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Jessica Brunelli from Hayward to race in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series

18 year old Jessica Brunelli from Hayward, CA.

Jessica Brunelli from Hayward, CA returned to the track where she won the 2009 Rookie of the Year award, All American Speedway in Roseville, to test her new Naake Motorsports No. 88 Chevrolet. Last year, the high school senior moved to Mooresville, N.C., to participate in NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program but has now been given the opportunity to run some races in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. Here is the information from Racers Drive.

Racers Drive announces that it will be fielding a stock car in the NASCAR K&N Pro series races at Las Vegas on June 11th and at Infineon Raceway as part of the Sprint Cup show the weekend of June 24 – 26.

The driver will be 18 year old Jessica Brunelli from Hayward, CA who is part of NASCAR’s prestigious Drive for Diversity (D4D) program. She is tremendously fast, very personable and currently running stock cars on tracks back east for Revolution Racing. For more information on Jessica go to her website, www.brunelliracing.com.

Jessica Brunelli waits to take the track at All American Speedway in Roseville, CA.

We will be teaming Jessica up with Naake Motorsports of Roseville, CA and the Stephanie Bellotti Foundation. The Stephanie Bellotti Foundation was formed by Stephanie’s parents after they tragically lost their daughter in an automobile accident. Their organization now provides funding for Teen Driving Clinics to give young drivers the competence and confidence necessary to keep them and their vehicle safe and under control in an emergency situation. The response from fans, sponsors and NASCAR to the foundation’s proactive approach to the development of safe driving skills has been outstanding.

The marriage between Jessica Brunelli, one of NASCAR’s rising young stars, Naake Motorsports, an established and successful K&N team, and the Stephanie Bellotti Foundation will ensure that any organization involved will enjoy the exposure and goodwill generated by the attention and press that this effort will attract.

Brunelli has been competing since she was 7 years old – racing go-karts, quads, Modifieds and Late Models. She is in her second year driving for Revolution Racing in the D4D program and competes in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series. In 2010, she registered six top-five and 10 top-10 finishes in 19 races in that series.

In 2009, she competed in the Modified division at All American Speedway in Roseville – where she finished third in points and had 10 top-five and 13 top-10 finishes. She also raced in two Late Model events at the Roseville track, notching a top-10 finish.

Brunelli has also been involved in several driver development programs, including the Lyn St. James Women in the Winner’s Circle Academy.

Naake Motorsports is headed by Mike Naake, a veteran driver, car builder and shock specialist on the West Coast. Naake’s No. 88 Chevrolet finished fifth in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West race at Roseville in April.

We are actively seeking additional marketing partners to help fund this operation.

To learn how you can become a sponsor and marketing partner with the Racers Drive team, contact Mike Cesario at mike@racersdrive.com or 408-220-3167.

Racers Drive, is a Los Gatos, CA based motorsports marketing management organization which acts as a matchmaker and motor sports advocate for drivers, race teams and marketing partners alike.

-Racers Drive Press Release

A.J. Allmendinger of Los Gatos Visits Kentucky Speedway

A.J. Allmendinger from Los Gatos, California, is the driver of the No. 43 Best Buy Ford Fusion owned by Richard Petty Motorsports. He recently attended a media day function at Kentucky Speedway, where he spoke about driving for a legend and gave his impressions of the track and how it’s changed since his last visit.

A.J. ALLMENDINGER – No. 43 Best Buy Ford Fusion — WHAT ARE YOUR IMPRESSIONS OF KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY TODAY? “It’s cool. It’s been about three years since I’ve been here and just driving in and seeing the parking and what’s going on in the infield with all the updates is impressive. The grandstands, the new offices outside – just from what I remember three years ago to now is absolutely amazing, so I look forward to getting to this place in July when it’s all done and ready to go.”

