Nextel All-Star Challenge - Kerry Earnhardt Notes

Kerry Earnhardt
No. 33 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet
Event Preview Fact Sheet
Event/Date: NASCAR NEXTEL Open, May 22, 2004
Venue: Lowe’s Motor Speedway – Concord, N.C.

NOTES:

This Week’s Race Car at Lowe’s Motor Speedway … Kerry Earnhardt will pilot chassis No. 112 from the Richard Childress Racing stable. This is the same car Kevin Harvick drove to a 13th-place finish in February at Rockingham. Harvick also raced this car last season at Texas (3/30/03), California (4/27/03) and Michigan (6/15/03).

Seconds Anyone? … The NASCAR NEXTEL Open will be Earnhardt’s second Cup Series start of 2004 for RCR. His most recent appearance came last month at Talladega where he qualified 36th and finished 35th. While the end result was a less than desirable outcome, Earnhardt was running inside the top-15 when he was tapped by another car and spun into the inside retaining wall, ending his day 63 circuits short of the scheduled 188 lap distance.

One Tough Turkey … Earnhardt will sport a special paint scheme this weekend highlighting Bass Pro Shops support of the National Wild Turkey Federation.

Testing 1,2,3, Testing … Earnhardt tested chassis No. 93 May 10-11 at LMS in preparation for the NASCAR NEXTEL Open.

Testing Part Two … Earnhardt also tested at Michigan International Speedway last week in preparation for the Sirius 400, June 20.

Twice is Nice … The NEXTEL Open will be Earnhardt’s second NASCAR Cup attempt at LMS. He attempted to make the UAW-GM 500 in October 2002 with FitzBradshaw Racing, but missed the field due to lack of owner championship points after rain washed out qualifying.

Ring the Bell, We Have a Winner … Earnhardt won the 2001 EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 100 ARCA Re/Max Series race at LMS. Additionally, he made two other ARCA starts at the suburban Charlotte track, recording second and 20th-place finishes.

Up to Speed … Qualifying for the NASCAR NEXTEL Open will be telecast live Friday, May 21, at 6 p.m. EDT on SPEED and broadcast live on MRN and XM Satellite Radio. Live coverage of The NEXTEL Open will begin Saturday, May 22, at 7 p.m. EDT on FX, MRN and XM Satellite Radio.

KERRY EARNHARDT QUOTES
“Charlotte is a great track for me. I won the ARCA race in 2001 and finished second the year before, so it’s definitely a place I look forward to racing at. We tested for two days last week to get ready for the all-star race and learned a bunch. This will be mine and Gary’s (Cogswell) first race together, but we’ve tested a couple times since he started and we’re communicating very effectively. I think we’ve got a good shot at racing our way into the field through the open, so we’re all optimistic.”

GARY COGSWELL QUOTES
“Kerry and I have tested together twice at two different tracks and I think I have a pretty good direction as to what I need to give him so he can drive the car hard. I’m eager to go this weekend. Kerry is really motivated. He knows he has a chance to drive a quality car with a lot of support behind him to help him run well. As far as expectations go, we just want to be able to race. We want to win, but we’re not going to put the cart in front of the horse. To me, if we can run the whole race competitively – if we can pass cars, if we get passed that’s ok, as long as we can pass too. If we can stay out of trouble and run all the laps we’ll call it a good day.”