Long Pond, Penn. (July 31, 2010) – Aric Almirola and the No. 51 Zyclara by Graceway Pharmaceuticals Toyota team made a successful run during the inaugural running of the Pocono Mountain 125 at the 2.5-mile, triangular-shaped Pocono Raceway Saturday afternoon.  Although Almirola fell just short of his third win of the season, he finished fourth to pick up his fourth top-five finish of the season.  The result, along with Todd Bodine’s 12^th-place finish, helped the No. 51 team cut into the point lead held by Bodine.

It came down to a game of track position during Saturday’s 50-lap race.  One of the shortest races all season, drivers didn’t have much time to get to the front. Fortunately for Almirola, the front is where he spent most of his afternoon.  After qualifying fifth in the morning, he took the No 51 to the third spot after Lap One, but the caution waved for a wreck.  Almirola settled back into fifth after the race went back to green.

The team raced in the fifth spot until Lap 25 when the second caution waved for an accident.  During the long run Almirola communicated that his truck was “tight” in traffic.  Crew Chief Richie Wauters made adjustments to help the handling as the crew put on four new tires and fuel.  It proved to be the team’s only pit stop of the day.

Almirola came off pit road fifth, and when the race went back to green, was stuck on the inside line on the restart.  The bottom line didn’t advance and Almirola found himself in seventh before trucks strung out to single-file.  A Lap 33 caution for debris once again bunched the field, but allowed the team to start on the outside as Almirola had moved backed to sixth just moments before the caution. 

The following green run, Almirola was once again snake bitten by track position.  This time the outside line hung up on the restart and forced the Zyclara by Graceway truck back to eighth.  But, the short race was still a long way from done.  A series of late-race cautions began on Lap 41 when Bodine was spun by another truck in front of Almirola.  The team capitalized and moved into the third position as the race set up to finish under the green-white-checkered procedures.

On the restart, restarting on the inside of the second row, Almirola attempted a pass for the potential win.  He took the Billy Ballew Motorsports truck down low and drag raced the leaders Kasey Kahne and Elliott Sadler into Turn One.  A great move, but Almirola didn’t have the momentum to complete the sweeping pass.  Another caution waved soon waved giving the team another opportunity on the restart, but this time Almirola was in the fifth spot. He made a pass to fourth on the second attempt of the green-white-checkered and that was where he finished. 

“It was really about track position and clean air,” Almirola said.  “We had that one chance to go for the win.  We went for it, but I didn’t have the momentum I thought I did.  It didn’t work, but coming home fourth and having a good points day is what we needed after the last two races.

“We were just too tight in traffic.  If I could have got out front I think we had something for those guys. We got in position to do that late in the race, but it was going to be tough to complete that pass.  Kasey (Kahne) and Elliott (Sadler) had strong trucks too.  It was a good day and we’ll move onto Nashville.”

Almirola and the No. 51 team now turn their attention to the Nashville Superspeedway for Saturday night’s Nashville 200.  The race will air live on SPEED and is scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Hamlin Rallies to Ninth-Place Finish at Pocono

No. 15 Digital Qpons Tundra Led Laps before Contact with Wall Disrupted Day

LONG POND, Penn. (July 31, 2010) – Denny Hamlin nearly drove the No. 15 Digital Qpons Toyota to victory lane in Saturday’s  inaugural Pocono Mountains 125 at Pocono Raceway. Hamlin’s experience at the 2.5-mile tri-oval was evident in his performance. He led five laps of the event and was vying for the top position with six laps remaining, when contact with another truck forced him into the outside retaining wall of the track.  Hamlin’s Billy Ballew Motorsports-fielded Tundra suffered front-end damage and had to make an unscheduled pit stop for repairs.  Despite the injured race truck, Hamlin made a mad dash over the remaining laps to capture ninth-place.

Hamlin started the event from third-place. He maintained his position through the first caution period, Lap 26, when the action slowed for a spin on the track.  Hamlin entered pit road, where his crew changed the tires and topped off the fuel cell. The Digital Qpons Tundra was “tight on exit of Turn 3,” so crew chief “Cowboy” Starland called for a wedge and air pressure adjustment to free up Hamlin’s machine.  He returned to track in sixth-place.

Green flag action returned on Lap 31. Hamlin worked his way back into third-place before the next caution flag waved, Lap 34, but he wasn’t about to stop there.  When the race went back to green, Lap 38, Hamlin quickly moved into second-place and drove alongside Todd Bodine to challenge for the lead.  On Lap 39, Hamlin cleared Bodine and claimed P-1 on the track. As Hamlin began putting distance between himself and his competitors, the caution flag waved on Lap 41. Hamlin stayed on the track without pitting.

On Lap 45, the race went green with six scheduled laps remaining.  On Lap 46, the No. 3 truck and the No. 18 truck drove underneath Hamlin in an effort to draft by him. Their momentum caused the 3 truck to wash into the Digital Qpons Tundra.  Hamlin brushed the wall and sustained damage to the front-end of his truck.  Fortunately a yellow flag slowed the action and allowed him to make a pit stop for repairs.  Hamlin’s crew changed his tires and reshaped his fenders to prevent any rubs.  He rejoined the field 24^th-place.

