Food City 250 - Jason Keller Notes

ALBERTSONS/Jason Keller
BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY
NASCAR Busch Series
Notes and Quotes

Jason Keller Notes:
· Jason Keller and the Albertsons team head to Bristol with high hopes this weekend. The team finished third at Bristol earlier this season and won the pole last fall. Keller has posted one win, two poles and 10 top-10 finishes at the short track.
· Keller maintains his third-place standing in the NASCAR Busch Series championship race after a 23rd-place finish at Michigan.

Jason Keller Quotes:
Night Racing at Bristol… Bristol Motor Speedway is a track that drivers love, but they also know that anything can happen at any given time. Keller and the Albertsons team have seen a tremendous amount of success at the short track, but have also had their fair share of trouble.

“Bristol is white-knuckle racing at its best,” said Keller. “It doesn’t matter if you’re running first or last, you are going to be in traffic. At most of the other tracks if you’re running in the top five you can usually catch your breath, but at Bristol you don’t have that luxury. You have to rely on your spotter to not only help maneuver you through traffic, but help you avoid becoming part of an accident. If someone spins on the other side of the track, it takes about seven seconds before you come upon that wreck and try to avoid it. It’s a mentally challenging day on me, my team and my spotter.

“There is never a time that you can get comfortable and relax, that’s what makes it so exciting for the drivers and fans. You know the importance of a race like Daytona, but you can feel and hear the excitement of a race at Bristol. The fans are right on top of you all weekend creating an amazing atmosphere for everyone.”

Countdown to the championship… With only 11 races left on the NASCAR Busch Series schedule, the Albertsons racing team knows that to contend for the championship they will need to survive the upcoming tracks. The team knows that the racing at Bristol and Richmond can be extremely unpredictable with a huge impact on the championship. Keller and the Albertsons team lost several points to the leaders at Michigan, but know that the championship is far from over.

“We took a hit this past weekend at Michigan, but I don’t think we made any mistakes,” said Keller. “We came into the pits a little early at a track that typically does not see many cautions, it was simply bad timing that the caution fell right after our green-flag stop.

“Every driver in contention has to deal with these tough tracks coming up on the schedule. It’s a bit nerve racking. Three out of the top five drivers finished 19th or worse at Michigan, so anything can happen at Bristol, Richmond or even Darlington and Dover. We need to keep our nose clean and continue to run smart and be in position to capitalize if any of the contenders have a bad day.”

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