Get ready for another fast paced addition of Auto Smarts as presented by Germain Toyota this Sunday from 10a-12n on 95.5 The Hawk and Wink 107.1! Hosts Dan "Boots" Longenette, Randy Rhinehart, and Germain Honda of Dublin GM Jessica Germain will be talking about all things automotive! The crew welcomes the General Manager of Germain Toyota, Craig Ferguson, to the show. Craig is an institution in the car business and will tell us about the new Toyotas and why you should be driving one! Have your questions ready for Craig and call 614-389-4044 or toll free at 855-786-0556! Emails are also welcomed at www.autosmartsradio.com.
Have you ever wanted to know about the inside workings of the NASCAR Nationwide Series? You're in luck! The gang will be talking to Nationwide Insurance's  Becky Cox, PR Consultant for the NASCAR Nationwide Series! You can take a peek into the day-to-day media operations and see how it all comes together on race day! Plus, the crew will talk about the previous nights NASCAR races in Richmond!  Michael Sacks of Kimmel and Silverman will deliver his 1-800 Lemon Law Lemon Aid Minute and Jack Moser will let you know what to do if you get pulled over with his bustedfordrunkdriving.com feature. Plus, National Trail Raceway big-wig Mike Fornataro will fire up this week's Bits from the Pits! 
For more information:  www.autosmartsmedia.com  Mike Austin or Randy Rhinehart   614-389-4044

 

From Eighth in Points, Bodine Likes His Germain.com Tundra Team’s Chances at Climbing Higher in the Standings at Nashville on Friday Night 

- Bodine is the Reigning Truck Series Champion after earning his 2nd title in 201-
- Bodine is Third Driver in Truck Series History to Win Multiple Titles & Clinch Early
- Bodine Owns 21 Truck Series wins with Germain Racing and 36 NASCAR career wins
- He earned his first Nashville victory last year

April 19, 2011 (Mooresville, N.C.) - Nashville Superspeedway is a track where Todd Bodine and Germain Racing have always managed to be contenders. Until last year, they’d remained shut out of victory lane. With their guitar trophy on display at the team headquarters, the No. 30 Germain.com Tundra has nothing more to do this weekend...than try to win again at the concrete oval in Tennessee.

“Nashville is a fun track and, yes, mile and a half tracks are definitely our forte even though we still like short tracks. We know we can go to a mile and a half and win the race.  We need to get going and get caught up in points, so Nashville should be a great place for us to do that with the Germain.com Tundra,” explained Bodine.

The two-time Truck Series champion said that after the years of waiting for a Nashville victory, the return to the track after earning the coveted guitar trophy is still all about the business of winning again.

“I’ve always run well at Nashville and always loved going there, so it’s no different. I still want to win, that’s the reason we go to any race track,” said Bodine.

Winning might also be the reason he signs autographs at hockey games? During the off-weeks between Martinsville and Nashville, Bodine signed autographs at a Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins hockey game. At half time, he raced NASCAR driver Eddie MacDonald on beer coolers, and he won!

“I didn’t cheat! I just bump-drafted him and passed him,” smiled Bodine, who also installed a vinyl fence for his nephew in Florida during his downtime.

Bodine has competed in seven Truck Series events at Nashville and has scored six top-ten finishes, five top-five’s, two pole awards and one win. This Friday he’ll compete in his 170th Truck Series race when he fires up the Germain.com Tundra for the fourth race of the 2011 season. Bodine has 733 NASCAR career starts to date. After four races, Bodine ranks 8th in Truck Series standings, 28 points out of first place.

Watch Bodine in the No. 30 Germain.com Tundra on Friday, April 22nd, at Nashville Superspeedway. The action starts on SPEED with qualifying airing at 5:00 PM ET followed by racing at 8:00 PM—all on SPEED. Can’t get to a television? Tune your radio to your local MRN affiliate.

Follow Germain Racing on Twitter @GermainRacing or on the web at Germainracing.com or become a fan on Facebook: Facebook.com/pages/Germain-Racing/198863890135.

