Homestead turned out to be an exciting weekend. Jimmie Johnson won his third straight Cup championship and following the conclusion of the Nationwide Series race on Saturday, I was named the 2008 Raybestos Rookie of the Year.

During the Nationwide Series race, I was spotting for David Green, so I had one eye on David and one eye on Bryan Clauson, my Rookie of the Year competition, all night. But I was just kind of watching with one eye closed. Once the race ended, it was confirmed that I had won the rookie title. I admit I was pretty excited.

Rookie of the Year is a very prestigious award. I've said before that it's something that Raybestos has been involved with for many years and as a child growing up, Raybestos Rookie of the Year was a phrase that I had known. So to be able to have a title like that is awesome. 

I'm just really proud of everybody at JR Motorsports and my No. 5 National Guard team for working so hard for me this year. It was a real compliment to me, and it was flattering when we went to Phoenix, and all my team guys knew it was my last race, and their focus was getting me the finish I needed. I can't thank them enough for that and being that focused on helping me win Rookie of the Year.

I also would like to thank my sponsor, the National Guard, JR Motorsports and Hendrick Motorsports for supporting me all year. It truly is an honor working for people like Mr. Hendrick and Dale Jr. I can’t thank them enough for the opportunities they’ve given me.

On Tuesday, Raybestos hosted a luncheon at Lowe’s Motor Speedway to recognize the Rookies of the Year in all three NASCAR series. This was a fun opportunity to get all the rookies together, be recognized for our achievements this season and be given the traditional leather ROTY jackets. And yes it was cool to finally take off the yellow rookie stripes from our cars!

I had a busy week after the Raybestos festivities. I left early on Thursday morning for the Nationwide Series banquet in Orlando, Fla. The banquet itself is on Saturday night and on Friday, we had Media Day at ESPN Club at the Disney BoardWalk Inn Resort, which was followed by an autograph session for fans. I went to Disney World on Thursday because I haven’t been there in like 13 years. It will be a fun days-worth vacation.

Looking ahead to Thanksgiving next week, I’ll be going home to Cedar Rapids, Iowa and spending some quality time with family and friends for a week or so. I haven’t been home in a while, so it will be great having some time to catch up with the loved ones.

On a final note, it’s been great sharing my blog with you all this year. I always enjoyed reading your comments and e-mails, so I appreciate you all taking the time to write those.

Have a safe holiday season!

Cheers,

Landon

We had a great weekend at Phoenix, and it felt great to end on a high note and finish sixth in the Nationwide Series race. I’m just real proud of everybody on my National Guard team for all their hard work and not giving up this weekend. That’s the finish we needed.

Things didn’t start off the way we would have liked it to. Qualifying really caught me off guard. The car was way looser than I had expected it to be, and I just lost it going into turn 3. My team worked their tails off on the backup car and got it dialed in for the race later that afternoon. We did everything we needed to do, and it was just a great race overall. I just passed everybody when I could pass them and rode when I needed to ride. My crew chief Brian Campe up on the pit box made all the right choices and put us right where we needed to be.

I can’t thank my team enough and also everybody at JR Motorsports, National Guard and Hendrick Motorsports. I’m also really appreciative of the National Guard and JR Motorsports for giving me the opportunity to drive their cars this year. That was my last race with JR Motorsports this year so it’s a good way to end the season.

I think that finish puts us in a good position to hopefully win the Raybestos Rookie of the Year title. Unfortunately, I won’t be driving at Homestead, so I’ll kind of be watching Bryan Clauson and hopefully everything works out.

I hope you all enjoyed my blog last week. My mom definitely had fun sharing some of my childhood memories and of course, she had to highlight my first kiss haha! For this week’s blog, I thought it would be fun to reflect on the 90s culture given I grew up during that decade. We didn’t realize the significance of some of the trends back in the 90s, but there was truly nothing like waking up early on a Saturday morning to watch cartoons, playing on a Slip n’ Slide, or keeping up with a Giga Pet.

Favorite 90s TV show… Boy Meets World. I always liked the female character, Topanga. How can you not? She was the perfect girlfriend.

Favorite 90s cartoon…DuckTales. Launchpad McQuack and his family of the flying McQuacks were a definite favorite whenever I watched this show.

Favorite 90s movie… A Goofy Movie. The song “Stand Out” by Tevin Campbell is on my iPod to this day.

Favorite 90s fashion…Sweatpants with buttons down the side. No explanation needed haha. 

Favorites 90s game…GoldenEye 007 for Nintendo 64. My friends and I used to play four player, license to kill mode on the level stack with automatic weapons. That was definitely my favorite way to do it.

