Roush Fenway Racing spotlight

Cesar Villanueva

Position: Tire Specialist No. 98 Nationwide Car

From: Parsippany, New Jersey

NASCAR Experience:

Cesar was in school at the University of Maryland for Computer Engineering before he found an opportunity with NASCAR. He joined NASCAR with a scholarship provided by Dodge to the NASCAR Technical Institute in 2002 and was a member of the second graduating class. Interestingly enough he had no prior automotive experience and had to learn everything about motorsports from the ground up.

Cesar went on to Pit Crew School and worked over the wall as an alternate for several teams. He found his first full-time position in the Truck Series with Ultra Motorsports and won his first Championship that year. In 2006 he joined Germain Racing on Todd Bodine's team and won his second Championship.

With two Championship rings, Cesar was recruited by Crew Chief Matt Puccia to Roush Fenway Racing for the 2007 season, where he has worked on the No. 99 Camping World Truck, the No. 60, No. 6 and No. 98 Nationwide entries. During his time at Roush Fenway he has been a tire specialist and/or a front tire changer on the over the wall crews.

Tire Specials Responsibilities:

* Prepare 20 to 28 tires provided by Good Year each week

* Put tires into sets based on spring rate, stagger, date codes and mold Numbers as directed by the Menards No. 98 Crew Chief Matt Puccia.

* Insure correct tire pressures all the time

* Review and record tire wear during practice, qualifying and the race

Cesar on his responsibilities, "Tire management is a critical part of our performance on the track, insuring everything is done correctly is as import part of our success and I take my contribution to the team very seriously."

Favorite thing about the No. 98 Menards Team:

"With the exception of Mike Riggs and Mark Cash, this is the same team we had on the No. 99 truck here at Roush Fenway, so we all know each other really well and that makes it a lot of fun."

Personal Life:

Cesar is recently married and enjoys spending time with his wife and riding his motorcycle.

-source: rfr