When shopping for your new or used car or truck, head directly to Germain.com to find the perfect vehicle or visit your local Germain dealer in Ohio, Florida, or Arkansas. Germain.com is part of Germain Motor Company, a top-25 automotive retail network with 21 dealerships and more than 60 years of experience.

 

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Jessica Germain and Matt Guth of Germain Motor Company Join AutoSmarts This Week

 

 

April 7, 2011 - NASCAR may not be racing on Sunday, but Auto Smarts as presented by Germain Cadillac is not taking the day off! Join hosts Dan "Boots" Longenette, Randy Rhinehart, Lex McAllister and Germain Honda GM Jessica Germain this and every Sunday from 10a-12n on 95.5 The Hawk and Wink 107.1! This week, the crew welcomes Germain Cadillac of Easton Service Advisor Matt Guth to the program. Matt will tell us why so many people choose Germain Cadillac to service their vehicles and how his co-workers go above and beyond to make sure they keep coming back! Get your dialing fingers ready! The Auto Smarts crew will be standing by to take your calls! Call 614-389-4044 or toll free at 855-786-0556! You can also email them by going to www.autosmartsradio.com. While you're there, check out the site and see all of the ways Auto Smarts as presented by Germain Cadillac can help you out when it comes to anything automotive! 

 

The Auto Smarts as presented by Germain Cadillac crew is very excited for Hour Two. The gang will welcome Michael Sacks of Kimmel and Silverman to the show this Sunday! Michael will take your calls and deliver his 1-800 Lemon Law Lemon Aid Minute live and in person from the Auto Smarts studio, high atop Germain Cadillac of Dublin! Jack Moser's weekly bustedfordrunkdriving.com feature will be one you don't want to miss and National Trail Racewayhoncho Mike Fornataro will check in with Bits from the Pits!

 

Contact Mike Austin/Randy Rhinehart at 614-389-4044  or randy@autosmarts4u.com

 

Bodine and Germain.com Crew Made Most of Martinsville Weekend

 

Mooresville, NC (04-04-2011) – Short track victories remain elusive for Germain Racing after another NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race weekend was completed at Martinsville Speedway. Todd Bodine qualified 15th in the No. 30 Germain.com Tundra and finished 14th, on the lead lap, with a Toyota that bore plenty of battle scars to tell the story of a rough and rugged day of half-mile racing.

 

“We had a good truck for Saturday’s race, but we got into the back of the 5 at the beginning of the race. That contact put the splitter up in the air, messed up cambers and killed the downforce on our Germain.com Tundra. If things had gone the right way, we were a top-five truck,” said Bodine, who finished 14th, on the lead lap, in the Kroger 250.

 

Bodine credits his team’s work for his respectable result, despite the significant damage to his Toyota Tundra.

 

“Pit strategy. Pit stops. Hard work by everyone and at times we got lucky. Some times we had better tires than some of the guys. A little of everything went into our finish, but mostly team work from this number 30 Germain Racing team,” said Bodine.

 

Crew chief Mike Hillman Jr. says the weekend wasn’t a win, but, the team and driver efforts were second to none.

 

“The guys did a great job on pit road repairing the damage to make the truck the best it could be after being part of three cautions. Todd and the crew did the best they could do with the damage we had to work with. We can’t be too proud of the finish, but, I’m proud of the hard work and never-give-up attitude of this team. We’re ready to go to Nashville,” said Hillman.

 

The highlight of the day for Hillman was watching Germain Racing’s team performance.

 

“We had three of our four trucks in the top ten on Saturday. With the way Justin (Lofton) ran in practice and in qualifying, he was going to be good, too. It was awesome to watch our teammates race for the lead, lead laps and to see the strength of Germain Racing,” said Hillman Jr.

 

Bodine enjoyed watching the youth of the Truck Series competing in the top positions.

 

“The kids we have in the Truck Series this year are good and they’re going to be good all year. They grew up on short tracks, so I expected them to be tough on Saturday,” said Bodine.

 

After three of 25 races, Bodine ranks eighth in the Truck Series points standings. Germain Racing and Todd Bodine fire up the No. 30 Tundra next at Nashville Superspeedway on April 22nd.

