MOORESVILLE, NC – April 18, 2012 – Rookie driver Ross Chastain has spent his entire life on the family farm in South Florida. This week the nineteen year old will carry the fruit raised on the family farm to nations heartland as the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads to the SFP 250 at the Kansas Speedway for the fourth race of the 2012 season.
The No. 08 will break away from the usual SS Green Light Racing black paint, as the Florida Watermelon Association will again back the Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender’s Toyota Tundra.
“I’m excited to have the Florida Watermelon Association on the truck again; I think the truck looks good, the decals really stand out on it and hopefully it will look good out on the track. We want to give them the best exposure we can.”
The fifth generation farmer from South Florida sits fourteenth in NCWTS points after three races and is ready to redeem last weekends disheartening finish at Rockingham. “I’m glad that there is a quick turnaround after the last race,” Ross explained. “We had some time between Daytona and Martinsville, but it wasn’t so bad because we ran good at Daytona. We just missed something last week and it works out that we can get right back to Kansas and put that behind us.”
Ross has finishes of 28th, 7th and 25th in his first three races for SS Green Light Racing and the team is looking forward to a strong finish for the young wheelman who will face another unfamiliar track this weekend.
“We ran Kentucky and Texas competitively last year,” Chastain said. “If things go like Kentucky last year where we ran just outside the top-ten until we ran out of gas on the last restart and fell back in the pack. Hopefully it will race similar to Kentucky so we are not at a disadvantage having never seen the track. I believe it’s just a little flatter than Kentucky and they tell me it’s a little smoother.”
The SFP 250 is the 274th consecutive NCWTS start for the SS Green Light Racing team and the ninth career start for Chastain in the Truck Series. He has an average starting spot of 24.5 and an average finish of 19.2 including two top-ten finishes in his eight starts. His best finish on a mile and a half speedway is 16th last fall at the Texas Motor Speedway.
There are 38 trucks on the entry list for the SFP 250. Johnny Chapman will pilot the No. 07 Toyota Tundra for SS Green Light Racing.
Practice for the SFP 250 will be Friday, April 20th from 11:20 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. with final practice from 2:00 p.m. to 3:20 p.m. On Saturday, April 21st qualifying will be at 9:35 a.m. and the green flag will fly in the SFP 250 at 1:00 p.m. All times are central. The race will be shown live on SPEED TV. The race will be broadcast live via on the Motor Racing Network and on SIRIUS Satellite Radio NASCAR Channel 128-XM104.
The Florida Watermelon Association is a chapter of the National Watermelon Association. The purpose of the Association is to promote the best interests of the Watermelon Industry from production to consumption. For more information visit www.flfwa.com or the National Watermelon Promotion Board at www.watermelon.org.
For more information about SS Green Light Racing visit www.SSRacingonline.com or email pr@ssracingonline.com
