Officials from T3R2 announced today that they will be sporting a brand new sponsor aboard their No. 99 Ford F-150for Friday night’s NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.

Lazer TroKar will debut as a primary sponsor in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) with Stuart, Florida native Bryan Silas at the helm in the first of 22 races this season.

Quickly and impressively, the TroKar brand has been able to dominate the world of bass fishing and change the perception and value of the fishhook in the minds of today’s discerning anglers. Bringing together two industries that were previously worlds apart, the medical and fishing industries, TroKar emerged with its Surgically Sharpened Technology and stunned it’s competitors, all while keeping 100% of its manufacturing in the United States of America.

“It’s very exciting to carry the TroKar brand this weekend at Daytona,” said Silas. “They are a new sponsor in the sport and arriving in time for the series’ biggest race, so we definitely want to have a good run on Friday night for them. Their enthusiasm about joining our sport has been refreshing and we hope to have them around for a long time to come.”

“We are excited to partner with the T3R2 racing team and Bryan Silas in the NASCAR Truck Camping World Truck Series,” offered Chris Russell Marketing Director for Eagle Claw Fishing Tackle and Lazer TroKar. “Lazer TroKar is a leader in the fishing industry and our fans love to watch NASCAR events almost as much as going fishing. It’s the perfect fit for us and being involved in the race in Daytona, where fishing is a way of life, makes the sponsorship even better.”

Silas, 25, will start his sophomore season of NCTWS competition and look to improve on his solid 12th place restrictor plate performance at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway last October with the same truck he’ll be piloting in the season-opener.

“As a team we’re optimistic about our chances, but we also know we’re bringing a really good truck to the track,” sounded Silas. “Even with our finish, we had a motor issue at Talladega, but when we were on all eight cylinders, the truck was fast and fun to drive. We’ve tweaked it some since then hoping for a better showing this weekend. We just need to be patient and have a little luck on our side.”

Friday’s race will also mark the debut of Gary Cogswell as the new crew chief for T3R2.

T3R2 PR

The ever-popularFood City Race Night, one of NASCAR’s largest and most successful fan events, features some of racing’s biggest stars at the free festivities Friday, March 15 at  Bristol Motor Speedway.

Drivers expected to take part in Food City Race Night include Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick, Danica Patrick, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Joey Logano, Clint Bowyer, Austin and Ty Dillon, Kasey Kahne, Trevor Bayne, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Justin Allgaier, Brian Vickers and Brian Scott, to name a few.

Earnhardt Jr., Harvick, Hamlin and Kahne all are scheduled to sign autographs while Austin, Ty and Mike Dillon, along with Bowyer and Vickers, are among personalities scheduled to put their competitive natures to the test with a variety of games held on stage.

Wii Boxing, the anchor event at Food City Race Night, returns with four-time defending champion Elliott Sadler taking on all challengers, which includes Bayne, Stenhouse Jr., Scott and Allgaier.

Patrick Is scheduled for a question-and-answer session, as are Matt Kenseth, Jeff Burton and Greg Biffle.

More than 20,000 fans attended last year’s Food City Race Night in the Bristol Motor Speedway hospitality area.  

The free event opens at 4 p.m. and includes show cars, simulators, souvenir trailers and a number of drivers on hand to sign autographs. Live entertainment is featured along with free food sampling while supplies last.

March race weekend ticket packages, which include the March 17 Food City 500 and Jeff Foxworthy’s Grit Chips 300 Nationwide Series race and the K&N East Series 125 event, remain available, starting at $99. A package in the Wallace Tower for both Sprint Cup races also is available for $99, while packages for fans 15 and younger are available for the March races at half price. Lower-row seating for the Food City 500 is available with tickets starting at $65 for adults and $32 for children 15 and under.

Guests are encouraged to purchase in advance while the price is $5 less per grandstand ticket than the race-day cost for the same seat. Purchasing tickets to the Food City 500 enters the guest in the Bruton’s Big Bristol Giveaway in which 10 lucky fans win a new Ford Mustang.

The K&N Pro Series East 125 takes place March 16 following Jeff Foxworthy’s Grit Chips 300. Tickets for the doubleheader are available, starting at $35 for adults and $17 for kids 15 and under.

BMS PR

Phoenix International Raceway President Bryan R. Sperber announced today the launch of the official mobile app, an advancement that will provide guests with convenient access to information using their smart phones.

The free app has been created to maximize the fan experience and provide streamlined communication about PIR events, including the upcoming SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500™ NASCAR Weekend, by providing quick and simple access to event information, schedules, maps, social media, and more. 

