Toronto, Ontario (September 05, 2010) – Round 12 of the 2010 Firestone Indy Lights Series, the ‘Kentucky 100’ held at the Kentucky Speedway on Saturday 4th September, saw Canada’s James Hinchcliffe come home second at the checkered flag behind pole-sitter and first-time race winner, Pippa Mann.

Saturday’s second place finish earned Hinchcliffe his seventh podium of the season with the Team Moore Racing entrant officially locking up second in the points standings while still having a mathematical shot at the title against France’s J.K. Vernay heading into the final round of 2010 at the Homestead Miami Speedway.

James arrived in Kentucky riding the momentum from his first oval victory the week before at the Chicagoland Speedway. There he had piloted the #2 Team Moore Racing Firestone-Dallara to the third closest margin of victory in Indy Lights Series history, ironically over Pippa Mann who would later reverse the finishing order at the Kentucky Speedway.

‘Hinch’ qualified sixth in a characteristically tight session, the 23-year-old and his team focusing from there on ensuring he had a car capable of running in traffic in preparation for the 67-lap charge around the 1.5-mile oval.

Once again the Toronto stand-out wasted little time in racing his way to the front as Saturday’s ‘Kentucky 100’ kicked off. While track conditions were far from ideal, in no small part due to the rubber laid down on various lines from the previous night’s event, James played with the hand he was dealt and eventually graduated up to second on track.

With pole-sitter Mann enjoying a strong lead at the head of the pack, and James’ car, running with more downforce, suddenly running in cleaner air, the front order remained unchallenged through to the checkered. Mann claimed the win ahead of Hinchcliffe with points leader J.K. Vernay completing the podium.

“It was a funny race in many ways,” stated Hinchcliffe afterwards. “We’ve had two races in back-to-back weeks on short ovals, one produced one of the closest finishes ever and then today’s race saw Pippa enjoy probably one of the best leads on this kind of circuit. I was doing all I could in the car to make a difference but we didn’t get the safety period we needed to be able to hook up on the lead. There’s no shame in having a second place car though. Overall it was another solid job from the team to make gains on our qualifying spot and finish on the podium.

“All J.K. has to do is start the next race to win the title but I can at least take the next month to know that I can finish no worse than second in the championship. No matter how the race in Miami plays out I know we’ve had a great season. Team Moore Racing have done a great job and we can be proud of our accomplishments together. That said, I’m going to Homestead with one goal only – to win!”

- Team Moore Racing Press Release

South Boston Speedway

Justin Johnson of Durham, N.C., who clinched his second straight South Boston Speedway NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model Stock Car Division crown a week earlier, got to take home the championship trophy following his second-place finish in the 150-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model Stock Car Division race.

Justin Snow of Danville, Va. won the track’s Limited Sportsman Division title with a second-place finish to Taylor Doggett of Ruther Glen, Va. in the night’s 50-lap Limited Sportsman Division race.

Jarrett Milam of Ringgold, Va. won his first career championship in the Budweiser Pure Stock Division with a third-place finish in both of the night’s 30-lap races.

His chief challenger for the championship, Joe Allred III of Scottsburg, Va. won both races and tied Milam in the points column. Milam won the championship by virtue of having six wins for the season as compared to four wins for Allred.

Darryl Lacks of Goode, Va. won the championship in the Southern Vintage Modified Division with a second-place finish in the night’s 25-lap race.

The Racing Action

Three-time and defending NASCAR Whelen All-American Series National Champion Philip Morris of Ruckersville, Va. gained his first win of the season at South Boston Speedway in the night’s 150-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model Stock Car Division race.

Morris led 147 laps of the 150-lap race only to lose the race when apparent winner C.E. Falk III of Virginia Beach, Va. made a hard dive to the inside as the pair raced down the frontstretch with two laps to go.

The contact sent Morris’ car up the track and Falk shot through to take the lead. Falk edged away from Morris and the third-place car driven by Johnson, edging Morris by .737 second to take the win.

Falk was later disqualified by NASCAR officials after his car failed to pass a post-race inspection. The win was subsequently awarded to Morris.

