Posts Tagged ‘NASCAR Nationwide Series’

John Deere Dealers 250 at Iowa Speedway

Micheal McDowell is no newcomer to the NASCAR world, but Sunday’s event at the Iowa Speedway will mark his first for Joe Gibbs Racing.  McDowell will pilot the No. 18 Pizza Ranch Toyota at Iowa, taking the wheel of one of the best cars in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, a car that already collected five wins in 2011 with Kyle Busch behind the wheel and a car that is the two-time defending NASCAR Nationwide Series Owner’s Championship ride.  McDowell has 72 career start in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, with a career-best finish of sixth coming in the third race of the 2009 season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  Of all the tracks in the NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule, McDowell has his best average finishes at Iowa Speedway.  In two races, McDowell’s average finish at the .875-mile track is 10.5.  McDowell’s next best track, statistically, is Milwaukee, where he has an average of 14.  Micheal says “Really, this is just a great opportunity to get to drive the No. 18 and to get to drive for Joe Gibbs and Joe Gibbs Racing.  Joe is a guy that I’ve admired for a long time and his organization is one of the best in the business, especially in the Nationwide Series.  So to get a chance to race with them is a littel surreal.  The last time I can say I was in a car this truly competitive was back in 2009 when I was in the No. 47 car in the Cup Series.  So I know this opportunity is the opportunity of a lifetime and I’m getting the chance to drive a race-winning car.  So I can’t thank Pizza Ranch, Joe Gibbs and everyone enough for this opportunity.”

The Finish: Sunday afternoon, Michael McDowell made the most of his first start in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2011 and his first start in the No. 18 Pizza Ranch Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, leading laps and coming home with a strong seventh-place finish in the Iowa John Deere Dealers 250 at Iowa Speedway.

 The Race Recap: Michael and the No. 18 team started the day in the second-position after qualifying was rained out and the lineup set by owner’s points.  After running in second to start the event, McDowell passed JGR teammate Drew Herring to grab the lead on lap 38.  A strong stop by the No. 18 JGR team allowed Michael to hold onto the top spot following the lap 50 competition caution, a lead which he held until lap 57.  However, the rest of the afternoon Michael and the team fought a tremendously loose racecar.  Crew Chief Jason Ratcliff made a number of adjustments through the event to try and keep the No. 18 Pizza Ranch Toyota as competitive as he could near the front of the field.  A late-race caution during a round of green flag pit stops caught the Michael a lap down, forcing the team to have to take the wave around rather than come in and pit to make final adjustments for the race’s final 40 laps. McDowell was able to overcome the loose condition and an overheating problem to pick up a number of positions in the race’s final laps, bringing the No. 18 Pizza Ranch Toyota home seventh.  The finish allowed the No. 18 to hold onto its second-place standing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series Owner’s Championship.  The team trails the No. 20 car by just 24 points.

 Michael’s Quotes: ”It was a good day for the Pizza Ranch Toyota.  We led laps and brought the car home in one piece.  That was one of the biggest things I wanted to get out of today; to log laps, to be competitive and to stay out of trouble.  I don’t think we ended up where we wanted to, but that is the way things go sometimes.  We had a car that could have finished a couple of spots higher than where we finished.  It was a great first weekend with the No. 18 team, Jason (Ratcliff) and all of the guys.  They worked hard this weekend with the position we were put in with little track time because of all of the rain. 

 “I’m very thankful to Joe Gibbs Racing and Pizza Ranch for giving me this opportunity.  We came in with high expectations and we didn’t quite live up to them, but we have a good baseline now.  After a weekend of working together, Jason knows more what I want out of a car and I know how to better communicate with Jason and get him the information he needs to make the car better.  I’m looking forward to being back in the car for a few more races.”

 What’s Next:  The No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota will be back in action this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway with Kyle Busch behind the wheel in the Top Gear 300.

Check out this article featured on NASCAR.com about the relentless drive Of Michael McDowell.

Relentless Drive 2011

Pizza Ranch is excited to be back for its third season as an official sponsor of Joe Gibbs Racing in 2011.  We are proud to be a part of one the top-tier teams in NASCAR. The season will be highlighted with Kyle Busch back behind the wheel for Pizza Ranch in Michigan. Michael McDowell will join Team Pizza Ranch with 2 efforts at Pizza Ranch’s home track of Iowa Speedway.  Pizza Ranch is also excited to be represented on Kyle’s fire suit for all of his NASCAR Nationwide Series.

The Pizza Ranch family is pulling for Joe Gibbs Racing this weekend as the 2010 NASCAR season comes to a close this weekend in Miami.  Denny Hamlin is gunning for JGR’s fourth Sprint Cup Title and to dethrone the JJ dynasty.  Also Kyle and the #18 crew are going for back-to-back Owner’s Championships in the Nationwide Series.

We will be announcing some exciting updates to Pizza Ranch Racing’s 2011 Racing program right here in the next couple weeks – so stay tuned.

Congratulations to Kyle Busch & Joe Gibbs Racing on the Bristol sweep this weekend.  Kyle made NASCAR history by becoming the 1st driver to ever win all 3 of NASCAR’s major touring series in the same weekend.

A lot of things seemed to suit Matt DiBenedetto well about Pizza Ranch’s home track, Iowa Speedway.  Those good vibes culminated with a Nationwide series career best, top-ten finish.  Despite racing at Iowa Speedway for the first time, Matt took right to it and posted the fastest time in Saturday morning’s delayed practice.  Although none of the double-duty drivers practiced, it was a good sign that Matt was ready to rebound after back-to-back frustrating outings.

