Mid-Race Accident Sidelines Tim George Jr. Early At Toledo Speedway

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (May 24, 2010)- A day that began with a lot of promise, ended in typical short-track fashion with a damaged Richard Childress Racing (RCR) Chevrolet Impala and 25th-place finish for driver Tim George Jr.

The New York, N.Y., native was confident he had a car capable of a top-five finish for Sunday's Menards 200 Presented by Federated Car Care ARCA Racing Series race at Toledo Speedway. George's 29th career ARCA Racing Series race ended prematurely, however, when he was involved in a mid-race multi-car accident that left him with his first DNF (Did Not Finish) of 2010.

"It was an honor for me to make RCR's first start ever at Toledo Speedway today, while Dale Earnhardt was being inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame by Richard Childress," said George. "We had a good race setup on the No. 31, and the ECR guys consistently put out great engines for us."

After starting 15th in the 32-car field, George methodically made his way to the front of the field by passing around in the high groove in turns one and two on the tight .5-mile oval. He was in 17th place on lap 57 of the 200-lap race, when a caution came out. The lead lap cars pitted one lap later, and crew chief Gere Kennon elected to pit and take four tires along with fuel.

As a result of close side-by-side racing on lap 98, a pileup occurred as he exited turn two. Contact was made between Patrick Sheltra and Matt Crafton, which collected A.J. Frank, Craig Goess, Robb Brent and George. The clean-up resulted in a red-flag condition.

The No. 31 RCR Development Chevrolet suffered damage including a crushed radiator, which caused water and oil loss. The car was unable to be repaired in the infield, forcing George to take a 25th place finish. This was his only finish outside the top-20 this season.

"I would have loved to have finished the race but unfortunately only made it to about half way," added George. "I just hate it for all the RCR guys, who work so hard on these cars to make them front-running contenders. We have a great short-track program at RCR, and I look forward to racing at the next. Now, we're off to speedway races at Pocono and Michigan."

The race had ten cautions for 58 laps, with 10 drivers failing to finish the 100-mile race.

George fell two spots in the ARCA Racing Series championship standings and is now tied with Joey Coulter for 9th place. He is now 240 points behind series leader Patrick Sheltra, after round six of 20 races complete.

George will return to the ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards at Pocono Raceway for the Messina Wildlife Animal Stopper 200 on June 5 at 4 p.m.

About Tim George Jr.
The New York, N.Y., native began racing in the Skip Barber Racing School regional series in 2005. In 2007, he ran the Grand-Am KONI series before moving up to the Grand-Am Rolex series in the GT class. In 2008, Tim George Jr. was named Rolex Series MESCO "Building for the Future" Rookie-of-the-Year, while driving for The Racer's Group. He has two GT class podium finishes in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, finishing third in 2008 and second in 2009. The 29-year old driver made his transition to stock cars running full-time in 2009 in the ARCA Racing Series for Eddie Sharp Racing, finishing 11th in the point standings with one top-5, two top-10 and six top-15 finishes. George Jr. will pilot the No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet in the ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards in 2010.

For more information, please visit www.timgeorgejr.com.