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Ryan Newman, Daytona 500 Champion!!
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PRESS RELEASE
Happy Homecoming For
Gilliland In California
Elevation Motorsports Group For M&M's Racing, Press Release

CHARLOTTE, NC (February 20, 2007) – For West Coast native David Gilliland, it has been an all East Coast start to the 2007 season. Daytona International Speedway (DIS) was very kind to the driver of the M&M’S Ford as he captured the pole in his first visit to the 2.5-mile superspeedway and finished no lower than eighth in the three races he ran at DIS during Speedweeks.

After a successful start to the season, Gilliland is excited to return to familiar ground as he heads ‘home” to California Speedway for the running of the Auto Club 500. Prior to moving to North Carolina at the start of 2006, the Riverside native housed his racing operation in a small shop just a few miles from the Fontana race track. Now he returns as one of one NASCAR’s newest stars looking to continue his streak of success.

Quoting M&M’S Driver David Gilliland:

Talk a little about your feelings the morning after the Daytona 500 after you had some time to let it all soak in.

As I was getting out of the car on Sunday, I was very disappointed. As a driver, you really have tunnel-vision and you cannot see the big picture. I really thought we had a shot at the end to win but after you watch the replay of the wreck on the last lap, I saw the hole close in front of me and I realized we were really lucky to make it across the finish line in the top-10.
On Monday morning, I was a lot more upbeat after taking a step back. This is a great position to be in heading to California. The team feels upbeat. Everyone at M&M’S® is really excited about the start we’ve had so far so finishing eighth after going a lap down was a great finish for us.”


What it is like to come home to California after such an exciting week in Daytona?

“We got a ton of phone calls from family and friends while we were in Daytona after winning the pole so I’m excited to come home and see everyone. Most of our friends and our family still live in this area so it’s great to come back and get to see everyone. These are the people that helped me reach this point in my career so its going to be a lot of fun to come home and really spend some time with them this weekend.”
What are your goals for the next couple of races?

“This is my favorite type of racing, running on the intermediate tracks. California is a track I’ve got some laps on. I feel very confident after the Vegas test with where our intermediate program is heading at RYR. We are bringing the same car to California that we ran in Homestead last year and tested at Vegas this winter, which is a great car. We had a good top-five run going there (in Homestead) but we had an accident ending our chances for a good finish.
“I think the biggest thing I have worked on is working on my patience. Patience is key to big picture racing. These are 500 miles races, much longer than anything I have been used to running, and I really have to pace myself as a driver to make sure we are running at the end to have a shot at a good finish. Last year we looked at each race on its own and now each race is a part of the big picture so our goal is come home every week with solid finishes.”

You were talking a lot about patience. Does your new spotter Earl Barban play a big part in helping you with this?

“Absolutely. I immediately felt very comfortable with Earl on the radio. I have a ton on respect for everything he has done working with Rusty (Wallace) and Jimmie Johnson. To me, it is like having Todd Parrott on the rook spotting for you. He has so much experience and is so good at what he does, you feel very at ease and I can listen to everything he says and just learn from it. Mostly, I think he will help me stay calm and focused for all 500 miles. He is just a huge asset to our team and I’m really thankful to have him in our corner.”

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Ricky Rudd And Team Look To Continue Success In Car Development That Began During Testing
Elevation Motorsports Group For Snickers Racing, Press Release

CHARLOTTE, NC (February 20, 2007) – This weekend the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series travels to California Speedway for Sunday’s Auto Club 500. Coming off a front row starting position for the Daytona 500, Snickers® driver Ricky Rudd and the #88 team are looking forward to racing at California this weekend.

Rudd who has three Top 5 finishes in Fontana hopes to add another to his career stats this Sunday. After a successful testing session at Las Vegas in February, Rudd feels that the team learned a lot of valuable information that will help them in California this weekend.

Quoting Snickers Driver Ricky Rudd:

Feelings heading into California:

“I’m actually looking forward to it after our Las Vegas test. California seems to be very similar to this brand new configuration that we tested in Vegas. If we can pick up where we left off with the testing we had in February, then I’ll be really happy with the outcome.”
Looking back at Daytona results from this past weekend

“I have mixed emotions, but besides the crash and finish of the race, it was a mainly positive experience. The car was competitive and ran up front for a majority of the race and the pit stops were great! I was really satisfied with the car and our team’s strategy on Sunday. The long green flag racing really allowed us to showcase our great handling car, it was just after the incident that we got caught up in that eliminated our chances for the win.”
Quoting Snickers Crew Chief Butch Hylton:

Feelings heading into California:

“It’s imperative for us to have a strong Top 10 finish this weekend in California in order to start the season off being a contender for the Chase. Daytona was a great weekend for us as far as examining how the car handled and ran. Our team did tremendous work heading into Daytona and we look forward to having another successful weekend with our Snickers Ford qualifying well and running up front.”

NOTES OF INTEREST:

· Ricky Rudd has competed in 11 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series events that have taken place at California Speedway since the series started racing there in 1997. Rudd finished third in the track’s inaugural race in 1997.
· Rudd’s best finish at California to date is a third-place finish he scored twice; 1997 in the #10 Tide Ford and 2002 in the #28 Texaco Havoline Ford).

