Huntersville, North Carolina (April 29, 2008) – Fresh off a record breaking NFL season, New England Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss announced today the formation of Moss Motorsports, LLC  with its intended participation to begin in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

Moss anticipates that the team will debut at some point in the second half of the 2008 season and run selected races through the conclusion of the year. The partial schedule is a prelude to a full-time campaign in 2009. Sponsors and manufacturer alignments will be announced at a later date.

“We don’t have all of the details in place just yet, but I am very excited about Moss Motorsports becoming a part of NASCAR,” Moss said. “I am by nature a very competitive person and this is an outlet for me to compete at another level. There are some pretty awesome challenges in building a program like this from the ground up, but I am looking forward to it. That’s just another aspect of the competition – you want to find the best people available and you’re competing with all the other teams out there. We’re starting to look at who the best people are and working on getting them to be a part of our team.”

Moss is a ten year veteran in the National Football League and was a first-round draft pick in the 1998 draft out of Marshall University.  He has been a NASCAR fan for several years including sponsorship of a local dirt track program and recently made the decision to get involved with the ownership of a NASCAR team.  He is also a Goodwill Ambassador for the Urban Youth Racing School and furthers his youth advocacy while holding the same honor with American Youth Football. A major component of the Moss Motorsports program will be the continued involvement and support of youth programs.

“There are a lot of NASCAR fans in the locker room,” Moss said. “We’ve seen a lot of football players get involved – guys like Dan Marino and Troy Aikman to name a couple. I think it’s a good fit and gives some of the companies I am already working with an additional outlet. It’s a smart move on the marketing side of things but on the personal side of things I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Randy has kick started his efforts by contracting with Integrity Sports Marketing, LLC – a leading motorsports marketing company in NASCAR.   “We know it takes time to build a team from the ground up, and we have some good people working with us to get that process started,” Moss said. “We are talking to the manufacturers, and we’re already evaluating some drivers. Eventually I’d like to be able to have our team work with some of the young guys that are working hard to make it up the ladder, but right now it might make more sense to find a driver with a lot of experience to get us started. But we really don’t have anyone in mind. We’ll look at who is available and find someone that can help us compete and win as quickly as we can.”

Moss believes Moss Motorsports will give his current marketing partners another avenue to gain exposure and will open doors for new companies that want to work with him.

“The companies I already work with now have a chance to get some exposure to another group of dedicated sports fans,” Moss said. “And we’ll have an opportunity to build some relationships with an entirely new group of companies as well. We’ll have a chance to do some pretty cool things between the football side and the racing side. That’s a part of the equation that most of the other teams don’t have, so we already have a competitive advantage over them. Once we get everything in place we look forward to competing on the race track too.”

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Craftsman Truck Kansas Speedway Official Results

Nationwide Series Talladega Superspeedway Official Results

Sprint Cup Talladega Superspeedway Official Results

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 27, 2008) – The new car matched – and exceeded – the boom in competition from the last visit to a restrictor plate track (February’s Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway).

There were 52 lead changes among 20 drivers during Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway.

The Daytona 500 saw similar numbers – 42 lead changes among 16 drivers.

Sunday’s 20 different leaders is tied for eighth all-time in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition.

The 52 lead changes topped both Talladega races from last season. In the 2007 spring race, there were 42 lead changes; in the fall contest, there were 41.

There was also a jump in Green Flag Passes for the Lead, a Loop Data statistic that accounts for lead changes all around the track (not only at the start/finish line). Sunday’s race saw 84 Green Flag Passes for the Lead, compared to 67 during the last race held at Talladega.
 
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Kyle Busch, winner of Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 at Talladega, will attempt to pull the “season circuit” in next weekend’s races at Richmond International Raceway.

With a win at the .75-mile Richmond short track, Busch would have a win on every style of track in NASCAR.

