Barnes Paces Practice Session for Polar Bear 150 at Rockingham 150

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE			               			           CONTACT: Andy Cagle
									         			           910-995-2122

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. (December 31, 2009) –  The rain held back long enough  
for one practice session Thursday afternoon.

Unfortunately for the rest of the cars entered in Friday’s Frank  
Kimmel Street Stock Nationals Polar Bear 150 at Rockingham Speedway,  
Chuck Barnes did not.

Before the rain set in, Barnes, the Louisville, Ky. native, turned the  
fastest practice laps of the 55 cars that took time in preparation of  
Friday’s race with a quick lap of 29.774 seconds.

“The car was pretty good,” said Barnes, the defending champion of the  
Polar Bear 150. “It’s basically the same set up that we had last year.  
It was pretty stable considering how damp the track was. I think we  
are through with practice today, we are close, as close as anyone else.”

China Grove N.C.’s Tab Boyd, whose day job is spotting for Juan Pablo  
Montoya, was second quick with a lap of 29.814 seconds. Owensboro,  
Ky.’s Brett Hudson, winner of the Cherry Bomb 200 at the Rockingham  
Speedway, was third fastest with a lap of 29.857 seconds. Rounding out  
the top-five were Clint Watkins of Maggie Valley N.C. and Louisville,  
Ky.’s Tony Conway. The top four drivers were the only ones to break  
the 30 second mark during the limited practice.

“The car is really driving good today,” said Boyd. “We are just having  
a blast here today at Rockingham. I’ve got a bunch of friends and  
family here helping us with the car. I want to thank Andy Hillenburg  
and Frank Kimmel for putting this deal together.”

Hudson sees some room to inmprove on his times as he looks to make up  
for last year’s disappointing Polar Bear finish. Hudson’s car blew a  
engine with 15 laps to go while running second, denying him a chance  
to race Barnes for the win.

“The car wasn’t as good today as it has been or as I was hoping for,”  
Hudson said. “but the track was wet. The car was loose in. I was being  
pretty conservative with it and we were still third quick. I think  
we’ll have something for them tomorrow.”

Cars will line up based on their practice speeds for the European- 
style qualifying session at 10 AM on Friday. Each 10-car group will  
make a five-lap qualifying run with each car’s fast lap determining  
their starting position. The green flag drops on the Polar Bear 150 at  
12 noon.

For more information, or to order tickets for the Polar Bear 150,  
contact the Rockingham Speedway at 910.205.8800 or online at www.rockinghamspeedway.com 
. General admission tickets are $15 in advance and $20 the day of the  
race with tickets for children under 12 $5. Suite packages are also  
available by contacting the speedway.

If you can’t make it to the track, then follow the racing action from  
Rockingham Speedway online at www.pitrowradio.com.


Caption Photo DSC_779
Chuck Barnes (No. 5) leads Brett Hudson (No. 00) through turns one and  
two during Thursday afternoon's practice session for Friday's running  
of the Polar Bear 150 at Rockingham Speedway. Barnes turned the  
fastest lap of the session with Hudson turning the third fastest.  
Qualifying for the Polar Bear 150 gets under way at 10 AM Friday  
morning with the green flag waving at noon.


Caption Photo DSC_736
Jimmy Elledge turns the 18th fastest lap of the 55 cars that took time  
in Thursday afternoon's practice session for the Polar Bear 150 at the  
Rockingham Speedway. Qualifying for the Polar Bear 150 gets under way  
at 10 AM Friday morning with the green flag waving at noon.






Andy Cagle
Director of Public Relations
Rockingham Speedway
andy.cagle@rockinghamracewaypark.com
910.995.2122