Sunday, April 30, 2006
TALLADEGA, Ala. (April 30, 2006) — Tracy Hines filled in for Joel Kauffman in the No. 12 Supercuts Beach Bash Dodge for the Aaron's 312 at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday.
Hines qualified 28th with a time of 52.756 seconds and a top speed of 181.515 miles per hour.
For Hines, it was only his second start on the 2.66-mile tri-oval. His previous start came in 2004 where Hines started 20th and finished in the 25th position.
From the beginning of the race, Hines found himself without any drafting help.
"When drivers see that yellow stripe on the back of your car, they automatically decide not to work with you," said Hines.
Hines ran in the back of the field early on in hopes of avoiding any major wrecks ahead of him. Unfortunately, the cars Hines was running beside were causing the most problems for Hines.
"The 05 is all over the place," radioed Hines. "I had to lift."
The No. 49 car was reporting motor problems and the No. 35 car was leaking some kind of fluid, which was finding its way onto the windshield of the No. 12 car.
On lap 43, three cars were involved in a wreck that nearly collected Hines as well. The Nos. 49, 35 and 72 cars, all of whom were running close to Hines, were part of the accident. With the help of his brakes, however, Hines was able to slow down enough to avoid any of the crashing machines.
After the No. 12 Supercuts Beach Bash Dodge came down pit road for its first stop of the day where the crew put on four tires and fuel and made no adjustments to the car, Hines told the crew that the car was "not bad, but they all decided to dump me!"
Hines still found himself without any help after the restart, but according to his spotter, Hines had a good run going down the backstretch.
Hines was worried that he was too close to others and might get caught up in someone's mess, so he began to back peddle on the back straightaway. Fortunately for Hines, the next caution occurred in the front of the field and Hines was never in danger.
When crew chief John Frattura brought the 12 car down pit road for the second time, he again called for fuel and tires only and informed the driver and crew that it would be the last pit stop of the day for the team.
Following the stop, Hines restarted in the 24th-position.
With less than 25 laps to go in the race, Frattura told Hines to start going. However, it wasn't long before the third caution flag of the day waved.
Frattura told Hines to come down pit road only if everyone else came too. Most of the leaders chose to stay out, so Hines stayed out as well. With this strategy, Hines was able to restart 16th.
After one final caution period in the closing laps, Hines brought the No. 12 Supercuts Beach Bash Dodge home in the 25th-spot.
Hines ran his fastest lap of the race at the very end on lap 116 with a time of 49.40 seconds.
Next week, Joel Kauffman will be back in the No. 12 Olympia
Steel Buildings Dodge at the Circuit City 250 presented by FUNAI at Richmond International Raceway. The race takes place on Friday, May 5 at 7:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live by the FX Network and MRN Radio.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Hines to Drive No. 12 Supercuts Beach Bash Dodge at Talladega
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (April 25, 2006) — Armando Fitz, co-owner of FitzBradshaw Racing, and Joel Kauffman, driver of the No. 12 Dodge Charger for FitzBradshaw Racing, together came to a mutual decision today to limit the number of races that Kauffman will participate in for the 2006 season.
"It's tough to be a rookie this season, especially with the limited resources that we have to give them," Fitz said. "We feel that developing Joel and Tracy at selected tracks at a slower pace will be more beneficial to them both in the long run and will improve their confidence and performance."
Kauffman and Fitz will select a number of races where they feel Kauffman will benefit the most from running. Tentatively, Kauffman is scheduled to run again on May 5 in the Circuit City 250 presented by FUNAI at Richmond International Raceway.
As for Talladega, Tracy Hines will pilot the No. 12 Supercuts Beach Bash Dodge in the Aaron's 312 this weekend.
"We have opted to put Tracy in the car for Talladega," said Fitz. "He's already a part of our Bluegreen Marketing program, having driven for them earlier in the year, and he has experience in a NASCAR Busch car and Craftsman truck at this track."
