PAPIS NETS SHORT TRACK EXPERIENCE IN RICHMOND; TRUCK RACING IN LOUDON UP NEXT

Player Management International Media Release

Richmond, VA (September 13, 2009) – Over the weekend, Max Papis delivered the Gecko back to his home.  Well, almost home. The GEICO corporate office sits less than a hundred miles from Richmond International Raceway, so the GEICO Racing team was enjoying a home game of sorts.
 
In the opening practice session, Papis and the #13 GEICO Camry focused solely on race set-ups, leaving Papis sitting 38th at the end of the session.  Final practice would take place in qualifying set-up and the #13 GEICO Camry picked up speed and rested 36th on the final chart, sitting ahead of three other ‘go or go home’ cars.  With 44 cars entered in the event, Papis would have to out-hustle a single car to qualify for the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Sounds easy enough, except that Papis and the GEICO team were competing against drivers such as Joe Nemechek, Regan Smith, Tony Raines and Dave Blaney for the honor of being part of Saturday night’s event.
 
When qualifying got underway, Papis and the #13 GEICO Camry would be the first out among the ‘go or go home’ cars.  The progress would continue, as Papis would turn his fastest lap of the day in qualifying, touring the facility in just 21.992 seconds. His time would be good enough to bump out Tony Raines and take his place at the table.  
 
Less than an hour before driver introductions were to get underway on Saturday evening, Mother Nature showed up at the race, dumping rain on the raceway.  While the All-American Rejects didn’t seem to mind and kept playing their pre-race concert in the rain, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series would be forced to pray and wait.  The rain would clear shortly thereafter and the jet dryers would make their way around the racetrack, quickly drying the ¾-mile D-shaped oval.  
 
Starting 43rd, Papis and the #13 GEICO Camry would immediately move forward when the green flag was displayed.  By Lap 4, when the caution came out due to Scott Speed’s collision with the wall between turns one and two, Papis had moved the GEICO Camry into the 39th position.  
 
Papis would battle a tight condition most of the evening and would report that the GEICO Camry was very hard to turn.  Regardless, he would still manage to dip inside the Top 35 while running solid lap times throughout the evening.  On Lap 280, engineer Ryan Coniam radioed to Papis, “You just ran consistent Top 20 lap times for ten consecutive laps.”  As the race came to a close under clear skies and cool temperatures, Papis and the GEICO Racing team recorded a 37th place finish, improving from their 43rd starting position.  
 
“I’m glad we got to run the whole race and get the experience on this type of short track because these are tough tracks and I felt we did a good job of getting the #13 GEICO Camry in the show,” Papis said.  “It’s tough not running the whole season because of the amount of pressure on us to qualify each week.  We had a couple of good practice sessions and made the car better and better.  We crashed out of Atlanta last week, so it was important to come out here this weekend and run all the laps and continue to gain experience and get seat time.”  He continued, “We’re going to New Hampshire next week to run the #9 GEICO Tundra.  I’m excited that I will be on-track every week through the end of the year because it will help me continue to learn and to stay active each week instead of just showing up every two or three weeks.  I am thankful for GEICO’s support and together we will continue building this program.”
 
Mad Max and the GEICO team will travel to Loudon, New Hampshire, this week for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race.  Papis will be behind the wheel of the #9 GEICO Toyota Tundra.
 
Papis will take to the 1.058-mile oval of New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the opening practice session at 10:30 AM (ET) on Friday, September 18th.  Qualifying will be held on Saturday at 10:05 AM (ET).
 
The Heluva Good! 200 is on Saturday, September 19th, and it will be televised live on SPEED beginning at 2:30 PM (ET), while the Motor Racing Network (MRN) will carry the live radio broadcast.  
 
To learn more about Max Papis and the GEICO Racing program, please visit: www.geicogarage.com.
 
You can also follow GEICO Racing on Twitter: www.twitter.com/geicoracing.