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From Daytona: Catching Up with Colin Braun
Concord, N.C. (February 5, 2010) – Coming off a solid year in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series where he scored one win (Michigan) and Rookie-of-the-Year honors on the season, Colin Braun is gearing up for his first full year in the NASCAR Nationwide Series driving the No. 16 Con-way Freight Ford Fusion for Roush Fenway Racing. The Ovala, Texas native will be led by veteran crew chief Eddie Pardue in the 2010 campaign and will be in the hunt for the Raybestos Rookie-of-the-Year Championship in the Nationwide Series. After finishing media day at Daytona International Speedway, Braun sat down for a few questions about his upcoming season.
Q: What are your thoughts as you prepare to go to Daytona?
A: I am very excited to get the season started. I have done so many things in preparation for the year, like the photo shoots and media events, but I’m really just looking forward to getting into the car and out on the track. My guys have done a really good job getting the car ready for me and I’m just ready to get in it and go racing.
Q: The guys on the No. 16 team have been together for a few years. How is that an advantage for you, as kind of the new guy on the team?
A: Having that veteran group of guys behind me is a huge advantage as I make the transition up to the Nationwide Series from the trucks. It makes that move a little easier because I’m coming to an experienced group of guys that have known each other and worked together for a long time. They know all the nuances of the car and of each other which gives me a lot of confidence that I can come in here and things are going to be solid. It’s just a really good feeling for me.
Q: How has it been to work with crew chief Eddie Pardue?
A: It’s been a great experience for me to get paired up with Eddie and I expect that to continue. He and I have worked together a couple of times in the past and so it’s not exactly a new relationship. Our communication in meetings and about the car has been really good and I hope it will get even better as the season goes on. Eddie is just a great guy and he knows these cars so well and I just think we will be able to do good things as a team this season.
Q: How important will it be for you to have a teammate like Carl Edwards in the garage going into your rookie season?
A: Having Carl as a teammate this season is going to be a huge advantage. He helped me out a lot while I was in the truck series, but he had to go back and remember what it was like for him when he was driving the trucks to be able to talk about it. Now, we will both be driving the same cars on the same tracks and I think it will be a lot easier to have conversations after practice and qualifying about what the car is doing. Having him there is just going to be a benefit for me for sure.
Q: Do you have some specific goals for the 2010 season?
A: For me personally, the biggest goal is to be able to win the Rookie-of-the-Year championship. I think that we absolutely have a shot at it. I’m also excited to race against the Cup guys because competing against them is going to help me be a better driver. I want to try and be there with those guys, racing in the top-five, when and if they make a mistake so I can capitalize on it. All I can do is be in contention for top-fives and top-10s and just put myself in a position to get the win at the end of the race.
About Con-way Freight
Con-way Freight is the industry's leading less-than-truckload (LTL) freight transportation company, providing guaranteed, day-definite regional and transcontinental service with exception-free delivery, on-time service performance and faster transit times through a single, unified network of more than 300 service centers in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico. Con-way Freight offers LTL freight transportation across North America and through Global LTLTM delivery in the United States from around the world. Global solutions include international less-than-container (LCL) ocean shipments from Asia through its OceanGuaranteed(r) service; expedited U.S. delivery for inbound international cargoes from Europe through an exclusive alliance with TNT; direct service to more than 30 Bahamian and Caribbean ports through TropicalDirectSM; and domestic offshore transportation to Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Based in Ann Arbor, Mich., Con-way Freight is a certified FAST highway carrier and is C-TPAT/PIP, ACE- and CSA-certified.
Con-way Freight is a subsidiary of Con-way Inc. (NYSE: CNW), a $4.3 billion diversified freight transportation and logistics services company. For more information, visit www.con-way.com/en/freight.
About Roush Fenway Racing
Roush Fenway Racing is NASCAR’s largest team operating seven motorsports teams. Four in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with drivers Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and David Ragan; and four in the Nationwide Series with Edwards, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Colin Braun, and Paul Menard. For more information on any of the Roush Fenway Racing teams, log onto www.RoushFenway.com. Become a fan of Roush Fenway Racing on Facebook by going to http://www.facebook.com/roushfenway. And for sponsorship inquiries please contact Robin Johnson at 704.720.4645.
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