Visit the iTunes App Store or Google Play to download the free app today using keyword search “Phoenix International Raceway”.

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/phoenix-international-raceway/id593910552?mt=8

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.avai.amp.iscphoenix&feature=search_result

PIR PR

Live Nation and ACM Promoter of the Year Brian O’Connell announced more details about the upcoming Faster Horses Festival today.  The inaugural event will feature top acts including Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Kix Brooks, Chris Young, Colt Ford, Thompson Square, Jerrod Niemann and more July 19, 20, 21 in Brooklyn, MI.  Three day festival passes start at $170 and go on sale Monday, February 25 at www.fasterhorsesfestival.com. 

Following the success of the inaugural Watershed Festival at the famed Gorge Amphitheatre last year, O'Connell selected a wide-open field in the secluded Irish Hills in Michigan for his next country camping festival.  Surrounded by lakes and rolling hills, this area of Michigan is a summer hot spot, attracting vacationers far and wide.  The Faster Horses Festival is set to be a prime summer event featuring 2 stages, 9 campgrounds, late night jam sessions, food trucks, bonfires and more to highlight the unique summer lifestyle experience in the area. 

"Anyone who has ever been to this part of Michigan gets how special this place is,” said O'Connell.   "There is so much activity happening in the summer around those parts that it only made sense to drop a huge country music festival right in the middle of it.  We are definitely continuing the theme of Watershed with the caliber of talent and laid back country vibe, but the locations of these two events make each one unique and different. We have a lot of work to do before July to transform the now empty field into a huge country event, but it's gonna be killer."

For a full line-up and more information, visit fasterhorsesfestival.com, twitter @faster_horses,  LiveNation.com and join the conversation on Twitter, #FasterHorses

MIS PR

Revving up a crowd is nothing new to Blackberry Smoke and on April 21, the band will open the Kansas National Guard pre-race festivities for the STP 400.

Trying to define Blackberry Smoke into one genre of music isn’t easy – there are traces of arena rock, bluegrass, gospel, soul and more than a touch of outlaw country, but the quintet is definitely southern rock and Kansas Speedway fans will get their morning started with a high-energy concert from a group that has toured with and befriended legendary bands The Marshall Tucker Band, ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd and George Jones.

The band, which typically plays up to 250 dates a year, has released three full-length album’s including 2012’s The Whippoorwill, their first for country megastar Zac  Brown’s Southern Ground label. The group, who is currently opening some tour dates for Zac Brown Band including this past weekend in Kansas City, released their Pretty Little Lie video one month ago on Jan. 18. Blackberry Smoke has also seen their songs featured in films and video games, including EA Sports NASCAR ’08.

Kansas Speedway PR

Cajun has worked with Wise in the past and recognizes the value of partnering with Front Row Motorsports for NASCAR's biggest event.

"Cajun Industries is proud to partner with Front Row Motorsports and Josh Wise for the Daytona 500," remarked Ken Jacob, President of Cajun Industries. "We've gotten to know Josh well over the past few years, and he is great to work with on and off the track. Josh is a talented driver, and I'm excited to continue our relationship with him and partner for NASCAR's most prestigious race."

Cajun provides a broad range of services, including heavy civil, mechanical and deep foundation construction, in numerous states. The 40-year-old company earned multiple industry awards for its draining and rebuilding work in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, including the Alliant Build America Award from the Associated General Contractors of America, known as the "Oscars of the construction industry."

Cajun's logo will appear on the No. 35 Ford's lower hood and lower rear quarter panels for Thursday's Duel 150 qualifying race and Sunday's season-opening Daytona 500. The Duel 150s will air on SPEED Thursday at 2 p.m. ET and the 500-mile main event will air on FOX on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.

For more information on Cajun Industries, visit www.cajunusa.com.

Primary sponsorship for the No. 35 Daytona 500 entry will be announced soon.  

By definition, a number is a mathematical object used to count, label and measure. Through the years, individual numbers have come to carry values significant in ways other than just math.

Take the number seven, for example. Often times referred to as being lucky, the number carries with it a greater value than just being a unit of measurement. In fact, a 13^th century Jewish scholar named Nachmanides believed the number seven to be the number of the natural world given that there are seven days in a week, seven notes on a musical scale and seven directions.

Tony Stewart plans to add to the number seven’s significance in the DRIVE4COPD 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race Saturday at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.

