MOST RECENTLY: Landon Cassill, 18, started eighth and finished 11th, just one spot shy of his second consecutive top-10 finish, in Saturday night’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Kentucky Speedway. Cassill will drive the No. 5 National Guard Chevrolet in this weekend’s Nationwide Series event at The Milwaukee Mile.
IN ACTION: Many National Guard units have been activated this month to help with natural disaster relief in the midwestern United States. Local units in Iowa are helping city employees, volunteers and residents contain the flooding from the Iowa River, which has inundated many cities like Cassill’s hometown of Cedar Rapids. Units also were activated recently in Michigan to help clear debris left by storms that occurred earlier this month.
TIME IN IOWA: Cassill is spending the week in his hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to visit with family and friends. Cassill’s family home was unaffected by the devastating floods that hit Cedar Rapids last week.
CASSILL AT MILWAUKEE: Although he’s never raced there in a Nationwide Series car, Saturday won’t be the first time Cassill has seen the one-mile Milwaukee track. Back in 2006, he raced an ASA Late Model Series race there, starting third and finishing ninth. He also tested Milwaukee several times in 2007 for Hendrick Motorsports.
THIS SEASON: Cassill will make his 14th career Nationwide Series start this weekend at The Milwaukee Mile. This is the seventh of 16 scheduled races in which Cassill will drive the No. 5 National Guard Chevrolet for JR Motorsports this season. Cassill shares the No. 5 JR Motorsports Chevrolet with top drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin, Jimmie Johnson, Adrian Fernandez, Ron Fellows and Martin Truex Jr.
MILWAUKEE CHASSIS: Crew chief Chad Walter has chosen JR Motorsports Chassis No. 402 for this Saturday’s race at Milwaukee. Cassill raced the car twice last season—finishing 22nd in September at Richmond, Va., and 20th in October at Memphis, Tenn. During the October race, Cassill was on the verge of earning his first career top-10 result, but received contact that caused the No. 5 Chevrolet to spin during the final lap.
REPRESENT: The hood of the No. 5 National Guard Chevrolet will honor Wisconsin’s 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team this weekend. The unit will be recognized for its contribution, service and sacrifice to the state of Wisconsin and the United States on its recent and future deployment to Iraq. Last week, members of the unit started preparing to assist the National Guard with natural disaster relief efforts in Wisconsin, notably laying sandbags and manning traffic control points among other tasks. For 19 of the 21 National Guard-sponsored races in the No. 5 Chevy, a different Army National Guard unit will be honored on the car.
DOUBLE DUTY AT MILWAUKEE: Cassill will make his fifth start in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series on Friday when he suits up for the 200-mile event at Milwaukee. He will pilot the No. 46 Chevy for Morgan-Dollar Motorsports. Cassill has one top-10 finish in the Truck Series, which he recorded in May at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
TRIPLE DUTY: In addition to competing in Friday’s Truck Series event and Saturday’s Nationwide Series race at Milwaukee, Cassill will see action in a dirt modified race in Vinton, Iowa, on Sunday. Cassill will drive an IMCA dirt modified owned by Jerry Luloff of Independence, Iowa, in the Hogan Memorial at Benton County Speedway. Cassill will be available for autographs prior to the start of the race.
NEXT UP FOR CASSILL: Cassill is competing for Raybestos Rookie of the Year honors, and this weekend’s race at The Milwaukee Mile will mark the fourth of five consecutive Nationwide Series events in which he will drive for JR Motorsports. He next will pilot the No. 5 National Guard Chevrolet at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on June 28.
Quotes
LANDON CASSILL, DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET (ON THE FLOODING IN HIS HOME STATE OF IOWA.): “I’m headed back to Iowa this week to visit my family and friends. They’re going through some pretty bad flooding right now, and I want to be there for them. It’ll be good to see some friends and just visit Cedar Rapids. The National Guard is there to make people safe and get them out of the water. It’s incredible to be affiliated with them as a sponsor and see them in action like that. They’re helping people in my hometown, and that makes me even more proud to represent them.”
CASSILL (ON THE MILWAUKEE MILE.): “I’m actually looking forward to Milwaukee because it’s a lot like Loudon and those races are so close to each other. If we run good at one, we can run good at both, and if we struggle on the first one, we can make ourselves better for the second one. Milwaukee is another flat short track. You have to be smooth, you have to use finesse, and it should be fun. I’m looking forward to driving the No. 5 National Guard Chevrolet for JR Motorsports there.”
CASSILL (ON HIS EXPERIENCE AT ONE-MILE TRACKS.): “One mile is a good length for the Nationwide Series cars, especially at a flat track like Milwaukee. It’s kind of comparable to the half-mile or three-quarter-mile tracks that I grew up racing late models on. Our cars are getting better every time I race, and I’m getting better so hopefully we can run well in the No. 5 National Guard Chevrolet. But I think as far as having experience (at one-mile tracks), it definitely helps.”
CASSILL (ON WHETHER HIS BUSY RACING SCHEDULE IS HELPING HIM.): “More seat time is definitely a benefit. Not only the seat time and learning the race cars and racetracks, but it just gives you that itch. No matter where I’m racing or what I’m in, it’s kind of like I get out of the car and if I didn’t do as well as I wanted to I’m looking forward to the next one so that I can improve. It’s just every time you get in a car you get that itch to get back in it when you’re done.”
CASSILL (ON HOW HE IS PREPARING FOR THE SUMMER NATIONWIDE SERIES RACES.): “In order for me to prepare for these summer Nationwide Series races, I’ve been studying tapes and just getting myself in the zone for each event. Also, the more I’ve been racing, the more I’ve been getting focused. It makes it easier to get focused. We had a rough weekend at Dover, and the next day I ran in a late model race in Toledo, Ohio. The following weekend I was at Nashville (Tenn.) for the Nationwide Series race and we had a nice top-10 finish. Now I’m just looking forward to Milwaukee. I have nothing else in my mind but Milwaukee at this point in time, so I’m excited about that. It’s kind of a natural thing that gets you focused. The summer is going to be busy, but if I can keep that focus I’m going to have a good one.”
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