EDDIE SHARP RACING CONTINUES TO SHOW STRENGTH IN DRIVER DEVELOPMENT

Team Notches Its First UARA Win with Rookie Brandon Jones

Eddie Sharp

DENVER, N.C. (August 9, 2012) - Team Owner Eddie Sharp has been known for helping young drivers develop into superstars. In fact, that's how most of his drivers end up at Eddie Sharp Racing (ESR). Based in a 45,000-square-foot facility in the small town of Denver, N.C., many drivers have come to ESR to win races, championship titles and rookie of the year honors. Drivers like Michael McDowell and Scott Speed used ESR to help catapult their careers to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series ranks. Current ESR competitor Justin Lofton teamed with Sharp to win the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) Racing Series Championship in 2009, and has since gone on to win at the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) level in the No. 6 Chevrolet for ESR. With a United Auto Racing Association (UARA) win at Concord (N.C.) Speedway on Saturday night, August 4, 15-year-old Brandon Jones became the next development driver to find success under Sharp's guidance.

"I've always enjoyed working with young drivers," commented Sharp. "To be able to work with someone just as they're starting their career and to move up through the ranks with them is something that I find very rewarding. Bringing this team together and knowing how hard they all work adds to the excitement of nights like last Saturday. I've been able to watch guys like Lofton get their first win in the lower stock car divisions and then move up to the NASCAR level and find success there. To be a part of Brandon Jones' first win in a regional touring series is really special and we hope to achieve a lot more success together."

In just his 10th race in UARA-STARS competition, rookie Brandon Jones brought home the win in the City Chevrolet 150 at Concord Speedway on Saturday, August 4. Jones qualified in the fifth position and raced inside the top 10 all night. As the laps wound down and the action heated up on the short half-mile track, Jones was able to keep his nose clean and race through the field. Crossing the finish line in the second position, Jones was declared the race winner just a few hours later when the No. 12 car failed post-race technical inspection. It was the first UARA win of Jones' career, and the first victory for ESR's late model program in the 2012 season.

"It's been really great to work with Eddie Sharp and the whole ESR team," commented Jones. "To already have a win at this level and at this point in my career is awesome. Everyone has been very helpful all year in helping me learn new tracks and cars. I've had Eddie up on the spotter's stand, Cale [Gale, driver of the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet for ESR in the NCWTS] helping work on the car and spotting for me, veteran late model guys like Lee McCall and Davin Scites working on the cars; it's been really cool. I look forward to getting out there week after week and can't wait to get back in victory lane again soon."

The ESR late model program will continue its season at Tri-County (N.C.) Motor Speedway this Friday night, August 10, as Brandon Jones and Will Gallaher take on the competition in the UARA-STARS Series.

UARA ROOKIE BRANDON JONES NOTCHES FIRST CAREER WIN

Brandon Jones

DENVER, NC (August 5, 2012) - In just his 10th United Auto Racing Association (UARA) STARS Series race, Brandon Jones recorded his first career win on Saturday, August 4 at Concord (N.C.) Speedway. The 15-year-old from Atlanta, Ga. joined Eddie Sharp Racing (ESR) in January 2012, and has raced in late model and super late model races across the southeast for the winning organization. After rolling off fifth in his first race at Concord Speedway, Jones battled the competition before being declared the race winner of the City Chevrolet 150.

With no previous experience at the tough Concord Speedway, Jones' spent Friday's practice session logging laps and getting acclimated to the half-mile speedway. By Saturday morning, Jones felt confident enough on the track to make race runs and mock qualifying runs to prepare for the day's competition. Jones was third-fastest in the final practice session with a 16.839-second lap. The rookie driver picked up three-tenths during qualifying to post a 16.509-second lap and secure the fifth starting position.

The crew made a few minor adjustments after qualifying to free their car up for the 150-lap feature later that evening. Starting on the inside line, Jones was pinched on the bottom of the track giving up several positions and ultimately dropping to around the 10th position. Knowing that the race would be marred with cautions on the tight, fast track, Jones laid back conserving his equipment and dodging the accidents. By the halfway point, Jones had worked his way back through the competition and was knocking on the door of the top five.

Around lap 100, Jones' crew chief, Lee McCall, came over the radio and told Jones that it was time to start chasing down the leader. The rookie quickly got up on the wheel and started to race through the frontrunners moving into the third position by lap 135. With less than 10 laps to go the caution flag was displayed one last time setting the field up for a green-white-checkered finish. With a strong restart, Jones crossed the finish line in the second position. A few hours after the checkered flag waved, Jones was declared the race winner as the No. 12 car was found to be illegal during the post-race technical inspection.

"This is probably the biggest win of my career," commented Jones after being declared the race winner. "The competition in UARA is always very tough, and to have a win at this level and at this point in my career is awesome. I can't thank everyone at Eddie Sharp Racing enough for all their hard work-they've built me awesome race cars week after week. I would also like to thank Cale Gale for always being there to help and support me throughout my career-after his race at Pocono Raceway he got off the plane and came to Concord to help me during my race. It means a lot to me to have the support of my team, teammates and sponsors, and I'm happy that I was able to win this race for all of them."

"I would like to thank everyone at Eddie Sharp Racing and Rheem," commented Lee McCall, crew chief for Brandon Jones and the No. 33 Chevrolet. "It was really special for the guys who work on these cars week in and week out. We got in an accident early in the night last week, so to go from that, to qualifying fifth and winning Brandon's first race on a track that he's never seen before was a big accomplishment for all of us."