Favorite 90s band… The Barenaked Ladies. I think their name is what sparked my interest.

Favorite 90s song…“Slide” by the Goo Goo Dolls. Just a classic 90s rock song and timeless piece.

I think it was really cool being able to grow up in a time when the internet was just beginning, technology was taking major leaps, and Whoopi Goldberg was popular. Like every other 90s baby, I will always cherish and never forget the 90s!

Here’s my playlist for the week. Enjoy!

Lady GaGa – “Just Dance”

The Thermals – “Brace and Break”

Nickasaur! – “Bleeding Love Remix”

Cheers,

Landon

As we wrap up my last couple blogs for this year, I thought it'd be cool to let my mom, Colleen, write one of my blogs and share some of her memories of me as a child. No one knows me better than my mom, so here is what she wrote. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Landon

P.S. I’ll be driving the No. 5 National Guard Chevy for the last time this season at Phoenix International Raceway. I’d like to solidify the Rookie of the Year point standings while there. It would be a great achievement, and everybody on the National Guard team has worked hard for that. You always want to end on a good note regardless, and I think a good note would definitely be contending for Rookie of the Year.

“PIT MOM” MEMORIES

By Colleen Cassill

This is a brief recollection of memories I have of Landon when he was growing up. There is always so much to talk about when it comes to Landon.

The Early Years… Landon had to defend himself at an early age. He has an older brother (16 months), who was so mad when he came home from the hospital that he would actually bite him. This lasted for about two years, until Landon finally started really defending himself and biting him back. Landon would always take refuge with his satin lined blankie and his thumb though.

Landon loved to ride in the little red wagon before he could walk, and would make motor sounds as we went along. Landon would also be the passenger on a battery operated four-wheeler that his older brother, Zac, would drive. He was always the victim of the family dog biting his diaper as big brother went faster and faster on the four-wheeler -- talk about funny for Zac, but not for Landon -- haha. This went on until Landon was out of diapers and was on his own little battery operated four-wheeler. (The dog still chased him though!)

Toys and Games… Landon was always chewing off the rubber tires on the matchbox cars that were given to him as gifts. He knew all the names and numbers of the NASCAR drivers at age 3. He could recite them by memory if you asked and would amuse us all with this information. I finally figured out why he chewed off the tires one day. I found him making a dirt track in our front yard (tearing into the nice grass by the way!) and why he chewed the tires off was to give the cars “grip”.

Landon also loved to play team sports like soccer and basketball. He also liked to golf. A little game I played with Landon when his little sister, Echo, came along was timing him on how fast he could go get her a clean diaper. He always wanted to race, and he loved being timed. A favorite summertime game was the “slip and slide,” which we still get out in the backyard on hot summer days. Diving head first onto a plastic water slide was fun, until he landed on the grassy area, eating grass and dirt!

Fashion Sense... I thought Landon had great fashion sense as a young kid. I dressed him and his older brother Zac alike until age 10. I always bought two of everything -- it made shopping easy. I thought it was fun to dress them alike. They thought otherwise, and refused to wear the matching clothes!  Landon has great fashion taste since PUMA dresses him now. Landon’s style in high school and Junior High was pretty simple -- just jeans and T-shirts.

Junior High - A Budding Comedian… Landon must have thought it would be funny one year to do a stand up routine at his school for a talent show.  He recited a whole rendition of his favorite comedian, Jeff Foxworthy. This was more memorizing than he had done all year long for school! They must not have held try outs because as his routine went on the adults were laughing so hard, and the kids were too. The teacher in charge wasn’t amused and went up to the stage and asked him to remove himself (that was after the joke about his Mom of course.) I didn’t mind, as I was laughing out of control too.

First Kiss… I probably shouldn’t share this one, but what the heck! Landon totally mortified a first year computer science teacher at his school in the new computer lab. He stole his first kiss with a little girl that will remain nameless. That same teacher is still at his school and recently shared with me that memorable day and the fact that she had dimmed the lights and put soft music on as the kids were about to watch a video -- I guess she set the mood. Landon was tattled on and Mom and Dad were called by the school to deal with the situation. (Ouch!)

High School Years… Landon was able to experience the whole traveling gig with his racing. At the same time, he learned to balance his friends at home as well as school. Landon was a very social kid as we were always trying to make sure his curfew was kept and his grades were high. By doing what was expected on a consistent basis, he got to sleep in pickup trucks and race trailers as our family traveled to dirt race tracks all over the country. That doesn’t sound glamorous, but he and his brother loved it. His work ethic really had to mature fast, as he went straight from school to the shop to work on his late models and get them ready to race on the weekends. He always had a list of work items to do that his Dad had left for him. It always gave me peace of mind to know right where he was and doing something that he loves to do. I still feel that same way, as Landon has moved away from our home to North Carolina to pursue racing in NASCAR. 

