–   JEREMY MAYFIELD –  
GOODY’S ORANGE CRUSH 500 MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (April 1, 2007) – Jeremy Mayfield and the 360 OTC Racing team headed to Martinsville Speedway hoping to qualify for their second consecutive event. Mayfield posted a qualifying speed that earned them the 13th starting spot, but things didn’t go as smoothly on raceday. After encountering a tight-handling racecar from the start of the event, Mayfield made contact with the wall after blowing a right front tire and then encountered brake problems during the event. After all the turmoil, Mayfield and the 360 OTC team finished 40th.

Mayfield was the 23rd of 49 competitors to qualify Friday afternoon. After posting quick speeds in the pre-qualifying practice session, the crew was hopeful it was on the brink of making the field. Things went according to plan, and Mayfield’s lap of 20.097 seconds placed the No. 36 team in 13th position on the starting grid. It was also the best qualifying effort among all Toyota teams.

Mayfield took the green flag for the start of the event and moved into the 11th spot before succumbing to a tight handling car and falling just outside the top 15. A pit stop on lap 41 enabled the team to make air pressure and wedge adjustments in an effort to free up the car. Interim crew chief Tommy Baldwin decided to change right side tires only, enabling Mayfield to restart ninth and gain track position.

Mayfield held his own near the front of the field for a while before the 360 OTC Camry again became tight. He fell to 28th before losing a lap to leader Jeff Gordon on lap 129. Things got even worse on lap 215. A right-front tire blew on the 360 OTC Toyota, and Mayfield made contact with the wall. The car’s damage appeared only cosmetic. Mayfield pitted for four tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment and returned to the track in the 35th spot.

Baldwin and the crew continued to work on the car during every pit stop in an effort to make it more to Mayfield’s liking. The team encountered brake problems on lap 345 of the 500-lap event, and Mayfield drove the car to the garage area so the team could make repairs. The team replaced the brake rotor, caliper and pads, and Mayfield returned to the track in 41st spot. He ran competitive lap times for the remainder of the event and eventually earned a 40th-place finish.

The NEXTEL Cup Series has a weekend off before heading to Texas Motor Speedway for the first event of the season at the 1.5-mile oval. The 360 OTC Racing team will spend two days testing at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway this week before enjoying the off weekend.

360 OTC Racing Event Preview - Martinsville Speedway
Goody’s Cool Orange 500 - Martinsville Speedway News and Notes

· Martinsville’s Machine…The No. 36 360 OTC Toyota Camry Jeremy Mayfield is scheduled to drive this weekend in the Goody’s Cool Orange 500 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway is COT 09. This is the first time this car has been utilized.

· Bristol Rewind…Mayfield and the team qualified 23rd and landed solidly into the field for the inaugural COT event last weekend at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. Mayfield finished 34th despite experiencing a blown tire and a brush with the wall midway through the event.

· Mayfield’s Career Stats…Mayfield will make his 405th career NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series start when he takes the green flag Sunday afternoon. He made his first career Cup Series start in October 1993 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway and finished 16th (qualified 19th) in his first Cup Series start in Martinsville in 1995.

· Mayfield at Martinsville…Mayfield has made 21 starts on the .526-mile oval during his Cup Series career and has started as high as third (2002). He has earned one top-five finish and five top-10 finishes at Martinsville and has qualified inside the top 10 four times.

· BDR’s Numbers…Competitors driving Bill Davis Racing-owned cars have been racing at Martinsville Speedway since 1993 and have made 33 starts. Those drivers have posted two top-five finishes and three top-10 finishes and have completed 15,581 of 16,500 possible laps (94.4 percent).

· Martinsville Broadcast Schedule…Qualifying for the Goody’s Cool Orange 500 is scheduled to start at 3:45 p.m. ET Friday, March 30. The 500-lap event is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. ET Sunday, April 1, and will broadcast LIVE on FOX (TV), MRN (radio) and Sirius Satellite Radio.

· Testing Notes…Mayfield and his No. 36 team spent Tuesday testing at Caraway Speedway near Asheboro, N.C., and will head to Richmond (Va.) International Raceway next week for two days of testing.

Jeremy Mayfield on Martinsville Speedway…

“We feel like a huge weight was lifted off our shoulders last weekend, and it felt great to really get our season started. Our COT was not great at the test, but these guys never gave up, went back to the shop and worked hard on it. We were really good right off the truck when we got to Bristol. We certainly didn’t get the finish we were hoping for, but we’ve got that first race together under our belt, so we’ve got something to build on. I can’t say enough about this Bill Davis Racing team. It’s been a really tough four weeks for everyone, but they never gave up and they never got down on themselves or me. I learned a lot about myself and about this team in a short time, and I’m proud to be a part of it. Hopefully last weekend was the start of something really good, and we can get to Martinsville with our Car of Tomorrow and have the same type of weekend. We’ve got the ball rolling now, and we’re not looking back.”