Richmond International Raceway - What The Drivers are Saying

Quotes from the drivers talking about all the short track racing going on at Richmond International Raceway

Ryan Blaney and Travis Pastrana talk about Thursday’s K&N Pro Series East event and making their Nationwide debut:

“I loved the place when we ran K&N there last year and I'm really excited to go back there,” Blaney said. “We wanted to go to a track that I was really comfortable with, and that the teams run good with [for the Nationwide debut]. So hopefully we can get a good result.”

“We’re starting with Richmond, which is close to my house, and race as we did last year in the K&N Series,” Pastrana said. “We’ll also will do it [the K&N race] this year on the Thursday before the Nationwide debut, so it's a really good place to start.”

Kyle Busch is looking forward to running the Short Track Showdown at Richmond:

"Any time I can get behind the wheel of a late model, I'm going to jump at the chance -- especially when it's for a great cause like Denny's event is. We had the race won again last year, but I decided to be a nice guest and let the host finally win one. This year, I plan to get our partnership with AMF off to a solid start by capturing my third Showdown win."

Nate Monteith talks about racing with the elite group of drivers in the Denny Hamlin Foundation Short Track Showdown:

“We’re all very excited getting to run this race. It’s quite an honor to be invited, and we just hope to have a good showing. Many might say the fall Late Model Stock race at Martinsville Speedway is the biggest race held annually, but when you look at the Denny Hamlin Foundation Short Track Showdown and how it will be televised live on the SPEED Channel, that right there is a big deal with the world-wide exposure.”

Ben Rhodes will look to impress as he races with the best in the industry:

“The Denny Hamlin Short Track Showdown at Richmond is known as one of the premier events to attend and I am honored to be selected as a wild card for the race. There are a lot of big names in the short track world that were invited, and some big names in NASCAR’s top ranks I will be competing against. We are going to put a lot of effort into our Marcos Ambrose Motorsport #9 Stanley Ford Fusion for this event so we can have a good showing while racing and learning from some of the best racers in the industry.”

David Polenz's fans come through and help Old Dominion, VA driver make the event:

"It's a pretty big deal for us," Polenz said. "It's a good opportunity to showcase my talent." I never would have thought that we could've raised this much money, especially in four days," Polenz said. "I'm really thankful for it and I'm blessed to have gotten this opportunity. It makes you realize the type of people you have around to support you."