"I'm glad to help out Joel and the team this weekend, although I know it's only for one race in the No.12," said Hines. "I look forward to racing for Bluegreen Resorts again, and I'd like to thank them and all of our sponsors for their support of our race team."
Hines was behind the wheel of the No. 14 Take Me On Vacation Dodge for FitzBradshaw and Bluegreen Corp. during the Herhsey's Kissables 300 at Daytona International Speedway, another superspeedway. Hines finished 20th in Daytona.
Monday, April 24, 2006
AVONDALE, Ariz. (April 24, 2006) - An early qualifying draw was just the beginning of a day gone awry for FitzBradshaw Racing rookie Joel Kauffman. During the hottest time of the day, Kauffman ran a qualifying lap that put him 40th on the grid to start the Bashas' Supermarkets 200.
Problems occurred early for Kauffman and the Beach Bash team when the water temperature in the car rocketed up to 230 degrees on the second lap. Kauffman radioed to the crew that he needed tape pulled from the grill.
It would be almost 20 laps before Kauffman could come down pit road for his first stop of the day.
"Bad, bad tight on throttle," Kauffman said. "Loose in."
When Kauffman brought the No. 12 Beach Bash Dodge into the pit stall for the first time, Crew Chief John Frattura called for two rounds down on the right rear jack screw, one pound of air pressure into the right rear tire and, to lower the water temperature, one inch of tape was taken off the grill.
However, the tightness did not go away for Kauffman.
"Tight all the way through," Kauffman radioed in. "It gets worse every lap."
On lap 44, Kauffman ended up going down one lap. 20 laps later, the Beach Bash crew thought there might be a problem with the right front tire, but the decision to stay out on the track was made.
On lap 89, though, Kauffman yelled to his crew that he needed to pit and brought the No. 12 Beach Bash Dodge down pit road for the second time of the race to go two rounds down on the right rear jack screw and take one pound of air pressure out of the left front tire.
Unfortunately for Kauffman and the rest of the No. 12 Beach Bash team, the caution flag came out two laps after Kauffman pitted, putting the Beach Bash Dodge another lap down.
As the race went on, the car seemed to get better for Kauffman. When the caution flag came out on lap 123, Kauffman relayed to his crew that the car was "the best it's been!"
Kauffman said it was a tic tight under free roll and free off, so Frattura called for one round down on the right rear jack screw during the fourth pit stop of the day for the Beach Bash Dodge.
Kauffman ran his best lap on lap 130 and had nothing but good things to say about the car for the next 20 laps.
"That was good right there," Kauffman radioed, "I wish we had started the race like that. (The) brakes feel good as new right now."
The Beach Bash crew pitted the car for the last time at lap 155, going one round down on the track bar. The car was starting to go toward the tight side before the pit stop, but afterwards, Kauffman complained of a loose condition.
As the race went on, the car started to come around to Kauffman, but as caution flag after caution flag waved in the closing laps of the Bashas' Supermarkets 200, the car went to the loose side again.
The problem didn't hinder Kauffman to the point of needing to pit and the No. 12 Beach Bash Dodge stayed out on the track for the remainder of the race, finishing in 30th-position, two laps down.
This weekend, Kauffman will drive the No. 12 Beach Bash Dodge in the Aaron's 312 at the Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday, April 29. The green flag is scheduled to drop at 3:10 p.m. ET. FOX and MRN Radio will broadcast the race live.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Olympia Steel Buildings introduces their NASCAR Busch Series team through a full color Driver’s Card hot off the presses. No. 12 Driver Card featuring rookie driver Joel Kauffman is available at all Busch races and through the corporate office.
(PRWEB) April 20, 2006 -- Olympia
Steel Buildings is introducing their NASCAR Busch Series team to their customers through a full color Driver’s Card that is hot off the presses. The No. 12 Dodge Charger is featured on the front side of the card as it will appear during the May 5th Circuit City 250 race presented by FUNAI at the Richmond International Speedway. Olympia
Steel Buildings will be the primary sponsor of Fitzbradshaw Racing's No. 12 Dodge Charger for the May 5th race.
