No. 10 Charter Dodge Charger
Bristol Preview

Patrick Carpentier is looking forward to his first trip to Bristol Motor Speedway for this weekend’s Sharpie Mini 300. It will be his sixth start in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the team’s second race sporting the Charter Communications colors.

Last week at Atlanta, Carpentier and the No. 10 Charter crew held onto a loose race car for the majority of the race. They still were able to accomplish both of the team’s goals: to finish 35th or better and most importantly, finish the race. Their perseverance paid off at the end of the day when they came home in 35th place and gained one spot in Owner Points.

The No. 10 Charter Dodge is currently ranked 46th in Owner Points. They are just 39 points away from gaining five positions in the Owner Standings. He is currently 153 points out of the top-35.

Carpentier once again faces the daunting challenge of making the 43-car field solely on his qualifying time.

DRIVE PATRICK CARPENTIER QUOTES:
THOUGHTS ON POINTS RACING “To run the whole race last weekend makes us pretty happy. We earned those valuable Owner’s Points, so that’s not too bad. It’s hard work. It’s a tough deal.”

“We’re still a little bit behind, so we’ll see if we can get back into it. After seeing the standing it’s nice to see us making a little headway on the spots in front of us. There isn’t too many points separating 46th through 40th. We will need to get there first and then the top-35 will come. We seem to not be too bad qualifying, so hopefully we can keep making races and getting those points.”

HEADING TO BRISTOL FOR THE FIRST TIME “I’m just really, really excited. I feel like a kid right before Christmas. I’ve been talking to everyone about the characteristics of the track and what to expect. But you know what? It’s Bristol, so we’ll just expect the unexpected.

“One of the things that sticks out to me is how everyone talks about the ambiance of the speedway. Everyone says it’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen, with all those people surrounding you and how tall the grandstands are. I’m told it’s like racing in a soup bowl.”

PREPARING FOR THE TRACK “We’ve been doing our best to get ready for this race. We did some testing at New Smyrna earlier, which is a short-track that is similar to Bristol. It just doesn’t have the banking. Our team is pumped. We accomplished our goals last week and hopefully we can do the same at Bristol.”

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Bristol Motor Speedway