He currently has a win at two intermediate tracks (Atlanta in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and Texas in the NASCAR Nationwide Series), a restrictor plate track (Talladega in NASCAR Sprint Cup), a road course (Mexico City in the NASCAR Nationwide Series), a one-mile track (Phoenix in the NASCAR Nationwide Series) and a two-mile track (Auto Club Speedway in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series).

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TALLADEGA, ALA. – Kyle Busch won racing’s biggest crapshoot Sunday after a knuckle-cracking, tension-filled NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Sprint Cup Talladega Superspeedway Unofficial Results
After a multi-car wreck with 25 laps to go ruined Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart’s chances, Busch battled his way to the front with some bold moves in the closing laps of a thrilling race.

Juan Pablo Montoya, the former Indy 500 winner and Formula One star, crossed the finish line in second, glued to the bumper of the winner.

The seventh caution flag of the day fell on the final lap, signaling the end of the race, when a gaggle of cars racing for finishing position started spinning behind the leaders.

The race which featured 52 lead changes among 20 drivers was totally unpredictable from start to finish with drivers swapping the lead several times on a single lap.

Denny Hamlin, who raced Stewart and Earnhardt for the lead throughout most of the race, finished third with rookie David Ragan fourth. Ragan also mixed it up with the leaders all day.

Brian Vickers was fifth, followed by Travis Kvapil, Casey Mears, Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer and Earnhardt, who managed a 10th-place finish despite his car being damaged in the wreck.

It was a pins and needles afternoon with just about every driver leading for a spell. On the final restart, two-time champion Jimmie Johnson pushed Michael Waltrip to the front momentarily but the deck shuffled several times by the end. Johnson finished 13th and teammate Jeff Gordon, who challenged up front in the closing moments, wound up 19th.

Points leader Jeff Burton, who also ran with the frontrunners most of the overcast afternoon, was caught up in the last accident and finished 12th.

As heartbreaking as it was for Earnhardt and Stewart, substitute driver David Stremme –filling in for the injured Dario Franchitti – ran strong all day but was also eliminated in the final accident of the day. 

Stewart jumped into the lead at the start on a balmy day at Talladega’s two and a half mile speed emporium that has produced some of NASCAR’s most exciting races.

By lap 10, Talladega favorite Earnhardt had moved from ninth to third.

It was a short day for Chip Ganassi Racing driver Reed Sorensen, who retired to the garage with engine problems after just five laps.

Behind the leaders Stewart, David Ragan and Earnhardt, pole winner Nemechek settled into fourth with veteran Schrader on his bumper. 

Four-time series champion Gordon had moved from 20th to eighth by the 19th lap when former champion Matt Kenseth slid into the turn four wall for the first caution of the afternoon.

Nemechek lost valuable time in the pits while his crew switched his car from “qualifying mode” to “race mode,” such as reconnecting belts like power steering that might produce a little more speed.

On the restart, Stewart was still leading with Kyle Busch second, Sadler third and Gordon fourth, followed by Brian Vickers, Earnhardt, Ragan, Jamie McMurray, Montoya and Scott Riggs.

Shortly afterwards, McMurray and Hamlin hooked up in the outside groove and streaked past Stewart and the others. After pushing McMurray to the front, Hamlin ducked to the bottom in turn one and took the lead himself on lap 33.

By lap 37, Earnhardt pulled out of line in front of Gordon and roared to the front, much to the delight of the huge, partisan crowd.

Clearly, the outside groove was the place to be. By lap 41, it was Earnhardt, Gordon, Paul Menard, Newman and Kevin Harvick, who started back in 39th position. Stewart and company had faded to 20th. 

Hotshoe Carl Edwards brushed the wall and lost the draft during this period of the race.

The racing was just what people expect to see at Talladega with two and three abreast racing keeping the crowd on its feet.

Earnhardt maintained the lead during several skirmishes but Vickers got out front briefly and held on for several laps.
 
