Justin Lofton, No. 77 Lofton Cattle Toyota Tundra

Track: Daytona International Speedway

Event: NextEra Energy Resources 250

When: Friday, February 18^th 7:30 PM

Broadcast information: 7:30 PM, SPEED

New Year, New Team: Lofton joins Germain Racing for his sophomore effort in 2011 behind the wheel of the No. 77 Lofton Cattle Toyota Tundra. Lofton is now part of a four-truck stable including teammates Max Papis, Brendan Gaughan, and two-time series champion Todd Bodine. To date, Germain Racing has 22 wins, nine pole awards and two NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championships. During Lofton's debut season in trucks in 2010, he accumulated a solid stat sheet including four top-five and eight top-10 finishes, with a best finish of third, and a season-ending 12^th place showing in the driver point standings.

No "Off" Season for Lofton: Despite the break in competition, Lofton had anything but downtime. He kept busy during the two month absence from the track by hosting a charity golf tournament in his native California. All proceeds from the event benefited the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Imperial Valley. Following the golf outing, Lofton trekked to Nevada and participated in the SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge. He led day one in Class 1 Unlimited and was well on his way to the win on the second and final day before breaking a spindle on the last lap of the event. From there, Lofton returned to North Carolina and participated in two separate test sessions with his new team before heading to Daytona.

Lofton at Daytona: Friday's event at Daytona may be his first with his new Germain Racing team, but it will not be Lofton's first on the 2.5-mile superspeedway. In 2010 in truck competition, Lofton started 19th and finished 18^th. In 2009, en route to the ARCA Racing Series championship, Lofton earned the pole for ARCA's season-opener and finished an impressive third.

Birthday Boy: In addition to kicking off the new season on Friday, February 18^th, Lofton will celebrate his 25^th birthday at the World Center of Racing.

Truck Information: Lofton will race chassis GR015 this week at Daytona. It is a brand new truck that has yet to hit the racetrack.

Lofton on Daytona: "I am so excited about this season with Germain Racing. I've spent a lot of time with my new crew chief and we get along great. We've got a great group of guys on the No. 77 team and I can't wait to start the season. It is really going to be a lot of fun this year, and there is no better way to start than racing under the lights at Daytona. I really enjoy superspeedway racing. It's fun and historic."

Crew Chief Ryan "Rudy" Fugle on Daytona: "I am excited to be part of the Germain Racing truck program and to work with Justin. Germain is always strong at superspeedways. I feel like we have a good shot at the win. With Friday being Justin's birthday, it would be extra special."

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Amanda Brahler

Justin Lofton Media Relations

PH: 704.650.4527

Email: mandy@justinloftoninc.com

LoftonRacing.com - twitter.com/jlracing

Aug 13

2010

Germain Racing Adds Miguel Paludo to Lineup for 2010

Posted by lori in Valvoline , TRD , Toyota Tundra , Toyota Camry , Sherwin Williams , Safety Kleen , NASCAR K&N Pro Series East , NASCAR Camping World Truck Series , Mike Hillman , Germaincars.com , Germain.com , Germain Racing , Germain Naples Florida , Germain Motor Company , Germain Columbus Ohio , GEICO , Bombardier Learjet , ARCA RE/MAX Series

Mooresville, N.C. (08-13-2010) - Germain Racing is adding more international flair to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with Brazilian racer and two-time Porsche GT3-Cup champion Miguel Paludo to its Truck Series lineup. Paludo has driven this year in NASCAR’s K&N Pro Series East for Hattori Racing Enterprises. While he looks forward to the final three races of the K&N Pro Series East with HRE, Paludo will now broaden his NASCAR experiences. He will race the No. 77 Stemco Duroline Toyota Tundra in four Truck Series events and the No. 77 Stemco Duroline Camry in one ARCA RE/MAX Series event for Germain Racing.

"Since I was a little boy, I have dreamed of being a professional race car driver, and my goal has been to race in NASCAR. I often get asked about driving in open-wheel competition, but, for me, my love is truly stock car racing. It’s what I’ve done for many years and it’s what I want to do for my career. I’m very fortunate to have Stemco Duroline on this journey with me to drive for Toyota and Germain Racing in the Truck Series and ARCA,” said Paludo, a native of New Silver, Brazil, who’s first NCWTS race will be Bristol Motor Speedway, Wednesday, August 18th.

Germain Racing has actively watched Paludo develop this season, as the team maintains a technical partnership with HRE. Crew chief Mike Hillman Jr. leads Germain Racing’s championship-winning No. 30 Germain.com Tundra team. Hillman has spent some time in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East garage this year, and in years past, he has worked with Formula 1 champion Jacques Villeneuve. Hillman says that Paludo displays a natural, raw driving talent.

"When accomplished race car drivers come to NASCAR from road racing, communication and driving style are usually their biggest challenges. Miguel has been very quick to adapt to the oval race tracks. He has been consistent and competitive each time he is behind the wheel of his Toyota and his communication with his crew has gotten better each race. We look forward to continuing to see his NASCAR career develop with Germain Racing,” said Hillman.

For Paludo, adding five events with Germain Racing to his 2010 racing schedule has been another great step toward his goal of being the first full-time Brazlian race car driver in NASCAR’s highest level.

“I’m really excited to take these next steps in my career. I am preparing to race full-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. I hope that we can do a good job for Stemco Duroline and Toyota in these five races this year to build a good foundation for the 2011 racing season. My goal is to learn something new with every single lap,” said Paludo.

Follow Miguel Paludo at miguelpaludo.com or on Twitter @mpaludo77. Follow Germain Racing at www.germainracing.com or on Twitter @germainracing.

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Germain Racing News