishes and eleven top ten finishes. He led the series with four fast qualifier awards during the 2004 season.

Barnes Jr. them showed the racing community he was for real by winning the All American 300 at the Music City Motorplex at the famed Fairgrounds in Nashville, Tennessee, one of the most prestigious late model events in the country. Barnes Jr. out qualified 64 teams that attempted to make the event and then got the win by saving his tires and making the winning pass with 15 laps to go against the best late model drivers in the country.

Last season Barnes Jr. was one of the 25 drivers chosen to compete in the Roush Racing Search For Driver X competition that was shown in a 13-part mini-series on The Discovery Channel were he got his first ever experience in a NASCAR Craftsman Truck as well as a lot experience with press and sponsor interaction.

This season Barnes Jr. is currently leading the KY Clutch & Performance Late Models points at Salem Speedway were he has gotten 2 wins, 3 second place finishes and has been fast qualifier 5 of the 6 events so far this season. Barnes Jr. has also competed part-time with the CRA Super Series getting a win earlier in the season at Baer Field Speedway and with the PASS South Series were he finished 2nd at Hickory Motor Speedway.

Barnes Jr. has competed at Toledo Speedway three times with the CRA Super Series since the 2003 season finishing second, fifth and eleventh.

"My goals for this Friday are to keep all the fenders on the car, stay on the lead lap and hopefully get a top five finish. We tested the car on Sunday at Toledo Speedway and I really felt comfortable and had good communication with the TC Motorsports crew. I want to make the most of this opportunity, hopefully something good will come out of Friday's race so I can further my racing career."

-credit: www.chuckbarnesjr.com