 

Follow Germain Racing on Twitter @GermainRacing or on the web at Germainracing.com or become a fan on Facebook: Facebook.com/pages/Germain-Racing/198863890135.

 

When shopping for your new or used car or truck, head directly to Germain.com to find the perfect vehicle or visit your local Germain dealer in Ohio, Florida, or Arkansas. Germain.com is part of Germain Motor Company, a top-25 automotive retail network with 21 dealerships and more than 60 years of experience.

 

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Lofton's Competitive Run Ends Early in Martinsville

 

Justin Lofton and the No. 77 Lofton Cattle Toyota Tundra team knew that they had an extremely competitive truck entering the Kroger 250 event weekend at Martinsville Speedway. Unfortunately, the tight racing quarters on the half-mile short track won out, after contact from a lapped truck ended their charge less than 20 laps into the race.

 

"It is disappointing for me and all of the guys on this No. 77 Germain Racing team. They built a strong truck. We knew after testing we were going to be a contender this weekend, and we proved that every time we got on track. I can only control how I race people, and it's unfortunate that some lapped trucks don't show a little more respect with the guys that are racing for the top-10," Lofton said.

 

There were two practice sessions at Martinsville on Friday and at the conclusion of each run, crew chief Ryan "Rudy" Fugle and Lofton proved their pairing was a fast one, with the No. 77 showing in the fourth position both times. The trend continued with qualifying on Saturday after Lofton wheeled his Lofton Cattle Toyota Tundra into the eighth starting spot.

 

Once under the green flag for the 250-lap race, Lofton maintained the fast pace, racing near the front of the field. On lap 18 however, contact from a lapped truck sent Lofton hard into the turn 3 wall, causing heavy damage to his race truck. The team was forced to make prolonged repairs to the rear end of the No. 77 in the garage area, before sending Lofton back on track on lap 103, over 80 laps down.

 

Seven laps later, the yellow flag waved with Lofton reporting that the speed was still in the truck, and it was handling okay, despite the damage. At that time, Fugle informed the team that when it was time, they would have to take the truck to the garage area in order to change tires and add fuel, because of the damage to the fuel cell area on the truck.

 

On lap 137, the yellow, followed by a red flag, waved after a multi-truck wreck. Once the red was lifted, Lofton pulled into the garage for the inevitable fresh tires and fuel.

 

The second half of the race was uneventful for Lofton. Through the final stretch of the race, his only complaint was that a slight vibration had developed in the front end due to the rubber build-up from the tires. The checkered flag waved on lap 250 with the 25-year-old crossing the stripe in the 32nd position.

 

"The last half of that race was tough because we still had an extremely fast and competitive truck. I wanted to race with the leaders but the most important thing was to show them respect and finish out the race," Lofton added.

 

Lofton and the No. 77 team will next hit the track on April 22nd at the Nashville Superspeedway.

 

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________________________________

Amanda Brahler

Justin Lofton Media Relations

Email: mandy@justinloftoninc.com

LoftonRacing.com - twitter.com/jlracing

 

 

Climbing in the Truck Series Standings, Bodine and Crew Look Forward to Martinsville with Germain.com Tundra

• Bodine is Third Driver in Truck Series History to Win Multiple Titles, and Clinch Early
• Bodine Owns 21 Truck Series wins with Germain Racing and 36 NASCAR career wins
• His career-best finish at Martinsville is 2nd (2007, 2009)

March 30, 2011 (Mooresville, N.C.) - As Martinsville Speedway gets its turn on the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule this weekend, Todd Bodine and the No. 30 Germain.com Tundra team are looking forward to continuing to build on what they had at the Virginia short-track last fall when the Chemung, NY, native led 83 laps en route to a third-place finish.

“We finished third but we had a really good truck. I got out run on tires at the end—we had like 50 laps more on our tires than anybody. We understood that. It’s what we did to get track position and take a chance. We ran really well. It definitely helps this Germain.com Tundra team going back to Martinsville,” said Bodine.

