BRISTOL BECKONS FOR COT DEBUT AND THE NEW NO. 21 LITTLE DEBBIE FORD

In what promises to be a new chapter in the storied history of NASCAR, the “Car of Tomorrow” will take to the Bristol Motor Speedway at precisely 10:30 a.m. EDT on Friday and every team will be starting from square one. It may even end up being an advantage for Ken Schrader and the No. 21 Little Debbie Ford team.

The date has been on the calendar for over a year and the teams have had months to prepare the new rides, but nobody knows just what kind of a weekend to expect. The track and NASCAR agreed to open the facilities a day early just for the purposes of getting all of the cars through the inspection line prior to hitting the track. This format is rolled out only when the cars go to Daytona for the season-opener or if they are seeing a new track for the first time.

The Wood Brothers/JTG race team has three fully-decked out COT cars ready to roll just across the Tennessee-North Carolina border for what promises to be a memorable exercise.

Being that the No. 21 Little Debbie Ford is currently sitting a scant 33 points out of the top-35 in the owner point battle, Sunday’s race will be of tantamount importance in determining the guaranteed spot for the remainder of the year and NASCAR NEXTEL Cup racing season.

WHAT THE TEAM HAS TO SAY
Ken Schrader, driver of the No. 21 Little Debbie Ford:
“It’s pretty clear that nobody has much of an idea what to expect—how the cars will handle in traffic, what the practice will be like and ultimately—what the race will be like. We’ve got to keep our heads in the game and focus on an hourly basis and we’ll get through this just fine. There isn’t another team out there that doesn’t feel the same way; I don’t care if they’re leading the points right now.

We had a good test here. I liked the way we made the car handle and all we really need to do is duplicate that effort and get the car comfortable enough and have enough adjustability built into the chassis setup to survive 500 laps here. It’s always hard on equipment, even harder on the drivers, but I think we have a solid game plan and I’m not all that worried.”

Ernie Cope, Crew Chief of the No. 21 Little Debbie Ford:
“There’s certainly going to be a lot more scrutiny of the crew chief role this weekend than any normal weekend we’ve ever had. Other teams, fans and sponsors are going to be keeping an eye on those time charts all weekend long to see how Sunday is supposed to shape up. But I think it’s going to flow just like last week at Atlanta. Sometimes you don’t know what you have under you until the green flag falls. We’re not rookies here and we’ll respond the way we always do—as a team, whether that result is something we’re pleased with or not.”

FAST & FUN FACTS:
-Ken Schrader will drive the No. 21 Little Debbie Ford for the Food City 500 this Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway.
-Ken Schrader has 44 starts under his belt at the Bristol Motor Speedway, with four top-five finishes and 11 top-10 finishes at the half-mile bullring.
-Ken Schrader once had three third-place finishes in a row at Bristol, coming from 1991-1992. The odds of that happening are over 20,000 to 1.
-Ken Schrader has led 52 laps at Bristol, with a career-best finish of second place in 1994.
-Bristol Motor Speedway’s Food City 500 marks the debut of the “Car of Tomorrow” in NASCAR, with a two-inch taller frame and four-inch wider chassis. The COT car also has a rear wing, not a spoiler and a front air dam splitter commonly seen on the current Craftsman Truck Series models.

RACE INFORMATION:
What – Food City 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race
When – Sunday, March 25th, 2:00 p.m. EDT
Where – Bristol Motor Speedway; 250 laps, 500 miles
Network – FOX Network; PRN Radio Network