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PETTIT II SURVIVES PENALTY FOR A TOP FIVE AT MADERA

July 7, 2009 - Madera, California – Despite a lap 81 incident that drew him a five position penalty, Jim Pettit II made his way back up to a fifth place finish in an SRL Spears Southwest Touring Series race at Madera Speedway Saturday night. However, he was awarded fourth place after a higher finishing competitor failed to show up for a post-race tech inspection and was penalized five finishing positions.

According to Pettit, “The night was not nearly as good as we had hoped it would be. I got penalized for something I don’t quite understand, but that’s water under the bridge. I talked to the driver involved after the race, and there’s absolutely no problem between us. What happened, happened, and we go from here.”

Pettit was referring to the lap 81 incident that wound up with him being moved from third to ninth place on the lap 85 restart following a caution period. However, on lap 100 he moved into fifth, where he finished. “I think if we’d had another caution during those last twenty or so laps, I could have gotten a couple more spots as it would have bunched up the field. It was pretty much a one groove race track with the outside being the place to be. But we didn’t, and I didn’t.”

The fourth place finish moves Pettit up one position into fourth in the SRL point standings with 155, only 53 points out of first, after four races. “If we could have a little change in luck from our previous races and win one of these things, we’d be in fine shape.” Pettit, who drives the #03 Golden Gate Petroleum, Top of the Hill Performance, BizzwithBuzz.com Ford Fusion, is the reigning SRL champion.
Driving the mostly royal blue, trimmed in yellow, #03 Ford Fusion sponsored by Golden Gate Petroleum, Top of the Hill Performance and BizzwithBuzz.com, Jim, Veronica, and the “get ‘er done” crew will show up at Madera Speedway some time Friday for practice that starts in the early afternoon.

Press Contact: Burry Dolbeare
cohobo@comcast.net

VERONICA PETTIT’S READY FOR MADERA

July 2, 2009 - Prunedale, California. “Last week I made room reservations, and yesterday I bought the food, and last night I made some BBQ sauce: I like to do most of my cooking from almost scratch, to make some sloppy joes and have it ready for the guys this weekend.”

This ‘weekend’ being at Madera Speedway for the SRL’s round #2 of the three race Holiday Classic series presented by Performance Electric for which, “I’m ready for it. It’s a great little track, they treat us good, we’ve won there many times, and it’s the Fourth of July.”

The ‘guys’ being her husband, Jim Pettit II, and the race crew. And she’s been doing this for quite some time. “I met Jim some twenty four years ago at a race track, my father used to race, and we’ve been doing this ever since. I’ve gone to 99.9 per cent of the races he’s been to. All the crew has their own responsibilities
in getting the car ready, so I guess you could say I have one job. Make sure they have rooms to sleep in, and food to eat.”

“I watch the races from the pits and wear a radio headset, but they give me one that I can’t talk to Jim on. I have one superstition. I don’t want to know anything about qualifying. I don’t watch it. I don’t listen to it. I don’t want to know anything about it until the last car has qualified.”

The most memorial race he’s won? “I’d have to say the “Freedom 150” race at Pikes Peak in 2005. My folks are cattle ranchers, and being brought up in the Red, White and Blue tradition, and that event honoring the military, and him winning it, I really enjoyed that race.”

During his thirty some years of racing, Pettit, the race car driver, has won 15 championships at tracks throughout the Southwest, including two at Madera.
“All that time before we were together, we call BV (that’s for Before Veronica)
so I wasn’t around for some of those, so I would have to say that our biggest one was the 2004 NASCAR Southwest Series Championship.”

The blue cowboy hat. “I bought that hat in 2004 when we were celebrating a win in Las Vegas. It was in a convention hall and they were selling all kinds of things, including hats, and that blue one, royal blue being my favorite color, was sitting there. I walked around some more and it was still sitting there. So I called my husband to see of we had enough money. We did, and I bought it.” If you spot a five foot two inch lady walking around the pits under a blue cowboy hat, it’s undoubtedly Veronica.

Jim is looking forward to Madera this weekend as well. “We did some tire testing a couple of weeks ago, and I think we’ve come up with a really good tire that ought to make the racing a lot better. And I’ve done a couple of modified dirt races the past few weeks, so I still remember how to turn left. And more importantly, we’ve had several weeks to get the SRL car ready. We haven’t had the best of luck during the first couple of races and had to spend a lot of time putting things back together. But now we’ve had time to work on things like the chassis and other stuff, so I’m anxious for the weekend.”

Driving the mostly royal blue, trimmed in yellow, #03 Ford Fusion sponsored by Golden Gate Petroleum, Top of the Hill Performance and BizzwithBuzz.com, Jim, Veronica, and the “get ‘er done” crew will show up at Madera Speedway some time Friday for practice that starts in the early afternoon.

Press Contact: Burry Dolbeare
cohobo@comcast.net

JIM PETTIT II TAKES THIRD AT MADERA

May 26, 2009 - Madera, California. Following Saturday nights “Performance Electrical 110” SRL Southwest Touring Series event at Madera Speedway, Jim Pettit II said, “We had the best third place car on the track, and that’s where we finished. We just didn’t have anything for the first and second place guys”.

