Dakoda Armstrong, one of the top young stars of open-wheel racing and current USAC Sprint Car Regional Point Leader, has signed with short track development team BDI Racing, owned by SPEED broadcaster Bob Dillner. Armstrong will compete in three-race schedule of asphalt Super Late Model events at tracks throughout the Southeast. The 17-year-old Armstrong, who has been turning heads in his recent stock car starts in the NASCAR Camping World East Series and ARCA RE/MAX Series, joins an established and proven Super Late Model program at BDI Racing and will be a teammate to Michael Pope.

“The main thing is I hope to accomplish in these races is to add to the stock car experience I've been getting,” said Armstrong. “Running good would be amazing, but I want to get the experience and the seat time and see where that leads us.”

Armstrong's stock has risen immensely on the names of many NASCAR scouts as a driver to watch, thanks in large part to his phenomenal success in USAC competition. The young racer has scored big victories in the inaugural Anderson 400 at famed Anderson Speedway in Indiana, as well as the 2007 PRI Sprint & Midget Classic in Orlando, Florida. This season, Armstrong has focused on adapting his skills for stock car racing, in addition to still keeping a solid USAC

schedule and has seen immediate success, with two top-12 finishes in the first two NASCAR Camping World East Series races of the 2009 season.

That success in open-wheel and full-fendered racecars at such a young age has opened the eyes of many people in the NASCAR scene, including BDI Racing team owner Bob Dillner.

“I spoke with Kenny Schrader (whom Armstrong competed for in the CWE Series) and he had nothing but great things to say about Dakoda's driving abilities,” said Dillner. “He spoke of how remarkably smooth his transition has been from the light open-wheel cars to a heavier stock car. Dakoda is a good looking, nice young kid and we plan to put him and Michael in the right position to keep learning and challenging for wins with our Super Late Model program.”

Armstrong may be new to the Super Late Model scene in the Southeast, but he has already gotten some tutilage on the short track racing scene with a recent visit to the BDI Racing shop.

“Everyone here at BDI Racing seems like they're real down to earth and seem to have a lot of fun in the shop,” said Armstrong. “They've got a great program here already and they've even started helping me get adjusted to these cars, so I think it'll be a good experience for me.

“But I really don't know what to expect and I guess I won't know until I get out there in my first race. This car has fenders, so I guess it's going to be okay to bang a little bit. I'm used to not being able to bump at all in the sprint cars. We'll just see what happens and hopefully we'll have some good runs while we gain that experience.”

Armstrong will compete in three Super Late Model events in a BDI Racing Chevrolet, including the CRA Super Series' Redbud 300 at Anderson Speedway, Armstrong's home track in Indiana, as well as the July 5 th Pro All Stars Series (PASS) South 150-lap event at Hickory Motor Speedway in North Carolina. The third event on Armstrong's BDI Racing schedule is to be announced shortly.

“For an open-wheel driver who's just now starting to race big cars, you learn just how different they are. These cars are so much heavier; just getting laps is the biggest thing.

“This should be a great experience for me. I'm looking forward to working with Bob and the whole team. Hi s visibility with being on television and having a bunch of ties to the NASCAR world, plus the publicity that you can get for running for someone like him could really pay off down the road.”

Marketing opportunities for the BDI Racing Super Late Model development team are still available for events throughout the 2009 season. For more information on how a marketing plan with BDI Racing can be beneficial for businesses or organizations of all sizes, contact Matt Kentfield, BDI Racing Director of Racing Operations, at (704) 788-2134 ext: 2 or email matt@bdiracing.net.