Max Gresham, Joe Gibbs Racing Looking To Make History At Martinsville
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
GRIFFIN, GA (June 1, 2010) – Sunday’s UNOH Performance 200 will be the first-ever, stand-alone NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at the historic Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. For Joe Gibbs Racing driver Max Gresham, it’s a chance to make a little history of his own.
“It would mean a lot for me to win there,” stated Gresham, who visited Victory Lane in the last two NASCAR K&N Pro Series East events at Iowa Speedway and South Boston Speedway. “Another win would make it three-in-a-row for me and my Joe Gibbs Racing Team. It would also be cool to win at Martinsville because of all the history there. A lot of amazing drivers have won at Martinsville and to add my name to that list would be pretty incredible. Winning Sunday’s race at Martinsville would definitely be the biggest win of my career to date, there’s no doubt about that.”
Gresham, who is just 17 years old, is a youngster compared to the venerable Martinsville facility. Opened in 1947, the .526-mile paperclip-shaped Martinsville oval is one of the toughest and most storied tracks in all of stock car racing. Over the years, Martinsville Speedway has hosted multiple NASCAR divisions including the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series.
“I’ve never been to Martinsville,” said Gresham. “Honestly, this being the first NASCAR K&N Pro Series race at Martinsville, most of the other drivers won’t have any experience there either. I can’t even think of a place that comes close to the Martinsville track. There might be a corner here or there that resembles a place I have been before, but I won’t know that until I get out there. Fortunately, my Joe Gibbs Racing team will put another great Toyota Camry under me, so I feel like that will be an advantage again. They will also have some useful information from all of the Cup races they have run there. I’ll just try to get as much useful information as I can.”
Gresham has been a quick study to date. The Griffin, GA driver has posted four Top-5 efforts – including the two wins - and five Top-10 finishes in his seven career NASCAR K&N Pro Series starts. He leads the division championship and Rookie of the Year standings heading into the Martinsville event.
According to the rapidly rising young driver, it’s all part of being associated with the Joe Gibbs Racing organization.
“I’m a little bit surprised with our success so far this season, but then again, I’m not,” said Gresham. “This Joe Gibbs Racing Team is so great. It’s kind of expected that the driver performs just as good as the team is. They don’t pressure you into anything. They just tell me to do my best and what I can bring back is what I bring back. Right now, we’ve hit a stride where everything is hitting on all eight cylinders. Everything has come together at the right time for us. We have a great group, we all get along, and we all know how to race.”
Sunday’s UNOH Performance 200 will take the green flag at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. The event, which features a $125,542 purse, will be shown on SPEED on Thursday, June 10 at 6 p.m. ET.
For more information about Max Gresham, please access www.MaxGresham.com