PIT ROAD IS CLOSER TO THE FANS. WHAT WILL THAT MEAN AS FAR AS THEIR EXPERIENCE? “I think just being able to be close to the race cars in general is a good thing. On pit road, to see the work that actually goes on is great because TV doesn’t really do it justice. To be able to be close enough to see it in person and see what the pit crew does because they’re true athletes and, honestly a little crazy, especially to jump in front of me when I’m driving down pit road, so it’s gonna be really cool. It’s what NASCAR is all about. It’s fan-friendly, it’s exciting, and anything to get fans closer to the action and excited about is what we want.”

Los Gatos native, A.J. Allmendinger and the famous No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford.

HOW HONORED ARE YOU TO DRIVE THE 43? “It’s amazing. For me, I feel very fortunate to wake up every day and be able to get in a race car, especially an Indy car guy. I came from open-wheel, so to think I’m in such a famous number, and, honestly, to have a true legend walk into your hauler every weekend to come and talk to you, whether he’s yelling at you or not, is amazing. I love the history of all sports, and the history of NASCAR especially, and to know I have the man that’s walking into the hauler, and I get to hear stories from him and Dale Inman that fans would die to hear. I get to hear them on a weekly basis, so that’s something that I feel very fortunate about.”

DO YOU FEEL FANS RELATE TO YOU BECAUSE OF WHO YOU DRIVE FOR? “Yeah, and I get fans all the time that come up and say, ‘I’m rooting for you. I’ve been with Richard Petty for 30 years, so I’m rooting for you.’ I’ll take all the fans I can get because I think I’m upwards of 20 or 30 fans right now (laughing), so the more we can get each time is a good thing. It’s something to be a part of Richard Petty Motorsports and have all the great sponsors that we do, but, more importantly, to have the King on your side and single-handedly pick you to drive the 43 is something that when he told me that, it meant the world to me. Now, the next step is we’ve just got to get this thing to Victory Lane so everybody can be happy.”

WHAT DO YOU AND YOUR FELLOW DRIVERS THINK ABOUT COMING TO KENTUCKY? “I can’t really speak on behalf of the other guys, but I know for me it’s cool to always get some new excitement in the series, and we have a lot of great race tracks that we go to, but you need a change and to have a new race like this – a race that I think is gonna be really exciting because the track is wide, there are a lot of grooves, and it’s gonna be three and four-wide racing. I watched the Nationwide race this year on TV and the fan base that showed up for that race was amazing, so I can’t even fathom what it’s gonna be like for the Sprint Cup race. It’s just cool to have some new blood and to have Ford be a part of the race track and re-up and be the official pace car. To be able to come here, it would be awesome for all those reasons to maybe win the first one.”

For more information on Richard Petty Motorsports, please visit their website.

Chico hosts the California Civil War Sprint Car Series

CHICO, CA (5-9-11) – This Friday night war will be declared on the high banks of Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico. Some 30 or more of California’s top 360 sprint car teams will converge for battle on the high banks of the quarter-mile clay oval for the third round of the traveling Hoosier Racing Tires Civil War Sprint Car Series.

When it comes to speed thrills in area sprint car racing, the Hoosier Racing Tires Civil War Series will never disappoint an open wheel race fan and is sure to bring new fans back to the track once they witness the spectacle. The latest version of California’s premier series for 360 cubic inch powered winged sprint cars has just recently begun and is already looking and is shaping into a stellar chase for the coveted statewide championship title.

Friday’s event is the third of 14 events at six of California’s best known race tracks that will experience the thrill of Civil War Sprint Car Racing. The hosts of this tour span Northern California from the Sierra Foothills to the Wine Country and the Coastal Region. Saturday’s event and every regular Civil War Series event will pay $2000 to the winner and $300 to start the 22 car A-feature.

Overall, this series will compete for more than $250,000 over the year and an outstanding championship fund of $40,000 in championship funds is in place with $10,000 of that amount going to the 2011 Civil War Series Champion alone. Additional contingency awards throughout the year are expected to reach the $30,000 mark in various products as well.

Friday night will mark the first of three visits to Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico. After this week, the series will return on Memorial Day weekend for their second appearance during the Silver Dollar Fair and once again in September when the series opens the Gold Cup week with the Pacific Sprint Cup Invitational.

