MCFARLAND AND NAVY TEAM READY FOR GATEWAY
Gateway Notes
NASCAR Busch Series driver Mark McFarland will drive the No. 88 Navy Accelerate Your Life Chevrolet Monte Carlo in Saturday’s Busch Silver Celebration 250 at Gateway International Raceway.
Saturday’s race will mark McFarland’s first race at Gateway International Raceway.
The team is running chassis No. 021 at Gateway. This chassis last raced at The Milwaukee Mile in June, where McFarland was running sixth before he was caught up in a wreck with just three laps to go.
McFarland will have a teammate this weekend. JR Motorsports will field the No. 83 Chevrolet for Shane Huffman at Gateway. It will be the first of five races he will attempt to make this season.
McFarland and the team picked up their best finish of the season in April at Talladega Superspeedway. He started 27th and finished seventh there.
JR Motorsports and The Cycle Xchange have teamed up to create a one-of-a-kind custom chopper benefiting the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Central and Western North Carolina. The 2006 TCX/Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chopper debuted at the Speed Street Festival in Charlotte on May 25 and is scheduled to be on display at select NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races and select motorcycle rallies including Sturgis Bike Week. The chopper will be up for bid on eBay (http://www.ebay.com/dalejr) starting at 11 p.m. EST on Sept. 29. Dale Jr. will present the chopper to the winning bidder during on-stage festivities at the 7th Annual Celebrity/Sports Auction on Oct. 24.
Mark McFarland, Driver of No. 88 Navy Accelerate Your Life Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
“I’ve never raced at Gateway, but I spotted for the Truck Series race there in 2004.
“It’s a fairly flat track, kind of like Milwaukee and Loudon. We’ve had good runs at both of those tracks and we’re scheduled to take the same car we ran at Milwaukee, so it should be a good night for the Navy team.”
Wes Ward, Crew Chief of No. 88 Navy Accelerate Your Life Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
“Gateway is a challenging track with two very different corners. Keeping the car turning in one and two with enough forward bite is key because you need to get a really good run up the backstretch.
“It’s also pretty cool because the race starts while it’s still light out and ends at night.”
Navy Notables
The fleet honoree for Saturday’s race at Gateway International Raceway is the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Group Two. The United States Navy’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal community is the Navy’s “Bomb Squad”, capable of conducting counter improvised explosive device (IED) operations, disarming underwater explosives and disposal of explosive hazards left over from war. EOD Group Two sailors have been deployed for every conflict since the community’s inception prior to World War II. They are currently serving throughout the world, to include a significant Task Force in Iraq and Afghanistan, risking their lives every day in defense of freedom.
