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Successful 2011 Season Comes to a Close for Turner Motorsports
The 2011 season was one for the record books for Turner Motorsports, which burst onto the scene in a big way in both the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) and NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS). Expanding from a two-car operation in the NCWTS in 2010 to field three trucks and four NNS entries this year, the team boasted an all star line-up of drivers that included Kasey Kahne, Mark Martin, Justin Allgaier, Jason Leffler, James Buescher, Ricky Carmichael, Steve Arpin, Brad Sweet, and Blake Feese.
After a strong start to the NNS season, Turner Motorsports captured their first-ever victory when Mark Martin drove the No. 32 Dollar General machine to victory lane in just the third race of the year at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The team also scored Turner Motorsports third NNS victory in a nailbiter of a finish at the Wisconsin-based Road America with driver, Reed Sorenson. Led by crew chief Trent Owens, the No. 32 group had an incredible year by posting eight top-five and 24 top-10 finishes.
Kasey Kahne and Jason Leffler shared driving duties of the No. 38 Great Clips Chevy and put together a solid season that left Leffler finishing sixth in the NNS championship point standings. When Kahne was behind the wheel, veteran crew chief Stewart Cooper called the shots from atop the pit box while Eddie Pardue made the calls for Leffler during his 26 races in the car. Together the two drivers captured four top-five and 12 top-10 finishes with 68 laps led. Tune into the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals in Tulsa, OK this January where Leffler will sport the colors of his longtime sponsor in one of the greatest spectacles in open wheel racing. In their 10th year as a sponsor in the NNS, Great Clips reached a major milestone this fall with the opening its 3000th salon.
Justin Allgaier had a tremendous season driving the No. 31 Brandt Chevy with leadership from another veteran crew chief, Jimmy Elledge. In their first year working together, the duo earned one win, six top-five and 17 top-10 finishes. Allgaier wheeled his machine to victory lane in June at Chicagoland Speedway in dramatic fashion, running out of fuel on the last lap but still able to coast his way to the checkered flag and to Turner Motorsports’ second NNS win. Allgaier finished out the season third in the championship point standings.
The No. 30 team saw an array of drivers including Jason Leffler, James Buescher, Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne and Ricky Carmichael as well as a variety of marketing partners including AccuDoc Solutions, ABF, Fraternal Order of Eagles, Monster Energy, Great Clips, Sporting Kansas City, Dollar General and Rexall. The No. 30 Chevrolet team captured two top-five and 10 top-10 finishes throughout the 34-race season with their best finish coming at Indianapolis Raceway Park where James Buescher posted a runner-up finish.
On the NCWTS side, Turner Motorsports turned heads and made a serious run at the championship title with driver, James Buescher. Driving the No. 31 Exide Chevrolet Silverado, Buescher overcame being 24th in the point standings early in the season with a run of 13 consecutive top-10 finishes. With five races remaining in the season, Buescher captured the points lead which he held for two weeks before an unfortunate accident at Las Vegas closed the gap on the competition. He ended the season an impressive third in the point standings.
In his sophomore year competing full-time in the NCWTS, Ricky Carmichael had a solid 2011 as well in the No. 4 Monster Energy machine. The motocross legend earned one top-five and seven top-10 finishes, leading a career-best 39 laps along the way.
The No. 32 NCWTS team saw four drivers take the wheel this season including three rookie drivers and a NASCAR legend who returned to the NCWTS after being absent for three years. The season started off with World of Outlaws racer, Brad Sweet, sporting the Great Clips logo on the hood, for the first 10 events of the season. He notched two top-10 finishes before closing out his run and making way for Canadian driver, Steve Arpin. Arpin, who made his NCWTS debut with a splash in the Mike’s Hard Lemonade Sliverado, qualified fourth at Texas Motor Speedway and had several impressive runs. The NCWTS rookie closed out his run at Chicagoland Speedway, grabbing his first career pole. NASCAR veteran, Mark Martin, made his return to the NCWTS with the iconic Exide Batteries paint scheme for two races. Martin was on track to take the No. 32 Chevy to victory lane, but his dominating performance was derailed by a late-race accident at Michigan International Speedway. Blake Feese returned to NASCAR this season, taking the reigns for the remainder of 2011, capturing one top-five and one top-10 finish.
Turner Motorsports is already gearing up for the 2012 season, which if all indications prove true, will be even more successful than 2011. The driver lineup includes some familiar faces like Justin Allgaier, Kasey Kahne and James Buescher, as well as a couple of new faces like those of Nelson Piquet, Jr. and Miguel Paludo. Stay tuned for additional driver and crew announcements in the coming weeks. Happy Holidays everyone!!!