The disqualification of Falk lifted Johnson to second place with Nick Smith of Hampton, Va., Lee Pulliam of Semora, N.C. and Eddie Johnson of Midlothian, Va. rounding out the top-five finishers.

Doggett picked up his second win of the season in the 50-lap Limited Sportsman Division race, taking the lead after race leaders Tommy Peregoy of Red Oak, Va. and Danny Willis Jr. of Cluster Springs, Va. tangled and spun on lap 36.

He held off his challengers the rest of the way and edged Snow by .858 second. Willis recovered to finish third with Peregoy and Austin Thaxton of South Boston, Va. rounding out the top five finishers.

Allred gave himself a shot at the championship by winning both of the night’s 30-lap Pure Stock Division races.

He edged Trey Crews of Halifax, Va. by .583 second in the first race and beat Crews to the finish line by .231 second in the nightcap.

Milam finished third in both races with Courtney Crosby of Scottsburg, Va. and Quain Moore of Callands, Va. rounding out the top five finishers in the first race. Moore finished fourth in the nightcap and Crosby finished fifth.

Randy Smith of Bassett, Va. took the lead on the first lap and held on the rest of the way to win the 25-lap race for the Southern Vintage Modified Division.

Darryl Lacks finished second to clinch his second career title in the division at South Boston Speedway with Ryan Francisco of Nathalie, Va., Jerry Scott of Mebane, N.C. and Joseph Overstreet rounding out the top five finishers.

Next Race At South Boston Speedway

NASCAR racing action will return to South Boston Speedway with the Danville Toyota Late Model 300 on Friday and Saturday, October 15-16.

The event, the longest and richest NASCAR Late Model Stock Car Division race of the season at South Boston Speedway, will pay $10,000 to the winner.

Action on Friday, Oct. 15 will include practice and qualifying time trials for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model Stock Car Division. Qualifying heat races and the 300-lap NASCAR Late Model Stock Car Division race that headlines the Danville Toyota Late Model 300 weekend will take place on Saturday, October 16.

Advance adult general admission tickets are priced at $15 each and may be purchased at the speedway office until 5 p.m. Thursday, October 14. Adult general admission tickets on race day will be $20 each.

Youths ages 7-12 will be admitted for $10 when accompanied by a paying adult. Kids ages six and under will be admitted free.

For additional information about the Danville Toyota Late Model 300 racing program or any other events at South Boston Speedway, please visit the speedway’s website at www.southbostonspeedway.com or telephone the speedway at 434-572-4947 or 1-877-440-1540.

- South Boston Speedway Press Release

Pro All Star Series (PASS) Late Model Driver Chase Elliott Wins The Labor Day 200 At Historic North Wilkesboro Speedway

“The car was awesome,” said the 14-year-old Elliott, who led twice for 69 laps in the 200-lap green flag event. “This is a big win for us. I’ve always heard about this race track for a long, long time. For them to open it back up and come over here and run, I had a blast today.”

Elliott’s father, Bill, who won three poles at the track but never a race, worked with his son during a test at the speedway about two weeks before the facility’s first race weekend since 1996.

“To come back and win the first race here after all these years that it’s been closed, I thought it was pretty cool,” said Elliott, who received the traditional Dawsonville, Ga., victory celebration – the blowing of the siren atop the Dawsonville Pool Room.

It was clear from the beginning that Elliott’s Ford and Jody Lavender’s Chevrolet were the cars to beat. Elliott posted the second quickest time in qualifying with a 118.590-mph, 18.890-second lap, while Lavender was ninth fastest at 117.598 mph, 19.133 seconds. However, PASS required the top 10 qualifiers to draw for their starting positions. Lavender drew the pole, while Elliott picked ninth.

Lavender immediately grabbed the lead when the green flag waved and continued to stretch his advantage. Elliott, meanwhile, had to work his way through the field. Elliott broke into the top 5 when he dove under Justin Allison in the third and fourth turns on lap eight.

On lap 25, Elliott again chose the low groove in turns three and four to secure the fourth position, scooting under Trey Mitchell. Two yellow flags allowed Elliott to remain within striking distance. When the race returned to green-flag conditions on lap 38, Elliott took third from Ryan Blaney. Initially, Lavender, Devin Jones and Elliott were running nose to tail, but eventually Lavender began pulling away as Elliott pestered Jones. Elliott finally maneuvered around Jones on lap 84, once again choosing the inside lane in the third and fourth turns. By this time, Lavender had constructed a 3-second advantage.

