Blaney Suffers Heartbreak at Talladega

Leads 21 Laps, Finishes 27^th in the No. 36 Golden Corral Chevrolet

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (April 18, 2011) – Going into the weekend, the No. 36 Golden Corral Tommy Baldwin Racing (TBR) team had one goal: finish in the top-10 and feed American families at Golden Corral locations on Monday. TBR was poised to contend for the win for the majority of the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway. Dave Blaney drove the No. 36 Golden Corral Chevrolet to the lead for 21 laps at six different occasions, before a race incident with four laps to go spoiled his hopes for a top-10 finish.

The No. 36 Golden Corral Chevrolet took the green flag of the Aaron’s 499 from the 35^th position. Crew chief Tommy Baldwin joined spotter Carl Miller on the spotter stand and ran teammate strategy throughout the race while Miller handled typical spotting duties. During the first 100 laps, Blaney teamed up with Kevin Harvick and ran toward the back to avoid incidents. The pair practiced strategy and experimented with switching the leader of the duo while teamed up in the back.

By lap 100 of the 188-scheduled laps, Blaney took the lead in the No. 36 Golden Corral Chevrolet for the first of six times. The final 88 laps of the Aaron’s 499 were filled with excitement as Golden Corral and American families saw the chance of the “Top-10 Kids Eat Free” promotion, in which Golden Corral would give a free kids buffet with a paying adult on Monday, April 18^th.

Blaney spent the remaining laps jostling for position within the top-10. He worked with Harvick until a lap-144 restart when Harvick teamed up with his teammate and the No. 36 Golden Corral Chevrolet paired with Regan Smith. Showing the car’s speed and his driving prowess, Blaney drove back to the lead with Smith pushing closely behind. The Buckeye Bullet came over the radio and proclaimed he had a fast racecar with someone fast pushing him.

TBR found another dancing partner in Kurt Busch and rocketed to the lead on lap 180. Knowing the leader is usually steamrolled in the final laps, the new pairing fell back to the 13^th spot and positioned to go after the win. Going into turn four with four laps to go, Busch pushed Blaney as the No. 36 approached traffic, and the Golden Corral Chevrolet spun coming off of turn four. Blaney quickly recovered without damage but fell back to the last car on the lead lap. With the spin and continued green-flag racing, Blaney drove to a 27^th-place finish.

Adding to the disappointing finish, the No. 36 Golden Corral Chevrolet fell back to 37^th in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Owner Standings, 12 points outside of the top-35.

“It could have been a great day for us,” explained Blaney. “Contending for the lead felt great. We had a really fast car, especially when we had a fast guy behind us. It’s disappointing that we missed out on a great points day and finish for Golden Corral. But, I am really happy for this TBR team. I think we really showed that we can contend for the win. It was really disappointing to not have the finish to show for it, but leading the second most laps and being there near the end was very exciting.”

Blaney and the TBR team will return to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) action following an off-weekend. The No. 36 TBR Chevrolet will compete at Richmond International Raceway for the Crown Royal presents the Matthew and Daniel Hansen 400 on Saturday, April 30^th.

About Golden Corral Corporation:

Founded in 1973, privately held Golden Corral Corp. is headquartered in Raleigh, N.C. Golden Corral currently has 485 restaurants in 41 states.  The company’s vision is to be the leader in the family restaurant segment by making pleasurable dining affordable for every guest, at every restaurant, every day.  Golden Corral restaurants nationwide have long been strong supporters of the U.S. Military and the Disabled American Veterans (DAV).  Golden Corral helped raise more than $1,000,000 for the DAV in 2010 as part of its annual “Military Appreciation Monday” initiative.  For more information on Golden Corral, visit www.goldencorral.com.

About Tommy Baldwin Racing:

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Crew Chief Tommy Baldwin formed Tommy Baldwin Racing in 2009. Baldwin utilized a slumping economy to open a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team for a fraction of the cost. The team competed in two full seasons with multiple drivers behind the wheel of the No. 36 Chevrolet and improved in the standings each year.

Based in Mooresville, N.C., TBR will compete in the full NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule in 2011 with NASCAR veteran Dave Blaney piloting the No. 36 Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevrolet. Looking to improve on-track performance and increase the number of races they complete, TBR is still seeking partners to support their racing efforts. TBR’s driver development program, Heinke-Baldwin Racing, will also compete in various NASCAR series in 2011.

For more information on Tommy Baldwin Racing, visit tommybaldwinracing.com or follow us on Facebook, facebook.com/TBR.HBR, and Twitter, twitter.com/TBR_Racing.

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Media Contact:

Heather Lumpp – heather@heinkebaldwinracing.com – o: 704.696.0036 – c: 847.302.5509