BIG EVIL Racing

Last night was Chad Mikosz's first Solstice - Nationwide event in almost a year. Mikosz ended up starting in the middle of the pack, but he didn't stay there for long. Mikosz would lead the most laps in the season opener at Daytona, and wound up taking 2nd in the #5 National Guard Chevy Impala. "I've got no teammates this season, but I kept myself behind Patterson, Caleb, and Jake most of the night. At the end, no one decided to make a move, so I had to make one, and it almost payed off....But I ended up on my roof."

The B.E.R team hasn't decided if they will run the entire season with team owner Mikosz behind the wheel of the #5, but they will attempt the major events. "I'm at least in the top 2 in standings right now, and I know I'm better at driving the Nationwide cars than the Cup cars, so it's very possible that I'll run the full schedule."

Mikosz is looking for his first Solstice Championship, and driving the #5 Nationwide car could be his ticket to the championship.


#5 Team

Driver: Chad Mikosz
Sponsors: Adidas, Degree for Men, National Guard, Mountain Dew

Rare Performance for The #5 Team, and Major Team Announcement:

Chad Mikosz was expecting to ride in the back, barely keeping up with the leaders. That wasnt the case today. Mikosz was running in the front tonight, beating and banging with some of Solstice's best road course drivers. Mikosz would lead 8 laps, but ended up 6th after getting spun around on the final two restarts. "This was definitely a fun race, and I knew I coulda won it. I just have bad luck at these roadies, but I'll get one soon I guess."

It was also announced that Brandon Lambert (Former driver of the #88 Ford Mustang at LMI) will be moving over to BIG EVIL Racing this week. Lambert will run the #25 National Guard/Affliction Chevy Impala the rest of the season. "I'm glad to have Brandon as a teammate once again, just like back at CRI. But it is unfortunate that he had to shut down his team to come join me. I know he had a few guys that said they'd run with him, but they never showed up, so it helps us both."

Look for the #5 and #25 teams to be pushing each other the front from now, til the end of the season.

The #5 Nationwide Series team took to Phoenix this week, with the Mountain Dew Game Fuel/Call of Duty MW3 scheme returning. Owner/Driver Chad Mikosz ended up taking the pole on his first lap of qualifying! This is Mikosz's first career pole, and 14th all time. The #5 Impala was in the top 5 all night, and ended up taking third behind Jake Poulin, and race winner Jordan Robson. "The car ran good all night, but I couldn't get it to do what I needed in the last run we had. We kept getting passed, forcing me to the high side, and the car didn't handle very well, but hey, a top 3 is a top 3, and I'll take it any day."

The next stop for the #5 team will be next week (Nov. 21st) at Mansfield, for the Discount Tires 100!

Lambert to Debut in #25 at Mansfield

While Lambert had to miss the race at Phoenix due to some personal issues with the LMI stable, his team was hard at work building his first car. The engineers and crew from Lambert's #88 team have joined forces with BER to make serious power and agile frames for the #25. Lambert is excited to get back in the car and can't wait to get to Mansfield. Lambert will be driving the #25 Affliction Chevy Impala.

3rd Team added for BIG EVIL Racing

Today BER added a 3rd car to its Nationwide program, with a number familiar to Mikosz's success on the track. The #52. The #52 will be driven by Cody Erdmann, an American Super Cup Series driver from Wisconsin. "I had the opportunity of meeting Cody this year at a race in Rockford. He did pretty well against all the older guys out there. I really look forward to Cody joining the team, and I hope he enjoys racing here with the guys at Solstice."

The #52 team will be sponsored by Royal Purple and DuPont. Look for renders of the paint schemes to be posted in the upcoming weeks!

BIG Wrecks at the End of the Hooter's 150 at Bristol Motorspeedway caught up the BER teams, but they ended up taking 5th-7th. It was Cody Erdmann's first career start in the Solstice Nationwide Series, and at Bristol. Cody was battling up front all night, while Mikosz and Lambert were battling to get up to him. "All 3 cars were in the top 10 at the end of the night, and it wasn't as bad as I thought it could've been. Lambert and I got screwed there at the end, and Cody held himself all night, even though he had his share of problems at the end of the night. We'll just go get them next week!"

Current 2012 Truck Series Information:

It was announced that next season, all of BER's current Nationwide sponsors will follow the #5, #25, and #52 teams into the Solstice Truck Series next season. No word on who will pick up the most races, but it seems as if the National Guard will continue to do so. Amp Energy looks and Mountain Dew will most likely take the remaining races, and Degree for Men will take 1-2. No word yet on who will be driving which truck #, since Cody Erdmann and Chad Mikosz both use the #52.

New Sponsor for #5 Team:

Starting next season, Interstate Batteries will join the #5 team with primary sponsorship in select races, and will be a major associate throughout the season. "I'm very excited to work with Interstate again," said Chad Mikosz. "I had the opportunity to work with them while at TSC Racing, and at DSR, so it'll be nice to have them on board again."