The back of the card provides information about FitzBradshaw Racing’s rookie driver Joel Kauffman who is competing with seven other drivers for the title of “Rookie of the Year.” Joel is a talented young driver with enthusiasm and a deep passion for the sport. The FitzBradshaw organization sees great things in Joel’s future and for this reason should make obtaining his rookie card a valuable find.
Olympia Racing’s Driver Card provides a brief summary about FitzBradshaw Racing owned by NASCAR veterans Armando and Mimi Fitz and Pro Football Hall of Fame member and FOX broadcaster Terry Bradshaw. The names and positions of each member of their crew, including Crew Chief John Frattura, appear on the card. FitzBradshaw Racing is the only Busch Series team that offers its sponsors exposure in NASCAR, the NFL and on television. FitzBradshaw is featured on the SPEED Channel reality show NBS 24/7 ‘The Rookies.’ The show airs Monday nights at 8:30 p.m. and re-airs Mondays at 12:30 a.m. and Tuesdays at 8:30 a.m. throughout the season. Olympia’s website, www.olympiaracing.com, offers additional information on FitzBradshaw Racing and invites visitors to examine their complete line of pre-engineered steel buildings.
Olympia Steel Buildings® is the industry leader in the design and manufacture of pre-engineered steel buildings. Olympia specializes in pre-engineered steel buildings which meet and exceed industry standards for quality, reliability, convenience and accessibility. Olympia
buildings are professionally engineered with flexible building designs, over 30 years of experience, industry leading warranty protection and are 100% made in the USA using top commercial grade US steel. For more information, visit www.olympiabuildings.com or call toll free at 800-972-6794.
Olympia Steel Buildings: "Made of Steel, Built on Service"™.
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Bashas' Supermarkets 200 – Phoenix International Raceway
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (April 18, 2006) — No. 12 Team Facts:
- The Beach Bash paint scheme will adorn the hood of the No. 12
Dodge Charger in Phoenix during the Bashas' Supermarkets 200.
- Phoenix International Raceway is one of the seven tracks that
Joel Kauffman competed on during the 2005 NASCAR Busch season.
Kauffman drove the No. 12 Supercuts Dodge Charger during the Arizona
200 in November. Kauffman qualified 35th and finished 29th at the
one-mile track.
- The No. 12 Dodge Charger has been on track at the Phoenix International
Raceway six times in the past five years. Overall, the car has
an average starting spot of 24 and an average finish of 28. The
No. 12 Dodge has recorded a best finish of 10th during the Bashas'
Supermarkets 200 on November 9, 2002.
- The No. 12 Supercuts Dodge will use Chassis No. FB10 at Phoenix
International Speedway. The chassis was used earlier this year
at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the Nicorette 300. At AMS, Kauffman
finished 32nd in the Supercuts Dodge Charger.
On driving in the NASCAR Busch Series Bashas' Supermarkets
200 at Phoenix International Raceway: "This team has
to race their way into the show at Phoenix, but I think we definitely
have the right crew to help us do that," said Kauffman. "These
guys work so hard every day at the shop to build me good race cars.
No matter what kind of problems we had the week before, everyone comes
to the track the next week with a whole new outlook. I know that this
race team has great potential when we all work together the way we
do."
On being outside the top-30 in owner's points: "It's
definitely difficult to be in that position because everyone scrutinizes
you a little more closely," Kauffman said. "But I think it helps
our team to work harder. We've had to race our way in for the last three
races and we've had no problem making the show. I think this team works
well under pressure and we've just got to get some better finishes in order
to get back into the top-30, but I know this team will do it."
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (April 18, 2006) - After a qualifying
run of 161.728 miles per hour and a time of 29.672 seconds, Joel
Kauffman began the Pepsi 300 at the Nashville Superspeedway in the 30th
position.
It wouldn't take long, though, for Kauffman to pilot the No. 12 Supercuts/St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Dodge toward the front. By lap 3, Kauffman was already inside the top-25
"That was as good as you could ask for right off the bat," radioed Kauffman. "Maybe a little loose."