At the halfway mark, Lavender still possessed a healthy advantage over Elliott, but by lap 104 the Georgia native had cut the deficit to 2-seconds. Five laps later it was less than a second and by lap 112, Elliott had caught Lavender and was riding his bumper.

When a competition yellow appeared on lap 128, nearly everyone pitted, including Elliott and Lavender. Elliott received four fresh tires and beat Lavender off pit road, but he still had to restart third behind Preston Peltier and Allison, respectively. Lavender was fourth.

When the race restarted, Elliott shot to the front to the delight of the more than 7,000 fans who roared their approval. With 30 laps remaining, Elliott owned a 5-second advantage over Lavender. However, with 186 laps completed the race’s complexion changed when Brandon Ward slammed the second-turn wall.

In the shootout style restart, Elliott was on the pole with Lavender second. Lavender jumped ahead of Elliott when the green flag waved on lap 187 and began pulling away.

“I just messed that up,” Elliott responded after the race when asked what happened on the restart. “I had a hard time seeing the flag and I didn’t see it go green. I just got off there. It was my fault.

“I thought we still had a shot to get him there even if it had gone green the rest of the way, but thank goodness we got that second caution and I had a shot to get him back.”

The race’s fourth yellow flag waved two laps after the race restarted from the third caution due to a one-car spin off turn four. This time Lavender lined up first and Elliott second. For two laps, they battled door handle-to-door handle before Elliott finally gained a clear advantage on lap 192.

“The car was really good, especially once the tires cooled off a little bit. It was really good for quite a few laps and then they’d start to wear out,” Elliott said in addressing why he challenged Lavender on the outside.

Once Elliott cleared Lavender he was never challenged the rest of the way. He finished 2.983 seconds ahead of Lavender and averaged 69.485 mph. Pole winner Andy Loden, who broke Terry Labonte’s 18.905-second track record set in 1994 with an 18.815-second lap, placed third. Joey Coulter finished fourth and Jones took fifth.

“The car was really good all day,” Elliott said. “I feel like we can still be quite a bit better. I think everybody needed a race to get a hang for what they need when we come back.”

Elliott plans to compete in the Oct. 3 USAR Pro Cup Series event at HNWS.

In the track’s other races Saturday, Mack Little III won the 50-lap Limited Sportsman race, Michael Tucker took the 25-lap Stadium Stock event, and Gus Dean emerged victorious in the 35-lap Allison Legacy Series feature.

For more information on Historic North Wilkesboro Speedway and the schedule for the Oct. 3 USAR Pro Cup Series race weekend, go to www.historicnws.com.

- Historic North Wilkesboro Speedway Press Release

Bryan Herta Autosport

Herrington was making his first Indy Lights start since Homestead of last year, returning to BHA to take over driving duties of the #29 William Rast machine from Sebastian Saavedra. Wilson, making his fourth career oval start, suffered the hardest impact of the two team cars. He was credited with a 14th-place result and Herrington a 12th-place finish. The race was won by Pippa Mann who brought home her first Indy Lights victory.

Bryan Herta Autosport will regroup and head to the series season finale on October 2 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla.

Stefan Wilson, #28 Dallara / Firestone: “Coming out of [Turn] Four, there was a car that had already spun up ahead. I tried to avoid it but I had the #29 car on the high side of me and I just had nowhere to go. I tried to go low and just clipped the front end [of Major’s car] and that was the end of my race. We knew the race was going to be difficult from my end; it is still only my fourth oval so we are trying to keep learning and run every lap on the ovals to get as much experience for next year as possible. Unfortunately, today was a big blow.”

Daniel Herrington, #29 William Rast Dallara / Firestone: “We got off to a conservative start and wanted to get a few laps under our belt before I started moving forward. Unfortunately, when you start at the back, everything that happens is in front of you. Philip Major spun in front of us and we didn’t have anywhere to go around him. Both teammates were taken out because of it. It was a really tough day. I was happy that Bryan [Herta] gave me a shot to get back in the car and I’m sorry to let him down like that. The car felt really comfortable from the start and I had already made up a couple of places. I was confident we were going to have a great result.”

