Circuit City 250 - Tony Raines Notes

Tony Raines
No. 33 Camping World Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
Team Report
NASCAR Busch Series Race 11 of 35— Richmond (Va.) International Raceway

AARON’S 312 RECAP: Following a few weeks of tough breaks, the No. 33 Old Spice team hoped the restrictor plate racing of Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway would provide an opportunity to run up front, and put their quest for an owner’s point championship back on track. Tony Stewart and the entire Old Spice team persevered through front-end damage to claim a season best second-place finish behind Kevin Harvick Inc., teammate Bobby Labonte to move into fifth in the Busch Series Owner’s point standings.

LOOKING FOR TWO STRAIGHT: Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI), will be looking for two straight wins when they arrive at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. Last week Bobby Labonte drove the No. 77 Dollar General Stores Chevrolet to the win at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. This weekend Tony Raines will pilot the No. 33 Camping World Chevrolet while team co-owner Kevin Harvick jumps behind the wheel of the No. 77 Dollar General Stores Chevrolet for the second time this season. Harvick, who has never won a race in his own KHI entry, looks to change that stat this weekend in Richmond.

THREE STEPS FORWARD: After falling into the eighth position two weeks ago in Phoenix, the No. 33 Kevin Harvick Inc., Chevrolet bounced back, after Talladega, by jumping three positions to fifth in the NASCAR Busch Series Owner’s point standings.

RICHMOND (Va.) INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY (RIR): Tony Raines has 12 career NASCAR Busch Series starts at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. Of those 12 starts, he has compiled six top-15 and three top-five finishes. Raines came close to getting his first win at RIR in 2001 when he finished second to Jimmie Spencer at the Hardee’s 250.

RAINES PULLING DOUBLE DUTY: Tony Raines will pull double-duty for the third time this season. Raines will compete in the Circuit City 250 Busch Series event on Friday with Kevin Harvick Inc. and the Crown Royal 400 Cup Series race on Saturday with Hall of Fame Racing.

Dan Stillman, Crew Chief of the No. 33 Camping World Chevrolet, Quotes:
On Richmond International Raceway: “I look forward to Richmond and seeing what we can do. We are coming off a great run this past weekend and hopefully we can carry that momentum over. Tony Raines has had some good runs at Richmond including a Busch Series best second-place finish in 2001.”

On the season after 10 races: “I would say this season has been a rollercoaster of some sort. We have had our share of ups and downs. If we could just get the luck to stay with us we could be up front battling for the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series Owner point championship. The guys have been working really hard on this team and it shows with our fifth-place point standings.”

QUICK NOTES
May 4, 2007
Richmond (Va.) International Raceway
Circuit City 250 Presented by FUNAI

Race length: 250 laps/ 187.5 miles
Banking: 14-degrees in turns one and two
14-degrees in turns three and four
8-degrees on the frontstretch
2-degrees on the backstretch
Track layout: 3/4 mile
Shape: D-Shaped Oval

Pre-Race Schedule
Practice: Friday at 8:30-9:40 a.m., ET
Final Practice: Friday at 10:10-11:10 a.m., ET
Qualifying: Friday at 4:05 p.m., ET

TV: The Circuit City 250 can be seen live on ESPN2 at 8:00 p.m., ET.
Radio: The Motor Racing Network (MRN) will broadcast the race live at 8:00 p.m., ET.

No. 33 Camping World Chevrolet
Monte Carlo SS Specs:
Chassis: 023
Engine: RCR