WS: Colorado: Greg Pursley preview

Pursley Seeking Rocky Mountain High
Gene Price Motorsports Driver Greg Pursley Boosts Point Standings on Strength of Three Consecutive Top Fives

PARKER, ARIZ (August 11, 2009) Greg Pursley, driver of the Gene Price Motorsports Chevrolet in the NASCAR Camping World Series-West, will visit Colorado National Speedway located north of Denver for the first time in NASCAR Camping World Series action this Saturday, August 15 for the Toyota/NAPA "150". Though Pursley will make his first NCWS start at the fast 3/8-mile paved, he does have several starts at CNS in the now defunct Southwest Tour and will rely on that experience to continue his climb in the point standings.

On the strength of three consecutive top five finishes, Pursley has moved into third place in the standings to within 187 points of the championship lead with only three races left on the 2009 schedule. And while he is solely focused on winning races, he knows the championship is not out of the realm of possibilities. "Realistically, Jason (Bowles) and Eric (Holmes) will have to have some real rotten luck for us to have a chance," Pursley said. "Those guys have run really well all year and I don't expect that to change but have been points over the last few races."

In five short track races this season, Pursley has finished no worse than 8th including one win on the only other 3/8-mile oval (Thunderhill) the series has competed on this season. But Thunderhill and Colorado National are two entirely different race tracks. "I have always liked racing at Colorado National," Pursley said. "The track is really fun to drive is like no other track we race. It is a definite two-groove track which means you can pass in any corner. I have heard the track has gotten a little rough over the last several years and that will certainly make it interesting."

In a season of firsts for the Gene Price Motorsports team, Pursley plans on running a different car for this event. "We have had really good success with our primary short track car this season but we are going to use a car that has been our back up," Pursley said. "We feel the car just cuts better and having good bite off the corner at CNS is critical. We have momentum at present and we intend on keeping it rolling at CNS."

The NCWS has staged six previous events at CNS with five different winners. "I think Colorado National is one of the more fun tracks to race at," Pursley stated. "The fans are just awesome and they fill the place which makes it even more fun because you know they want to see a great show. I don't expect many yellows so qualifying up front will be critical as I know the pace will be all out from the drop of the green flag." In ten races so far this season, Pursley has qualified outside the top ten on only two occasions (All American, Iowa).

-credit: gpm \