Pettit started the event seventh but on the first two laps, dropped back to ninth. On lap four he was back up to seventh and started his slow, but sure, way up to third on lap sixty four. From then on it was pretty much a follow the leader race for the top four or five cars.

“We had some time-consuming problems during practice on Friday that might have been the result of the incident at Roseville in the first race, and the fire at The Bullring three weeks ago, so we didn’t get the practice time we like to have to set the car up. But at least we brought home a complete car for a change, and now we have five weeks or so before the next race, so we can do some preventive maintenance and be ready for Madera again on the fourth of July”.

Driving the Golden Gate Petroleum/Top of the Hill Performance / BizzwithBuzz.com Ford Fusion, Pettit’s third place finish Saturday night, was his twelfth SRL career top three finish in fifteen starts. It also moved him from ninth to fifth in the SRL 2009 point standings, forty-nine points out of first, after three races, with seven more to go.

Press Contact: Burry Dolbeare
cohobo@comcast.net

JIM PETTIT II “GOOD TO GO” FOR MADERA

May 18, 2009 - Prunedale, California. Following a “scary experience” with a car fire at The Bullring at LVMS three weeks ago in which he suffered considerable smoke inhalation, Jim Pettit II says, “I’m good, probably somewhere in the high nineties on a percentage scale. Two weeks ago I was done for the day at two o’clock, but I’m back to work and have finally quit wheezing, so that’s progress”.

The upcoming event, the Performance Electrical 110, is the third on the SRL Southwest Touring Series schedule Saturday night at Madera (CA)Speedway. The current SRL champion, Pettit last raced Madera in 2007, and won two of the three events the SRL held there that year. “I’m definitely familiar with the place and am looking forward to getting back. It’s close to home and hopefully will be the right medicine for us to get back on track after two rough starts this year”.

Although Pettit got a third place finish in the season opener at All American Speedway in Roseville, CA., he was involved in a mid-race incident that did considerable damage to the race car. Three weeks ago at LVMS, a fire “Did a lot of damage. You can’t believe what we had to fix and replace. But we’re still going with the primary car and not the back-up, ‘cause you never know what might happen prior to the race. My guys did an awesome job in getting that car back together. I talked to my crew chief, Duane Sharp, yesterday and he said we’re good to go”.

Driving his wife’s #03 2008 Golden Gate Petroleum / Top of the Hill Performance / BizzwithBuzz.com Ford Fusion, Pettit is currently 9th in the SRL point standings, having dropped from third as a result of his 19th place finish at The Bullring. “

Press Contact: Burry Dolbeare
cohobo@comcast.net

JIM PETTIT II O.K. AFTER SERIOUS RACE CAR FIRE

May 5, 2009 - Las Vegas, NV. Jim Peitt II is home recuperating from “the scariest experience I’ve ever had” following the SRL “Blackjack 121” stock car event Sunday afternoon at the “Bullring” at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. During a caution flag on the 42nd lap of the 121 lap event, Pettit’s car caught fire and he stopped it next to the pit exit. However, with flames all along the dashboard, and smoke billowing inside the car, it took quite some time before he was removed by fans and race car crew members.

“I basically thought I’d broken a transmission or rear end, right. I seen a little bit of white smoke, but no big deal, and I radioed to my crew I was coming in. But just as I went by the flag stand, the thing really went up in smoke. I mean filling the cockpit big time, and it turned from white to black. And then I got flames all across the dashboard, so I said, I got to get out of this thing, so I stopped near the pit exit, and on the track so they could see what was going on. So I released my two window nets, and released the steering wheel and got it out if the way. Then I took the seat belts off and I said to myself, this is serious stuff here, and I got to get my helmet and Hans device off. I keep trying to get out but I keep getting hooked on something. A guy named “R J” and another guy had jumped the fence and were desperately trying to get me out of the car, and of course I’m trying too. I got my gloves off and I’m trying to get the helmet off so I can get some air, and the guys are pulling on me and the helmet, but the right side of the Hans device didn’t release. Finally, with me pushing on the left side of the helmet, and them pulling, it rolled off and they dragged me out of the car. I don’t know everything there is to know about the response time of the safety crews, but in my opinion, it was way to long”.

According to Pettit, and numerous people at the scene, quite some time elapsed before he was removed from his burning race car, during which he suffered from considerable smoke inhalation. However, he has been given numerous tests all of which indicate no serious after effects. He has been given medication to help with his breathing and has been told that he’s not yet completely out of the woods, but it looks like a complete recovery is in the forecast.

As for the future, the next SRL race is set for May 23 at Madera Speedway and according to Pettit, “As long as something doesn’t happen to my lungs, we’re looking forward to being there and doing the best we can do, but we’ll be there. But right now, I want to thank all the people who have called, and the list is long, and checked on me and my family. And I especially want to thank those that jumped the fence and came out of the pits to help me. If it hadn’t been for them, well, . . . . . “

Press Contact: Burry Dolbeare
cohobo@comcast.net

JIM PETTIT II “READY TO ROLL” INTO VEGAS

April 28, 2009 - Prunedale, CA. After a month off, the SRL Southwest Touring Series heads to the “Bullring” at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this Sunday for the “Blackjack 121”. And as far as Jim Pettit II is concerned, “I’m ready to roll. Time to get back on the track. Vegas is a fun track and we’re anxious to go racing and hopefully have a great run”.

