Sharpie Professional 250 - Tony Raines Notes

BACE Returns to Bristol with Raines

MOORESVILLE, NC (March 24, 2004) – Damon Lusk will take a hiatus from the Outdoor Channel Chevrolet at Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend. Tony Raines returns to the helm of the BACE Busch Series entry at the same race where he posted a career best finish (2nd), just one year ago. Lusk will return to the seat next weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.

“This is an opportunity to maximize the performance assets available to us at BACE,” said team owner Bill Baumgardner. “First and foremost, our goal is to make sure that we continue to advance our Busch Series program, and Tony’s experience at a track like Bristol is something you just can’t set aside.

“We’re committed to the investment that we’ve made in Damon as an aggressive young racer and future star that we’re pleased to have in our family,” Baumgardner added. “However, having Tony behind the wheel this weekend will allow us to address some baseline issues that will benefit Damon and facilitate his growth at BACE.”

“I’m a racer,” Lusk said, “and, by nature, I’m an extremely competitive person. As a driver, I’m not thrilled at the prospect of not being behind the wheel in Bristol. But as a member of this team, I stand by our decision to take advantage of every asset available to making our team as competitive as it can possibly be.”

With 142 Busch Series starts (10 at Bristol) under his belt at BACE, Raines brings a load of home-grown experience to the table in his return to “Thunder Valley.” Raines qualified third in both the Spring and Fall events in the BACE Busch Series entry in 2003, logging a pair of performances that put him in contention for the win on both occasions.

“I’m excited to return to the Outdoor Channel team at Bristol,” Raines said. “It’s my opportunity to take care of some unfinished business. Our car was strong at both Bristol races last year but we weren’t able to close the deal. Our main goal for this weekend is to put BACE back in Victory Lane on Saturday.”