Dylan Lupton Axalta Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200 Fast Facts

Topics:  Axalta Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200

Chris Knight
Knight Motorsports Management
March 12, 2015

Dylan Lupton, No. 25 Zaxby’s Chevrolet Camaro, Axalta Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200 Fast Facts

NASCAR XFINITY Series Race No. 4 Axalta Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200, Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway, Avondale, Arizona

Race Information: Event: Axalta Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200, Saturday, March 14 at 1:00 p.m. Local Time Track: Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway Qualifying: Saturday, March 14 at 9:45 a.m. Local Time Track Length: 1.0-mile paved tri-oval.

Welcome To The Big Leagues: After monstrous success in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West (KNPSW), Dylan Lupton will make his NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) debut Saturday afternoon at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway. Lupton will drive the No. 25 Zaxby’s Chevrolet Camaro for Concord, North Carolina-based Athenian Motorsports.

Look What I’ve Done: For the past two seasons, Lupton has competed in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West Series driving for Sunrise Ford Racing. In the two years driving the No. 9 Ford Fusion, Lupton notched two wins, 13 top-fives and 26 top-10s in 29 races. After finishing fifth in points in 2013, Lupton battled Greg Pursley for the championship last year, but fell short and finished second.

Familiar Turf: Of all the tracks on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West circuit, the Wilton, California native has the most starts at the 1.0-mile oval of Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway. In five starts, Lupton has one top-five and two top-10s, both occurring in 2014. Lupton’s sixth place finish in last year’s season-opener (March) kicked off an entire year of 14 consecutive top-10 finishes.

XFINITY Schedule Set: In addition to Phoenix, the two-time NASCAR K&N Pro Series West winner is also scheduled to appear in the No. 25 Zaxby’s Chevrolet Camaro in at least six other races, including Richmond (Va.) International Raceway (April), Chicagoland Speedway (June), Iowa Speedway, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Road America (Wisc.) and Kentucky Speedway (September).

Additional sponsorship could add at least eight more races to his platter in his freshman season of XFINITY competition bringing the total to 15 events this season.

From Student To Driver: While Athenian Motorsports teammate John Wes Townley drove the No. 25 Zaxby’s Chevrolet Camaro last weekend at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway, Lupton attended the race to support and bond with his team.

In addition to sitting on top of the pit box for the race, Lupton also spent a lot of time on the spotter’s stand, as well as on top of the team’s hauler to inhale as much knowledge as possible.

It’s Not Just Fast Food, Its Zaxby’s: Zaxby’s will plaster its colors on the No. 25 Chevrolet Camaro this weekend at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway. Zaxby’s is the primary sponsor for Lupton’s Athenian Motorsports teammate John Wes Townley.

An alternative to fast food, Zaxby’s offers its guests prepared-at-order Chicken Fingerz, Traditional or Boneless Wings, sandwiches, Zalads and Zappetizers, along with a variety of nine sauces ranging from Wimpy and Tongue Torch to Nuclear and Insane. Childhood friends Zach McLeroy and Tony Townley hatched the Athens, Ga.-based chain in 1990 to provide a fun, relaxing atmosphere that would keep guests coming back for more. The company ranked number seven in the 2012 Top 10 Excellent Large Fast-Food Chains With 500 or More U.S. Units Quick-Track study published by Sandelman & Associates.

The chain also ranked number five in the nation for total sales and number one in the chicken segment in the 2012 Top 150 Fast-Casual Chain Restaurant Report published by Technomic. In honor of the thousands of children the restaurant chain serves every year, Zaxby’s is a proud supporter of Make-A-Wish. The company operates more than 595 locations in 13 states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

Chassis Intel: Veteran crew chief Mike Ford has elected to bring Athenian Motorsports chassis number 002 to the 1.0-mile speedway this weekend. This Chevrolet Camaro is appearing in its second race with Athenian Motorsports. This race chassis last competed in the NASCAR XFINITY Series event last fall at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway with John Wes Townley.

Athenian Motorsports, Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway Pre-Race Quotes: Dylan Lupton, driver of the No. 25 Zaxby’s Chevrolet Camaro:

On Joining Athenian Motorsports: “This is a huge opportunity for me as I’ll soon begin the next phase in my racing career. Athenian Motorsports has a tremendous operation with a lot of talented individuals who are determined to win. I can’t wait to get in the car at Phoenix.”

