Kroger 200 - Boston Reid Notes

BOSTON REID
NO. 57 HITACHI POWER TOOLS CHEVROLET
IRP PREVIEW

SPECIAL PAINT DESIGN: The No. 57 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet is sporting a special paint design for this weekend’s race at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Sponsored by Hitachi Power Tools and Lowe’s, the car features a distinctive green and black color scheme, similar to the “inspired” design elements featured on the Hitachi Power Tools product line.

Hitachi Power Tools, a Lowe’s vendor partner, is also an associate sponsor on the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, as well as the No. 5 Lowe’s NASCAR Busch Series entry.

DRIVER - BOSTON REID: This weekend’s event will be the seventh start of the 2005 Busch Series season for Team Lowe’s Racing driver, Boston Reid. Reid, 22, is the 2002 USAC (United States Auto Club) Sprint Car Rookie of the Year.

Signed to Hendrick Motorsports last year, Reid scored three top-10 finishes in four ARCA (Automobile Racing Club of America) starts, and made three Busch Series starts (Richmond International Raceway in Sept., Lowe’s Motor Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway in Oct.) in the No. 87 NEMCO Motorsports Chevy, in partnership with Hendrick Motorsports.

This is Reid’s first start in the No. 57 Chevrolet this season. His previous 2005 Busch Series starts came in the No. 5 Lowe’s Chevrolet, with his best finish being a 17th-place result at Nashville Superspeedway in June.

Q&A WITH DRIVER BOSTON REID

ARE YOU EXCITED TO BE RACING IN FRONT OF THE HOMETOWN FANS?: “Oh, yeah. It’s going to be awesome. I’ll be in Indy all week visiting friends and family, doing some charity stuff for the Riley Hospital for Children and racing in the USAC race on Thursday night, so it’s going to be a really busy week. It’s a dream come true to have my friends see me compete in one of the top levels of NASCAR. I’ve got about 20 guests that will be at IRP on Thursday and Saturday, so I definitely want to do well in both races.

“I’m really excited about our chances on Saturday. I’m driving the same car that won here the past two years, so that’s definitely a little bit of added pressure. I know going in what this car’s capable of, so I really need to step it up and make things happen. I wish we could have tested, but we’ve got great notes from Kyle (Busch) and Brian (Vickers) from when they raced here, and we can compare notes with the No. 5 team, so I think we’ll be OK.

“I’ve raced here at IRP a number of times, just never in a stock car, so this is going to be interesting. I’m really going to have to get a handle on the place in a hurry, since we only get a couple of hours of practice. Hopefully, we can just get a good solid starting spot and stay out of trouble in the early going and be around to challenge for the win at the end.

“I can’t tell you how cool it would be to have my first Busch Series win happen in my home state, especially when it would make it three wins in three years for Hendrick Motorsports at IRP. For everything to go down like that would be like something out of a movie. That would be so awesome. We would have one heck of a party, I can promise you that.”

CHASSIS INFORMATION- Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 273 - Brian Vickers drove this chassis to his first career Busch Series win at Indianapolis Raceway Park (IRP) in 2003, and Kyle Busch repeated that feat in 2004, driving No. 273 to an IRP win.

Busch also drove this chassis in his first career Busch Series win at Richmond International Raceway last May, where he sat on the pole and led all but 13 of the race’s 250 laps. Jimmie Johnson scored his first career Busch Series pole position with this chassis at Darlington Raceway in May.

RETURNING TO HIS ROOTS: In addition to competing in Saturday’s Busch Series race, Boston Reid also plans to drive in the United States Auto Club (USAC) Silver Crown event at Indianapolis Raceway Park on Thursday night, Aug. 4.

Reid, the 2002 USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year, will drive for the R.E. Technologies Racing Silver Crown team in the event. This is the same team Reid drove for during the 2004 USAC Silver Crown season, when he finished 12th in the points standings. The team will also field entries for Jerry Coons and Carl Edwards in Thursday’s race.

RACING FOR CHARITY: On Wednesday, Aug. 3, Boston Reid will join several NASCAR drivers, including John Andretti and Ricky Rudd, at the annual Kroger Race for Riley charity go-kart racing event at New Castle Motorsports Park (NCMP) near New Castle, Ind.

More than 300 people attended the 2004 event, which raised more than $100,000 for Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. The event has generated more than $600,000 to support young Riley patients since 1996.

Information about the event is available at www.newcastleraceway.com, or by calling (765) 987-8090.

HISTORY OF THE NO. 57: Hendrick Motorsports is scheduled to field the No. 57 Chevrolet in a total of 10 NASCAR Busch Series races in 2005.

Brian Vickers will drive the No. 57 in six events, with sponsorship from Ore-Ida Extra Crispy French-fry brand (four races), and Pizza Hut (two races). Kyle Busch will pilot the car in three races, with sponsorship from Lowe’s and two of its vendor partners, Spectrum Brands and Shop Vac.

Boston Reid is driving the No. 57 this weekend, with sponsorship from Hitachi Power Tools, a Lowe’s vendor partner.