The team seems to have the pieces put together. Bodine hopes this weekend could signal the end of Germain Racing’s nil in the win column in the short-track category.

“We’ve run well at Martinsville, just never got it done. The guys have done a great job putting a truck together that’s specific for Martinsville. Hopefully we can use it the best we can and finally get it done,” explained Bodine.

Bodine will race chassis GR-016. The truck is new to Germain Racing this year. It debuted in race number three as a No. 62 Tundra for teammate Gaughan.

“This week the guys have prepared GR-016 as the chassis for the No. 30 Germain.com Tundra. It will be our first time using the truck as a 30, but, we are confident it’s the best choice for the Martinsville race weekend. We learned a lot about Martinsville last fall, and certainly we hope to build on that this weekend,” said Hillman Jr.

Bodine has competed in 14 Truck Series events at Martinsville—he is one of many NASCAR drivers to have made their first career start at the track. This Saturday he’ll compete in his 169th Truck Series race when he fires up the Germain.com Tundra for the fourth race of the 2011 season. Bodine has 732 NASCAR career starts to date.

Watch Bodine in the No. 30 Germain.com Tundra on on Saturday, April 2nd, at Martinsville Speedway. The action starts on SPEED with practice airing at 2:00 PM ET on Friday. Qualifying is on air at 10:30 AM Saturday followed by racing at 2:00 PM—all on SPEED. Can’t get to a television? Tune your radio to your local MRN affiliate.

Follow Germain Racing on Twitter @GermainRacing or on the web at Germainracing.com or become a fan on Facebook: Facebook.com/pages/Germain-Racing/198863890135.

When shopping for your new or used car or truck, head directly to Germain.com to find the perfect vehicle or visit your local Germain dealer in Ohio, Florida, or Arkansas. Germain.com is part of Germain Motor Company, a top-25 automotive retail network with 21 dealerships and more than 60 years of experience.

 

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Germain Prepared for NKNPSE Season Opener at Greenville

 

NASCAR Night with Charlotte Bobcats and

Shriners Hospital Visit are Highlights Leading into Race Weekend

 

Mooresville, N.C. (03-23-2011) – This time last year, Zach Germain was looking forward to the start of his NASCAR racing career. The Columbus, OH, native, saw the Greenville-Pickens Speedway season debut as a test on so many levels. Now he looks forward to the kick off of his sophomore season with a sense of preparation and confidence. But, he still knows he and the No. 24 Germain Racing Camry team will be tested when the green flag waves on Saturday night.

 

“I was able to learn a ton in the ten K&N Pro Series races last year. There certainly is a difference between going into Greenville-Pickens Speedway last year and this year. Last year, I’d never raced this car or raced the track. That said, I think Greenville is going to be an all new experience for this No. 24 Germain Racing Camry team,” said Germain.

 

The goals have changed for the sophomore driver, who began last season focused on finishing races. This year, he and crew chief Jamie Jones expect top-ten performances.

 

“Our biggest goal this year it is to become a top-ten team. If we can do that, we’ve become successful. We need to practice in the top-ten, qualify and run in the top-ten. We saw in the off-season that we can run with the best teams, and, our goal is to do that every week this year,” said crew chief Jamie Jones.

 

Germain tested his new No. 24 Germain Racing Camry at Greenville last week. He realized then how the work he and his team did in the off-season, and the addition of NASCAR champion David Green to the spotter’s stand, have changed his vantage point leading into Saturday’s South Carolina race.

 

“Before we got to Greenville for the test, I had my ideas of what I expected. I had to laugh because it was still a new experience. I didn’t remember the track surface as being that rugged and, because my laps were much more aggressive than last season, our car was pretty loose off of turns two and four,” smiled the Miami University graduate. “There was some peer pressure there with so many other K&N Pro Series teams at the track for the test session, but, over the hundreds of laps we logged, I really got to see how I’ve changed as a driver.”

 

Green first worked with Germain in Phoenix last year.

 

“David has been great at helping me become more confident and aggressive. Last year, it was all about ‘defense.’ This year, we have our cautiously aggressive team motto, and, David helps me understand the different points when I should be thinking of passes and when I should not” said Germain.

