MAX PAPIS NETS TOP 10 IN MARTINSVILLE TRUCK SERIES RACE
Player Management International Media Release
Martinsville, VA (March 29, 2010) – Making his third visit to Martinsville Speedway, GEICO driver Max Papis was looking to capitalize off of the experience he gained in his previous visits. His experience would pay dividends, as qualifying was cancelled and Papis would need to start the Kroger 250 from the 26th position, as the starting grid was set based on the point standings.
While Papis may be new to NASCAR, on Saturday afternoon he appeared to be a seasoned veteran. By Lap 10, Papis had moved the #9 GEICO Toyota Tundra into the 18th position, quickly gaining eight spots. After several caution flags, Papis would continue his all-out assault on the field, as he found himself running in the 3rd position on Lap 137.
Having gotten shuffled back to 15th after a lap 180 pit stop, Papis began moving forward, hustling the #9 GEICO Tundra up to 10th position by the close of Lap 231. Just five laps later, Papis became restless and moved a fellow competitor out of the way to pick up another spot and move up to 9th. When the checkered flag was displayed, Papis and the #9 GEICO Tundra recorded an 8th place finish at the half-mile short track in Martinsville.
"It was a tough short track race, but I enjoyed every lap of it,” Papis said. “We were able to come out of it with a top eight finish in the GEICO Tundra. It was great to show everyone the improvement that we’re making. Bootie (Barker, crew chief) guided me incredibly well the entire race. It was great to see the improvement after coming here three times and I think it shows how much better we’ll get as we start to go back to some of these tracks multiple times.”
GEICO will next appear on the #13 Germain Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series entry at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, April 18, 2010.
To learn more about the GEICO Racing program, please visit: www.geicogarage.com
You can also follow GEICO Racing on Twitter: www.twitter.com/geicoracing