Before attempting to earn his first career Daytona 500 victory on Sunday, Stewart will look to score his seventh win in the annual season opener for the Nationwide Series on Saturday. The victory would place Stewart in a tie with the legendary Dale Earnhardt for the most wins in the Nationwide Series at Daytona. If there is any sort of validity to the notion of lucky numbers or charms, then Stewart may have a lock on scoring that seventh win come Saturday.

Riding shotgun with Stewart will be Nabisco’s Ritz Crackers brand. It marks the second time the buttery-tasting snack has been the primary sponsor for Stewart in the 300-mile race at Daytona, the last time being the 2010 event which Stewart won after starting 32^nd. Stewart’s relationship with Nabisco stretches back to 2010 when the company became a partner of Stewart and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team he co-owns with Haas Automation founder Gene Haas – Stewart-Haas Racing. The Oreo Cookie and Ritz Cracker brands are Stewart-Haas Racing’s official cookie and cracker. 

What makes this sponsorship ironic for this year’s event is the fact that there are seven holes in a Ritz Cracker. Combining this karmic sponsorship fact along with Stewart’s Nationwide Series record at Daytona may just seal the deal for Stewart to nab that seventh Nationwide Series win at Daytona.

Stewart earned the first of his six Nationwide Series wins at Daytona in 2005, which also happened to be his first career win in the Nationwide Series. He has gone on to score an additional nine victories to bring his career totals in the series to 10 wins, 29 top-five and 40 top-10s in 93 starts. Much of that success has come at Daytona, despite only 13 Nationwide Series starts at the 2.5-mile superspeedway.

In those 13 starts, Stewart has led 206 laps while scoring six wins, seven top-five and nine top-10 finishes in addition to earning a lap completion rate of 99.1 percent. He has an average starting position of 15.8 and average finish of 7.9. Stewart’s six wins in 13 starts is good enough for a win rate of 46.2 percent.

The good news doesn’t stop there.

Stewart won four straight DRIVE4COPD 300s between 2008 and 2011 – a feat he accomplished driving for three different car owners, winning with Joe Gibbs in 2008, Rick Hendrick in 2009 and Kevin Harvick in 2010 and 2011. He hopes to add another win with yet another car owner via Richard Childress and the No. 33 Ritz Cracker/Oreo team on Saturday. It will mark just the third time Stewart has driven for Childress, as Stewart drove for the veteran team owner in last year’s DRIVE4COPD 300 where Stewart led 22 laps before finishing seventh, and in the May 2004 Nationwide Series race in Fontana, Calif., where Stewart finished second.

Nachmanides belief that seven is the number of the natural world seems perfectly natural to Stewart, who is intent on earning his seventh Nationwide Series win at Daytona with the ubiquitous seven-holed Ritz Cracker emblazoned on the hood of his No. 33 Chevrolet Camaro.

TSC PR

Turner Scott Motorsports announced today that Ryan Truex will be behind the wheel of the No. 30 Chevrolet Silverado in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) season opener at Daytona International Speedway. The two-time consecutive NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (NKNPSE) champion will pilot Turner Scott Motorsports' fourth entry in the NextEra Energy Resources 250 with sponsorship from Bass Pro Shops.

Truex, who won the NKNPSE championship in 2009 and 2010, made his NCWTS debut in 2012, running two events and earning a best finish of ninth at Phoenix International Raceway. The 20-year-old Mayetta, N.J. native has two previous NASCAR starts on superspeedways, both in the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS). Truex most recently earned an 11th-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway in May of 2012, but finished 31st after being swept up in a late-race crash at Daytona earlier that season. Truex has a total of 35 NNS starts under his belt, collecting one pole and a total of two top-five and nine top-10 finishes.

"I'm really excited to be running for Turner Scott Motorsports in Daytona," said Truex. "It's cool to be able to start the season off running for a great team. The Turner Scott trucks led most of the race in Daytona last year, so there's no better organization to be racing for at that track. I'm really happy that Bass Pro Shops came on to help us. Johnny Morris, the owner of Bass Pro Shops is a good friend and he's done a lot for my brother [Martin Truex Jr.] and his career. It's really nice that he's able to help me out and get me started for 2013."

Turner Scott Motorsports boasted impressive stats in the NCWTS race at Daytona International Speedway in 2012, with Miguel Paludo, Nelson Piquet Jr. and James Buescher capturing the top three starting spots and leading 81 of 109 total laps. The team also captured the NNS victory with Buescher behind the wheel.

