Global Rallycross Championship Race Advance and Pastrana-Menzies Quotes Package - Round 1
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Contact: Matthew Simmons Adam Saal Bill Klingbeil Dodge - Global RallyCross Championship Race Advance and Pastrana-Menzies Quotes Package - Round 1 April 15, 2013, AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - DODGE GLOBAL RALLYCROSS NEWS · Dodge and SRT Motorsports are teaming up with action sports legend Travis Pastrana for a second year of Global Rallycross Championship (GRC) competition. · Pastrana Racing will field two Dodge Darts for Global X Games Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil. Two-time Rally gold medalist Travis Pastrana will pilot the No. 199 Discount Tire Dodge Dart while off-road truck specialists and 2012: Trophy Truck - SCORE - Baja 500 champion Bryce Menzies will race the No. 99 Discount Tire Dodge Dart entry. · The 2013 Global Rallycross Series Dodge Dart is a custom built Dodge Dart specific for GRC competition. The engine: purpose-built, 2.0-liter, 4-cylinder, 16-valve, turbo-charged, 600-horsepower. DID YOU KNOW? · Pastrana Racing has developed a technical partnership with Dirtfish Rally School in Snoqualmie, Wash. FROM THE INSIDE "Travis is a dynamic action sports personality. It takes a tremendous amount of determination and work to achieve the level of success he’s attainted. He has the same devotion for Pastrana Racing and the GRC effort. He created a lot of excitement in the series last year. Adding the second car and Bryce confirms our commitment to the series and makes the Dodge Dart a serious challenger for the victory at each event.” --Gary Johnson – SRT Motorsports Racing Manager TRAVIS PASTRANA No. 199 Red Bull/Discount Tire Dodge Dart Birthdate: 11/26/1986 Hometown: Annapolis, Md. Crew Chief: Derik Nelson Career Rally Highlights · Four-time Rally America Champion (2006-2009) · Two-time Rally gold medalist at Summer X Games (2006 & 2008) · First-place Rally America, Olympus (2010) · First-place Rally America, Snow Drift (2010) · Rally America Overall Champion (2009) Career Racing Highlights · Five-time U.S. Amateur Motocross Champion · 17-time gold medalist in Summer X Games BRYCE MENZIES No. 99 Red Bull/Discount Tire Dodge Dart Birthdate: 08/21/1987 Hometown: Mesa, Ariz. Crew Chief: Ian Davies Career Racing Highlights · 2012 TORC Short Course Pro2 Class champion. · 2012 Baja 500 champion. · 2011 TORC Short Course Pro2 Class champion. · 2011 SCORE Off-Road Racing Series champion and Rookie of the Year. · 2010 LOORRS Super Team of the year award. · 2010 Finished 3rd in Lucas Off Road Racing Series · 2007 CORR Single Buggy Championship and the CORR Rookie of the Year. DODGE QUOTE OF THE WEEK “To get a win in our first season last year was awesome. Getting ready for this season has been really great. We’re working with DirtFish and had a lot of time to go testing, really spend a lot of time in the Dodge Darts. Last year, we were limited on testing. We had a brand new car. The platform was awesome; I felt like we had so much to work with. This year Bryce Menzies, a multi-time national champion in off-road truck racing, has spent a lot of time to get our Darts ready and to really, really experiment.” Travis Pastrana, No. 199 Red Bull/Discount Tire Dodge Dart MENZIES SAYS “I’m really excited and looking forward to this year. I got to drive the Dodge Dart two times last year, at X Games and then at the SEMA event. It’s something totally different from what I do right now. I race a two-wheel drive truck. I’m just glad that I’ve got some seat time this year. We’re really looking forward to heading over to Brazil and looking at the course. It will have a lot of dirt, so it’s kind of what I’m used to. I think the Dodge Dart is really going to shine on this type of course. Our game plan is just to be consistent throughout the season and see where we are at the end of the year with the championship.” -- Bryce Menzies, No. 99 Red Bull/Discount Tire Dodge Dart FULL QUOTES PACKAGE FROM TODAY'S (4/16/2013) Dodge Global RallyCross Championship Teleconference with Travis Pastrana and Bryce Menzies Travis Pastrana (No. 199 Red Bull/Discount Tire Dodge Dart) THIS IS YOUR SECOND SEASON BEHIND THE WHEEL OF THE DODGE DART. YOU WON LAST YEAR IN ROUND FOUR AT NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY. WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE 2013 