On Bonding With His Team: “I feel the key to our success is developing a bond and trust. I have trust in my crew chief Mike Ford that he has my best intentions at heart while trying to put our No. 25 Chevrolet Camaro up front. I feel the time we’ve already spent together in the shop and Las Vegas last week will expedite our transition onto the track this weekend. We have a lot to look forward to this season with great looking Chevrolet Camaros and Hendrick Motorsports engines. Phoenix is finally here.”

On Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway: “I’m really hoping that my prior experience in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West races will help this weekend. I think they will. Obviously, there are some things that will be different, but I think I’ll be able to get up to speed quickly and hopefully we can get our No. 25 Zaxby’s Chevrolet Camaro dialed in nicely.”

On Realistic Goals For XFINTIY Series Debut: “You always come into a race wanting to win and I know this Athenian Motorsports team has the ability to do so, but if we can’t find ourselves in that position this weekend, we would be extremely satisfied with a top-15 finish. I think that’s a realistic goal and feel we should be able to achieve that.”

Athenian Motorsports, Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway Pre-Race Quotes: Tony Townley, owner of the No. 25 Zaxby’s Chevrolet Camaro:

On Dylan Lupton Joining The Team: “Since John Wes (Townley) is running the full NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule and a partial schedule in the No. 25 Camaro, Dylan stepping in will allow us to field an entry in all 33 XFINITY Series races this year. I believe some really good finishes are in store for (him) and this team.”

PRIOR RESULTS:

Dylan Lupton, Phoenix International Raceway Prior NXS Performance Record:

Dylan Lupton will make his NASCAR XFINITY Series debut this weekend at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway, no prior starts.

The Axalta Faster. Tougher. Brighter. 200 (200 laps / 200 miles) is the fourth of 34 events on the 2015 NASCAR XFINITY Series schedule. The first practice session of the weekend begins on Friday, March 13 from 1:30 p.m. to 2:25 p.m. Round two is set for later in the afternoon from 3:00 p.m. – 4:25 p.m. Qualifying is set for race day, Saturday, March 14 scheduled to lift off at 9:45 a.m. The 40-car starting field will take the green flag shortly after 1:00 p.m. with live coverage on FOX, the Motor Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Satellite Radio, Channel 90. All times are local.

Fast Links:

Driver: Dylan Lupton on Twitter @LuptonDylan or visit LuptonRacing.com.

Team: Follow Athenian Motorsports on Twitter @AthenianMotors.

Marketing Partner: Zaxby’s: Zaxbys.com.

Sanction: NASCAR XFINITY Series: NASCAR.com.

About Zaxby’s Racing:

Zaxby’s has been a fixture in NASCAR since 2007 with driver John Wes Townley. In July 2014, Zaxby’s joined forces with Athenian Motorsports. AMS will operate out of a new, state-of-the-art, 43,000 square foot facility in Concord, N.C. in 2015. The team will carry the Zaxby’s colors as it fields full-time entries in the NASCAR XFINITY Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

About Zaxby’s:

An alternative to fast food, Zaxby’s offers its guests prepared-at-order Chicken Fingerz, Traditional or Boneless Wings, sandwiches, Zalads and Zappetizers, along with a variety of nine sauces ranging from Wimpy and Tongue Torch to Nuclear and Insane. Childhood friends Zach McLeroy and Tony Townley hatched the Athens, Ga.-based chain in 1990 to provide a fun, relaxing atmosphere that would keep guests coming back for more. The company ranked number seven in the 2012 Top 10 Excellent Large Fast-Food Chains With 500 or More U.S. Units Quick-Track study published by Sandelman & Associates.

The chain also ranked number five in the nation for total sales and number one in the chicken segment in the 2012 Top 150 Fast-Casual Chain Restaurant Report published by Technomic. In honor of the thousands of children the restaurant chain serves every year, Zaxby’s is a proud supporter of Make-A-Wish. The company operates more than 595 locations in 13 states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

Media Contact: dylanluptonmedia@aol.com

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