"We're very pleased to have a young talent like Ryan [Truex] in our Chevy Silverado," said team co-owner Harry Scott Jr. "Ryan has had a lot of success so far in his career, including his impressive back-to-back championships in the K&N Pro Series East. Turner Scott Motorsports' three trucks were the class of the field last year in Daytona, and I have no doubt that we can do the same with four trucks this season."

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season kicks off on Friday, February 22nd with the NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway. The 100-lap race begins at 8:30 p.m. ET and will air live on SPEED and MRN.

TSM PR

Max Gresham got to Daytona Beach on Tuesday, February 12 - 12 full days before the NextEra Energy Resources 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) event at Daytona International Speedway.

"For a racer, there's no place more special than Daytona," Gresham said. "I plan to soak up the atmosphere there for as long as I can. I love racing over at Volusia Speedway Park, and I love being at Daytona."

Gresham, who plans to run the entire truck series season, is not only looking for his first top-10 finish in his young Truck Series career, but he also hopes to make Eddie Sharp Racing (ESR) a winner for the first time at the World Center of Racing.

The team also will be carrying the blue and silver colors of AmWINS, a leading specialty insurance broker that's one of the fastest-growing companies in North Carolina, and especially in the Charlotte region.

"When you start a new season, you bring over your best truck and everyone is energized," the 19-year-old driver from Milner, Ga., said. "The same goes for our sponsor AmWINS. We've spent nearly three months getting ready for our biggest race, so we're ready to get things rolling."

The 2.5-mile speedway will open for practice on Thursday, with pole qualifying at 1:40 p.m. ET on Friday. The 100-lap race is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. green flag on SPEED.

While Gresham said the team's primary goal is to establish and build momentum for the rest of the season, he knows survival is ultimately "a crap shoot" when the trucks run two- and three-wide on the 31-degree banking. A year ago, John King rebounded from two earlier accidents to win the race.

Gresham's first Daytona start ended with a 26th-place finish a year ago. In addition to his one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start at Daytona, has had ARCA Racing Series success at Daytona with a sixth place finish in 2012. This event will mark his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career-second start at a super speedway.

"The key is to keep the truck under you, stay out of trouble and make a run in the last couple laps," Gresham said. "If you're not in the middle of something, you've got a good chance for a win."

Gresham also came to Daytona Beach early because he loves the racing atmosphere that surrounds the iconic raceway.

"I really enjoy the fan interaction when you're at the racetrack," he said. "People come from all over the world to see racing there. It's become a classic racing tradition. I can still remember taking my father there in 2008 for the 50th Anniversary Race and sitting in the stands. It was five years ago, and is still a special moment for both of us."

Gresham also loves the largemouth bass in Lake Lloyd along the backstretch. Part of last year's race preparation also included an afternoon of fishing where he caught a big bass.

"That fish gets bigger every time I tell the story," Gresham said with a laugh. "Hopefully we'll make some new memories with our AmWINS truck this weekend. It's been a lot of fun to be around Daytona Beach for nearly two weeks. Now it's time to get busy and have some real fun."

Max Gresham PR

Putinka Vodka will sponsor the No. 4 Rev Racing Toyota Camry of Bryan Ortiz in his attempt to win the inaugural UNOH Battle at the Beach at Daytona International Speedway, an all-star event consisting of the top drivers in NASCAR's K&N Pro Series East and West divisions broadcast live on SPEED on Tuesday, Feb. 19 at 8:30 pm EST.

Tomorrow night's race marks the second time that Putinka Vodka will support Ortiz's NASCAR effort. The Puerto Rican driver, who finished fifth in last year's K&N East point standings, piloted a Putinka-sponsored entry in last fall's K&N West season finale at Phoenix International Raceway to an eighth-place finish.

"Putinka has been an amazing partner and I cannot thank them enough for coming onboard for the Battle," said Ortiz. "I'm thrilled that Mr. Ramon Abad and everyone at Russian Roulette (parent company of Putinka Vodka) enjoyed their experience with us at Phoenix and I hope to give them a strong finish on Tuesday."

Abad, President of Russian Roulette Puerto Rico, is similarly optimistic about Putinka's continued relationship with Ortiz.

"I am proud to be associated with such a great up-and-coming driver like Bryan," said Abad. "Phoenix was a great experience for us and we couldn't ask for a better ambassador of the Putinka brand than him."

Though Tuesday night will be Ortiz's first oval race at the World Center of Racing, it will serve as his second DIS appearance in 2013; he and teammate Roly Falgueras finished 14th in the Grand-Am Continental Tire Series race in January.

For more information on Russian Roulette and its Putinka Vodka brand, please visit russianroulettepr.com.

Rising Star Management PR