Kentucky: Brian Scott preview

SCOTT SET FOR BLUEGRASS BATTLE; 21 YEAR-OLD IDAHO NATIVE LOOKING FOR SOLID FINISH AT KENTUCKY SPEEDWAY

MOORESVILLE, NC (July 14, 2009) -- Brian Scott and his No. 16 Albertsons Toyota/Xpress Motorsports team are on somewhat of a roll recently - posting a win, a second place finish and a third place finish in the past five NASCAR Camping World Truck Series events. As Scott heads into this weekend's Built Ford Tough 225 at Kentucky Speedway he finds himself 6th in the NCWTS points chase, only 14 points out of the top five. All of that has come while Scott is battling the effects of a broken wrist suffered in a hard crash at Michigan. A good dose of momentum in the form of two solid top-three finishes at Milwaukee and Memphis have helped Scott climb back into the NCWTS points chase.

"I think momentum is everything in racing," Scott said from the team's shop in Mooresville, NC. "I think the good follows the good and the bad follows the bad. Momentum could be a spiral effect downward or a good solid climb back toward the top. We have had a couple spirals downward with hard crashes at California and Michigan and not enough climbs to the top to dig us out of the hole we were in. This team has been fortunate enough to have had two really good fin ishes in a row, and hopefully in Kentucky we can build on that momentum. We just need to keep that climb upward and chip away at the points. Hopefully we can work our way back into the top-five in points and take it one race at a time, just keep working at it."

It is advantageous for Scott to have a crew chief that understands Kentucky well. Veteran Jeff Hensley has a trip to Victory Lane and several top-five finishes at the 1.5 mile bumpy Bluegrass oval.

"It has been a really good race track for me in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series." Hensley said. "At Bill Davis Racing we won there in 2007. I don't think I have ever been there and finished outside the top-five. In 2005 we finished third and in 2006 we finished fourth. It is a rough racetrack, really rough. So you have to find that fine line between getting good grip and being able to keep the attitude of your truck right with the nose down and the tail up. Kentucky seems to change a lot from day to night. We qualify in the day and the track will be really loose with no grip. At night the track tends to tighten up and it gets a lot of grip. So it's pretty temperature sensitive and it does present a big challenge all the way around."

Scott can clearly see the steady improvement of his Xpress Motorsports team from week to week. He attributes the team's success to a complete buy-in from each team member.

"One person does not make the team," Scott claims. "It is a true team effort. I think after breaking my wrist at Michigan it really shows just how strong our team is. The fact that I am not able to be physically 100% with a broken wrist and yet we still have performed at a high level reveals a lot about the character of the team. It really takes a lot more effort from everyone and it reflects the whole team unit more so then just an individual. Being able to post two top-three finishes and being in contention to win at Memphis illustrates how strong we have been. I think that shows the strength of everybody on the team. I hope everyone on the team can see the effects of all the hard work that they put in and how much that translates into success, that it is not just the driver. I think in racing the driver gets too much blame and too much credit. It is definitely a team effort just like in football or basketball."

The Built Ford Tough 225 at Kentucky Speedway is slated for Saturday July 18th and will be telecast live on SPEED at 8:00pm ET. It will also be broadcast live via radio worldwide on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and on SIRIUS Satellite Radio NASCAR channel 128.

Chassis for Kentucky Speedway: Xpress Motorsports will bring chassis number 52 to the Built Ford To ugh 225 at Kentucky Speedway. This will be Scott's fourth event in the chassis this season. This Triad Racing Technologies chassis finished second at Homestead in the 2008 season finale with Scott at the helm and finished third at Kansas earlier this season.

-credit: xm