The Second Legends Million Race is Set

CONCORD, N.C. (June 17, 2011) – The second annual Legends Million

returns to Charlotte Motor Speedway Aug. 1 and 2. The largest grassroots

race in history will once again offer the largest Legend Car and Bandolero

purse of the year, as drivers do battle on the speedway’s frontstretch

quarter-mile oval.

Registration for the Legends Million begins today and is scheduled

to close on July 18. The purse structure for the 2011 Legends Million will

be prorated, based on total cars registered, so competitors are encouraged

to register early.

“As the car count goes up, the purse goes up,” said Don Hawk, vice

president of business affairs, Speedway Motorsports, Inc. “We’re asking

competitors to get their registration in as early as possible so we can get

the purse locked in.”

In the inaugural Legends Million last year, Kannapolis, N.C., native

Daniel Hemric was victorious, taking home an unprecedented $250,000. More

than 300 drivers from 36 states and two foreign countries, ranging from 12

to 72 years old, registered for the one-of-a-kind Legend Car race.

“These are the race cars that launched the careers of NASCAR drivers

like Dale Earnhardt Jr., Joey Logano, David Ragan, Kurt Busch and Kyle

Busch,” said Marcus Smith, president and general manager of Charlotte Motor

Speedway. “The Legends Million is a great opportunity for fans to come to

the track and see the future stars of NASCAR compete in the largest Legend

Car race in the world. It’s also an excellent opportunity for young drivers

to get noticed and hopefully take their career to the next level.”

Registration links are available online at

http://www.charlottmotorspeedway.com and at http://www.uslegendscars.com. The cost to

register is $500. Competitors who purchase a new Legend Car from U.S. Legend

Cars International will receive free entry into the Legends Million.

Competitors participating in the Legends Million are registered in

one of three divisions: Young Lions/Semi-Pro, Masters or the Legends

Million, which is open to all drivers. Each division will run heat races and

an A-Main race, with the Legends Million A-Feature serving as the grand

finale of the two-day event.

Competitors will complete time trials to determine their starting

position in the heat races. Drivers will then progress to B-Mains based on

their finishing position in the heats. The starting lineup for each A-Main

will consist of heat race winners and the first-place finishers from the

B-Mains. A total of 30 competitors will race in the Legends Million

A-Feature event, which will be 100 laps with a 15-minute break at lap 50.

Bandolero Beginner Bandit, Bandit and Outlaw drivers will also have

the opportunity to compete in a Bandolero Triple Crown event, with heat lap

and feature events spanning both days.

The Legends Million is open to all Legend Car competitors, 12 years

of age or older and is not restricted by division. All minors 17 and younger

must complete a minor waiver, which is available for download at

http://www.charlottemotorspeedway.com/waivers.

For additional information on the Legends Million, visit

http://www.charlottemotorspeedway.com or call the Charlotte Motor Speedway events

department at (704) 455-3205. For more information about U.S. Legend Cars

International and Legend Cars, visit http://www.uslegendscars.com or call U.S.

Legend Cars International’s headquarters at (704) 455-3896.

Connect with Charlotte Motor Speedway on Twitter at

http://www.twitter.com/CLTMotorSpdwy or become a Facebook fan at

http://www.facebook.com/charlottemotorspeedway.

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Helluva Good! 400 Friday Practice

Ford drivers David Ragan and AJ Allmendinger finished first and second in the opening practice session at Michigan International Speedway Friday afternoon. They will be the last two cars to qualify Saturday under new NASCAR rules and each talked about their fast lap and what it means for qualifying tomorrow.

 

DAVID RAGAN, driver No. 6 UPS Ford on his practice run: “It is sometimes easy to do that on Friday. It gets a little harder Saturday and a litter harder Sunday. Our UPS Ford is fast. We expect it to be fast when we come here to Michigan. There is a chance for rain tomorrow and the time slot for tomorrow’s qualifying falls in line with that first practice so we spent some time in qualifying trim, as did some of our teammates. It was fast I look forward to seeing how it is after a few more laps in race trim this second practice.”

 

YOU GO LAST TOMORROW IN QUALIFYING. “It doesn’t change much for us. We have seen that you can go out and sandbag and try to have an earlier spot but that kind of messes with the rhythm of the weekend. Our opinion is to go out and go as hard as we can every lap of every practice and let the chips fall where they fall. It may hurt us a little bit going out really late if it gets really warm out, but our UPS Ford has enough speed in it that we feel like we have a great shot at the pole and certainly a top-five or top-10 run.”

 

AJ ALLMENDINGER, driver No. 43 Best Buy Ford on his practice run: “The tough thing about this place is that it will change so much by Sunday and get a lot slicker. We are just trying to get a good baseline package. I think race trim is okay and the qualifying run right there was a good lap. I don’t know if I could match that again. We will see how this next practice goes.”

 

YOU WILL QUALIFY SECOND TO LAST, DOES THAT CHANGE YOUR APPROACH AT ALL? “Well, we will see. A lot of the strategy with that is the rain that is coming. If it rains then we will start second in the race which is good. We have been starting like crap lately so that would be nice. I know how this track is going to slicken up, so we have to keep working on a good package, but this is at least a good start.”