Bryan Herta, Team Co-Owner: “It was a tough day for Bryan Herta Autosport but we are thankful that all of the drivers involved in the incident are okay. We’ll regroup and move on from here.”

About Bryan Herta Autosport:

Founded by veteran driver Bryan Herta and noted race engineer and team manager Steve Newey, Bryan Herta Autosport (BHA) debuted in Firestone Indy Lights competition in 2009 claiming one win, five top-five and 15 top-10 results. Herta, an accomplished racer, has won in every series he has contested including the IZOD IndyCar Series, American Le Mans Series and CART in addition to garnering Skip Barber Formula Ford, Barber Saab and Firestone Indy Lights championship titles. Amongst his career highlights are a third-place finish in the 2005 Indianapolis 500 and victory in the LMP2 class at the Twelve Hours of Sebring in 2007.

Newey’s racing career spans over 20 years and includes design and race engineering positions in Formula One as well as team manager/technical director roles in IndyCar, American Le Mans and Grand-Am competition. Among his highlights are the 1992 Champ Car World Series title as the race engineer for Bobby Rahal, the 2006 Grand-Am Daytona Prototype Driver’s Championship with Krohn Racing’s Jorg Bergmeister and victory in the Twelve Hours of Sebring in 2007 as race engineer for Andretti Green Racing and drivers Bryan Herta, Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan. He was also instrumental in assembling the Patrick Racing Firestone test team and served as team manager for drivers Scott Pruett and Adrian Fernandez. For more information, visit www.bryanhertaautosport.com.

- Bryan Herta Autosport Press Release

Pippa Mann

The 27-year-old from Ipswich, England, who became the third female competitor to take a Kentucky Speedway open-wheel race pole award yesterday, set sail when the green flag waved and built a 3.5563 seconds lead over Team Moore Racing driver James Hinchcliffe by Lap 30.

Mann was only threatened by a Lap 3 caution brought out by a three-car incident involving Stefan Wilson, Daniel Herrington and Philip Major, but restarted strong, thundered through the remainder of the 100 racing miles and became the fourth FIL driver to earn a Kentucky Speedway victory from the pole position when her No. 11 machine soared across the finish line an FIL track-record 6.8372 seconds ahead of Hinchcliffe in the No. 2 Team Moore Racing car.

“I joked yesterday that I was going to run away and hide today, but I didn’t really think it would happen. I got my legs underneath me, started pedaling and no one could catch me. Last week at Chicagoland, it was fast racing, but this is a handling track. You have to set the car up to run the fastest line and we focused on that. If we got into deep traffic today, I don’t think we could’ve run as well, but we took a little bit of a gamble on the set up and it paid off. Hinch beat me last week and this week the tables were turned,” Mann said.

She seizes her first career Firestone Indy Lights victory and her second consecutive top-two finish this season.

Hinchcliffe took his ninth top-five and 11th top-10 finish this season through 12 starts. He has placed in a race top-10 for the 10th consecutive time this season.

“It was a good start to the race for us and we had a car that set up well to run in traffic for the tough track conditions. We had a little bit more downforce, but once Pippa broke away it was her in clean air versus me in clean air and I couldn’t catch her. Sometimes you have the second-best car and it’s a second-place day. That’s what we got,” Hinchcliffe said.

Series championship leader J.K. Vernay took third in the No. 7 Sam Schmidt Motorsports machine, Adrian Campos, Jr., rolled across the finish line fourth in the No. 22 Team Moore Racing car and Gustavo Yacaman completed the top five in Sam Schmidt Motorsports No. 10. Vernay need only successfully start the Oct. 2 Firestone Indy Lights season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway to clinch the 2010 title.

IndyCar Series competitor Sarah Fisher generated the previous best Kentucky Speedway finish by a female racer when she placed third on Aug. 27, 2000. Fisher still holds the IndyCar Series Kentucky qualifying record she set with a 221.390-mph (24.0661 seconds) lap on August 10, 2002. Series mate Danica Patrick earned a Kentucky IndyCar Series pole award with a fast 217.516-mph (24.4947 seconds) practice lap after traditional qualifying was rained out August 13, 2005.

