Joey Clanton upped the ante for Saturday’s Easy Care Service Vehicle Contracts 200 by offering race fans chicken tenders if he wins at his home track, the Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Zaxby’s, which sponsors Clanton’s No. 09 Ford F-150 in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, also is ready to give away as much as $400,000 as part of the Zaxby’s 400 promotion. The popular restaurant that specializes in chicken tenders and Buffalo wings, will have four lucky fans at the speedway and each can win as much as $100,000 if Clanton wins the race.

The Wood Brothers/JTG Racing driver decided to expand the promotion to every fan at the race, offering free chicken tenders on Sunday at the Fairburn, Ga., Zaxby’s location.

Clanton is sharing the driving duties in the No. 09 Ford with Stacy Compton. Clanton will drive three of the last four races, while Compton will make his final appearance at the Phoenix International Raceway on Nov. 9.

WHAT THE TEAM HAS TO SAY

Joey Clanton, driver of the No. 09 Zaxby’s Ford F-150:
“Zaxby’s is doing a sweepstakes celebrating its 400th store opening,” he said. “They’re based in Athens (Ga.), so it’s going to be big. There are four contestants who have already won $10,000 each in a sweepstakes. If I win they’re going to win $100,000 apiece. So we’ve got a lot of excitement going around about that race. Not only that, but it’s 10 Miles from my house. It’s my home track and I’m just looking forward to it.

“I own two Zaxby’s franchises, so I decided if I win anybody with a race ticket from Saturday can get free chicken tenders at my Fairburn store on Sunday. It sure would cost a lot, but it would be a great way to celebrate my first NASCAR win. I’ve got enough pressure already trying to win this rookie of the year and everything else.

“My biggest goal is to win the rookie of the year. If everything stays the way we’ve got it figured out, we’ll have a good shot at winning. I’m looking forward to finishing the year strong. Getting Atlanta past us will ease a little bit of tension for me because I’ll have 14 races and I’ll know where I stand. Then I can go into the last few races – back to Texas, we ran good there. We ran out of fuel running in the top six and should have had a top-five, so we get to go back there, and then get to go back to Homestead at the end of the year at Ford Championship Weekend. I’m looking forward to the excitement there and hopefully be crowned rookie of the year there.”


Gary Cogswell, Crew Chief of the No. 09 Zaxby’s Ford F-150:
“We’re taking a truck that’s proven to be really good, especially at places like Atlanta,” he said. “Joey has a lot of extra motivation to run well there, but it’s important to keep everything in perspective. The thing you learn with these trucks is the harder you push them, the slower they go.”