(Mooresville, N.C.) - Team Full Throttle, a Mooresville, NC based company that specializes in the coaching and development of youth in motorsports, has added several new staff members as it continues to grow and expand its services.

Dave Ferguson of The Growth Coach of the Carolinas has signed on as a Consultant and Business Coach for Team Full Throttle. Ferguson, a Long Island, NY native with many years of corporate experience and now serving as a life and business coach to numerous clients in the Piedmont Region of the North Carolina, is assisting TFT Founder and CEO Tom Baker with creating new avenues to benefit TFT and its racers. "Dave has already made a huge impact on our goals for 2010 and beyond," Baker said. "He has experience working with other clients in Motorsports, and brings years of business experience to us as both a consultant and an advocate for the success of our racers."

Becca Gladden joins the TFT staff to provide a variety of public relations services, including media releases for many of the program's racers. Gladden is a current member of the National Motorsports Press Association, has worked in NASCAR as a freelance writer since 2004, and has already begun to provide top notch writing for TFT racers across the nation. "Becca was a huge asset to us in getting our Facebook and Twitter sites off the ground, and she's drawing rave reviews from our racers already for her writing. She's already a tremendous addition to the program and I'm excited to be working with her," TFT Founder and CEO Tom Baker said.

Doug Gillis will be providing strength and conditioning services to TFT's racers, having also made his debut at TFT Week last month. Gillis, a certified strength and conditioning specialist and former Senior Trainer at Red's Athletic Center in Mooresville, NC., is very familiar with training racers and also with TFT's program. "Several of Tom's racers were in our gym training before we decided to close it, and I am very impressed with the quality of the individuals both parents and racers that Tom has assembled in Team Full Throttle," he said recently.

Randy McCallister brings a Bachelor's Degree in Marketing and Public Relations from the University of Central Florida to TFT, along with a fresh perspective on how to maximize its resources and reach new audiences to encourage marketing partners for the company and its racers, and give TFT visibility outside the motorsports venue. "Randy is working for us on a part-time basis right now, just getting his feet wet in the industry and helping us with our diversification and expansion efforts, but we are already hoping that he will be able to join us full-time in North Carolina in the near future," according to Baker.

TFT Continues its close working relationship with Activ8 Communications, which provides the company with NASCAR-quality Social Media and PR / Marketing Services. Look for more announcements in the near future regarding new associations and additions to TFT's staff and racer lineups as the company continues to build tomorrow's champions.


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Igo Rounds Out Season; Looks Ahead To 2010

Mooresville, NC (Oct. 13, 2009)- On a big night of racing at Seekonk Speedway, Chris Igo held on to a loose racecar for a wild finish to close out his 2009 season. The D.A.V. Fall Classic brought a large crowd of competitors from several different divisions and provided an action-packed night of racing in Seekonk, Mass.

After rolling off third for the heat race, Igo almost immediately took over the top spot with a lightning fast racecar. He pulled away from the rest of the field and had a comfortable lead with just a few laps remaining, when misfortune struck in the form of a blown tire. Igo wasn't able to finish the qualifier, which put him at the tail-end of the field to start the feature.

Similar to the heat race earlier in the evening, it took a very short amount of time for Igo to muscle his way to the lead. By lap 10, he was pulling away from the field once again, but was suffering from an extremely loose race car after the crew made some adjustments prior to the event. With just 12 laps remaining, Igo couldn't hold on any longer and spun while leading. Though he caught the car and prevented a caution, the field still passed by him as he gathered up the car. The amount of laps remaining didn't give him enough time to get back to the lead, but he was able to salvage a fourth place finish.

"There was a long break between the heat race and the feature, so we thought we needed to make some adjustments to the car. We just went way too far, and I was so loose I was sideways every lap," Igo commented, reflecting on the event. "The car was so fast and I really felt like we could win, so it was unfortunate to spin out. But overall I'm happy with the season."

Igo has also announced big plans for the 2010 season. Moving up from current mini-cup competition, Chris will be competing in Seekonk Speedway's Sport Truck division. The V-8 trucks provide great action every Saturday night at the track- the biggest night of racing for the venue.

"I'm really excited and looking forward to next year. The Sport Trucks are very competitive and will be a lot more challenging than the mini-cups," Igo said.

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Gasket Issues Haunt Knight at Lanier

(Lanier, Ga.) - Jake Knight rolled into Lanier National Speedway in Georgia this past weekend with good reason to be confident in his ability to race well in the INEX Legends Young Lions National Championship event.

