Watkins Glen: R3 Motorsports preview

Alex "Kid" Kennedy to take on twists and turns of Watkins Glen with R3 Motorsports

CHINA GROVE, N.C. (August 2, 2010) -- Alex "Kid" Kennedy will make his third-career NASCAR Nationwide Series start with R3 Motorsports at Watkins Glen International this weekend in the No. 23 MediaMaster Chevrolet.

Kennedy, the 18-year old driver from Aztec, N.M., is looking to capitalize on his prior experience at The Glen in the K&N East Series, and what he learned at Road America in the No. 23 Chevrolet in June. In 2009, the 10th-place finisher in the K&N East Series point standings started and finished eighth at the 11-turn road course. For his NNS debut at Road America in June, Kennedy started 15th and was running ninth with 10 laps to go when he was spun from behind.

With all that in his rear-view mirror and a clear windshield in front of him, he's ready to put the complete deal together with a great finish at The Glen. He'll have his own cheering section with a dozen people from the charitable organization of Dream Factory, Inc. in attendance rooting on their National Ambassador.

Fast Facts: In one previous start at The Glen in the K&N East Series, the 18-year old from Aztec, N.M. started and finished eighth. His other two starts with R3 Motorsports were Road America, qualified 15th and finished 28th, and Gateway, where he had a flat tire nine laps into the race, was forced to pit under green and manage a 24th-place finish.

Car Facts: Steve Plattenberger and team will roll out Chevrolet chassis No. 39 for this weekend's race. This car was used by Kennedy at Road America where he qualified 15th and finished 28th, after getting taken out while running ninth with 10 laps remaining. Last year, J.F. Dumoulin drove the car to a seventh-place finish at Montreal. Since then, the car has gone through only slight modifications to enhance its performance and repairs were made to fix the damage from the Road America wreck.

Welcome home, you damn yankees: Josh Coyle, the team's "Fastest Eighth Man" and road mechanic of R3 Motorsports hails from Mecklenberg, N.Y., which is 20 miles from Watkins Glen. Tim Packman, Director of Communications and Marketing, is from Akron, N.Y., which is two hours NW of Watkins Glen.

Alex Kennedy:

Thoughts on racing at Watkins Glen again: "I'm really looking forward to going back there again. My favorite part of the track, believe it or not, is the part from Turn 2, up through the Esses to the top of the hill. The speed at Watkins Glen is going to be much faster in the Nationwide cars then when I was in the K&N Series last year. But, I also like how it feels like you're racing on three tires as you whip around those turns. I love the track."

This is your third NNS start: "Yes, and I couldn't ask to be with a better team than R3 Motorsports. Their equipment is great, Steve (Plattenberger, crew chief) and the crew are great to work with and know what they're doing. We really clicked right from the start in regards to communicating and getting the set-up right. As a driver, you can't ask for anything more."

Goals for the weekend: "After what we did at Road America, I honestly think we can duplicate those results in regards to qualifying and where we were racing there at the end. This time, I'm looking to do what we did last time and get the good finish the team deserves. We're looking to redeem ourselves because 28th at Road America didn't justify what the car was capable of doing. What makes it even better is I've been to this track before, so that will help quicken the learning curve."

-source: r3 motorsports