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TonyB
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From a Press Release I get via email.....
From Formula One To NASCAR Cup Racing
Klaus Graf To Run Up To Seven Cup Races For BAM
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Trained for the highly-technical world of Formula One racing, Klaus Graf has instead found a home with the traditional bodies and carbureted engines of NASCAR stock cars.
Graf will run at least two NASCAR Nextel Cup stock car races this year, beginning with the June 27 Sears Point 300 at Sonoma, Calif. BAM Racing, which fields the #49 Schwan's Home Service Dodges of driver Ken Schrader, will run Graf in up to seven races in 2004. Schrader is running the full NASCAR Nextel Cup schedule.
Graf, 32, is the first German-born driver to compete in NASCAR's top series. He lives in Dornhan, which is in Germany's Black Forrest region, and will eventually relocate to the United States.
"Having a multi-car team has been part of our plan from the very beginning and bringing in a driver with the talents of Klaus Graf is the next step," said Beth Ann Morgenthau, owner of BAM Racing. "We're very excited with him joining us and with the future this presents all of us."
Said Graf, "My dream all of my life is to compete among the best in motorsports. I am thrilled with the opportunity."
Graf has tested with BAM at Virginia International Raceway and Kentucky Speedway, and was highly competitive in the Apr. 9 Nashville 100 ARCA race, where he finished third after leading late in the race - his first on an oval. He is scheduled to test at Sears Point Tuesday, May 27.
"This guy can flat-out drive a stock car. When we first went to Virginia to test on the road course, I was really impressed with what I saw," said Eddie Jones, the championship stock car racing veteran who is general manger of BAM Racing. "The question was - can he drive an oval too?"
Scott Eggleston, BAM's Daytona 500-winning crew chief, saw the answer to that question quickly.
"After the test at Kentucky, I was completely convinced he has what it takes. After the ARCA race at Nashville, I think everybody else in motorsports is convinced he has what it takes," Eggleston said.
Graf is the first driver professionally trained for Formula One racing by European automobile manufacturers to move into the NASCAR stock car racing world. He comes to NASCAR racing directly from the Porsche Michelin and Porsche Carrera Supercup series where he raced at Talimit Motorsport after a stint as test driver for McLaren. He ran Sportscar Prototype cars 1999-2001. Graf's career began with the Suzuki Swift Cup in 1990, followed by German Formula Ford Championship 1991-93; International German F3 Championship (1994-96), Porsche Carrera Cup (1997); and ISRS Endurance Championship (1998).
From Formula One To NASCAR Cup Racing
Klaus Graf To Run Up To Seven Cup Races For BAM
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Trained for the highly-technical world of Formula One racing, Klaus Graf has instead found a home with the traditional bodies and carbureted engines of NASCAR stock cars.
Graf will run at least two NASCAR Nextel Cup stock car races this year, beginning with the June 27 Sears Point 300 at Sonoma, Calif. BAM Racing, which fields the #49 Schwan's Home Service Dodges of driver Ken Schrader, will run Graf in up to seven races in 2004. Schrader is running the full NASCAR Nextel Cup schedule.
Graf, 32, is the first German-born driver to compete in NASCAR's top series. He lives in Dornhan, which is in Germany's Black Forrest region, and will eventually relocate to the United States.
"Having a multi-car team has been part of our plan from the very beginning and bringing in a driver with the talents of Klaus Graf is the next step," said Beth Ann Morgenthau, owner of BAM Racing. "We're very excited with him joining us and with the future this presents all of us."
Said Graf, "My dream all of my life is to compete among the best in motorsports. I am thrilled with the opportunity."
Graf has tested with BAM at Virginia International Raceway and Kentucky Speedway, and was highly competitive in the Apr. 9 Nashville 100 ARCA race, where he finished third after leading late in the race - his first on an oval. He is scheduled to test at Sears Point Tuesday, May 27.
"This guy can flat-out drive a stock car. When we first went to Virginia to test on the road course, I was really impressed with what I saw," said Eddie Jones, the championship stock car racing veteran who is general manger of BAM Racing. "The question was - can he drive an oval too?"
Scott Eggleston, BAM's Daytona 500-winning crew chief, saw the answer to that question quickly.
"After the test at Kentucky, I was completely convinced he has what it takes. After the ARCA race at Nashville, I think everybody else in motorsports is convinced he has what it takes," Eggleston said.
Graf is the first driver professionally trained for Formula One racing by European automobile manufacturers to move into the NASCAR stock car racing world. He comes to NASCAR racing directly from the Porsche Michelin and Porsche Carrera Supercup series where he raced at Talimit Motorsport after a stint as test driver for McLaren. He ran Sportscar Prototype cars 1999-2001. Graf's career began with the Suzuki Swift Cup in 1990, followed by German Formula Ford Championship 1991-93; International German F3 Championship (1994-96), Porsche Carrera Cup (1997); and ISRS Endurance Championship (1998).
