Story by: Langley Austin ~ [email protected]
Ashland, VA(September 15, 2009) — Not since 2007 has Frank Deiny, Jr. been behind the wheel of one of the Bailey’s Cigarettes blue and yellow cars, but that will change when the green flag drops at Martinsville Speedway for the Bailey’s 300.
Deiny, who won the Bailey’s 300 race back in 2004 while sponsored by Bailey’s is hoping to rekindle some of that magic as he heads into the biggest race of the year for Late Model Stock Cars.
“I’m excited,” Deiny said. “Mac Bailey and the whole Bailey’s Cigarette company has been pretty good to me over the years and it’s going to be great to have them back on board especially in this race.”
Deiny and the Bailey’s name became synonymous throughout the early 2000’s and Deiny’s hoping they’ll become a force to reckon with once again as they team up for the 200-lap race at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, VA.
“We’ve had a lot of success together and I fully expect that we can pick up right where we left off. I had a pretty good year running at Motor Mile Speedway this season, even though we only won two races and both of those came late in the season. I’m confident we’ve got our program heading in the right direction and the Bailey’s 300 couldn’t be coming at a better time.”
Deiny took a little over seven months off in 2008 before returning to Late Model Stock Car racing and was met with a tough challenge in last fall’s Bailey’s 300 when he missed the race by one position in one of the heat races. Though, Deiny knows it’s always tough to make the field in this race that draws over 100-cars every year, he feels like he and his FDJ Motorsports team are up to the challenge.
“We hadn’t missed the race in like, ten years; It was certainly a blow to me and my team to miss that race, but we had two of our FDJ Motorsports cars in the race and I was really proud of our organization overall. We’re not going to let that happen this year, I know it’s always tough there, but I feel like we’re ready to flex our muscle right now.”
Deiny certainly seems to be hitting his stride as of late on the track racking up two wins in the last seven races of the season at Motor Mile Speedway and falling just a few points short of the championship at the 4/10 mile track.
Deiny, who is known as one of the toughest competitors in Late Model Stock Car racing is ready to take his longtime sponsor back into Martinsville Speedway and hopefully back into victory lane.
“That’s the race that everyone wants to win and I’ve tasted victory there before and with Bailey’s help this year I feel like we’ve got to be one of, if not the favorite to win the race. I think we’ll be one of the cars to beat no question,” concluded Deiny.
With the sucess that Deiny’s had over the years at Martinsville Speedway there’s not many people who doubt that this veteran can get the job done.