ST. LOUIS, JULY 18, 2007 – Frank Kreyer will enter his Mac Hill Motorsports Culver’s Racing #56 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS in qualifying for Saturday’s Gateway 250 NASCAR Busch Series race here more relaxed than he has been in weeks.
“This is a relief,” the NASCAR rookie driver said after his wife Michelle gave birth Monday to the couple’s first child. “We’ve been waiting for this for what seems like forever.
“And I am so excited – my son (Kendrick Ray Kreyer, five pounds, 14 ounces) is coming to my next NASCAR race!”
The 37-year-old short-track specialist from the Wisconsin Dells will make his second BUSCH appearance, as before under the Culver’s restaurant banner, Saturday, July 21, hoping for better results than last month in his initial one at the Milwaukee Mile. Kreyer, in 27th place at the time, was hit on the 221st lap of the AT&T 250 and put into the wall, ending his race. He finished 34th in the 43-car field.
“I’ve been on a mission (since Milwaukee, competing in short-track races) and things have been going really good, culminating in the birth of Kendrick,” he said. “I’ve been talking to Tony (Lambert, crew chief) and spent two hours last week on the phone with Matt Kenseth discussing the track, the race and competing in the BUSCH Series. I feel pretty confident about this week’s race.”
Jack McNelly, Mac Hill Motorsports owner, is confident in his driver as well. “We’ve established a solid communications base between Frank, Tony and the rest of the team. We saw improvements during the entire Milwaukee program, improvements we think will result in a much better result this weekend in St. Louis and going forward.”
And the hope is success in St. Louis to be followed by the same the following week in the BUSCH Series Kroger 200 at O’Reilly Raceway Park (Indianapolis) and the November 10 Arizona.Travel 200 at Phoenix International Raceway.
Culver’s has been a sponsor for six years of Kreyer’s racing in Wisconsin and the upper Midwest. Kreyer grew up among the short-track racers and has raced everything from motorcycles to lawn mowers.
In addition to the NASCAR program, Kreyer will continue driving the #99 Culver’s Ford Fusion in the Wisconsin Challenge Series, along with selected appearances in the newly formed ASA Midwest Tour in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota.
Culver’s restaurants are independently owned and operated in more than 350 locations. With the opening of Culver’s newest restaurants in Arizona, Arkansas and Tennessee, guests will now be able to enjoy their favorites in 19 states across the nation. For more information on Culver’s locations, franchise opportunities, promotional programs, menu selections and other areas of interest, visit ww.culvers.com.