Tim Russell News

If there is one thing that Tim Russell knows how to do, it is win. He knows how to win races, as his results have proved this year, and in years past. But he also knows how to win something else, as in championships. He was able to do it again this weekend after the final Sunbelt event, The Governor’s Cup, at New Smyrna Speedway. There, Russell added another Championship to his 2007 list of accomplishments (which includes 3 other championships), as he closed out the season with a third-place finish and the 2007 Sunbelt Series Championship.

“It’s pretty cool. It’s our fourth championship of the year,” said Russell. “We had a heck of a season, and all the guys worked hard all year. It’s just real cool to bring home four championships in one year. It’s our 20th top-five finish in 28 starts, so we’re real proud of that. It really says a lot about this team and what all they can do.”

Russell and his Rinnai Race team headed to New Smyrna Speedway with a fast car and a talented driver. The team wanted to end their championship chase on a high note with a win at New Smyrna Speedway, and it started out looking good for them. The weekend started out fast, as they were able to put Russell’s Rinnai Chevrolet up front in practice and then take the pole in qualifying.

“The whole weekend went pretty good for us,” said Russell. “We were able to go out there and put the Rinnai Chevrolet on the pole again, and put in a good solid effort for all of our sponsors.”

Russell’s car was tight throughout the race, and while he may have had aspirations to end the season with a victory at New Smyrna, settling for just a championship isn’t too bad.

“I wish we could’ve won the race. I had a real good car in the beginning, but the stagger closed up with that first set of tires and it just started getting tight. After we put the second set on, we came all the way up through there to second and we just tightened up again there toward the end and were able to hold onto third. That was about it; that’s all we had, and it was good enough to bring home the Sunbelt Series Championship. Third’s a good job, and I’d really like to thank Mike Garvey for helping us this week, and thanks to Rinnai, Tempaco, Fisher, and Reno Water Heaters; everybody did a good job.”

With the Sunbelt Series now under his belt, Russell ends the 2007 season with a pretty impressive record of four championships and 20 top-five finishes. In every series he competed in full time, he won the Championship. What more could a driver ask for in a given year?

“It’s such a cool deal to be able to perform like we did this season,” added Russell. “I am really excited about it; we had such a strong year. I would have liked to have won some more races, but we will take it how it comes and use the momentum for this year to hopefully build up for another awesome season in 2008.”

Stay tuned for more on Tim Russell's 2008 racing plans.