For one thing, he had run at Lanier earlier this year and finished third. For another, he had since picked up a victory at Monroe Motor Speedway in Louisiana and has been crowned the 2009 Mississippi State champion in his division. Splitting time between his own machine and a Kyle Beattie Racing mount, Jake has spent his rookie season learning and has steadily become more competitive.

However, the weekend at the national didn't go as well as he'd hoped. He finished ninth in the State Champions race on Friday night, but Saturday wouldn't go quite as well.

After failing to qualify through time trials, he drove from 15th to 7th in the B-main and heading toward the top four and a transfer spot when smoke began billowing from his engine. A quick pit stop under caution by the Beattie Racing team fixed the problem and got him back out before the green, but he ran out of laps trying to race through the field a second time and finished out of a transfer spot in 9th.

"I messed up," Jake said after the race. "The problem ended up being two gaskets on the filter. I changed that myself, and didn't notice that the old gasket hadn't come off with the filter. So when I put the new filter on I put a new gasket on with it, but the old one was still on there too. It was my fault. It's too bad because I think we had a good chance to qualify and run good in the national. I finally figured out the fast way around the track and it helped me a ton in the B-main, but we ran out of time. Thanks to Kyle Beattie and his team for their help over the weekend."

Jake and his team will regroup and head to Monroe this weekend seeking their second victory of the season.

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Andrea Hans Very Impressive at INEX Legends National

(Lanier, Ga.) - Andrea Hans started this season with a win at Concord Speedway in North Carolina. Along the way she picked up four more victories running throughout the Midwest near her Indiana home. Working hard to refine her fundamentals and technique, her confidence and her results kept getting higher.

As her season came to a close, her goal was to tackle the semi-pro portion of the INEX Legends National Championship and finish competitively in or near the top ten. She ran well throughout the practice, qualified eleventh fastest out of over 40 cars and finished the race in 13th, a satisfying result for the personable young racer and her family-owned team.

"It was a really good weekend," Andrea said with her characteristic smile. "We actually had the pole for a while in qualifying, and didn't end up very far off starting eleventh. I just wanted to race clean and finish the best I could, because the competition here is so strong. I am happy with 13th, especially because I made a mistake on a restart and lost a couple of spots, so I think we might have been able to reach the top ten. I want to thank my parents, Kyle Beattie and his team, Ryan Inman, Dave Hect and Team Full Throttle for all of their help this season because I learned so much from all of them along the way."

Andrea is hoping to travel to North Carolina to race part-time in the Winter Heat Series at Lowe's Motor Speedway this winter, and will return to the INEX Legends cars full time in 2010 as she continues to develop her racing skills.

Taylor Doggett Draws A Crowd At The Virginia State Fair

(Caroline County, Va.) - Taylor Doggett spent last week showing off his race car, his marketing partner, and his racing exploits at the Virginia State Fair, held for the first time at the Meadow Event Park in Caroline County, Va.

The 16-year-old made quite an impression, appearing all seven days at the fair along with his dirt late model that he competes with at the Virginia Motor Speedway. He was the only motorsports-based display, and he was mobbed all throughout the week for autographs and photos with attendees both young and old.

"We just had a great time," Taylor smiled. "Mr. William Washington, a McDonald's franchisee in this area who is largely responsible for helping me get to where I'm at with my racing, helped us arrange this opportunity, and we couldn't be more thankful for his efforts all year long for us. We wanted to make a good impression for McDonald's and ourselves. We signed a ton of autographs and we were able to get the word out about both the local dirt track racing and also the racing that I've done at Hickory Motor Speedway in North Carolina."

During the week, Doggett was asked to appear on a local radio show called Let's Talk Racing, with hosts Joe and Ruth Kelly on WARV-FM 100.3. "The show airs on Wednesday nights, and I was proud that they asked me to be a part of it. We had a great time and they said they would like to have me back over the winter again, so that was pretty neat!"

Next on Taylor's racing schedule will be the second annual Halloween Havoc 150-lap race for the NASCAR Limited Late Models at the Tri-County Motor Speedway in Hudson, N.C. The two-day affair will be Taylor's first time competing at Tri-County, and he's looking forward to the opportunity. "It will be my first time racing there, and also my first long-distance race with the Orion Motorsports team. I might be racing against one or two of my Team Full Throttle teammates also, so that will add to the fun. I just want to go there and finish as well as I can. This whole year's been such a tremendous learning experience, and I am looking forward to learning even more at that race."


Jared and Rachel Marks Collect Three 2009 Championships

(Napoleon, Oh) - Ohio racers Jared and Rachel Marks put the finishing touches last week on quite a successful summer, as they racked up three championships and ten wins between them in 2009.

