Camping World 300 - Kevin Conway Notes

Z-LINE DESIGNS RACING
Conway & No. 18 Z-Line Designs Team Head Into Homestretch With Wal-Mart Joining Busch Series Effort at California

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (Aug. 28, 2007) – Kevin Conway the driving instructor becomes Kevin Conway the NASCAR Busch Series student in Saturday night’s Camping World 300 at California Speedway in Fontana. The 2-mile oval is a race track that Conway the instructor is all too familiar with, but Conway the competitor will be racing on for the very first time in a Busch Series car.

As an instructor with the Richard Petty Driving Experience at the lightning-fast tri-oval, as well as at numerous other North American race tracks in recent years, Conway has logged hundreds of laps around California Speedway. With that invaluable seat time in his hip pocket, and the experience of a front-row start and a top-five finish in the 2004 NASCAR Grand National West Series race at California in 2004, Conway and the No. 18 Z-Line Designs/Wal-Mart Chevrolet team for Joe Gibbs Racing look to get their best result of the season during Saturday night’s 300-mile event.

It will be the fifth start of the season for the 28-year-old from Lynchburg, Va., and his first chance this year to stretch his racing legs on one of NASCAR’s lengthier layouts. Three of Conway’s first four starts in the No. 18 Chevrolet came at tracks of a mile or less – Bristol (Tenn.), Dover (Del.) and Loudon (N.H.) – and the other at the relatively tight, 1.33-mile concrete tri-oval at Nashville (Tenn.).

All but Bristol were first-time visits for Conway in a Busch car. But even though California represents another Busch racing first, Conway is at least plenty familiar with the D-shaped, tri-oval concept, having raced ARCA and Grand National stock cars for the likes of former NASCAR race winner Ernie Irvan.

In fact, one of Conway’s top performances in recent years came at California in the 2004 NASCAR Grand National West Series King Taco 300 in the No. 28 Chevrolet fielded by Irvan. Conway started on the front row alongside polesitter Clint Bowyer and ran with the leaders all race long before an unscheduled pit stop 20 laps from the finish sent him back to 19th. But Conway rallied for a fifth-place finish in the race, won by Ken Schrader with Bowyer finishing second and current NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series regular David Gilliland finishing right behind Conway in sixth.

As Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart joins the Z-Line Designs team this weekend, the No. 18 Chevrolet will again fly the colors of the national Make-A-Wish Foundation, which helps grant the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses. The organization also has become synonymous with Z-Line’s sponsorship in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series. The No. 19 Z-Line Designs Lexus Riley campaigned by Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates features drivers Rob Finlay and Michael Valiente, and has four finishes of eighth or better, including a season-best second at Iowa Speedway in July.

Practice for Saturday’s Camping World 300 begins Friday morning with SPEED-TV carrying 90 minutes live beginning at 1 p.m. EDT. Qualifying is set for 8 p.m. EDT Friday with SPEED-TV’s delayed coverage beginning at 11 p.m. EDT. Race time Saturday is 10 p.m. EDT with ESPN2’s live coverage beginning at 9:30 p.m. EDT.

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Tribute to Sam Conway – The No. 18 Z-Line Designs/Wal-Mart Chevrolet, along with Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 20 Rockwell Automation Chevrolet, will pay tribute to driver Kevin Conway’s father Sam Conway at California Speedway this weekend. Sam passed away last Saturday at age 58 after a valiant battle with lung cancer. Sam was team manager for Darrell Waltrip’s NASCAR Winston Cup Series team in the 1990s and served on the board of directors for Motor Racing Outreach for 10 years.

Kevin Conway – Driver, No. 18 Z-Line Designs/Wal-Mart NASCAR Busch Series Chevrolet at California Speedway California will be your fifth Busch race of the year and it actually comes at a track where you have some racing experience.

Does that give you a particular measure of confidence?
“California is one race track that I’m actually very familiar with as an instructor with the Richard Petty Driving Experience and from having had a good result in the Grand National West race a few years ago. I’ve been able to get a lot of laps there. Granted, this weekend brings us there in a completely different car, and the speeds will be significantly faster, but my experience will help the learning curve this weekend. So far this year, we’ve been on tracks that drive more like short tracks. I’ve had a little bit more experience at the longer tracks, and I kind of like the bigger, faster race tracks.”

Your father passed away last weekend after a lengthy illness. He worked long and hard to see you get the opportunity you did with the Gibbs team this season. How much will that weigh on your mind at California?
“I definitely can’t wait to climb into the race car and get out there and get on with carrying on his legacy. We’re going to be honoring him this weekend. All the Gibbs cars are going to be running a special decal. It’s pretty cool to have an opportunity to honor him like that. We spent all of our time since I was six years old trying to get me to this point, and he was a huge part of that. He came to all four of the races I’ve run so far this year for Gibbs. It was really cool for him to be able to see all of that.”

Obviously, you won’t be short on motivation when the green flag falls on Saturday night, right?
“These races are incredibly difficult to win, as it is. To be able to go where I’ve run really well in the past, with enough similarities between the West car and the Busch car, that definitely gives me a lot of extra confidence. It’s a race I’ve been looking forward to certainly, with a whole different level of motivation to go out and win. Naturally, that’s your goal every race. Still, any type of a good top-five or top-10 finish – that would be such a huge, huge way for things to come full circle this week.”

Since you know the track as well as an instructor, would you say that gives you some advantage at California?
“I definitely wouldn’t say I have any kind of an advantage. When you’re running 150 mph vs. 190, that 40 mph makes a huge difference, especially entering the corners. The experience will help me get visually acclimated to the surroundings more quickly. But with as many Cup guys as we have playing with us in the Busch Series, you’re never at an advantage by any stretch. I know the team is capable. I think we can legitimately finish in the top-10 and shoot for that as our goal for the weekend. And we’re definitely motivated to do even better than that.”

The Car
Chassis No. 1874: This is a relatively new race car, with only three Busch Series races under its belt. Its first start came at California Speedway in February, where Tony Stewart drove it to a solid 11th-place finish. Prior to California, it only had 10 laps of track time at the hands of Joe Gibbs Racing development driver Aric Almirola during an early February test session at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Almirola returned to Chassis No. 1874’s seat when the Busch Series visited Charlotte (N.C.) in May. There, Almirola qualified 38th and picked up 24 positions to finish 14th. Almirola drove Chassis No. 1874 again at Chicagoland Speedway in July where he started third, but was involved in an accident early in the race that relegated him to a 38th-place finish. This Chassis returns to California for its fourth career Busch Series start.

Kevin Conway’s Career At-a-Glance
Conway will make his fifth career start for Joe Gibbs Racing on Saturday, Sept. 1, driving the No. 18 Z-Line Designs/Wal-Mart Chevrolet in the NASCAR Busch Series Camping World 300 at California Speedway. It will be Conway’s 11th career Busch Series start and his first at California. Conway’s first career Busch start came at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2003, driving the No. 22 Danny Bost Chevrolet to a 33rd-place finish. He made his JGR debut at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in March, qualifying 27th and finishing 26th. The Camping World 300 is Conway’s fifth of seven Busch races for Z-Line Designs and JGR in 2007.