Carquest Auto Parts 300 - Jeremy Mayfield Notes

Jeremy Mayfield/Miller High Life Fast Facts
Carquest Auto Parts 300, Lowe’s Motor Speedway

Race Information – Event: Carquest Auto Parts 300; Race: Saturday, May 28, 2005 at 6:30 p.m. EST on FX; Track: Lowe’s Motor Speedway; Qualifying: May 27, 2005 at 5:05 p.m. EST on SPEED; Track Length: 1.5-mile

Mayfield is Back – NEXTEL Cup Series veteran, Jeremy Mayfield will be back behind the wheel of the No. 64 Miller High Life Light Dodge this weekend at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. This is Mayfield’s fifth race with RWI Racing, Inc.; posting a season’s best sixth-place finish earlier this year at Bristol.

Testing 1, 2, 3 – Bainbridge and his Miller High Life Racing team arrived at the first day of testing at Lowe’s Motor Speedway with NEXTEL Cup and part-time RWI driver, Jamie McMurray in the seat of the No. 64 Dodge. Even though Cup Series veteran Jeremy Mayfield is piloting the MHL entry this weekend in Charlotte; Mayfield couldn’t make the test, so McMurray volunteered to help the team gain valuable information during the two-day test. But on their first lap out, McMurray’s car blew a left rear tire and hit the outside wall hard; destroying the brand new car the team was planning to bring as their primary car for this weekend’s race. So Bainbridge and crew packed up and headed back to the shop to rebuild Chassis No. 6408 for this weekend’s Carquest Auto Parts 300.

Smoother Surface Means Smoother Sailing – With the track surface at Lowe’s Motor Speedway getting a “facelift,” drivers and crew chiefs feel that the new “levigated” surface will provide for faster racing with an outside groove that could prove to be faster than the inside. Crew chief, Blake Bainbridge spent last weekend at the track, watching the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and All-Star Race in hopes of gaining information about the track’s new surface for his driver in this weekend’s race.

Chassis No. 6408 – Blake Bainbridge and his MHL team will take Chassis No. 6408 to the track this weekend in Charlotte. This is the same car that Mayfield drove to a 24th place finish at Vegas this year. Bainbridge and crew put a new body on this car and expect it to be fast at Lowe’s Motor Speedway this weekend in Charlotte.

Chasing the Championship – The RWI Racing, Inc No. 64 will make a run at the 2005 Owner’s Championship for the first time since their inception in 2004. The team will attempt to win the owner’s trophy with four different drivers throughout the 35-race schedule. Only one other time in the history of the NBS has the driver/owner championship been won by two different teams; the RCR organization did it with drivers Kevin Harvick and Johnny Sauter in 2003.

Quotes:

Mayfield on racing at Charlotte…
“I’m looking forward to both races this weekend at Charlotte. With the track’s surface being smoother, the racing seems to be faster. The outside groove has really come in, and it’s going to make for some exciting racing for the fans.”

Mayfield on running for the Owner’s Championship…
“This is an incredible race team and I’m proud to be a part of Rusty’s organization. With the knowledge that Blake has to bring to this team, and the talented line-up of drivers we have to compete with; there’s no doubt in my mind that we can’t do this as a team. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the year in the NBS.”

Blake Bainbridge on the surface at Charlotte…
“I spent all weekend there watching the Truck and All-Star race. The outside groove is really better than the inside groove. Everyone was really fighting for that outside line. I think we’re going to have to work hard on our race trim. It’s going to be difficult to find a happy medium for the drivers during the race. We’re going to have to run low on the track during qualifying, but I think the preferred groove will be the high side during the race.”