GLOBAL RALLYCROSS SEASON? “To get a win in our first season last year was awesome. Getting ready for this season has been really great. We’re working with DirtFish and had a lot of time to go testing, really spend a lot of time in the Darts. Last year, we were limited on testing. We had a brand new car. The platform was awesome; I felt like we had so much to work with. This year Bryce Menzies, a multi-time national champion in off-road truck racing, has spent a lot of time to get the car ready and to really, really experiment.” YOU ARE GOING TO FIELD A TWO-CAR OPERATION THIS YEAR. WHAT DO YOU SEE IN BRYCE MENZIES AND WHY IS HE A GOOD FIT BEHIND THE WHEEL THIS YEAR? “The biggest thing about Bryce is that he is a proven champion; the kid has a lot of heart. He’s willing to learn. When we were looking for someone to sub at X Games, Red Bull said ‘hey, look, this kid has a lot of heart, a lot of talent, is a really great off-road driver and we’re trying to get him to Rally’. I was like we’ll check him out, we’ll see. Everybody on the team instantly liked this kid. He showed so much talent but listened to everything. If you really want to be the best, you have to figure out a way to get there. Bryce is our guy, a proven champion and will be a proven champion here in Rally in the future.” ROUND ONE STARTS THIS WEEKEND IN BRAZIL. WHY DO YOU THINK THE FOUR GLOBAL X GAMES ARE SO IMPORTANT TO THE GLOBAL RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP? “When Global Rallycross paired up with NASCAR last year, we had a huge fan base see our races at the venues. New Hampshire was one of the biggest. That was awesome for us for sure. But the X Games is an event that my Grandma watches. Everyone hears about the X Games. It’s something that everyone wants to be a part of, even the guys from the WRC (World Rally Championship). Everybody that’s anybody is coming over to see if they can be the best in Global Rallycross. I think that’s pretty cool for us.” CAN YOU COMMENT ON SOME OF THE R&D STUFF THAT YOU’VE BEEN DOING PRIOR TO THE SEASON? “We know, I mean, general race specs and general things are pretty constant across the board. The Dodge Dart, it’s a little bit wider. We’re trying to make it as good as or better than the other cars. Last year, it was a little like racing go-karts with the really, really tight pavement turns. We messed around with different dampers (shocks) and suspension just to figure out how to get the car to rotate but keep its advantage when it came to flying through the air.” YOUR SCHEDULE MUST BE A HEADACHE. HOW DO YOU KEEP IT ALL IN PLACE? “I think it’s awesome to be in the car as much as possible. It’s the most fun and the part of my job that I like the most – driving. I shouldn’t say it’s the easiest part but it’s the part that I’m most comfortable with. If I could be in a car every day of the week racing, I feel like I’d be a better racer. I’m excited for the challenge this year.” IS IT GOING TO BE A PROBLEM JUMPING BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN RALLYCROSS AND NASCAR? “I think it really helps your reflexes, driving skill and learning the differences of the cars. It’s just difficult when everyone else gets out of one car and they have some time to think about it, then they get back in to qualify. When you get out of one car, get into another car and then get back into the other car, it does present some challenges. I’m pretty excited that I have the opportunity to really see how well we can do in both of these sports and to have an opportunity to go for the win here in Rally.” WILL YOU MENTOR NELSON PIQUET JR. AND HELP GET HIM UP TO SPEED WITH WHAT’S GOING ON STARTING IN BRAZIL? “That’s funny. I’ve been talking a lot to Scott Speed as well as Nelson and these are guys I’ve always looked up to as race car drivers. They’re asking random questions on a lot of the differences. They’re getting up to speed. Obviously great, great talents. I’ve driven the all-wheel drive stuff before but this will be the first major race and it’s on such a sweet stage. Everyone in this sport has been a great help to me through go-karting and NASCAR. I’m definitely happy to repay the favor and see if we can’t have some NASCAR guys battling in the GRC and some GRC guys battling in NASCAR.” COMMENT ON THE TRACK IN BRAZIL. “Last year, the most disappointing part for me was that there really weren’t any true dirt sections on the courses.