BRANDON JONES CLAWS TO FINISH 12TH AT TRI-COUNTY (N.C.) MOTOR SPEEDWAY AFTER POST-QUALIFYING MECHANICAL FAILURE RELEGATED HIM TO START 32ND

Brandon Jones

> DENVER, NC (August 13, 2012) - Coming off a win in the United Auto Racing Association (UARA) STARS Series at Concord (N.C.) Speedway, Brandon Jones came from the back of the pack in a 32-car field to finish 12th on Friday night at Tri-County (N.C.) Motor Speedway. After suffering a mechanical failure during qualifying, the No. 33 Eddie Sharp Racing (ESR) team worked diligently to replace the part and get Jones' Chevrolet ready for the action at the 4/10-mile speedway. Before the end of the event, Jones picked up 20 positions to finish on the lead lap in 12th place.

Visiting Tri-County Motor Speedway for the first time in his career, Jones spent Thursday's practice session getting acclimated to the North Carolina short track. With speeds inside the top 10 throughout the session, the No. 33 ESR team focused on minor adjustments to pick up as much speed as possible on the track.

By Friday, the drivers of the UARA-STARS Series had one last practice session before qualifying and racing in the 150-lap event. Jones' Chevrolet suffered a mechanical failure with its lifter during qualifying forcing the team to replace the part and forfeit their qualifying time.

Starting from the back of the pack, Jones took the green flag in the 32nd position. With the leaders running 16-second laps, Jones was forced to get up on the wheel of his Chevrolet as soon as the green flag fell to avoid losing a lap. As the race progressed, Jones methodically moved through the field picking up positions and working his way up the leaderboard. By the conclusion of the 150-lap event Jones was scored in the 12th position.

"I had a lot of fun racing through the field this week at Tri-County," commented Jones. "The guys at Eddie Sharp Racing did a great job building us a competitive Chevrolet, which allowed us to finish 12th. I'm really proud of everyone's effort this week; we were all disappointed when the lifter broke, but our team came together to make the changes that we needed to make and got our No. 33 Chevrolet ready for the race. We have a few weeks off coming up, but I'm really looking forward to getting back in the car at Kingsport (Tenn.) Speedway next month."

Jones will make his NASCAR K&N Pro Series East debut in the Greenville 140 on Labor Day, September 3, at Greenville Pickens (S.C.) Speedway. After that, Jones will rejoin the UARA-STARS Series for round 12 of the 16-race season at Kingsport (Tenn.) Speedway on Friday, September 14.

WILL GALLAHER INVOLVED IN LATE-RACE INCIDENT TO FINISH 26TH AT TRI-COUNTY (N.C.) MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Will Gallaher

> DENVER, NC (August 14, 2012) - Will Gallaher came home 26th in his first start at Tri-County (N.C.) Motor Speedway on Friday, August 10, after contact late in the race resulted in a flat tire and left the driver of the No. 6 Eddie Sharp Racing (ESR) entry to finish the UARA-STARS 150 in the garage.

Gallaher made his first career laps around Tri-County Motor Speedway last weekend as the United Auto Racing Association (UARA) STARS Series took on the 4/10-mile speedway with a packed 32-car field. The rookie driver spent the two practice sessions getting acclimated to the track and dialing in the handling of his No. 6 Chevrolet.

Gallaher rolled off near the back of the pack for the 150-lap race; he ran his line and logged laps to gain valuable experience around the 4/10-mile speedway. Throughout the evening, Gallaher battled an ill-handling car, but held on to retain his position as the leaders posted 16-second laps. Running around the 20th position with less than 10 laps to go, Gallaher was involved in an on-track incident when a car spun in front of him leaving the rookie no room to escape. After getting clipped by another competitor, Gallaher's No. 6 Chevrolet suffered a flat tire. With just a handful of laps remaining at the North Carolina short track, Gallaher ended his evening in the garage.

"The team worked really hard this weekend," commented Gallaher. "Unfortunately, I made a mistake in qualifying and it put us to the rear of the field. We had a good run going, but were at the wrong place at the wrong time and got caught up in an accident. It's disappointing, but I'm proud of the team for all their hard work. We are all looking forward to Kingsport (Tenn.) next month."