Pursley Poised for Showdown Success

Gene Price Motorsports Driver Greg Pursley Returns to Familiar Territory for All-Star Event

PARKER, ARIZ (January 27, 2010) – When Gene Price decided to get back into racing he relocated to Parker, Arizona, built a state-of-the-art racing shop, sponsored a popular Late Model Series, and built a championship caliber team to compete in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series. This weekend, Gene Price Motorsports and driver Greg Pursley return Toyota Speedway for the seventh running of the of the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown with one thing on their mind. Winning.

Both Pursley and Price are used to winning and Pursley has tasted success at the Showdown in the past winning the 2007 Super Late Model portion of the marquee event. “I love racing at Irwindale,” Pursley said. “To me it is like home. I started driving there when the track first opened and I have a lot of laps over the years.”

Pursley and Price have a lot of optimism heading into the event. Over the winter the team completed a transition to Ford’s and hired veteran championship winning crew chief Jerry Pitts to lead the crew. “Jerry brings a lot of experience, knowledge, and a winning attitude,” Pursley said. “We are really looking forward to the Showdown and feel we are sitting pretty good.”

With over 35 victories at Irwindale since it opened in 1999, Pursley has a lot of confidence about his chances in a star-studded field featuring the top driver’s from around the country. “This is neat event and a chance for those of us who race short tracks to have a big stage,” Pursley offered. “Winning is never easy and with the talent that will be on track we will have our work cut out for us.”

While the Showdown highlights the accomplishments of last season, this event serves as a test of sorts for the upcoming season which will kick off in late March. The Gene Price Motorsports team enters their second season this year after a very successful campaign last year where the team won at Texas and was in championship contention all year. After time to reflect during the off-season, Pursley and Price knew they have put together something special.

“I think we might have surprised ourselves,” Pursley admitted. “We knew we could be good but winning the first race and contending for the championship was more than we could have hoped for. We were thrilled how last season went and are very excited about this year. I think we have a good chance and will have some success this season.”

While Pursley, Price, and the rest of the GPM team are focused on a championship run this season in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series, Price will field a second entry in the Showdown for Candace Muzny. Muzny, a former competitor at Irwindale in Late Model action, relocated to North Carolina last season and set up shop where she has competed at Hickory Motor Speedway, Tri-County Speedway, and Orange County Speedway.

“I am really excited about the opportunity to drive for Gene (Price) at the Showdown,” Muzny said. “Gene has great equipment and I feel we have a pretty fair shake and can have a decent finish.” Muzny met Price at the NASCAR Awards Banquet last year and started to talk. It was not long before a deal was reached that would put Muzny in a GPM car.

“I wanted to grow the team and have a second car,” Price offered. “I really like Candace and this is a great opportunity for her and our team. She has a lot of laps at Irwindale and we are excited for the event.”

The Showdown begins this Friday with practice qualifying, and a last chance race to make the Saturday 225-lap main event. The Showdown features the top NASCAR regional drivers from across the country. K&N Pro Series winner’s from last season along with NASCAR regional champions have a guaranteed starting position leaving the rest of the field to battle it out qualifying and competing in a last chance qualifier.  Pursley has secured a spot in the prestigious event by winning at Texas last year.

Greg Pursley enters his third full season of competition in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series in 2010 is sponsored by Gene Price Motorsports, GPM Performance Parts, Star Nursery, Ron’s Rear Ends, and Finish Line Signs & Designs.   Pursley has 29 career series starts with one win (Thunder Hill 2009), ten top five and 16 top ten performances. Pursley is the 2004 NASCAR Whelen All American Series national champion where he competed at Toyota Speedway and was a multi-time winner on the now defunct NASCAR Southwest Tour where he competed for many years. The seventh annual NASCAR Toyota All Star Showdown at Toyota Speedway in Irwindale, CA January 29-30, 2010 will be broadcast live on SPEED Channel.