Not about to give up, Hamlin used the remaining laps to claim as many positions as possible. When the race returned to green on Lap 50, Hamlin picked up nine spots, moving into 15^th-place.  Another caution slowed the race and gave Hamlin one last chance to dash through the field. The final restart came on Lap 54.  Hamlin mowed down six competitors to finish the day in ninth-place.

“I was towards the outside and typically that’s where you want to be,” Hamlin stated after the race.  The 3 (Austin Dillon) was pushing the 18 (Kasey Kahne) and he kind of drove him a little too hard and washed up into our left front and it hooked us right into the fence.

“It is, these trucks with no horsepower and these big spoilers, you have to have help down the straightaway.  I felt like we were going to be good.  As soon as we got the lead I felt it was game over.  When we had that caution, that just killed us.

“I loved the length of the race.  I thought it was a great distance.  You couldn’t get more per lap excitement than right there – 50 laps is a perfect amount for this race track.  Hopefully they look at something like that for the future of the Cup Series.”

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (July 26, 2010) – The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) is venturing into uncharted territory this weekend.  The series will make its inaugural excursion to the 2.5-mile Pocono Speedway for the running of the Pocono Mountains 125.   Although no truck team has raced at the “Tricky Triangle,” the No. 15 Billy Ballew Motorsports (BBM) team has track veteran Denny Hamlin behind the wheel of the Digital Qpons Toyota Tundra. Hamlin’s experience and accomplishments at the speedway have the No. 15 team excited for their debut outing.

Hamlin’s record at Pocono Raceway speaks for itself.  Hamlin has four wins at the track in Sprint Cup competition, claiming victories in the two most recent events. In his 10 starts at Pocono, Hamlin has finished in the top-five six times and earned an average finish position of 8.6.

The Pocono Mountains 125 will mark Hamlin’s fifth start with BBM.  His best finish to date with BBM is third-place, which he achieved at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2008.

The Pocono Mountains 125 will also mark Digital Qpons first race as a sponsor in NCWTS competition. Digital Qpons provides a performance-based platform for businesses to deliver targeted and interactive forms of Mobile Marketing. Digital Qpons has developed a system for businesses to freely manage their promotional offers, review campaign analytics, and make changes in real-time to maximize results.

Digital Qpons is quickly making a splash in the racing arena. Pocono Raceway, Track Scan scanner rentals and Charlotte Motor Speedway have all seen the value in what the company offers. They are choosing to participate by posting Qpons for race fans while they are at the events.

Hamlin Comments on The Pocono Mountains 125:

“This race is going to be a lot of fun.  It’s definitely one that everyone has a special incentive to win. It would be really cool to say that you were the first person to win a truck race at Pocono. Only one driver will have that honor. I’m really excited to have a shot at that.

“Billy Ballew Motorsports has given me a great truck each time I’ve raced with them.  All you can hope for as a driver is to contend for wins.  The 15 team has given me that each time I’ve driven for them. It makes racing with them a lot of fun.

“I love the length of Truck Series races.  They’re shorter races, so there’s no holding back.  You don’t sit back and wait. You don’t settle in and let your truck to come to you.  There’s no time for that, especially when you’re at a track that can be difficult to pass. You give it everything you’ve got from the green flag.  I think that’s going to make for one of the most exciting races that the Pocono fans have seen.”

Almirola Looks to Rebound, Make History at Pocono

Aiming to Take Win in First Truck Race at Pocono Raceway

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (July 26, 2010) – This weekend, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) will venture to Pocono Raceway for the inaugural running of the Pocono Mountains 125 on Saturday, July 30. Although NASCAR has been competing at the 2.5-mile “Tricky Triangle” for the past 36 years, this will be the first NCWTS event at the facility.

The No. 51 Zyclara by Graceway Pharmaceuticals Toyota team, along with driver Aric Almirola, is excited about the new addition to the schedule and the potential to earn a “unique honor.”  Almirola has one previous start at the Pocono Raceway, an ARCA start in 2008 when he started third, but did not finish after his car had transmission problems.  He did lead for 10 laps in that event.

Almirola and the Zyclara by Graceway Pharmaceuticals Toyota team are currently second in NCWTS championship standings, 177 points behind Todd Bodine.  The team, with two wins this season, is looking to rebound from two consecutive weeks of misfortune.   

Almirola Comments on The Pocono Mountains 125:

“This is going to be a special race for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.  Winning it would be a chance to really achieve something special. Only one driver is going to be able to say they won the first-ever truck race at Pocono, so there’s going to be a lot on the line. It would be a unique honor in a series and a track with such a rich history.

“Pocono is going to be interesting. I don’t think anyone knows what to expect yet. We just don’t know what to prepare for. We have an idea based on our intermediate track races what setup package we’re going to use, but until we get there and unload our Graceway Zyclara Tundra, we just don’t know what we’re in store for.

“We’re bringing chassis No. 11.  It’s a great chassis.  We’ve won twice this year with it (Dover and Michigan). Hopefully we’ll get back to victory lane with it again this weekend.

“Last week didn’t go how we expected.  We were caught up in a wreck and our day ended early.  We’re still second in points. The next few tracks we have on our schedule are ones that we feel confident about and think we can make up a lot of ground.  There are still 13 events until the season ends and we aren’t going to quit trying to win races until then.”