By lap 19, Kauffman was just out of the top-20 in the 21st position.
However, the car started to move to the tight side just a few laps later.
On lap 27, during the second caution period of the race, the No. 12 Supercuts/St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Dodge came in for adjustments, including one round down on the right rear jack bolt, a half pound of pressure out of the right rear tire and a new set of tires.
The adjustments didn't seem to help the tightness of the car, though, as Kauffman radioed back to his crew on lap 51, "It's tight, dead center."
"Those adjustments were about 25% of what we needed," Kauffman informed them.
On lap 76, things got worse for Kauffman and the No. 12 team when the right front tire went down, causing Kauffman to lose one lap and forcing him into make a green-flag pit stop.
After repairing the right fender damage on the car, the No. 12 team sent Kauffman back out on the track, but by that time, Kauffman was already four laps down to the leaders in 37th spot.
A caution on lap 91 allowed Kauffman to bring the No. 12 Supercuts/St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Dodge back down pit road for more adjustments. This time, the crew took two rounds out of the left rear jack bolt and put two rounds into the right rear jack bolt. That caution, as well as another "quickie yellow" on lap 97, gave the team more time to repair the right front fender damage.
The adjustments and repairs seemed to help as Kauffman quickly moved up to the 32nd-position by lap 103, less than 20 laps since his tire troubles, but then Kauffman complained that the car became loose.
"It's wicked loose right in the center," Kauffman said.
On pit stop number seven, around lap 126, Kauffman brought the No. 12 Supercuts/St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Dodge to the pit stall for its final adjustments of the race when the crew went half a round up on the right rear jack bolt and put on a set of fresh tires.
On lap 156, Kauffman was inside the top-25. Five laps later, Kauffman would come in for his final pit stop to get new tires and fill up the car with fuel. The tires didn't seem to help Kauffman, though, when he radioed in to his crew six laps later, "I cannot drive this thing on new tires. It feels like it's on ice."
Kauffman was able to control the car through two more cautions to finish the race 23rd.
Next week, Kauffman will pilot the No. 12 Take Me On Vacation Dodge in the Bashas' Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix International Raceway on Friday, April 21. The race begins at 8:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on the FX Network and MRN Radio.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Pepsi 300 – Nashville SuperSpeedway
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (April 12, 2006) —No. 12 Team Facts:
- Supercuts and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have teamed
up to sponsor the No. 12 Dodge Charger this weekend in Nashville.
The St. Jude logo will adorn the hood of the car, just above the
Supercuts logo.
- Joel Kauffman will visit the Nashville Superspeedway for the
first time in his NASCAR Busch Series career.
- The No. 12 Dodge Charger has been on track at the Bristol Motor
Speedway eight times in the past four years. Overall, the car has
an average starting spot of 17 and an average finish of 19. The
No. 12 Dodge has recorded a best finish of 8th during the Pepsi
300 on April 13, 2002. The No. 12 Dodge has two top-10 starts at
Nashville, including a top-5 start at the 2005 Pepsi 300 where
the car rolled off the grid in the fourth-position.
- The No. 12 Supercuts Dodge will use Chassis No. FB22 at Nashville
Superspeedway. The same chassis ran during the Sam's Town 300 at
Las Vegas Motor Speedway earlier this year.
Regarding St. Jude's partnership with Supercuts for the Pepsi
300 at Nashville Superspeedway: "St. Jude is honored
for the opportunity to raise awareness through FitzBradshaw Racing
and Supercuts," said Harris Jones, sports marketing representative
for ALSAC/St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. "Both partners
have become invaluable to our mission of finding cures and saving the
lives of children all over the world. The No. 12 Supercuts Dodge will
be seen by millions of fans and we hope it will encourage them to join
our partners in support of St. Jude."
On working with new crew chief John Frattura: "I'm
looking forward to racing in Nashville this weekend," said Kauffman. "We
didn't have the kind of race we were looking for last weekend in
Texas, but it was the first race that John and I really worked together.