Sean Becker "The Shark" from Oroville on the track. Photo by Steve LaMothe.

Entering Friday’s race, two time series champion Sean Becker of Antelope has returned to the forefront of the Civil War Series point standings. Becker won titles in the Civil War Series in 2008 and 2009 and nearly captured the 2010 title until mechanical woes on the final race of the year dashed his hopes of a record breaking third consecutive title.

Becker is currently in a three way tie for the lead position and Silver Dollar Speedway could not be the better location for the Oroville native to look for an upper hand on the competition. Becker learned the ropes of sprint car racing on the banks of Chico. He is a former track champion here and also captured the Golden State Challenge Series title back when the tour considered Chico its home.

Currently, the driver known as The Shark shares the lead position in the Civil War Series with the young man known at the Human Highlight Reel, Geoff Ensign, of Sebastopol. Steven Tiner of Visalia is third in the tied trio for the point lead. Sitting fourth is Penngrove’s Alissa Geving. The driver known as “Chicko” is eight points out of the lead and holds off the defending series champion Andy Forsberg of Auburn by a single point.

Sitting just out of the top five is former champion Mike Henry of Citrus Heights who is tied with Sacramento’s Herman Klein. Shawn Wright of Fresno is 8th in the standings followed by Chico’s own Brett Miller and Kyle Hirst of Sacramento.

Ensign in Placerville 4-30-12R — Geoff Ensign of Sebastopol, tied for the points lead. Photo by Steve LaMothe.

As the Civil War Series takes to the track Friday night the campaign regulars will be joined by former World of Outlaw’s regular Johnny Herrera of Albuquerque, New Mexico. It’s been nearly ten years since Herrera competed at Silver Dollar Speedway. In his previous visits here he always had strong runs during the annual Gold Cup and Mini Gold Cup events.

“We never got a win in Chico but we had our share of top finishes,” said Herrera. “I think we got in the top five a few times, It’s been awhile since I’ve raced in Chico. I always enjoyed racing there and I’m looking forward to the Civil War this Friday and Placerville on Saturday.”

Best known for his success with the Outlaws tour, Herrera is now focused on the 2011 American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) championship title. The tour will compete out west this summer, including Placerville Speedway for a two day appearance at the conclusion of July.

Herrera, 44, will be behind the wheel of the #35a sprint car fielded by Harold and Janet Main out of Grass Valley. This season Herrera and Main have teamed together to compete in the ASCS National Tour. Routinely Herrera runs the #45x in the ASCS tour.

Highlights of Herrera’s racing career include a Rookie of the Year title in the World of Outlaws tour in 1986. As of 2009 he had 12 feature victories in the tour. In 1991 he was named the Most Improved Driver Award. In 1991 Herrera won the track championship at the famed Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, IA. He captured the nationally known Kings Royal in 1996, earning a winners purse of $50,000 after leading all 30 laps of the affair.

Former World of Outlaw’s regular Johnny Herrera of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

In 2002 and 2003 Herrera teamed up with former NASCAR Crew Chief Billy Wilburn and drove the popular #2W sprint car in the preliminary feature race at the Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He raced a number of non winged sprint car in the all areas of the United States and won the Roger McCluskey Classic at Tuscon USA Raceway. He was also the series champion in 2007 in the SCOA Winged Sprint Car Series in Arizona and won the season title in the Hollywood Hills Speedway Non Winged Class the same year.

As Herrera and the winged warriors of the Civil War Series converge on Silver Dollar Speedway Friday night they will be joined by the Hunt Magnetos Wingless Sprint Car Series for a double billing of superb open wheel competition.

The front gates of Silver Dollar Speedway will open at 6 p.m. on Saturday night with qualifying starting at 6:30 followed by racing at 7. Adult tickets will be $16 at the gate. Seniors will be $16. Juniors will be $12 and Children will be $6. For further information on this event visit www.civilwarsprints.com or www.silverdollarspeedway.com.

Photos courtesy of Steve LaMothe from Steve’s Racing Photos.