The IZOD IndyCar Series “Kentucky Indy 300” is up next at the track at 8:45 p.m.

- Kentucky Speedway Press Release

David Ragan - Photo Credit: Sam Greenwood / Getty Images for NASCAR

Ragan led 129-of-150 laps to capture a dominating victory in the super late model race on Atlanta Motor Speedway’s quarter-mile “Thunder Ring,” located on the track’s frontstretch. Ragan, a native of Unadilla, exuberantly climbed from the car to a roaring hometown crowd to celebrate.

“I knew we would have to pass a few cars to get up there and I once I got to the lead, I was just trying to maintain my times and take care of my brakes,” said Ragan. “It’s an honor to win anything at a track like this. It’s great to come back home to Atlanta Motor Speedway and start the weekend off good.”

Ragan, who will compete at his home track in the Sunday Emory Healthcare 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series night race at 7:30 p.m., last won in Atlanta in his final season racing Legends cars in 2000. The Roush Fenway NASCAR driver with nine-career Legends car wins in Atlanta won the pole for the Your Georgia Best Chevy Dealers 150, but started fifth after a field inversion.

After taking the lead on lap 14, Ragan led the race through until the mid-portion of the event, when Brad Lemley suddenly closed on Ragan to snatch the advantage on lap 88. Lemley, 16th in points for the sanctioning Southern Superstars Short Track Series, immediately grew his advantage to a few car lengths, but a debris caution on lap 93 would erase Lemley’s lead.

Diving to the inside on a lap 94 restart, Ragan reclaimed the lead as he, Lemley and Jeff Letson battled three-wide down the frontstretch. Contact between Letson and Lemley in Turn One would send Lemley to the fourth position, while Ragan shot ahead of Letson in second.

But just as Ragan built his lead to six car lengths, a spin would bring out another caution and regroup the field on lap 109.

Ragan again proved superior on the restart, jumping to a multi-car length lead while Letson and Lemley battled in second and third, respectively. Jockeying for position for 10 laps, Lemley finally retook third place, but the contest allowed Ragan to build an impressive 10-length lead. However, consecutive cautions on lap 127 and 129 would yet again return the leader within the reach of the field.

Again proving superior on the restart, Ragan quickly pulled away from second-place Lemley and reestablished his 10-length advantage by lap 138, but a late-race collision clustered the field for a final green, white and checkered-flag finish. Shooting ahead on the restart again, Ragan sped to the victory and celebrated in front of a hometown crowd with a frontstretch burnout.

“It’s like coming back 10 or 12 years ago racing Legends stuff again,” said Brett, who drove to eight Legends wins in three Thursday Thunder seasons in Atlanta. “All in all, it was a good night and it makes it that much better to do it in Atlanta.”

Night racing continues at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday, as the stars of NASCAR’s Nationwide Series compete under the lights in the Great Clips 300 at 7:00 p.m. Saturday’s action also includes Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series qualifying, plus free fan events in the Display Lot and on the Coca-Cola Fan Stage. For more information or to purchase tickets, call the Atlanta Motor Speedway Ticket Office at (770) 946-4211, (877) 9-AMS-TIX or visit www.atlantamotorspeedway.com.

Your Georgia Best Chevy Dealers 150 Results:

1. David Ragan (Unadilla)

2. Jeff Letson (Madison, Ala.)

3. Brad Lemley (Grant, Ala.)

4. Mark Day (Clarksville, Tenn.)

5. Lee Hansard (Tyrone)

6. Jonathan Storms (Corbin, Ky.)

7. Chase Spradlin (Oak Grove, Ala.)

8. John Henegan, Jr. (Scottsboro, Ala.)

9. Chase Oliver (Crossville, Ala.)

10. Matt Leicht (Arden, N.C.)

11. Chris Dilbeck (Hampton)

12. Bobby Castleberry (Rossville)

- Roush Fenway Racing / Atlanta Motor Speedway Press Release

Montreal, Quebec (August 29, 2010) Jason Bowles did everything he could Sunday at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve to win the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Napa Auto 100. In a spectacular finish, Bowles dove beneath then-leader Andrew Ranger on the last lap in the hairpin when Ranger left the door cracked open and seized the lead heading onto the final straightaway. But as Bowles had a two-car length lead going into the chicane for the final turn, Ranger piled into the back of his Racewithrusty.com Toyota, sending Bowles into the tire barrier. Ranger then sped off for a questionable victory.

