EVENT STATS:
Race – Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown

Series – NASCAR Whelen All-American Series

Driver – Ronnie Bassett, Jr.

Car – No. 04 Bassett Gutters & More Ford Fusion

Date – Thursday, April 26th

Track – Richmond International Raceway (Richmond, VA)

Size – 3/4 mile Tri-Oval

TV – LIVE on SPEED TV 8:30pm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Winston-Salem, NC(April 24, 2012) — With a couple weekends off in between races in the UARA-STARS Series, what does the series points leader do? He saddles up against some of the biggest names in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown at Richmond Int. Raceway.

Ronnie Bassett, Jr. has been on a tear since the 2012 season started for the UARA-STARS Series at Hickory Motor Speedway in Newton, NC, where he won the opening race and then followed that up with a second straight victory at Dillon Motor Speedway in Dillon, SC three weeks later. The young wheelman then followed up the two straight wins with a second place finish at Rockingham Speedway in Rockingham, NC after starting shotgun on the field.

His season so far has been a dream, but this Thursday the 16 year-old driver will get an opportunity that is only a dream to many young racers as he gets to line up alongside the likes of Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion, Tony Stewart. Ronnie, Jr. was invited to compete in the invitation only charity race for the Denny Hamlin Foundation, dubbed the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown, an annual race at Richmond Int. Raceway.

Ronnie, Jr. knows what an honor it is to be invited to the race and is looking forward to the opportunity to go door to door with some of NASCAR’s best.

“It’s cool just to get invited to compete in this race,” said Ronnie, Jr. “There’s a who’s who of Late Model drivers and then you add Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and all those (NASCAR) Cup guys and this is really a big race.”

Ronnie, Jr. and many of the rest of the drivers that will compete in the race took part in an open test last Wednesday, April 18th and while he wasn’t the fastest car there, he left the test with a lot of confidence in his chances this week.

“We were about as fast as anybody there, except the 03 car(the car that Tony Stewart will drive),” continued Ronnie, Jr. “Our mock qualifying run was good enough to be in the top five or ten in qualifying last year and I think that we’ll be even better when we unload on Thursday. Chris(Lawson, crew chief), has some more stuff he wants us to try in practice Thursday morning, so we’re hoping to pick up the pace just a little more.”

Ronnie, Jr. fast very happy with his car at the test and likes the way you race around Richmond Int. Raceway, so he’s pretty excited about returning there to race this week.

“After we stickered up last week, I got a good feel for what this track is going to be like this week,” concluded Ronnie, Jr. “It’s a fast place, but coming off of the one-mile Rockingham track last week, it will be an easy transition for me. I like these types of race tracks and I’m ready to get at it.”

Ronnie, Jr. and the rest of the field will park their haulers on Wednesday night and then all the cars will go through inspection starting bright and early in the morning on Thursday. Practice for the Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown will take place beginning at 2:40pm with final practice following that at 3:40pm. The Late Model drivers as well as some of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers will participate in a Q&A session at 4:30pm with qualifying rolling off at 5:30pm.

If you’re not in the Richmond, VA area the race will be available Live on SPEED TV beginning at 8:30pm with the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race preceeding it live from Richmond beginning at 7:00pm. If you want to be able to keep up with practice and qualifying, you will be able to follow along on the LIVE Coverage over at www.RACE22.com or for information just on Ronnie Bassett, Jr. throughout the day you can check @BassettRacers on Twitter or Facebook.

Ronnie Bassett, Jr. and Bassett Racing are supported by Bassett Gutters & More, Roof Shampoo, Rex Younger Galleries, G-Force South, WP Racing Shocks, Performancenter Racing Warehouse, Ford Racing, Kerry Lawrence Exhaust, Bulldog Rearends, Hank Thomas Performance and RACE22.com.

Want to keep up with Bassett Racing? Check out these links …
Website: http://www.BassettRacers.com/
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/BassettRacers
Twitter: @BassettRacers
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/BassettRacers

Want more information on Ronnie Bassett, Jr.? Check out these links …
Website: http://www.ronniebassettjr.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/RonnieBassettJr
Twitter: @Bulldog_04
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/RonnieBassettJr