Stock Building Supply Pre-Race Report: “NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown”

   Fresh off their top five finish in the “Stock Building Supply 100” at Sandia Motor Speedway in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Rip Michels and his Stock Building Supply/Leeco Racing/ Victory Circle Chassis Chevrolet Monte Carlo racing team heads to Irwindale Speedway this weekend to compete in the 4^th annual NASCAR Toyota All Star Showdown.
   The NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown is an invitational only race for NASCAR’s best regional series racers from across the nation with nearly $500,000 in prize money up for grabs. Drivers and their teams are invited to compete based on the final point standings for their series. The top 10 drivers from each of the four series that comprise the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division are invited, including the Midwest Series, Northwest Series, Southeast Series and Southwest Series. On Friday twin 50-lap qualifying races will be held with fully inverted fields (with series champions and points leaders starting from the rear of the field) to determine the starting lineup for Saturday’s 125-lap main event.
   For Rip Michels, the Showdown event has been bittersweet. In the two previous starts Rip has made, he has finished 3rd in 2004, and 6th in 2005. He led the most laps on both occasions only to have the victory slip away. Last year, contact was made while Rip was in second, dropping him to the 31st position. Rip put on a heck of a show for the fans at the speedway, and those watching on TV, and raced his way back up to 6th position in 35 laps.

The Team:
   “The team is really excited about this race,” said Mike Mulder, Mechanic. “Rip has 45 victories here at Irwindale Speedway and captured his first career victory in the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Southwest Tour Division back on August 12, 2006, so we feel like we have a great shot at victory.

The Driver’s Corner:
   “Not much you can say about Irwindale Speedway that has not already been said,” commented Rip Michels. “This is one of the best short tracks around the nation. The progressive banking always leads to three, sometimes four wide, competition. I have had a great deal of success at this track and would love nothing more than to capture a victory this coming weekend. I am also humbled that I have an opportunity to compete in this event. 40 of the best race car drivers in the nation are coming here with hopes of a victory, so this race will be one of the toughest races that we will ever compete in.”

The Car: Gidget
   Chassis Gidget made her debut back in August here at Irwindale Speedway and was victorious in her first start. She also made a start in the season ending race at Altamont in September, where she finished second and captured the season long championship. The team is hopeful that she can continue her impressive start and bring home another victory.

Racing for the Missing:
   Stock Building Supply and Rip Michels Racing, Inc. are pleased to be a part of this organization. All of the top ten teams that compete in the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Southwest Tour Division will feature a picture of a missing person that will appear on each of the top ten’s car’s hoods while participating in this weekend’s race, in hope of shedding some light on these cases. The teams were approached by Darrell Lamoure who is a fellow competitor on the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Southwest Tour Division, and a Program Director for Racing for the Missing, a division of Nation’s Missing Children Organization, Inc.
   Amy Lynn Bradley has been missing since 3-24-98. She was vacationing with family members on a cruise ship in the Netherlands Antilles, when she was last seen. For more information on Amy Lynn Bradley, please visit: http://www.theyaremissed.org/ncma/gallery/ncmaprofile_all.php?A200300125W

The Race:

For more information contact Irwindale Speedway at (626) 358-1100
For more information on Rip Michels Racing, please visit www.ripmichels.com
Source: LRM Sports Marketing, Inc.