Shane Huffman
Las Vegas Preview
Huffman and Navy Team Looking for Lady Luck in Vegas
Shane Huffman will make his first start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the No. 88 Navy Accelerate Your Life Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS in the NASCAR Busch Series Sam’s Town 300.
Huffman’s only previous experience at the track was during preseason testing at Las Vegas in February. At the test, Huffman was the 15th-fastest overall driver and was the second-fastest Busch Series regular.
The Navy team will run car No. JRM 022 at Las Vegas. This car was last on-track at Homestead-Miami Speedway last November. There Huffman qualified fourth and was running solidly in the top 15 until the No. 88 Navy Chevrolet was collected in an accident.
In just 14 Busch Series starts, Huffman has compiled one top five and two top 10 finishes. He collected his best start (third) and finish (fifth) in last October’s race at Memphis Motorsports Park in the Sam’s Town 250, the sister event to this weekend’s Sam’s Town 300.
Last weekend at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, Huffman finished 21st in his first-ever road course race. He was running 11th with three laps to go when another competitor spun the No. 88 Navy Chevrolet out. Huffman worked his way up from 27th to 21st in the remaining two laps of the race.
JR Motorsports team owner, Dale Earnhardt Jr., will unveil a wax figure of himself on Friday at 2 p.m. at Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s Neon Garage. The life-sized figure will be on display at the track through the end of the weekend when it will then be transferred to Madame Tussauds Las Vegas at the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino.
This weekend Huffman will sign autographs on Friday from 9-10 p.m. at the Stratosphere Hotel and Casino with a number of other NASCAR drivers. He will also sign autographs at the Navy Racing Display on Saturday from 8:45 – 9:15 a.m.
Shane Huffman, Driver, No. 88 Navy Accelerate Your Life Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
“Our test in Vegas went fairly well. We took a new car and I spent some time working on just learning the track. I’d never been there before, so we spent most of the first day of testing just letting me learn the line and getting a good feel for the track. By the end of the test we were pretty good.
“Vegas is a very fast track. I know we’ll have a good car when we unload this weekend, so it should be a lot of fun.
Navy Notables
The fleet honoree for Saturday’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is the Helicopter Maritime Strike Wing (CHSMWP). This wing is the Lead Type Wing in the Lead-Follow concept that provides administrative and training support to Pacific Fleet Helicopter Maritime Strike (HSM) carrier battle group based squadrons consisting of five fleet carrier battle group based squadrons, one Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS), and one Wing Weapons School. It also provides operational, administrative, and training support to three Pacific Fleet HSM expeditionary squadrons. The wing supports 75 SH-60B aircraft, two SH-60F VIP aircraft and five new MH-60R aircraft. By 2016, CHSMWP will complete the naval helicopter transition to the MH-60R and will support 95 aircraft located in San Diego, Hawaii and Japan.
Event Information
Sam’s Town 250
3/10/07
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas, Nevada
1.5-mile oval
TV – ABC at 2:30 p.m. ET
Radio – PRN at 2:30 p.m. ET
Team Information
Chassis – JRM No. 022
Chassis Info – last raced at Homestead
Engine – RCR
Primary Sponsor – U.S. Navy
Associate Sponsors – Chevrolet, AAMCO Transmissions, Champion, R&B, Puma, Snap-On, Miller, Wix Filters, Sherwin Williams, Racing Radios
