Charlotte: Kasey Kahne debut preview

Kasey Kahne No. 13 Woodhouse Performance Dodge Viper

KASEY KAHNE QUOTES:

"I'm looking forward to racing Thursday night in the SPEED World Challenge series race. It's a cool chance to get into something other than my NEXTEL Cup car and have some fun. It will also be a good way to get some seat time and better my road racing skills in preparation for our upcoming road races. It will be an interesting experience to race around Lowe's Motor Speedway in a sports car instead of a stock car. I've never driven one there before, so a Viper on the high banks will be a new thing for me.

"Thanks to Ray Evernham for the opportunity to get in a Woodhouse Performance Viper, Ray has purchased Vipers from Bob Woodhouse in the past so it's pretty cool to get to do a deal like this with him. I would love nothing more than to go out there and win this race for Ray, Bob and all the fans in the grandstands."

FAST FACTS:

* This will be Kasey Kahne's first career SPEED World Challenge Series start.

* Although he has never competed in a SPEED World Challenge Series race at Lowe's Motor Speedway, Kahne has plenty of experience at the 1.5-mile track. He has logged over 2,000 laps at the Lowe's Motor Speedway over the course of his NASCAR NEXTEL Cup career, leading in 550 of those laps.

* Kahne has two wins in six NASCAR NEXTEL Cup series starts at the Lowe's Motor Speedway. He won both the Coca Cola 600 and the Bank of America 500 there in 2006 and has finished in the top-10 there twice.

* In order to garner exposure for team sponsors, Woodhouse Performance will use t-shirt cannons to shoot sponsor logo-branded t-shirts into the crowd. In addition, edited in-car video race highlights from the No. 13 Woodhouse Performance Dodge Viper will be posted to Woodhouse Performance sponsor websites after the race.

2007 SPEED World Challenge GT Series Results No. 13 Kicker/Woodhouse Performance Dodge Viper

Track Date Location Start Finish Driver Sebring 3/17/07 Sebring, Fl. 14th 9th Brian Smith Long Beach 4/ 15/07 Long Beach, Calif. 11th 25th Brian Smith Miller MS Park 5/19/0 Tooele, UT 15th 8th Bob Woodhouse Lowe's Spdway 5/24/07 Charlotte, NC Kasey Kahne Watkins Glen 6/10/07 Watkins Glen, NY

Toronto 7/8/07 Toronto, ON Mid-Ohio 7/22/07 Lexington, OH Mosport 8/26/07 Bowmanville, ON Road Atlanta 10/5/07 Braselton, GA Laguna Seca 10/21/07 Monterey, Calif.

No. 13 Kicker/Woodhouse Performance Dodge Viper Team Roster

Name Position Hometown Birth date Spouse Kasey Kahne Driver Enumclaw, WA 4/10/80 None Rick Maxwell Crew Chief, No.13 Craig, NE 11/25/62 None Erik Messley Engineer, Huntington Bch, CA 12/19/68 None Larry Smith Mechanic Norwalk, OH 6/22/43 Beverly Eddie Martin Crew Chief, No. 99 Chandler, AZ 7/14/59 Maryann Ashley Wick Mechanic Kearney, NE 1/1/83 None Nancy Shanno Logistics/Parts ManagerCouncil Bluffs, IA Not Given None Bob Woodhouse Team Owner Great Falls, MT 2/15/46 Louise Delayne Hunt Marketing Director Charlotte, NC 11/13/84 None

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Jeff Courtney No. 99 Kenda Tires/ProMPI Dodge Viper Fast Facts Lowe's Motor Speedway -- SPEED World Challenge GT Series

Driver: Jeff Courtney Crew Chief: Eddie Martin Engineer: Brian Vinson Team Owner: Bob Woodhouse Chassis: c102 Sponsors: Kenda Tires, ProMPI, MPI Coin, Badger Tire and Wheel, Karavan Trailers

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JEFF COURTNEY QUOTES:

"I think the most important part about this event from a driving standpoint is being able to carry as much speed out of the two chicanes as possible. On a normal road course, there are many turns and you are doing a lot of downshifting and braking to carry your momentum from point A to point B. But at this event there's only going to be two turns like you would see on a road course. So, the emphasis will be placed on getting in and out of the chicanes and back to full power as quickly as possible.

"The track configuration has changed since we tested there, so during the practice sessions we will focus on learning the track configuration again and working on the all-important corner exit. We're hoping to continue the momentum we've gained in the first three races and post another solid finish in the Kenda Tires/ProMPI Dodge Viper. I am looking forward to the opportunity to work with Kasey Kahne as a teammate at this event. With all of his experience at this race track, I'm sure there is something I can learn from him there."

FAST FACTS:

* This will be Courtney's first time competing at the Lowe's Motor Speedway. He and the Woodhouse Performance team participated in the series sanctioned test there March 19.

* In Round Three of 2007 SPEED World Challenge GT competition at Miller Motorsports Park last weekend, Courtney claimed his first career top-10 in GT competition. He picked up six positions on the way to a 10th place finish. Teammate Bob Woodhouse finished eighth in his one-race return from retirement.

* Courtney, appropriately nicknamed 'Mr. Consistency", has posted two top-15 and one top-10 finish in the first three rounds of 2007 SPEED World Challenge Series Competition. He is currently 11th in the season standings, just four points out of the top-10.

* Courtney also received the Sunoco Hard Charger Award at Long Beach in Round two of competition April 15, picking up 16 positions on the way to a 13th place finish.

* Courtney and the Woodhouse Performance team will again host ProMPI sponsor guests for the one-day event at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

* In order to garner exposure for team sponsors, Woodhouse Performance will use t-shirt cannons to shoot sponsor logo-branded t-shirts into the crowd. In addition, edited in-car video race highlights from the No. 99 Kenda Tires/ProMPI Dodge Viper will be posted to Woodhouse Performance sponsor websites after the race.

-credit: wp