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Landon Cassill, Driver Of The No. 5 National Guard Chevrolet: (On Getting The Hang Of Running In The Nascar Busch Series. ) “The pressure has definitely gone down. I’m ready to get after it, and Memphis is going to be a perfect place for the National Guard team to come together and have a good finish. There will be fewer Cup drivers there, and I think we will have a good run. “
CASSILL: (ON RECENTLY RIDING TO TALLADEGA ON THE NATIONAL GUARD HAULER WITH TRUCK DRIVER ANDY TAYLOR. ) “I used to ride in a truck a lot when I raced in the ASA events. We traveled all over the Midwest and it was always a fun experience. It is something I miss, so I thought it would be cool to do it again, but this time with Andy. As a truck driver in this sport, you have a lot of responsibilities and a lot of jobs to take care of on a race weekend. Riding with Andy helped me to appreciate what they do all season. At the same time, it brought back some great memories of my early racing days. “
CASSILL: (ON WHAT HE’S BEEN UP TO SINCE HIS LAST BUSCH SERIES RACE AT DOVER. ) “I’ve been working out and trying to stay in shape. I’ve also testing with the R&D team at Hendrick Motorsports and developing the Impala SS, so it helps. It’s really good to have experience in the Car of Tomorrow. Any seat time helps. “
CASSILL: (ON WHO HE CONSIDERS TO BE HIS MENTORS. ) “David Green is a really big mentor for me because he’s got so much experience. Being in the Busch Series for so long, he’s been to all these tracks, like Memphis and St. Louis, that the Cup side doesn’t go to. So he’s definitely there for me whenever I need him. We go testing with him and he’s on the spotter’s stand. The other drivers at Hendrick Motorsports are good mentors, too, and they’re always available if I need them. “
CASSILL: (ON LIVING IN CHARLOTTE, N.C., AND WHAT HE LIKES TO DO. ) “It’s definitely really cool, and I hang out with other friends of mine that drive. Brad Coleman, Brad Keselowski and Bryan Clauson are good friends of mine. We just kind of keep ourselves busy and stay out of trouble. “
CASSILL: (ON RACING HIS SIMULATOR FOR TRACK’S HE’S NEVER RUN BEFORE. ) “For some tracks, it’s awesome. Talladega was dead-on perfect. Dover was dead-on perfect. St. Louis was dead-on perfect. But there are other tracks that aren’t as good. So you get good ones and bad ones, and hopefully Memphis will be a good one. “
CASSILL RETURNS: In his fifth career NASCAR Busch Series start, Landon Cassill will pilot the No. 5 National Guard Chevrolet this weekend at Memphis (Tenn. ) Motorsports Park. Cassill drove the National Guard Chevrolet to an 18th-place finish at Dover (Del. ) International Speedway a month ago.
YEAR IN REVIEW: Cassill, 18, made his first career start for Hendrick Motorsports at South Boston (Va. ) Speedway in June for a NASCAR Grand National Division, Busch East Series race. Since then, he has competed in one other Busch East race, two ARCA Series events and four Busch Series shows.
HE’LL BE BACK: Before season’s end, Cassill will start one more Busch Series race. He will pilot the No. 24 National Guard/40th Infantry Brigade Chevrolet at Phoenix International Raceway on Nov. 10.
MEMPHIS ROOKIE: Saturday will mark the first time Cassill has competed at the. 75-mile Memphis Motorsports Park, but he does have some experience to pull from. In September, Cassill drove the No. 24 National Guard Chevrolet to a 22nd-place finish in the Busch Series race at Richmond (Va. ) International Raceway, a similar track to Memphis. Since then, he has been sharpening his skills on his Bug-Eye Technology racing simulator and reviewing video of past Memphis events.
TESTING THE WEEKS AWAY: Cassill spent the past two weeks testing the Chevrolet Impala SS “Car of Tomorrow” for Hendrick Motorsports’ research and development group as they prepare for the upcoming 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Cassill was at Kentucky Speedway last week and in Lawrence, S.C., earlier this week.
TRUCKIN’ IT: In previous racing seasons, Cassill and his family would drive a truck packed with racing equipment across the Midwest for various American Speed Association events. Cassill recently relived the experience when he rode to Talladega (Ala. ) Superspeedway in the National Guard hauler with truck driver Andy Taylor for the ARCA Series race at the 2.66-mile track.
VETERAN SPOTTER: David Green will once again be Cassill’s spotter for the Busch Series race this weekend at Memphis. Green, the 1994 Busch Series champion, has been Cassill’s spotter once before this season, at Richmond International Raceway.
CHASSIS 402: Crew chief Chad Walter has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 402 for Saturday’s Busch Series race at Memphis. Cassill most recently drove it to a 22nd-place finish at Richmond International Raceway. With Casey Mears behind the wheel, the car earned seventh-place finishes at Phoenix and Richmond earlier this season.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CAMPE: Brian Campe, shock specialist for the National Guard Chevrolet team, will celebrate his 27th birthday on Friday. The Madison, Ala., native has worked at Hendrick Motorsports since 2006 and spends his race days handling pit support for the team.
CASSILL AT NASCAR FANFEST IN MEMPHIS: Landon Cassill will sign autographs for fans during the NASCAR Fanfest at Peabody Place in downtown Memphis on Thursday from 5-6:30 p. m. local time.
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