Southwestern Glory
Tony Stewart Racing’s McMahan Seeks Third Season Victory
in Arizona , California World of
Outlaws Sprint Series Action
INDIANAPOLIS (Oct. 16, 2007) – Tony Stewart
Racing’s (TSR) Paul McMahan has tasted victory twice this season. He’s also
been close enough to touch it, just to see it fall out of reach. This week
in World of Outlaws (WoO) Sprint Series action,
he’ll be looking to not only taste and touch victory, but to enjoy the
thrill of the winner’s circle once again.
With
a stop at Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix
on tap for Friday, McMahan will be gunning to put the No. 20 TSR/Bass Pro
Shops/Eagle back in victory lane. In McMahan’s last appearance at the
half-mile speedway on March 3, 2007, he earned a fifth-place finish, while
future TSR driver Donny Schatz won the A-main.
Friday’s
event at Manzanita will also allow McMahan’s
crewman, Mike Kuemper, a chance to return to his
native ground. Kuemper, who hails from Phoenix , will make his first visit to his hometown since the
series’ last event at Manzanita in February. Kuemper, who is wrapping up his fourth year as a member
of the No. 20 TSR team, also competes in non-winged sprint car competition
as a driver when his schedule allows.
The
team will then head to Perris ( Calif. ) Auto
Speedway (PAS) on Saturday for the WoO
only appearance of the season at the track. In his last appearance at PAS
on Feb. 2, 2004, McMahan earned a solid sixth-place finish. The winner of
that event was Jason Meyers.
In
70 starts this season, McMahan has earned two victories, eight fast time
awards, 14 top-five finishes and 37 top-10s in WoO
Sprint Series competition. He is ranked eighth in the WoO
championship standings with 9,070 points. He trails series leader Schatz by
862 points and is only 48 markers out of seventh-place.
The
pit gate will open at Manzanita Speedway at 2
p.m. PDT on Friday. Grandstands will open at 4 p.m. with hot laps set to
begin at 6 p.m. For tickets, race fans can call SLS Promotions at 815-344-2023.
The official Web site of Manzanita Speedway is www.manzanitaspeedway.us.
Pit
gates will open Saturday at PAS at 2 p.m. PDT. Grandstands will open at 4
p.m., with hot laps beginning at 5:30 p.m. To purchase tickets for the event,
log on to the track’s official Web site at www.perrisautospeedway.com.
Race
fans can listen to all the action from this weekend on the DIRTVision.com cybercast, as
well as on the DIRT Radio Network. Visit www.DIRTVision.com for
more information on all the features, including updated results from each
night of racing, as well as a chat room to interact with other fans
listening to the action.
The
WoO Sprint Series also returned to television
this year, with the series’ next broadcast scheduled for Nov. 3 on SPEED.
Live action from the Nov. 3 WoO World Finals at
The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., will
be aired from 8 – 11 p.m. EDT. A total of 20 races will be televised either
on SPEED or ESPN2 this year, including the Race to the
Championships on SPEED. For a complete television schedule, log on to www.worldofoutlaws.com.
Quotes from Paul McMahan, driver of
the No. 20 TSR/Bass Pro Shops/Eagle:
While it’s not your hometown, Phoenix
is home for crew member Mike Kuemper. Can you
relate to how nice it is get a few days at home after such a long period on
the road?
“When
we head to Manzanita, we always look forward to
getting to spend a few days in Phoenix . It’s typically a one-day show, which means we’ve got
some down time. It’s also great for Mikey, as he
gets to see his family and sleep in his own bed for a few nights. Any time
you can catch up with everyone and get to spend some time at home, it puts
you in a good frame of mind. Hopefully we’ll all head into Manzanita with some solid rest behind us and with a
little luck, we’ll be able to put Bass Pro Shops
and Chevrolet
back in victory lane again.”
It’s been a while since you raced at the Perris Auto Speedway . What challenges does the track present to drivers and
teams?
“Perris
is something of a flat half-mile, which is usually the case with tracks
that size in California . It doesn’t have a lot of banking and it’s not overly
fast for the winged cars. It’s really a different facility, as it’s not a
true half-mile, or it doesn’t feel like it is when you’re at speed. It
usually gives us one lane to work with, as you really have to plan your
moves and adjust the track accordingly. It’s a track that makes you work
really hard all night and you really have to stay on top of it as it
changes from the beginning to the end. Hopefully, we’ll draw a good
qualifying number and be a little bit ahead at the start of the night.”
For
complete WoO Sprint Series results, log on to www.worldofoutlaws.com.
For information regarding Stewart, McMahan, Bass Pro Shops or Chevrolet,
log on to www.tonystewartracing.com,
www.paulmcmahanracing.com,
www.basspro.com or www.chevrolet.com.
-TSR-
