Kroger 200 - Landon Cassill Notes

PREVIEW: LANDON CASSILL (NO. 24 NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET)
VENUE: O'REILLY RACEWAY PARK AT INDIANAPOLIS (.686-MILE OVAL)
CIRCUIT: NASCAR BUSCH SERIES (RACE 22 OF 35)
EVENT: SATURDAY, JULY 28, 2007 (200 LAPS, 137 MILES)

CASSILL BACK IN ACTION: Landon Cassill, Hendrick Motorsports' youngest driver, will return to the NASCAR Busch Series this weekend at O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis. Cassill, 18, made his Busch Series debut Saturday at Gateway International Raceway near St. Louis.

DEBUT REVIEW: Cassill qualified sixth in his Busch Series debut Saturday at Gateway. He raced inside the top 10 for the first half of the event before being involved in an accident on lap 109. Cassill was credited with a 32nd-place finish.

NO STRANGER TO ORP: Cassill earned the pole position for the July 2006 American Speed Association Late Model Series (ASALMS) Northern Division event at ORP and went on to finish fifth in the race. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native also competed in an ASALMS race at the .686-mile track in 2005 and finished fourth in a Champion Racing Association Super Series race there in June 2006.

TALENTED SIBLING: Cassill's family was in attendance at Gateway to support his Busch Series debut, but this weekend he will have to do without mother Colleen and 12-year-old sister Echo. Echo, who has been figure skating since age 5 and training professionally for the past two years, will be in Michigan to compete in the prestigious Skate Detroit event. She recently won first-place medals at Skate Milwaukee in the artistic and spins categories.

CHASSIS 444: Crew chief Chad Walter has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 444 for Saturday's Busch Series race at O'Reilly Raceway Park. With Casey Mears as the pilot, the car finished 10th at New Hampshire International Speedway in June.

STAYING BUSY IN INDY: Prior to racing at ORP, Cassill will participate in the Chevrolet Golf Tournament at the Brickyard Crossing Golf Resort and Inn on Thursday. He will then visit pediatric patients and their families at the Riley Hospital for Children at Methodist on Friday.

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LANDON CASSILL, DRIVER OF THE NO. 24 NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET: (ON HIS FIRST NASCAR BUSCH SERIES RACE.) "It feels great to have that one behind me. St. Louis was a lot of fun for the entire National Guard team. I was so excited that we qualified that well (sixth) and ran in the top seven throughout most of the night. The guys stuck with me through the race and that's what it's going to take for the National Guard Chevy to run up front. I feel like I learned a lot during my first Busch Series race, and I got a lot of the butterflies out of my stomach."

CASSILL: (ON HIS PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE AT O'REILLY RACEWAY PARK.) "I do have a little more confidence going into ORP than Gateway, just because I've raced there before. The track has been fun for me in the past. I've had a couple top-five finishes, and held the track record (in the ASALMS Series) for some time. I'm anxious to see how different the National Guard Chevy will drive at ORP compared to the late models that I'm used to racing there."

CASSILL: (ON WHAT HE LEARNED IN HIS FIRST BUSCH SERIES START.) "At the beginning of the race at Gateway, I learned that it is very important to race hard from the start because track position is so important. It took me a couple of laps to get the National Guard Chevy in a rhythm, and it just seemed like we could have been even better if I would have gotten up to speed right away. In Indy, I am going to really work on going hard on the restarts and keeping up with the leaders."

CASSILL: (ON WORKING WITH THE NATIONAL GUARD TEAM.) "I have been so impressed with the National Guard team, and I think that they are 100-percent prepared for any race they go to. They work very hard on their equipment no matter who is driving the car. I feel that we were as prepared as we could be for St. Louis, and it showed in our qualifying and race runs. Now, I am very focused on ORP and I know that my guys are, too. I have discussed things with Chad (Walter, crew chief) on how I can improve my position on the race track. We are going to Indianapolis at full strength."

CASSILL: (ON THE PRESSURE, OR LACK OF PRESSURE, FOLLOWING HIS DEBUT.) "I feel more at ease right now, because everyone I've talked to at Hendrick has told me how excited they are for me. That alone has relieved a lot of pressure. I just think that it is very important to put last week's race behind me and focus on ORP. I want to make sure that we have another successful week."

CASSILL: (ON THE CHANGES IN HIS LIFE FOLLOWING HIS FIRST BUSCH SERIES RACE.) "I get more e-mails, phone calls, and text messages daily. It's great to know that so many people are supportive of me and the team. I would much rather have lots of people calling and e-mailing me than no feedback at all."