The last time the SRL and Pettit visited the third mile oval back in November, he had what he hoped is not becoming a “crowd pleasing” event. “I was leading the race last year, and had a flat tire under a red flag. I had to go to the pits and change the right front and wound up at the tail of the field. But, with forty laps to go, I did managed to get a second place finish”.

At last months opener at All American Speedway in Roseville, CA., the current SRL champion, while running second at the midway point of the race, was involved in an incident that put him back in the middle of the field, but he managed to salvage a third place finish at the end. “The odds are stacked against you when you have to do those things. Although we had respectable finishes, those last two races lady luck didn’t really didn’t smile on us that much, so we’ll just put that behind us and try to get back into victory lane”.

So far in his SRL career, the Prundale, CA. driver has seven wins in thirteen starts
and has finished outside the top three on only two occasions. Driving the #03 Golden Gate Petroleum/Top of the Hill Performance/BizzwithBuzz.com 2008 Ford Fusion owned by his wife, Veronica, the 44 year old Pettit is currently third in the SRL point standings after one race.

The “Blackjack 121” headlines two days of racing at the Bullring, with the 121 lap
event scheduled to get underway at 2:30 pm, Vegas time, on Sunday.

Press Contact: Burry Dolbeare
cohobo@comcast.net

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JIM PETTIT II EARNS A TOUGH THIRD IN SRL OPENER

April 5, 2009 - Prunedale, CA. Jim Pettit II, the current SRL Southwest Touring Series champion, overcame a lap 80 incident that dropped him near the back of the field, but drove his Golden Gate Petroleum Ford back up to a third place finish in the 125 lap “Riebes Auto Parts 125” at All American Speedway Saturday night.

After qualifying and starting a disappointing eleventh, “We struggled all weekend with tires. We were in the top five in practices, but we’d put new tires on and we’d be 4/10ths off. We drew an early qualifying spot; the luck of the draw; and the track was cold and the tires weren’t much better after we’d work on it all day, and basically that’s why we ended up eleventh”.

In the race, by lap eight he was in eighth; lap forty-one in fourth; and on lap 50 moved into second behind his long-time friend and rival, M K Kanke, of Fraizer Park, CA. During the next several laps, Pettit tried every which way but loose to pass Kanke, but to no avail. On lap 80 Pettit and another competitor came together, and Pettit found himself deep in the field with several lapped cars between himself and the front-runners. “M K and I came up on a lapped car and I slowed a bit to give him some room, and a car came up underneath me and we made contact, causing me to spin, and then I got tagged by another car who had nowhere to go”.

However, by lap 114 he was back up to fifth; on lap 116 up to fourth; and on the last lap, with brake rotors glowing cherry red, moved into third.

“To summarize, we struggled all weekend, but my crew, as always, never gave up. It started out to be a good night that turned into a bad night, which turned out to be a good night, although we didn’t win like we hoped to. I was happy to see M K win as he’s been off for a year. So we’ll take it one race at a time and go from here”.

The next race on the SRL schedule is May 3rd at “The Bullring” at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Press Contact: Burry Dolbeare
cohobo@comcast.net

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JIM PETTITT II STARTS DEFENSE OF SRL TITLE

April 1, 2009 - Prunedale, CA. With the 2009 SRL Southwest Touring Series about to begin, Jim Pettit II, last years SRL champion, is, “Looking forward to hopefully backing up the championship season we had last year. It’s going to be a tough road to repeat, but if I can keep lady luck on our side and we do what we’re capable of doing, we should have another great year”.

The 44 year old Prubedale, CA. driver who won four of last years seven SRL races and never finished worse than third, says, “Everything is the same as last year: basically the car is blue with yellow trim, it’s a 2008 Ford Fusion, number 03, with Golden Gate Petroleum as a sponsor. I have all my volunteer crew back, including crew chief, Duane Sharp, who has been with me for many years. Everyone knows their responsibility and does a great job, so we take it one race at a time, and go from there”.

A veteran of nearly 30 years of racing on both dirt and asphalt at many tracks in the Southwestern United States, Pettit has over 300 wins and 15 championships to his credit. Asked what he thinks of the ten race 2009 SRL schedule, his answer was, “I’m really excited about it. We have a very attractive schedule this year. We’re at a lot of really good venues. We’re back to historic tracks, and the races are on the internet which is good for sponsors as well as us”.

As for the season opener, the Riebes Auto Parts 125, at All American Speedway in Roseville, CA. this weekend, “Last year was the first time I had raced there and shortly after the start of the race I got into an incident and wound up near the back of the pack, but we worked our way back to a third place finish. They sold the place out last year and it should be a great opener for the series again this year. It’s a fast little track, a fun track, and I’m looking forward to it”.

Press Contact: Burry Dolbeare
cohobo@comcast.net