 

Before Germain gets to see the Greenville fans again, he’ll make a couple other appearances. Wednesday night he will sign autographs at NASCAR Night at the Charlotte Bobcats game. On Friday morning, Germain will visit Shriners Hospital for Children—aside from the waving of the green flag on Saturday night, Germain considers this stop possibly the favorite part of his race weekend.

 

Zach Germain is on Twitter @ZachGermain and Facebook (facebook.com/pages/Zach-Germain-Racing/117537741607395). Follow Germain Racing on Twitter @GermainRacing or on the web at Germainracing.com or become a fan on Facebook: Facebook.com/pages/Germain-Racing/198863890135.

 

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Media Contact: Lori Smith, Germain Racing 704-651-0606 (M) or Lsmith@germain.com

 

Mooresville, N.C. (03-15-2011) – Returning to the winner’s circle at Darlington Raceway was clearly the priority of the No. 30 Germain.com Tundra team and Germain Racing driver Todd Bodine. The team unloaded a chassis that ranked eighth in first practice and fourth after final practice. From a qualifying position of 12^th, Bodine set his sights on the front of the field and enjoyed the147-laps of Darlington’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race – with just a quick detour first.

 

“The truck was good. Unfortunately right there at the start, don’t really know what happened at the start of the race with the left front tire, but it was vibrating really bad so we elected to come in and change it. We had to start in the rear basically,” said Bodine of the unplanned pit stop too early in the night. “We had a great truck. The Germain.com Tundra did everything I needed it to do. That was a lot of fun racing like that. It was Darlington and she’s back --she’s tough underneath.”

 

Bodine says Darlington’s four year-old racing surface is slowly revealing some of the grit of years past, and the surface played into what was a very fun competition for the Truck Series drivers in Saturday’s race. Bodine faced a restart just three laps before the race was set to conclude. He was up against eventual race winner, Kasey Kahne, and veteran Truck Series racer and fellow champion, Ron Hornaday Jr.

 

“When you have a situation like that and the position I was in, running second, you want to win and you want to pass him. That’s what we’re all here for, but the way our season has been going, we had to get to the checkered flag. I gave it a shot and got sucked around, got loose and all that so we finished third. The main thing was just don’t wreck -- just don’t cause a wreck, don’t do something dumb. We’re all here being professionals trying to race and put on a show. We did and it was another great show in the Truck Series as usual. If you remember what I said earlier in the race day about the veterans and what’s going to happen at the end -- we were right there, the guys I said. Kasey (Kahne), Elliott (Sadler), Ron (Hornaday) and me. That’s typical Darlington,” said Bodine.

 

As excited as he was about the racing action and his team’s performance, Bodine was also beaming about Truck Series fans at Darlington.

 

“It was a great race. I am so happy for Darlington Raceway -- look at the crowd we got. This tells you what the Truck Series is about. These fans are hardcore, they came out here on a Saturday night just to watch trucks race,” smiled Bodine, who didn’t forget the folks watching SPEED at home, either. “Everybody at home -- we appreciate you watching. Trucks are the greatest race and I’m loving it.”

 

After three of 25 races, Bodine ranks seventh in the Truck Series points standings. Bodine races the No. 30 Tundra next at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, VA, on April 2^nd.

 

Follow Germain Racing on Twitter @GermainRacing or on the web at Germainracing.com or become a fan on Facebook: Facebook.com/pages/Germain-Racing/198863890135.

 

When shopping for your new or used car or truck, head directly to Germain.com to find the perfect vehicle or visit your local Germain dealer in Ohio, Florida, or Arkansas. Germain.com is part of Germain Motor Company, a top-25 automotive retail network with 21 dealerships and more than 60 years of experience.

