KNOXVILLE, TN :: Chad Finchum, fresh off his first career NASCAR Whelen All American Series win, will race on two different concrete tracks in Northeast Tennessee this weekend. He will take on Kingsport’s Concrete Jungle on Friday once again in the 60 lap NASCAR Whelen All American Series Late Model feature and then head to the high banked Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday to compete in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (KNPSE) season opener in the Texas Roadhouse Chevrolet.
“This isn’t our first time running double duty,” said Finchum. “It’s only going to help us. Kingsport and Bristol are both concrete. I ran Bristol last year and we won our first race at Kingsport last week. I want to do a repeat of last weekend at Kingsport and I think that will prepare me for Bristol.
“I’m racing with Jeff Spraker (in the KNPSE race). I think it will be good. We’ll unload tomorrow, get some laps under our belt and get the where we want it. We’ll see where we qualify and what our strategy is for the race. Jeff and I talked yesterday and we’re looking for something better than 7th place right now.”
Finchum prepares for this weekend’s races fresh off winning his first career NASCAR race of any kind, an accomplishment Finchum is still excited about as he chases the NASCAR Whelen All American Series National Championship.
“That was my first in NASCAR last week that I’ve ever had in my life,” said Finchum. “That was huge alone. I could hardly sleep the next night. I believe it’s going to be a good season. I’m pumped up about it. I can’t wait to get back in the car and I’m ready to race. The team worked really hard for that win and gave us all inspiration. It’s been a long time coming for us to get a big victory like that. It was a relief to get a win at a track like Kingsport. The more I run at Kingsport, the better I’ll get at Bristol and vice versa.”
Finchum is confident he can score back-to-back victories at Kingsport Speedway in the Texas Roadhouse Chevrolet despite the tough competition.
“The competition at Kingsport is very strong,” said Finchum. “There’s a lot of competition. We don’t go to lose, we always go to win. That’s always our focus. It’s physically impossible to win every race but we don’t go to run second. We didn’t get any damage the first race so all we had to do is get the car prepared up at the shop. We’re ready to go this weekend. If we can keep luck on our side and everything pans out like it did last weekend, we’ll be in victory lane.”
Finchum also feels he can get a top-five finish at Bristol Motor Speedway if he can keep the car out of trouble.
“Bristol is one of NASCAR’s smallest tracks but, as far as the K&N deal and my past, it’s one of the biggest tracks,” said Finchum. “I’m used to short track racing. Bristol is really fun. The car’s running nearly 160 mph. I had a ball last year. It’s concrete just like Kingsport. We had a good test session last year and we ran well last year. Last year we ran Toyota, this year a Chevrolet. I don’t know if that will make a difference. We’ll have to see how a Chevy reacts compared to Toyota or Dodge. I think we have a shot at a good finish. The key will be to get a solid qualifying run in, keeping the nose clean during the race and I think we’ll see a top five.”
Finchum has competed in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series in the past at Bristol, Richmond International Raceway, Greenville-Pickens Speedway, Gresham Motorsports Park and Bowman Gray Stadium. Finchum finished seventh at Bristol Motor Speedway in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East season opener last year.
Finchum will continue to run the full season at Kingsport Speedway as well as the full season at Motor Mile Speedway as he chases the NASCAR Whelen All American Series. He will also run select races in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
Finchum is supported by Texas Roadhouse, Embassy Suites, A-1 Finchum Heating and Cooling, Food City, Creek Side Grill and Finchum Paint & Body. For more information on Finchum’s racing career check out his website at www.ChadFinchum.com and follow him on twitter @chadfinchum.
