Louisville, KY (December 8, 2004) – 2004 Sunoco Super Series Champion had an anxious couple of weeks of waiting come to an end this past Monday. Barnes had been waiting word from ML Motorsports as to whether he would be in that teams ARCA RE/Max Series car for the upcoming 2005 season. The seat came open in November when Jason Jarrett was let go from the ML Motorsports team after spending four seasons behind the wheel. The ML Motorsports team was flooded with over a hundred resumes and calls from drivers seeking the ride.

One of those resumes received was from 22-year-old Louisville, Kentucky native Chuck Barnes Jr. Barnes was called in for an interview with ML Motorsports Team Manager Ed Mullen prior to Thanksgiving. Barnes came out of the interview with high hopes but also knowing the team was looking for an experienced driver, which Barnes was on short tracks, but he did lack experience on the intermediate and super speedway tracks that the ARCA RE/Max Series also races on.

"Ed called me Monday and told me that I was in the last group of drivers they were considering," explained Barnes Jr. "Their sponsor Gladiator GarageWorks wanted an experienced driver that would be able to be in the championship chase right off the bat. They liked everything about my racing career to date and thought I would have been a great representative of their team, I just didn’t have the experience they needed."

It was officially announced on Tuesday that 2002 ARCA RE/Max Series Rookie Of the Year Chad Blount would be the driver for ML Motorsports in 2005. Blount, who lives just 7 miles from the ML Motorsports shop in Walkerton, Indiana, finished second to Frank Kimmel in the point’s championship that year driving for Braun Motorsports. During the 2002 season Blount got four wins, which came at Michigan International Speedway, Kentucky Speedway, Lowe’s Motor Speedway and at Chicagoland Speedway.

In 2003, Blount moved into the NASCAR Busch Series and ran 13 races for Braun Racing with one top-5 finish, and two top-10 finishes. Blount spent most of 2004 test-driving for Penske Racing and made his first ever NASCAR Nextel Cup start.

"I was disappointed that I didn’t get the ride," remarked Barnes Jr., "but it was great experience, and Ed told me he would recommend me to any team looking for a good driver. I want to thank all the people who supported me this season and who sent a note to ML Motorsports encouraging them to consider me. I’ll keep beating the bushes looking for something else while we get ready to race our late model in the 2005 SpeedFest at USA International Speedway in January!"

More information on Chuck Barnes Jr. is available at www.chuckbarnesjr.com.