Earnhardt then fell in behind Menard and pushed him into the lead. Montoya got a push from Hamlin and led briefly but Earnhardt took over again on lap 53. Then Hamlin went out front. The lead was changing so fast, it was hard to keep up with who was first, and for how long.

Harvick took a turn in front, then Hamlin again. Then Earnhardt again at 60 laps of this 188-lap nail-biter.

After everyone had pitted under the green flag, Stewart was once again out front.

Vickers, who had been in the thick of things, spun his car exiting pit road and lost a lot of track position, all the way back to 30th spot.

By 70 laps, it was Stewart, Hamlin, Menard, Martin Truex Jr., Kvapil, Johnson, rookie Michael McDowell, Waltrip, Elliott Sadler and Bowyer. Earnhardt had dropped to 11th spot.

On lap 76, Indy 500 winner Sam Hornish Jr., scraped the wall slightly and had to make an unscheduled pit stop.

By the 80th lap, Earnhardt was back up to fourth just behind Johnson. Stewart and Hamlin were in front. The next lap, Earnhardt pushed Johnson towards the front but fell back in line, leaving Johnson in a fade-away position, all the way back to 15th.

Stewart and Hamlin were hooked together for several laps and Nemechek had worked his way back into the top 10.

Earnhardt took the lead again on lap 88 with the Stewart-Hamlin duo stuck on his bumper.

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By Tim Tuttle
Special to Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

Craftsman Truck Kansas Speedway Unofficial Results

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (April 26, 2008) — Ron Hornaday Jr. won the O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 in overpowering fashion Saturday at Kansas Speedway,starting from pole and leading 136 of 167 laps.

It was Hornaday’s first win of the season and extended his all-time lead in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series to 34. He also took the lead in the points by 61 over Rick Crawford.

“This thing was just a rocket ship,” Hornaday said. “It’s a brand-new truck. You don’t have trucks like that, it was awesome.”

Hornaday surrendered the lead three times during yellow-flag pit stops and impressively drove the Kevin Harvick, Inc. Chevrolet back to the front in a few laps on each occasion. He was fourth following his final pit stop on Lap 108, regaining the lead in five laps and holding it for the final 55 around the 1.5-mile circuit.

KHI teammate Jack Sprague bounced back from a midrace mistake that put his Chevrolet at the back of the field to finish second, one truck length (.149 seconds) behind following a restart with two laps remaining.

Hornaday pulled away to a two-truck length advantage and was in control heading onto the backstraight. Sprague made a strong run going into Turn 3, but wasn’t able to get alongside Hornaday and followed him to the checkered flag.

“Coming off the backstretch, all of a sudden he (Sprague) was on my rear end,” Hornaday said.

Sprague, also driving a new truck built by KHI, pitted out of sequence on Lap 74 and steadily gained positions. He passed rookie Colin Braun on the outside in Turns 1 and 2 on Lap 155 to take third and moved up to second one lap later when second-running Todd Bodine spun in Turn 3 and hit the outside wall.

“We didn’t pit when everybody else did, and we used our stuff up getting back to the front,” Sprague said. “We wanted it bad.”

Braun, in his Roush Fenway Ford, finished third but angered veterans Sprague and Matt Crafton.

Braun rammed Crafton’s Chevrolet in the bumper and turned him into the Turn 4 wall, ruining a strong race. Crafton confronted Braun on pit row after the race, and Braun took responsibility for the mistake.

“I didn’t want to get into Matt,” Braun said. “I apologize. Hey, I’m a rookie and I make mistakes.”

Sprague was attempting to pass Braun on the inside on the frontstretch when the rookie moved to his left.

“He came down on me and I could have let him crash,” Sprague said. “I went around him on the outside. I told him, ‘That was a gift, but don’t mess with me again.’ He has to stop running into people. If he wants to win, he has to have respect.”

Bill Davis Racing teammates Johnny Benson and Mike Skinner finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in their Toyotas.

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