It was a stunning end to an otherwise successful weekend for Gaunt Brothers Racing. The team, including Jason, started the event with a total of 15 laps around the 2.71 mile road course. It was a small amount of time to find an enormous amount of speed, especially considering Ranger and Mosport winner JR Fitzpatrick combined had raced in 13 events on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Bowles was having to figure it out on the fly.

“The first time I saw this track was on Saturday morning in the pace car. It’s like anything, we just had to work harder and be quick studies. There were a few tricky parts that I needed to figure out, but we had most of it covered by the end of practice,” said Bowles prior to qualifying on Saturday.

Bowles went from being close to six seconds off the pace in early practice to qualifying third and coming within a few hundredths of a second of posting the race’s fastest lap.

There was a strong fan showing for Sunday’s events with the partisan French-Canadian crowd cheering for the local boy Ranger. When the green flag fell after an aborted start, Fitzpatrick quickly bowed out of the top-three fray with an axle problem. This left Ranger and Bowles primarily in line to fight for the win. The race was a short 23 laps or one hour long, whichever came first, so there would be no pit stops. Just a sprint to the end.

Ranger captured the lead and held the top spot for all but a lap or two at the start when Fitzpatrick passed him prior to his problems. Bowles played his strategy, which in part involved learning more about the track and where he could make up speed on Ranger.

Cautions were sprinkled throughout the race, culminating with the fifth of the day on lap 19 that would bring out a green-white-checker finish. The race had already eclipsed it’s one-hour time window, but NASCAR was granted an extension and competitors were told there would be only one restart to decide the race. Bowles lined up outside Ranger for the restart. At the green Ranger pulled two car lengths on the No.11 Racewithrusty.com Toyota and held the advantage through the first lap.

As the two took the white flag, Bowles began to creep closer to Ranger and looked to make his move as they entered the hairpin.

“I had a run coming up through the esses there leading to the hairpin and had decided I was going to brake deeper there even on the lap before,” said Bowles. “When I got in there, he left the door open a little bit and I stuck my nose in. He came over, we touched and it got him loose, just enough to let me by.

As Bowles left the hairpin, Ranger corrected and chased the No.11 machine down the back straight, albeit from a few car lengths behind

“I knew going down the back straight he was going to try and out-brake me into the chicane, I just didn’t know he was going to use me as his brakes. When I went in, I went in deeper there than I had all day and I left him the opportunity to out-brake me, but he was back I think a little too far to try that. So I guess he figured he had only one option and that was to pile-drive me and stick me in the fence. Everyone is going to talk about this for a long time. The reality is, if it were reversed he would have done the same thing to me in the hairpin, that was racing – he even said he was being conservative in that corner after the race. The difference is I wouldn’t have done what he did in the last corner to him.

“At least just try and out-brake me, right? I didn’t even really have a defensive line going in, he could have tried to out-brake me, blown the corner and gotten into me that way. Honestly, I would have been cool with that, I fully expected him to come back at me, that’s just competitiveness. But he just showed what kind of racer he is though in outright taking me out. It’s ok though, I’ll be back next year and we’ll go round two.”

When Bowles and the No.11 Camry crossed the line after getting out of the tire barrier, the scoreboard showed a 20th-place finish. After finishing third at Mosport, and second at Toronto, Bowles was obviously hoping for that last step up on the podium in Montreal.

“Hey, we had a lot of fun coming to Canada and racing,” Bowles said. “This team came a long way in a short amount of time, especially on the road racing side where they didn’t have a lot of experience. It’s too bad we don’t have a couple more road races left to try and even the score, but John (Gaunt) can take over again and hopefully race it to the top in the last three races.”

GBR takes to the track again in two weeks at the Barrie Speedway in Ontario. Barrie is John Gaunt’s hometown and a track he owns multiple championships racing on over the years.

- Gaunt Brothers Racing Press Release

Jason Bowles