RIETHMEYER CLINCHES 2008 CHAMPIONSHIPS IN BOTH THE USAC CAROLINA FORD FOCUS MIDGET SERIES AND THE CONCORD MIDGET SERIES

DENVER, NC (1/8/2009) – Bradley Riethmeyer was recently crowned champion of both the 2008 USAC Carolina Ford Focus Midget Series and the 2008 Concord Midget Series, the first driver to ever to win these championships simultaneously.

On Friday evening, Riethmeyer will be joined by his peers and mentors to be honored, along with the champions from the USAC Silver Crown Series, USAC National Midgets and the USAC Ford Focus Regional Midget Series, at the USAC Night of Champions in Indianapolis.

Riethmeyer, a Texas A&M senior who hails from Hutto, Texas, won the USAC Carolina Ford Focus Midget Series behind the wheel of the #11 Calico Coatings/All-American Driver Challenge Midget owned by Calico Coatings president, Tracy Trotter. Along with the help of Brad Noffsinger and the Richard Petty Driving Experience, the Carolina series ran 15 races in Virginia, N. Carolina, and S. Carolina. “I just have to thank Tracy, Gary, and Calico Coatings for an awesome opportunity they gave me in 2006 following the winning of the All-American Driver Challenge,” says Riethmeyer. “I appreciated being able to run a select few races in the truck series while also being able to help and work with Tanner Swanson, the 2007 Carolina Midget Series champion. I also have to thank Tracy for letting me run the midget again in 2008 and putting me in equipment that can win every weekend were at the race track.
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In 2008, Riethmeyer had three wins, 14 Top 5’s, 14 Top 10’s and sat on eight poles, including three track records – although not always the best idea in USAC series as the series inverts the qualifying order. “Tracy always gives me a hard time about qualifying up front, I always hear, “Your cheating yourself out of wins.
” Or, “Do you want to win races or poles?” I just simply reply, laughing at him “I’m stingy I want to win it all!”

Riethmeyer got an amazing opportunity in August when Win-Tron Racing had him take the reins of the team's No. 32 Red Line Oil Dodge Charger for his inaugural ARCA RE/MAX Series (ARS) debut at one of the most anticipated events of the year, the Allen Crowe 100. Riethemeyer qualified 12th and finished in 11th place out of the 38-car field. Riethmeyer proved he would be a threat when he passed Scott Speed for 5th with 40 to go and was able to run down Rickey Stenhouse from a six second interval to .5 a second. “Kevin and the entire Win-Tron team gave me a great car and I just have to thank them for taking a chance on someone that had never been in an ARCA race before, much less raced on the dirt.” Trouble set in with 24 laps to go as the team had to go to work changing right-side tires, coming out of the pits 22nd. Although we had a great finish it was not the finish the team deserved. We worked our way back up to 11th from 20th, which is still good, but not what the team deserved or what we were hoping for.
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In addition to his impressive wins and opportunities in 2008, Riethmeyer also has four NASCAR® Craftsman Truck Series starts in 2007 to his credit with a career best run of 20th at the demanding short track of Bristol Motor Speedway.

In 2006, Riethmeyer also won the inaugural year of the Nation wide drivers search the All-American Driver Challenge (AADC) and won a fully-paid contract to drive in the 2006 USAC Carolina/Virginia Midget Series. He made an immediate impact on the Series by winning the first event of the season in April 2006 and went on to claim two victories in ten races, finishing third in the final points standing for that year.

A second-generation racing champion, 24-year-old old Bradley Riethmeyer is quickly on his way to making a name for himself in auto racing. This future Nextel Cup star has accumulated a large Texas fan base and his "quick to help others" attitude has earned him respect with both fans and drivers on and off the track. Like many current Nextel Cup stars, Riethmeyer cut his teeth in Quarter Midgets and Legends. After running a limited schedule in 2005 to focus on school, Bradley charged into the 2006 racing season by winning the All-American Driver Challenge. He capped 2006 by winning two USAC Carolina/Virginia Ford Focus Midget Series races and the USAC “Rookie of the Year."

For more information, please visit the following websites:

carolinamidgetseries.com                  BR49.com

calicocoatings.com                             allamericandriver.com