Brad Sweet preview

Brad Sweet

No. 32 Great Clips Chevrolet

Darlington Raceway –Too Tough To Tame 200

March 12, 2011

No. 32 Great Clips Silverado Team News and Notes

James Buescher, Turner Motorsport Chevrolet, Ricky Carmichael, Tuner Motorsport Chevrolet, Austin Dillon, RCR Chevrolet, Brad Sweet, Turner Motorsport Chevrolet

Eric Gilbert

· Racing at the famed Darlington Raceway a first for Sweet… This weekend’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) event at Darlington Raceway, the Too Tough to Tame 200, will mark Brad Sweet’s first start at the famed 1.33-mile track. The rookie driver plans to rely on mentor and team owner for his open-wheel endeavors, Kasey Kahne, who is also competing in the event, for advice on succeeding at the track that is “too tough to tame!”

· First Win… Turner Motorsports captured its first win last weekend in the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with Mark Martin and the No. 32 Dollar General Chevrolet. The organization is in its sophomore season of NASCAR competition and has already captured one win, one pole, along with 16 top-five and 36 top-10 finishes. Turner Motorsports has expanded from a two-truck NCWTS operation in 2010 to become the largest stand-alone multi-series team in NASCAR’s top-tier touring series, fielding three entries in the NCWTS and four entries in the NNS.

· Last week’s race-winning crew chief to call the shots for Sweet… Fresh off his NNS victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which marked Turner Motorsports first NASCAR win, crew chief Trent Owens will relinquish a rare NNS weekend off to head to Darlington Raceway and call the shots for Sweet in Saturday evening’s event. The veteran crew chief has logged some laps at the historic raceway himself, having competed there in a NCWTS event in 2002 where he started and finished 15th.

· Momentum on Sweet’s side after solid effort in first two races in 2011… In the first two starts of the 2011 season, Sweet has proven his ability to compete against some of the best drivers in the series. The Grass Valley, Calif.-native ran in the top-five for a majority of the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway and brought home an 11th-place finish at Phoenix International Raceway. Not a bad start to the season for a rookie driver!

Brad Sweet on Darlington Raceway

“I’m looking forward to racing at Darlington this weekend. It’s so rich in its racing heritage and to become a part of that is pretty cool. I know that it’s going to be challenging race, given that I don’t have any experience there as well as it’s one of the toughest tracks on the circuit. I’ll be relying on my teammates (James Buescher and Ricky Carmichael) for advice and I have already been taking to Kasey (Kahne) quite a bit about getting around the place. Having Trent Owens atop the box and calling the shots is obviously going to be a huge asset for me as well given the amount of experience he has there. I know that finding a good handling balance is going to be very important during practice. With turns one and two being completely different from three and four, finding the right balance can be tough. If you don’t get it right it could make for a long night, especially at a track like Darlington.”

Brad Sweet on the start of the 2011 season

“I feel pretty good about the way this Great Clips team has started off the season. We have had solid top-15 runs in our first two races at Daytona and Phoenix. At Daytona we ran in the top-five for much of the night until that late-race crash ended our night. Still, solid runs like that to start the season, gives all of us a strong feeling of momentum. And momentum in racing is always good!”

-source: turner motorsports