Jimmy Kite Prepares for NASCAR Transition at Gateway

 
CONCORD, N.C., April 25, 2005 - Throughout his career, Jimmy Kite has been
known as an open wheel driver. Kite, of Stockbridge, Ga., just sees himself
as a racer. a racer that is enjoying his time in NASCAR. Known as the
"Gateway to the West", few cities seem a more appropriate backdrop for
Kite's return to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series than St. Louis. Not only
is the city the transition point from east to west, but Missouri is the
center of Kite's family roots. Having taken his first NASCAR green flag at
his hometown track, Atlanta Motor Speedway, in March, Gateway International
Raceway is Kite's 'home away from home' track. Making the transition even
more apparent, for the first time since 1998, the Indianapolis 500 veteran
will have his focus somewhere other than Indianapolis this May. Kite will
return to the No. 06 MRD Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado for the April 30th
Ram Tough 200 at Gateway while his third NASCAR race will come a few weeks
later at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte. Kite sees his second Truck
Series' race as the next logical step in his progression to more NASCAR
sanctioned racing. 
 
"It's been over a month since our last race. As much fun as we had at
Atlanta, I can't wait for this one and for Charlotte," commented Kite about
his return to the Truck Series. "It'll be nice to run another race in the
MRD Truck. I'm excited about working with Bryan [Berry, crew chief] and the
guys some more. We had a good run at Atlanta and I'm ready to build on what
we've learned. I still have a ton to learn in these things. Just learning
what the truck needs for a full fuel stint is the biggest thing I need to
find out. It's not working on getting the truck fast for one or two laps.
It's knowing when we make a change will this be a good or bad change 20 laps
into the run? It's still trial and error right now."
 
Kite, whose family is from the nearby communities of Park Hills and
Leadwood, Mo., recently completed a successful test of the newly ground
surface of the 1.25-mile Gateway facility. The test proved productive for
the 1997 USAC Silver Crown Rookie of the Year and MRD Motorsports crew chief
Bryan Berry. With Kite now comfortable in the No. 06, the test focused on
getting the Dave Malcolmson-owned truck setup to be fast throughout
qualifying and the race. With the Gateway test under his belt, Kite feels
the knowledge he and the MRD team took from the Madison, Illinois-area track
will help the team tremendously on April 30th. 
 
"It's good to be going back to a track that we've tested on," Kite reflected
on the Gateway test. "I don't have to use that first practice session
learning a truck and Gateway. We don't have to waste the session figuring
out my braking points and lines. I've already learned how deep you can go
in, how far is too far. What's fast, what's not. I'm comfortable. Now I just
have to learn what will be fast race day." 
 
Following Gateway, Kite will race in The Quaker Steak & Lube 200 presented
by Click It or Ticket Craftsman Truck Series race at Lowe's Motors Speedway
in Charlotte on May 20th. 
 
Live coverage of the Ram Tough 200 can be seen on SPEED at 8 pm (ET),
Saturday, April 30.
 
To learn more about Jimmy Kite, please visit www.JimmyKite.com. For the
Jimmy Kite Fan Club, log-on to www.JimmyKiteFans.com. To keep in touch with
Jimmy and the MRD Motorsports Team go to www.TeamMRD.com.