Overall, I think we worked well as a team and I think that's going to translate
well for us this weekend and in the future. We just needed to get
the kinks out of our system."
On racing in the Pepsi 300 at Nashville Superspeedway: "It's
just the Busch Series this weekend, so we won't have to compete with quite
as many of the Nextel Cup guys as we do every other week," Kauffman
said. "It's fun to run against the Cup guys, but at the same time,
it's hard to compete against guys who spend so much time on the track when
the Busch guys only get a little while to figure out the right setup for
their car. This week, though, everyone will have the same amount of track
time, whether you're a Busch driver or a Cup driver."
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (April 12, 2006) — FitzBradshaw
Racing has announced a partnership with Earl Sadler and Sons Racing
to enter the No. 14 Dodge Charger in the Pepsi 300 at Nashville Superspeedway
this weekend. Sadler Bros. Trucking will be the primary sponsor on
the car.
Steadman Marlin, who drove for FitzBradshaw Racing in 2005 and currently
drives for Earl Sadler and Sons Racing, will pilot the No. 14 Dodge Charger
for FitzBradshaw Racing in the NASCAR Busch Series event.
"We are excited to be working with Steadman again this season," said
FitzBradshaw co-owner Armando Fitz. "He did a great job for us in
Charlotte last fall with a top-20 finish and I have confidence that he'll
be able to give FitzBradshaw Racing and Earl Sadler and Sons Racing the
same results in Nashville."
"I want to thank Earl Sadler for the opportunity to work with his
team and Steadman Marlin," Fitz continued. "I believe this partnership
will benefit both of our teams now and in the future."
The No. 14 has a long and storied history with the Marlin family. Coo
Coo Marlin was the first to drive the No. 14 car in 1975 when he ran in
23 NASCAR races, earning four top-5 finishes and 11 top-10 finishes.
In 1976, both father and son drove the No. 14 car as Sterling Marlin piloted
the car for one race and Coo Coo Marlin was behind the wheel for 12 races,
garnering six top-10 finishes.
Coo Coo Marlin continued to sit behind the wheel of the No. 14 car until
1980, sharing the ride with his son from 1979 until 1981.
Starting in 2006, Sterling Marlin is once again behind the wheel of the
No. 14 car in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series.
Steadman Marlin, a third-generation driver, ran one race for FitzBradshaw
Racing in 2005. During the Dollar General 300 at Lowe's Motor Speedway
in October, the youngest Marlin started 37th and finished 20th.
Marlin has also been on track for one race during the 2006 NASCAR Busch
season for Earl Sadler and Sons Racing. At the Hershey's Kissables 300
at Daytona International Speedway, Marlin started in the 28th-position,
but an early-race accident took the No. 95 car out of contention on lap
49, leaving Marlin in the 41st-spot.
The Pepsi 300 is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. ET. The FX Network and MRN
Radio will broadcast the race from Nashville Superspeedway.
Monday, April 10, 2006
FORT WORTH, Texas (April 10, 2006) — After decent
practices, Tracy Hines and the No. 14 Jani-King Dodge started out with
a good car in the O’Reilly 300 on Saturday at Texas Motor Speedway.
With a qualifying speed of 185.293 and a lap time of 29.143 seconds, Hines
secured a starting spot in the 28th-position.
“I was disappointed by my qualifying run,” Hines said. “I
should’ve started higher in the lineup. Our practices were alright,
so I didn’t expect to be so far back when we started the race.”
The lack of track position hurt the No. 14 Jani-King Dodge from the start
and the car went a lap down early.
When the No. 14 Jani-King Dodge came in for its first pit stop, the team
made a track bar and wedge adjustment and donned four tires.
On the team’s second pit stop, crew chief Ed Buffington called for
adjustments that made the car much better as far as the handling was concerned,
but there were problems with the right front tire.
Twice, the right front tire was loose after lug nuts were not tightened properly,
ending any chance for the No. 14 Jani-King Dodge to advance. This problem
lasted for the last 80 laps of the race.
