the TRG team “ that stands for The Racers Group “ led by owner Kevin Buckler, whose car, driven by Mike Wallace, missed the Daytona 500 by one position. That one position cost $500,000, Buckler said. “Last place in the Daytona 500 pays $250,000, and I had a sponsor who was ready to come aboard for the race, if we made it, for another $250,000. So it hurt.” But Buckler is entered in the California race next week, and he plans to attempt the next four races with driver David Gilliland, who was the odd man out in the Yates organization this year.(Orlando Sentinel)(2-16-2009)
UPDATE: David Gilliland will drive the #71 TRG Motorsports Chevy in round two of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California on Sunday, February 22. Daytona 500 winning crew chief, Richard “Slugger” Labbe, has also joined the team. The 33-year old Gilliland raced in 2008 for Robert Yates behind the wheel of the #38 and was the 2007 Daytona 500 Pole Winner. Gilliland is originally from Riverside, California, just up the road from Fontana. He cut his teeth on ovals all over the West Coast in his ascension up the NASCAR ladder. Slugger Labbe knows how to win in NASCAR’s premier league. As a crew chief at Dale Earnhardt Inc., he won two races at Daytona including the 2003 Daytona 500. Labbe most recently worked with Red Bull Racing in driver development [and was Mike Skinner’s crew chief in his attempt to make the 2009 Daytona 500 in the #23 Chevy]. TRG Motorsports’ Kevin Buckler is determined to establish the team in the Sprint Cup Series. “Daytona was a hard lesson,” Buckler said. “We are determined to put the right pieces in place to be successful. David has the most experience in the COT car of any driver available. Slugger gives us a lot of experience working with the COT car. We were short a few pieces at Daytona, but I believe we have put the right people together to have a successful weekend in California.”(TRG Motorsports PR)(2-17-2009)
UPDATE 2: TRG Motorsports will run their #71 Chevy in the next four Sprint Cup Series rounds at the Auto Club Speedway, Las Vegas, Atlanta and Bristol. Kevin Buckler, TRG Motorsports team principal, is working hard to get sponsorship while the team focuses on accruing enough points to be in the top 35 in owner points going into the fifth race at Bristol. “We are pulling out all of the stops to make the next four races,” Buckler said. “We want to be in the top 35 in owner points by the time we finish Bristol. We have singed-up David Gilliland and Slugger Labbe to help us accomplish that goal. The water is deep in NASCAR and we are not afraid to dive in with the sharks, but we have a very steep learning curve ahead of us and we will do our best. The team did not hesitate after Daytona getting ready for California. I met with Richard Childress about an engine package and we had a good backup car in the trailer that suits California, Las Vegas and Atlanta. It was just a matter of jumping in with both feet and moving forward. We took a big hit a Daytona by not making the race, but we have taken that and turned it into determination. Everyone involved sees the upside and wants to keep our foot firmly planted on the accelerator to turn this into a full season. With that kind of attitude and a strong team behind the 71, I think we can push it into the field on Friday.”(TRG Motorsports PR)(2-18-2009) .
