Daytona II: John Wes Townley preview

Fast & Fun Facts:

* JW is spending a few days vacationing with his family this week in St. Simons Island, Ga. prior to heading to Daytona for this weekend's events.

* Keeton Hanks finished 8th in John Wes' No. 09 Zaxby's Late Model in Saturday night's ASA Southeast Asphalt 100 lap race at Lanier National Speedway in Braselton

John Wes Townley at Daytona: John Wes Townley has a total of three starts at Daytona International Speedway; two ARCA RE/MAX Series starts and one NASCAR Nationwide Series Start. Townley finished 11th in the 2008 Daytona ARCA 200 and brought home his career best finish of 4th in the 2009 Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200. The rookie made his debut at the 2.5-mile tri-oval in the NNS this February finishing 21st in the Camping World 300.

RAB Racing at Daytona: Competitors driving RAB Racing-owned cars have been racing at Daytona International Speedway since 2005 and have made six starts. The team's best start was 10th (Walt Brannen, 2005) and best finish is 4th (John Wes Townley, 2009).

This Week's No. 09 Zaxby's Ford: Townley will pilot chassis No. 025 in this weekend's Subway Jalapeno 250 at Daytona International Speedway. This chassis was built new for the 2009 season and will be making its debut this weekend at the 2.5-mile tri-oval.

After 16: After 16 of the scheduled 35 events on the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule, Townley has three top-20 and five top-25 finishes. The 19-year-old rookie has an average starting position of 25.85 an average finish of 29.15 and has completed 71.47% of all laps attempted (1862 out of 2605).

Last Time Around-New Hampshire: John Wes Townley and the No. 09 Zaxby's Racing team made their debut this weekend at the "Magic Mile" bringing home a 28th-place finish in Saturday afternoon's Camping World RV Sales 200 presented by Turtle Wax.

Points Check: John Wes Townley gained three spots in the 2009 Nationwide Series Driver point standings following last weekend's events at Loudon. The Watkinsville, GA native currently sits 29th with 882 points. Owner, Jay Robinson remains 35th in the 2009 championship owner's standings following the Camping World RV Sales 200 with 957 points; 319 points outside the top-30.

Rookie Race: Townley remains 6th in the 2009 Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings with 80 points.

A Proven Champion: David Green, the 1994 NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion has been working with the rookie driver since Dover in May as his driver coach and spotter.

We're Guessing He Signs His Name Fast Too: John Wes will sign autographs with fellow NASCAR Nationwide Series drivers in the Sprint FANZONE on Friday, July 3rd from 5:30-6:30 p.m. ET.

John Wes Townley:

You have had some success at Daytona in the past, including a career best finish of 4th. Does that give you confidence going into the event knowing you have to qualify in the field on time?

"Yes, it gives me a lot of confidence going back to a track that we have run well at especially since we have fallen on tough times lately. We had a solid run last weekend at New Hampshire and I hope to carry the momentum into this weekend at Daytona. This should be a good chance for us to get back on track and have a shot at a good start/finish for Zaxby's."

-credit: rabr