New NASCAR Hall of Fame Member: Glen Wood

EDDIE AND LEN WOOD REFLECT ON FATHER’S INDUCTION

INTO NASCAR HALL OF FAME

DEARBORN, Mich. June 17, 2011 – Eddie and Len Wood of Wood Brothers Racing have had an incredible year going. They won the Daytona 500 with a driver in the seat of their No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion that became immediately beloved by fans.
And on the cusp of getting fresh-faced, enthusiastic Trevor Bayne back in the driver’s seat again at their sponsor’s hometown race, the unexpected happened: For the Woods, 2011 got even better.

Glen Wood, Len and Eddie’s father and founder of the family’s dynasty, wrote down the names of the people he thought would make the 2012 Class in the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C. His was not among them. But Glen, Eddie and Len went to the ceremony anyway, prepared to be happy for the inductees – all men they see as family.

They weren’t prepared for what actually happened next.

Glen was voted in – to the delight of fans and members of the industry alike. He could throw that paper away. Now fans and family hope that Glen’s brother Leonard, who was also nominated, won’t be far behind. They are the Wood Brothers, plural, of course.

EDDIE WOOD, WOOD BROS. RACING – WERE YOU NERVOUS, WAITING TO SEE WHAT WOULD HAPPEN? “No, you didn’t really expect it. You didn’t really know who was going to get in, so you don’t really get nervous about it. You go in assuming you’re probably not going to get picked. Our dad, I was sitting beside him and he was actually shocked, surprised, whatever you want to call it, because he had written down before we went over there who he thought was going in and he wasn’t one of them. I don’t think he expected it for another couple of years, so he was really excited. I’m not sure it really sunk in until they said his name. Then it was like wow, I’m in the Hall of Fame! It was a really good thing for him.”

LEN WOOD, WOOD BROS. RACING – “He picked Darrell (Waltrip), Cale (Yarborough), Tim Flock, Buck Baker and Herb Thomas.”

DID YOU SEE THE LOOK ON HIS FACE WHEN HE FOUND OUT? EDDIE WOOD – “He just kind of stared at Brian like, OK, I’ve got to stand up now. He was very relaxed. I think he was so surprised that he didn’t know what to do. So he stood up. But he was very happy.”

HOW LATE DID HE HAVE TO WORK THAT DAY, GOING FROM INTERVIEW TO INTERVIEW AND SHAKING HANDS? LEN WOOD – “We didn’t get there until 3:30 p.m. The actual announcement didn’t take 15-16, no more than 20 minutes. He did interviews until probably 1 ½ hours after that. One station to the next station to the next one.”

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE FOR IT TO SINK IN THAT HE’D GOTTEN VOTED IN? LEN WOOD – “We were probably on the way home (before it sank in).”

EDDIE WOOD – “Or what it meant. It’s a big honor to get inducted into (the Hall of Fame). We were talking about it on the way in here (Ford Motor Company’s Dearborn complex). He (Eddie) and I knew, of the 15 that have gotten in, we knew them. We’re friends with all of them. Every one of them. So it’s really special for us, because we knew everybody that’s been inducted so far anyway. We’re friends with them. We’ve been really good friends with Darrell and Cale. Cale drove our car. (Dale) Inman’s one of our best friends at the race track, since we were kids.”

LEN WOOD – “Richie Evans, we used to give (Inman) oil filters and things, years ago. He would race at Martinsville when we were there.”

SO IT FEELS MORE LIKE YOU’RE SITTING DOWN TO THANKSGIVING DINNER WHEN YOU GO TO A PRESENTATION LIKE THAT? EDDIE WOOD – “Yeah, everybody that’s there are friends of ours.”

LEN WOOD – “From Ned to Bud to Junior to Richard to…”

EDDIE WOOD – “The France’s. France Sr., France Jr. We’re friends with them.”

LEN WOOD – “Earnhardt.”

YOU’VE HAD SUCH AN INCREDIBLE YEAR ALREADY. WHAT DO YOU SAY WHEN PEOPLE ASK WHAT’S NEXT? “In racing you don’t think much about it. You just think about the next race. And from that race it’s the next race. You just kind of live from race to race. You don’t really think about (the future). You’ve just done it so long, you know how many things can go wrong, so you just kind of prepare yourself for the worst and whatever happens that’s not bad is great.”

About Motorcraft
Motorcraft® offers a complete line of replacement parts that are recommended and approved by Ford Motor Company. From routine maintenance to underhood repairs, Motorcraft parts offer exceptional value with the highest quality and right fit at competitive prices. Motorcraft parts are available nationwide at Ford and Lincoln dealers, independent distributors, and automotive parts retailers and are backed by Ford Motor Company’s Service Parts Limited Warranty. For more information, visit www.motorcraft.com.

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Quick Lane® provides automotive quick services for all makes and models. Quick Lane’s nationwide network of 600 facilities, each providing the convenience of an aftermarket company (no appointment necessary, service while you wait, evening and weekend hours, competitive prices) with the confidence of a major automotive manufacturer (quality parts, factory-trained technicians). Quick Lane® is a registered trademark of Ford Motor Company. For more information, visit www.quicklane.com.

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About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 163,000 employees and about 70 plants worldwide, the company’s brands include Ford and Lincoln. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford’s products, please visit www.ford.com.