Both went into the season racing Quarter-Midgets, with Jared also adding some runs in an INEX Legends Car and a USAC Kenyon Midget to his resume. The 15-year-old scored eight wins in his final season of Quarter-Midgets, along with championships in the Heavy AA and Heavy 160 divisions in QMA Region 4. The final races for that region were run last weekend at Henry County Fairgrounds in Napoleon, OH.

For 11-year-old Rachel, she won for the second time this past weekend in the Senior Honda division, and also took that division's regional title. She wound up third in the Light AA division's points for the year after scoring a second place run in A-main action at the fairgrounds. Rachel also turned some heads earlier in the summer racing an INEX Bandolero at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. during the Summer Shootout as she won a rookie division feature and adapted quickly to the car.

Plans for Jared are still being finalized for 2010. "We bought a dirt late model that we will be racing quite a bit with, and we may do some USAC Ford Focus Midget racing as well," the personable youngster said. "There is also some talk of some pavement late model racing so it should be a fun year."

Rachel will again be racing Quarter-Midgets, gaining more experience as she prepares to follow her older brother up the racing ladder. "I want to say thanks for both of us to our parents and everybody who helps us with our racing. We are lucky to be doing what we do. I can't wait for next year!"

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OTHER RECENT TFT NEWS

Chris Young picks up his second win of the year

(Bethel, N.Y.) - Chris Young made his second trip to Bethel Motor Speedway well worth the effort on Saturday, as the 15-year-old took control early and walked off with his second INEX Legends car victory of his rookie season.

Young, who had no prior racing experience before setting foot in the Legends car in November of last year, scored his first win in only his seventh start at Orlando SpeedWorld in Florida last February before his "summer of learning" began with the 10-race Summer Shootout at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.

"That win in Florida was special because it was my first one, and it was a national," Young said. "But this one wasn't a "rookie class" win. There are some really fast cars here. Last week we got third and I thought we could do better this week with some changes to my line and my driving style. I got a little anxious with all the yellows we had, but I just tried to concentrate on getting good restarts and we were able to do that."

Chris also added his appreciation to those who have supported his efforts all year long. "This win was definitely for my family, my sponsors, and everyone who has helped me and believed in me. I know it's one win and I still have a lot to learn, but I feel like I'm starting to make better decisions on the track and that's what I am trying to do."

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Jake Knight Wins Special Friday Show At Monroe

(Monroe, La.) – All the hard work that INEX Legends rookie Jake Knight has put in this season to learn his craft finally paid off last weekend, as the 16-year-old with the easy smile won his heat race, started on the pole, and led from flag-to-flag to win the special 25-lap feature on Friday night at Monroe Motor Speedway in Louisiana.

The race, the first of three Jake would run at the track over the weekend, was being run to make up a previously rained out event. He had a top five run going on Saturday in his second feature but contact from another car caused some minor front end damage to his racer, sending him to the pits.

Then his third race, uniquely scheduled as an “After Midnight” start, saw him take the green from fifteenth and charge his way through the field to a solid fourth place finish. As one would imagine, Jake was tired, but grinning from ear to ear at the conclusion of that last race.

“What a weekend,” he smiled. “Friday the car just worked perfectly and we finally got the win. Saturday we were running in the top five but there was a wreck and I just got a piece of it and it knocked the toe out, so we didn’t finish that one. Then this last race I think we might have finished even better than fourth if we’d been able to start up closer to the front, but that’s how it goes. The car was fast all weekend!”

The win and strong runs give Jake some momentum going into the INEX Legends Young Lions National Championship event being held October 9th and 10th at Lanier National Speedway in Lanier, Ga.

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Christian PaHud Hunting for Green October

(Harrisburg, N.C.) – A year ago at this time Christian PaHud was anticipating making his first start in a NASCAR limited late model at Tri-County Motor Speedway’s Halloween Havoc race. He adjusted quickly – finishing fourth in his first start.

Now concluding his rookie season, he’s added three wins to his resume in the Orion Motorsports prepared no.63, and is hoping to make green his favorite color this October as he chases $5,000 in purse money offered in two extra-distance races for the division.

First, he’s tentatively planning to make his first start at Concord Speedway, where he’ll attack the ½-mile tri-oval on October 10th for the second annual Miracle Dental Center Robbie Wells Memorial with the utmost respect. “I know you can definitely tear up some equipment there,” PaHud said. “But I seem to do well on bigger tracks and I’d love to be able to walk away with the check in the 100-lap race at Concord.” That race pays $2,000 to the winner.

