Erick Rudolph Scores Solid Top-10 Finish at Bristol Motor Speedway

August 19, Bristol, TN--- Erick Rudolph finished 10^th in the UNOH Perfect Storm 150 in a back-up car. The Heinke Baldwin Racing (HBR) Development Driver collected his second top-10 in two NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (NWMT) starts at Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS).

Contact in first practice caused major damage to the No. 98 Mohawk N.E./Original Pizza Logs Chevrolet, forcing the HBR team to roll out the backup car. Despite the incident, Rudolph posted the 14^th-fastest lap time of 15.130 seconds (126.821 mph) in the first practice. The HBR team quickly got the back-up car ready, and Rudolph laid down the 13^th-fastest lap of 15.195 seconds (126.278 mph). Rudolph ran a qualifying lap of 15.000 seconds (127.920 mph) to secure the 11^th-place starting spot.

At the start of the UNOH Perfect Storm 150, Rudolph and the inside lane were slow to get up to speed, causing the No. 98 Chevrolet to lose a few spots. By lap 9, the 18-year-old worked back up to the 11^th position.

The first yellow flag flew on lap 13 for a spin on the frontstretch. When the field went back to green-flag racing on lap 17, the 18-year-old battled in the 11^th position. Rudolph showed he had a fast race car as he worked passed the No. 3 of Ryan Preece for the 10^th position on lap 28. By lap 40, the No. 98 HBR Chevrolet was nose-to-tail with the No. 6 of Ron Silk in ninth. Three laps later, Rudolph muscled his Mohawk N.E./Original Pizza Logs Chevrolet around Silk for the ninth spot. The Ransomville, N.Y., native gained a good lead on Silk and set his sights on eighth place.

A spin on the backstretch on lap 55 caused the second caution of the day. With a mandatory five-minute break at halfway, the HBR team stayed out on the track. Green-flag racing ensued on lap 62 with Rudolph starting just behind fellow HBR Development driver Bobby Santos III on the inside. A slow start for the inside line caused Rudolph to lose a few spots on the restart once again. When the break began, the No. 98 Mohawk N.E./Original Pizza Logs Chevrolet was in the 12^th spot.

During their mandatory time in the pits, the HBR team tried to loosen the car for Rudolph. The field went back to green on lap 81, with Rudolph in the outside line. Two laps later, he drove into the ninth position. Although the changes helped, the No 98 Chevrolet was still tight. By lap 93, Rudolph sat in the 11^th position and began a battle with the No. 58 of Eric Goodale for the 11^th spot. He held his ground and stayed steady in the 11^th position.

As the field began to spread out, Rudolph set his sights on the 10^th-place car of Ryan Preece. Engine trouble for NWMT veteran Ted Christopher put Rudolph into the 10^th position on lap 141. With a tight race car and few laps left, Rudolph hit his marks and held on to the 10^th spot when the checkered flag flew for the UNOH Perfect Storm 150.

The strong top-10 finish allowed Rudolph to keep the seventh-place position in the NWMT championship point standings, 116 points behind sixth place and 11 points ahead of eighth place.

"I had a great time tonight," said Rudolph. "Unfortunately, we had to go to a backup car early in the day. We had a good car for the race but were a little too tight. We tried to loosen it up during the break, but it wasn't enough. We had a solid finish. I am proud that I have finished in the top-10 in both starts at such a difficult track. I really enjoy coming here."

Rudolph and the No. 98 HBR team will return to New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 18 for the F.W. Webb 100. This will mark the 12^th of 14 races in the 2010 NWMT season.

Bobby Santos III Recaptures Point Lead in Thunder Valley

Finishes Fourth in Bristol Motor Speedway Debut

August 19, Bristol, TN--- Heinke Baldwin Racing (HBR) Development Driver Bobby Santos III drove his No. 4 Mystic Missile Dodge to a fourth-place finish in the UNOH Perfect Storm 150. Santos recaptured the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (NWMT) point lead in his Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS) debut.

Santos made his first laps at the "World's Fastest Half-Mile" early Wednesday morning for first practice, posting the 13^th-quickest lap-time of 15.129 seconds (126.829 mph). The Mystic Missile team worked on the car and improved their time in final practice with a third-fastest lap of 14.986 seconds (128.040 mph). As qualifying came, Santos and the No. 4 Dodge continued to show improvement and posted a lap of 14.842 seconds (129.282 mph) for a third-place starting spot.

Santos took the green flag for the UNOH Perfect Storm 150 from the inside of the second row. At the start of the race, the inside line had trouble getting up to speed, and Santos lost a few spots. When the first caution of the night flew on lap 13 for a spin on the front stretch, the No. 4 Mystic Missile Dodge occupied the seventh position.

In the next segment, Santos battled to pass NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Ryan Newman for the sixth spot. As they rode nose-to-tail, Santos could not pass Newman, as he began to have brake trouble. The high-banked track allowed Santos to stay out, but the brake trouble hindered his lap times.

The yellow flag flew for the second time of the night for a spin on the backstretch. Santos stayed on the track and restarted in the eighth position, just in front of fellow HBR development driver Erick Rudolph. By the halfway five-minute break, Santos sat in the ninth-place spot. The Mystic Missile team utilized the mandatory time in the pits to resolve the brake problem. The team tied off the brake lines to the rear brakes, which gave Santos use of his front brakes.

With more confidence going into the corner, Santos was ready to move through the field in the last 75 laps of the race. The green flag waved on lap 81 with Santos in the ninth position.  The inside line was slow to start again, and Santos dropped to the 11^th-position as he was caught on the inside for the restart. Santos quickly recovered and worked his way to the seventh position by lap 95.

Continuing the green flag run, Santos muscled to the sixth spot on lap 132. Driving it hard into turn three on lap 133, Santos worked to pass the No. 2 car for the fifth position.  Coming out of turn four, the No. 4 Dodge got sideways and caused Santos to lose some ground. As he struggled to pass the No. 2 on the inside for six laps, Santos finally powered passed Todd Szegedy for the fifth position.

With the championship standings weighing on his mind, Santos was calmed when trouble hit championship-contender Ted Christopher. Christopher had engine problems, relegating him to a 26^th-place finish in the combined field. Knowing he would have a good point day, Santos focused on hitting his marks and finished in the fourth position in his BMS debut.

A tight point-battle continues, as Santos recovered the NWMT point lead. He now sits 32 points ahead of NWMT veteran Ted Christopher with three races remaining.

"It was a good day for us," explained Santos. "We had some brake trouble early, but thankfully, we had the intermission to fix it. We were much better in the second half of the race. I was pushing it hard through the final laps. As soon as I saw that Ted had trouble, I kept reminding myself to be conservative and get a solid finish. I am happy we finished fourth and reclaimed the point lead. I had a lot of fun out there and am proud of my first finish at Bristol."

The NWMT will be back in action September 18 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Santos will steer his No. 4 Mystic Missile Dodge around the one-mile oval for the F.W. Webb 100.

Jason Cunningham, NASCAR Public Relations, (704) 201-6658 or jcunningham@nascar.com

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