Matt started ninth in front of a sold out crowd of over 50,000, including 400+ Pizza Ranch friends.  Matt battled hard all night with cup and nationwide series regulars to keep the Pizza Ranch No. 20 Toyota solidly in the top ten and as high as 7th.  With 47 laps to go, and in 8th place, a caution came out that shook up the top ten.  Matt dropped back to 14th, after a handful of cars made a position grab going with just 2 tires.  Matt steadily worked back into the top-ten and went door-to-door with Justin Allgaier for the last 20 laps of the race and settled out in ninth place.  Matt’s next race will be Gateway’s curtain closer on October 23.

Congratulations to JGR’s Kyle Busch and the No. 18 crew with their ninth win of the year.  Pizza Ranch victory lane was excited to have Kyle back since his victory last year in the K&N East-West All Star Race.

Friday’s practiced got washed out at Iowa Speedway with persistent showers all day.  Matt and the No. 20 Pizza Ranch Toyota will get 1 hour of practice Saturday morning (instead of the 2 hours of practice scheduled for Friday).  It’s Saturday and it’s sunny… “Let’s go racin’ boys!”

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (July 27, 2010) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Matt DiBenedetto is hoping to make a special home delivery Saturday on behalf of Pizza Ranch.

Although DiBenedetto was born in Northern California and currently resides in North Carolina, his sponsor is headquartered in Iowa and will be on board of JGR’s No. 20 Nationwide Series Toyota for this Saturday’s U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway. Pizza Ranch has supported DiBenedetto throughout his Nationwide Series career with JGR and this will be the third time they’ve appeared on the car this season.

Although he has yet to race on the track at Iowa Speedway, DiBenedetto has been able attend a race in person and will watch the broadcast of last year’s race to further help familiarize himself with the track. One thing is for sure this week however for DiBenedetto and the No. 20 Pizza Ranch crew, there will be no shortage of home cooking with the opportunity to dine all week at one of several Pizza Ranch locations in the area.

Pizza Ranch specializes in pizza and chicken and has grown steadily with franchises currently in nine states. Pizza Ranch offers a host of dining options to include a pizza/chicken/salad bar buffet, carry-out pizza, or delivery of chicken and pizza to the home. Pizza Ranch puts the customer first with extraordinary hospitality and service that has helped them become the largest regional pizza restaurant chain in Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakotaand South Dakota.

This will be a very special week for DiBenedetto, who not only has the opportunity to race at his sponsor’s home track, but also celebrated his 19^thbirthday on Tuesday, July 27.

This will be the fifth Nationwide Series race of the season for DiBenedetto and just the sixth of his young career. He is looking forward to getting back on the track following a disappointing outing a week ago at O’Reilly Raceway Park in which he was one of several cars to receive major damage upon the drop of the green flag when the outside lane bunched up creating an accordion effect and resulting in significant damage to both the front and rear of several cars. What made it more disappointing is that DiBenedetto appeared set for a strong night at ORP as he showed comfort on the short track with the fastest lap time among cars in race trim during the day’s final practice and then a 10^th-place qualifying effort.

The race from Iowa Speedway will be televised by ESPN2 on Saturday, July 31 with coverage starting at 7 PM ET (race starts at 7:30 PM ET).

Matt DiBenedetto, No. 20 Pizza Ranch NASCAR Nationwide Series Toyota Camry at Iowa Speedway

What have you been able to learn about Iowa Speedway?

“It is a really nice facility and it is a pretty good momentum track. It should suit my driving style pretty well because I’m not hard on the brakes and prefer a sweeping momentum track like Iowa appears to be.

Are you looking forward to racing in Iowa for Pizza Ranch ?

“It will be awesome to represent Pizza Ranch in their home state and have all the folks from Pizza Ranch come and enjoy the race. They have been very supportive of me and I’m looking forward to getting out there a little early and having the opportunity to get out in the local community. Hopefully we can put on a good show for everyone and put their car up front where it belongs. I know their excited and I am too.”

Car  Information

Chassis No. 2093: This will be the second race of 2010 for Chassis No. 2093. It previously ran at Nashville on April 3 with Joey Logano qualifying on the pole before finishing eighth. It ran in five races in 2009 with a victory at the first race in Nashville serving as its top finish. Chassis No. 2099 will be the backup car for the race.

Meet the No. 20 Pizza Ranch Toyota  Joe Gibbs Racing Team

Primary Team Members:

Driver: Matt DiBenedetto	Crew Chief: Kevin Kidd
Car Chief: Tony Hamm	Engine Builder: Mark Cronquist
Engine Tuner: Dan Bajak	Spotter: Joey Civali
Shock Specialist: Joel Weidman	Engineer: Mike Lorusso

Over-The-Wall Crew Members:

Gas Man: Chris Webb	Front Tire Changer: Terry Spalding
Catch Can Man: Brian “Shaggy” Larson	Front Tire Carrier: Aaron Shields
Windshield: Nate Bellows	Rear Tire Changer: Chris McMullen
Jack Man: T.J. Ford	Rear Tire Carrier: Matt Tyrell

Road Crew Members:

Truck Driver: George Hoult	Tire Specialist: Ryan Martin
Mechanic: Matt Aschbrenner	Mechanic: Ben Chase

Matt DiBenedetto’s NASCAR Nationwide Series Career

Year	Track	Start	Finish	Status/Laps	Laps Led	Earnings
2009	Memphis Motorsports Park	4	14th	Running 254/254	0	$26,543
2010	Nashville Superspeedway	15	10	Running, 225/225	0	$21,518
2010	Road America	14	24	Running, 44/50	0	$20,653
2010	Gateway	18	29	Running, 163/200	0	$27,883
2010	ORP	10	31	Accident, 137/201	0	$18,553

Do you want to see what Matt and the other drivers will be facing at Iowa Speedway this weekend?  Check out this virtual lap around the track.  Click this link – Virtual Lap