Then it’s back to Tri-County Motor Speedway on Halloween night for his second attempt at the $3,000 top prize in the Halloween Havoc 150-lap race. “It’s actually my first attempt when I halfway know what I’m doing in a Late Model,” the youngster joked. “Last year was my first time racing the car and I was really happy just to finish, let alone get fourth. Tri-County was our home track this year and we won three times there, so hopefully we’ll be able to race for the win in the 150.”

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Three Championships Complete the Season for Marcham Duo

Mooresville, NC (Sept. 28, 2009)- Two consecutive nights of action at I-44 Speedway in Oklahoma City resulted in three championship titles for the Marcham brothers. The last two nights of the regular season didn't come without trials and tribulations for the duo however, as both battled tough luck in each event.

With the A-class points championship virtually clinched heading into the weekend, Trey Marcham decided to race in that division only on Friday evening. Running third in the race, Marcham was heading towards the front when a competitor in front of him went for a spin and collected Marcham's machine in the process. After restarting at the tail end of the field, he was able to climb up to 2nd when on the last turn of the last lap he was put into the wall by a competetor. That gave him 12th place at the finish. Though Trey didn't get the finish he'd hoped for on Friday and didn't compete Saturday, he still claimed championship honors for the season.

Trey had a heated battle on his hands in the Limited division, with the second placec hampionship contender Shelby Byrd 20 points behind prior to the weekend. The competition tightened between the two drivers after Friday night's event, when Trey wound up seventh and Byrd finished two positions ahead in fifth. Needing a top six finish on Saturday night to claim championship honors, Marcham had a long way to go as he started the feature from the rear of the field. Just a few laps in, he discovered that traffic was tougher than usual and some of the drivers were blocking him as he tried to pass.

Not giving up the fight, Trey used patience and a fast ride to pick each car off one by one, eventually ending the night in second place and taking home the championship trophy. Trey repeated as the Limited championship this year. This is his first year as A-Class champion.

"We didn't begin the year thinking we'd be racing for points, so to win both championships is pretty cool," Trey said. "I'm especially excited about the Limited Championship since it was such a close battle and it's my first title (delete). The car was fast every time we came to the track, including this weekend, and I'm glad to have a good year overall."

Josh Marcham was also in position to claim his own championship title this weekend, leading the points in the Restrictor division. The younger Marcham took to the track on Friday for his first heat race and discovered his car wasn't handling perfectly. After a few changes, he headed out for the feature and slowly pushed his way to the fifth position. With less than five to go, Josh made a move to the inside of another car when the two got together, sending Josh back to the ninth spot, where he would finish.

Saturday's main event drew more competitors than the night before, but Josh found a fast line on the high side of the track that helped him work through traffic. Just as he had gotten into the top ten, a slower car cut across the nose of Josh's car, forcing him to the back of the pack. After the incident, Josh had a limited amount of time to get his positions back and managed to finish eighth, securing the 2009 Restrictors Championship.

"The car was a rocket both nights, I just couldn't get the luck on my side," said Josh. "I'm happy with the rest of our season and it feels really good to win the championship."

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Seth Fuller Joins TFT; Wins Third Championship

Corning, NY (Sept. 14, 2009)- Aspiring young racer Seth Fuller of Campbell, N.Y. has had a busy summer. Racing at both his local dirt track and in the challenging Pennsylvania Dirt Karting Series (PDKS), he won his third career track championship at Moe's Karting World, seven feature races, celebrated his 11th birthday, and was signed by Team Full Throttle, a NASCAR Driver Development program based in the Charlotte, N.C. area.

Fuller, an outgoing youngster with a strong handshake and easy smile, is excited about what all of this means for his future. "I really want to race cars for a living," he said. "My father and my crew chief Lance Yeager both told me that Team Full Throttle can help me learn how to race better, talk to sponsors and things like that. I know I need to work hard and I hope I can race in NASCAR someday."

Team Full Throttle's founder and driver coach Tom Baker was there when Seth clinched the title, and says he shows the raw driving skills and personality to advance in the sport. "He's definitely a winner, and he's coachable, which is the critical element. At his age, you're just trying to help him understand all the different sides to being a racer. You slowly roll out a program that teaches him about things like marketing, media, giving feedback to the crew, and what his responsibilities are as a driver. It's a marathon and not a sprint. It's all about patience and consistent reinforcement of the fundamentals. We're pleased to have Ken and Tina (his parents) and Seth in our program, and will do our best to help them make the right decisions at the right time and give Seth the best foundation for success on and off the track."

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