 

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NASCAR may have "slowed down" this weekend,  but the gang from Auto Smarts as presented by Germain Cadillac will be on the clock and on the air this Sunday from 10am-12n on 95.5 The Hawk and Wink 107.1! Join hosts Dan "Boots" Longenette, Randy Rhinehart and Lex McAllister as they welcome co-host Steve Germain back to the program! Steve has been on special assignment in Phoenix and Las Vegas the last couple of weeks but he's back this Sunday with all of the inside scoop on the auto industry and the last two NASCAR weekends. Steve and the rest of the Auto Smarts crew want to hear from you! They will be taking your calls at 614-389-4044 or toll free at 855-786-0556! You can also email them by going to www.autosmartsradio.com. While you're there, check out the site and see all of the ways Auto Smarts as presented by Germain Cadillac can help you out when it comes to anything automotive!  

They also have your fashion needs taken care of too! You may not know it to look at him but Boots is a very fashion conscience guy! Ok, so maybe he's not, but Lex is and in the second hourthis Sunday, the gang will talk to Adrian Gilbert of www.furianleather.com. Adrian has the perfect leather jackets for men and women that love to ride as much as they love the Buckeyes! Jack Moser will check in with some advice during his weekly bustedfordrunkdriving.com feature and Michael Sacks of Kimmel and Silverman will deliver this weeks 1-800 Lemon Law Lemon Aid Minute.    

 

For more information, contact:

Randy Rhinehart        randy@autosmarts4u.com              614-389-4044

  or   Mike Austin               mikeaustin@rocketm.com 

 

Justin Lofton, No. 77 Lofton Cattle Toyota Tundra

Track: Darlington Raceway

Event: Too Tough to Tame 200

When: Saturday, March 12th 5 PM (Eastern)

Broadcast information: 4:30 PM (Eastern), SPEED

Last Time Out: Justin Lofton qualified 24th for the 150-mile race at Phoenix two weeks ago, but despite a strong truck with a storied background within the Germain Racing stable, the Ryan Fugle led team suffered a setback when the throttle stop backed out, sending the No. 77 Toyota to pit road for prolonged repairs early in the running. Lofton made the best of the remainder of the race, running lap times consistent with top-10 trucks. Lofton and team ended the night in the 30th position.

Lofton at Darlington: Lofton logged his highest qualifying effort to date, qualifying in the third position, last August in Darlington. Though the track is dubbed "Too Tough to Tame" the California native had no problems early on learning the ropes around the abrasive 1.366-mile track. After laying down the top-five starting spot, Lofton ran a stellar race, maintaining a spot within the top-five most of the night before a late race run-in dropped him to 20th at the finish.

Down Time Details: Lofton spent the off weekend in between Phoenix and Darlington in his hometown of Brawley, California, shooting a music video with his production company Weekend Warriors TV. Lofton, along with co-owners, sister Brittany Lofton and business partner Brett Bortle, spent Saturday and Sunday filming with rock band Paperback Hero for their single Breath of Time. Following Darlington, Lofton and the WWTV crew will head to the Field Filler Fairgrounds for some go-kart racing. During his break in competition next weekend, Lofton plans on heading to Colorado to partake in snowmobiling with friend Rusty Szymanski. Szymanski serves as Lofton's navigator when he's behind the wheel of an off-road machine.

Truck Information: Lofton will race chassis GR010 this week in Darlington. Lofton and the No. 77 team ran this truck two weeks ago on the one-mile Phoenix International Raceway. The truck has a solid history within the Germain Racing stable. Teammate Todd Bodine raced the truck numerous times last season en route to multiple top-five runs.

Lofton on Darlington: "I am really excited for Darlington. As a rookie, I had a really good run there last year. I really liked the track. It's unique and challenging but a lot of fun to race. My teammate Todd Bodine won there last year, so that just gives the team an added boost heading into the weekend."

Crew Chief Ryan "Rudy" Fugle on Darlington:"The team had a chance with the week off to focus on all of the small details and because of that, we are heading to the track this weekend rejuvenated. We're going to start fresh and put the first two races and the bad luck behind us. This is a good truck and Justin ran really well in Darlington last year. We plan on running up front and mixing it up for the win."

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_______________________________

Amanda Brahler

Justin Lofton Media Relations

Email: mandy@justinloftoninc.com

LoftonRacing.com - twitter.com/jlracing