· Rudd’s best start at California to date is when he qualified third for the event in 2000.

· Rudd has completed 2526 of the 2754 of his laps in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series races at California since 1997 for a lap completion rate of 91.7 percent.

· There are ten tracks on the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series schedule at which Rudd has yet to win a race. California Speedway is one of those ten tracks.

· Seven out of the last thirteen NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races at California Speedway have been won by a Ford.

CHASSIS 69

Chassis 69 is the car that the #88 Snickers team will race this weekend in California. This car’s nickname is “Maverick” and was run many times (9 or 10) in the 2006 season and is also the car that all the Research and Development was run on. The car itself has been entirely rebuilt for the 2007 season.

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PCGCampbell For Ford Racing, Press Release

The NASCAR Nextel Cup Series takes one of its three breaks this weekend before returning to action March 9-11 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Ricky Rudd, driver of the No. 88 Snickers Ford Fusion, didn't miss a race for 25 consecutive seasons (1981-2005) before taking off all but one race last season. Rudd is third on NASCAR's all-time list with 877 career starts, just six behind Dave Marcis.

RICKY RUDD - No. 88 Snickers Ford Fusion -

WHAT DOES A DRIVER WHO JUST TOOK A BREAK FROM THE SPORT PLAN FOR AN OFF-WEEK AFTER ONLY TWO EVENTS BACK? DO YOU HAVE ANY SPECIAL PLANS?

"Yes, we do. I think we're just going to take a little family vacation. I'm not sure where we're going to go, we haven't figured that out yet, but we'll spend time together. I haven't seen Landon, my son, and Linda, too much here lately because of all the heavy testing and, obviously, the hectic schedule that this Cup circuit has become. But, really, just spending some quality family time. Somewhere. Not really sure where."

IN TERMS OF REJUVINATION, WAS THE YEAR BREAK BETTER FOR YOU MENTALLY OR PHYSICALLY?

"Probably more mental - it was being able to have a little time to reflect. The way the seasons go, you know, the way one season rolls into the next and the next thing you know 30 years goes by. So, really, just sit back and reflect. I'm getting closer to retirement age, and I wasn't sure if that time off was going to lead to retirement or where it was going to head, but I pretty much kept an open mind and let it take its own course."

YOUR ROBERT YATES RACING TEAMMATE, DAVID GILLILAND, HAS BEEN VERY COMPLIMENTARY IN TALKING ABOUT YOU AND WHAT YOU'VE DONE FOR HIM. IS THERE ANYTHING HE'S BEEN ABLE TO DO TO HELP YOU?

"David's sort of a unique individual. He's very low, obviously, on Cup experience, but he acts as if, and he handles himself on the track as if he's been here many years. Normally, when a rookie would step into an operation like this there wouldn't be a whole lot that I would be able to gain back, because usually the young guy pulls from the veteran. But with David, I think because he's built his own equipment, he's set up his own cars for years, he has a unique ability to read the car, what the car actually wants - even though he doesn't have any experience on these big cars, he's able to give really good feedback. So, to answer the question, David's feedback is right on. We're the same size, so we can switch cars. When I get in his car and he's already given a description of what the car's doing, I'll usually get out and give the same exact description without knowing what he said. This is a big asset to the team because you've got a guy that's inexperienced, but yet he's able to give really good feedback. And, we all know he can go fast."

HOW IMPORTANT WAS IT FOR YOU TO COME BACK AFTER A YEAR OFF AND DO SO WELL RIGHT AWAY, SITTING ON THE OUTSIDE OF ROW ONE AND RUNNING WELL IN THE DAYTONA 500? WOULD YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT RETURNING HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT HAD YOU STRUGGLED RIGHT OFF THE BAT?

"I don't know. I took a step back and realized that you're going to have your good days and you're going to have your bad days, and I try not to get too worked up about it. But, it certainly was very rewarding to go to Daytona and have such a great car and a great team, and sit on the front row. We raced really well in the 500; circumstances didn't turn out like we wanted, with a late-race wreck, the finish didn't show the effort, but we were very pleased with the effort this team had. We had a car capable of winning that race had it gone green-flag stops. At the least, we would have definitely been a top-five, top-10 car."

IN THE PAST, YOU ALWAYS SAID YOU'VE NEVER LOOKED AT YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS - WHETHER IT WAS WINNING AT LEAST ONE RACE IN 16 CONSECUTIVE SEASONS OR BEING THE ONLY OWNER/DRIVER TO WIN AT THE BRICKYARD - SAYING THAT YOU WOULD WAIT UNTIL YOU RETIRED TO LOOK BACK. DURING YOUR YEAR OFF, DID YOU LOOK BACK?

"No, not really. I really didn't. My purpose in taking time off was basically to see if I could take racing and sit it on a side shelf somewhere and not even think about, and just really figure out what I wanted to do. Did I want to race? Did I want to retire? I didn't really sit back and reflect. I think that had I taken the road that, 'Hey, I'm retired,' I might've reflected back and say, 'We didn't win the 500 before or we didn't win the championship, but we had some great years.' I think had I chosen the route to retirement, I probably would've reflected on those. But I didn't choose that road, so all of that looking back at self-accomplishments will be probably be done someday, it's just not going to happen now."

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Ryan Newman, Daytona 500 Champion!!
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