Hines was running in the 25th-position until the last dozen laps of the race,
but the problems with the right front tires caused him to back off in order
to save the car.
“When the last caution came out, we went back in to tighten up our
last set of tires,” said Hines. “It didn’t help us in terms
of track position, but we were able to save the car and not have a problem
like we did in Atlanta.”
Hines and the No. 14 Jani-King Dodge finished the race in 30th.
Note: During driver introductions prior to the start of
the O’Reilly 300, Hines received an award for the Featherlite Most Improved
Driver of the Race for his finish in Bristol at the Sharpie Mini 300. The
award is given to the driver who best improves his finishing position from
the previous race. Hines finished 41st at Atlanta, while he finished 11th
at Bristol the following week. Hines improved his finish by 30 spots, the
most of any driver in the NASCAR Busch Series for that week.
Monday, April 10, 2006
Kauffman Finishes 35th at Texas
FORT WORTH, Texas (April 10, 2006) — Joel
Kauffman, driver of the No. 12 Supercuts/LPGA Dodge Charger, went
to Texas for the first time with a new crew chief. John Frattura,
who took over atop the box after Bristol, helped Kauffman earn his
best starting position of 2006 for the O'Reilly 300 at Texas Motor
Speedway on Saturday. With a speed of 185.720 and a time of 28.076,
Kauffman qualified 18th.
However, the car went to the tight side early on. By lap 19, Kauffman
radioed into his crew that the car was "getting worse and worse every
time". On lap 25, Kauffman lost one lap and by the time he came in
for his first pit stop, he was two laps down.
On lap 61, Kauffman brought the No. 12 Supercuts/LPGA Dodge onto pit road
for some adjustments. Frattura called for two rounds down on the right rear
jack bolt, half a pound down on the right rear tire along with four tires
and fuel.
The adjustments didn't seem to help when Kauffman yelled over the radio, "I'm
loose now!"
Frattura reassured Kauffman that they had gone in the right direction with
the adjustments, but that they had gone "twice as far as we needed to
go".
When the No. 12 Supercuts/LPGA Dodge came in for its second pit stop on lap
86, the crew went back up one round on the right rear jack bolt to tighten
up the car just a bit.
Kauffman continued to have problems, though, and went three laps down by
lap 117. The car was back to being too tight and when he got behind another
car, he informed the crew that he had an aero-push and the car was "a
little twitchy".
On the next two pit stops, however, no adjustments were made to the car even
though Kauffman complained of the car being "a little bit tight, center-off".
"We didn't have problems turning in the center all weekend," Kauffman
said. "I don't know what happened to the car after qualifying, but it
just wasn't the same when the race started."
Luck just wasn't on Kauffman's side today as things only got worse
on lap 164 when the No. 12 Supercuts/LPGA Dodge got caught up in J.J. Yeley's
wreck. Kauffman, trying to avoid the No. 18 car that was sliding back down
the track, made contact with the No. 41 car and spun, hitting the wall and
damaging the rear of the car. Kauffman reported a "very, very bad vibration" after
flat-spotting the tires. This accident caused Kauffman to lose another lap,
putting him four laps down from the leader.
During a quickie yellow, Kauffman brought the No. 12 Supercuts/LPGA Dodge
down pit road for two stops: one to repair the damage on the left rear of
the car and the second to get four new tires. These changes made the car loose,
but Kauffman did tell his crew that the vibration was gone.
Kauffman continued to tell Frattura and the No. 12 Supercuts/LPGA crew that
the car was loose and during the caution on lap 189, he told them that the
brakes were bad as well.
Kauffman was able to ride around in the car and pick up one spot to finish
35th in the O'Reilly 300.
Next week, Kauffman will pilot the No. 12 Supercuts/St.Jude Children's Research
Hospital Dodge in the Pepsi 300 at the Nashville Superspeedway. The race begins
at 3:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on the FX Network and MRN Radio.
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