Thank you to those who read this blog. I enjoyed sharing some fun memories of Landon as a kid growing up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Take care,

Colleen

Good afternoon to all!

Before I get into how things went this past race weekend at Memphis, we’ll start the blog off with me answering some more personal random questions. Given Halloween is this Friday, I figure it would be best to stick to that theme.

Best Halloween costume as a kid… I wasn't big into Halloween as a kid, but I was Robin Hood one time so that was the coolest one.

Best Halloween memory… Nothing really specific comes to mind now, but I do remember going to elementary school on Halloween and getting to dress up for the day. We would play all sorts of Halloween-themed games and win candy from the teacher. We would also eat those delicious cupcakes with the insane amount of frosting on them that was topped off with either a spider or pumpkin ring. That was always a lot of fun. By time school ended, I ate more sugar than necessary, but I don’t think any kid complains about that haha.

Favorite Halloween candy as a kid… When I did go Trick-or-Treating as a kid, I loved getting either Milk Duds or Skittles. Oh and Twix bars too. I always did my best to try and not eat my candy all at once, but more like space it out, so I would have candy to eat for at least a couple weeks.

If I had the chance to dress up for Halloween this year, I would be… I’ll be in Texas this weekend, so I don’t think I’ll be able to dress up this year. If I was able to though, I’d be a toaster. Actually, I've always wanted to be something random like an exclamation point or a question mark. I could wear a big box and make it myself instead of going to the store and buying it. It would be random and funny and people would ask, “What is that?” and I'd be like, “I'm an exclamation point, of course.”

I had a lot of fun while in Memphis. Last Wednesday, Cale Gale and I enjoyed promoting the Nationwide Series race at a local gas station by pumping gas and washing windshields. We were by far the most efficient gas pumpers and wind washers – we got the job done! Later that evening, we walked down the infamous Beale Street for an hour or so and that was definitely a neat experience. Something must have been going on in regards to motorcycles because the street was filled with some pretty sweet rides. Oh can’t forget about the goats at Silky O’Sullivans – that was an interesting site to walk by and see.

Then on Thursday, I visited St. Jude Children’s Hospital along with other drivers in the Nationwide Series. That was a wonderful experience and it was nice being able to put smiles on the kids’ faces.

Before you knew it, it was Friday and we were at the track ready to race. Our National Guard team had a solid day and we achieved a lot in both practices. We were able to get the car dialed in nicely for the race on Saturday. We had an awesome car and we ran inside the top 10 for the majority of the race. That untimely caution mid-race threw things off for pretty much everyone and we were just victims of circumstance. Only seven cars ended up finishing the race on the lead lap. Crazy!

I’ll be traveling to Texas for the weekend. Mark Martin is in the No. 5 JR Motorsports Chevy for the Nationwide Series race, so I’m looking forward to learning some valuable things from him while he’s in the car.

Have a great week!

Cheers,

Landon

Hey-o!

In this week’s blog, I’m going to try something different and help the readers learn more about me personally. I’m going to answer a couple random questions asked from some folks here in the office, and I will do this in my next couple blogs. I’m open to any questions you all might have, so please keep those comments and e-mails coming – my e-mail address is landoncassillfoxblog@live.com. Be creative and let’s make this fun!

Best summer vacation as a child… I always liked traveling to Arizona to visit my Uncle John and Aunt Rose. They live in Apache Junction, which is near Phoenix. Whenever we go out there, my Uncle John takes us hiking in the Superstition Mountains, and we usually take the time to visit a little town called Tortilla Flat, Arizona. I just love the scenery out in Arizona, and checking out the beautiful mountains and uncharted territory in the desert.

Favorite childhood pastime… When I was a kid, I liked to do all sorts of fun things in the neighborhood. My friends and I used to play golf in the neighborhood with plastic golf balls, until we broke a window. We also played hide-and-go-seek throughout our backyards. We loved to play James Bond 007 on Nintendo 64, as well as any sports like basketball, football, or baseball.

Now what I did this past week... On Monday, Dale Jr. and I spent the majority of the day at a photo shoot for our new 2009 sponsor, Unilever. Things went really smooth, and it was over before you knew it. I had a lot of fun while there, and it was great getting the chance to interact with the sponsors and get to know them on a more personal level. I’m already looking forward to next year and having them on board. Whenever I’m at my photo shoots I like to goof around a lot to loosen up the atmosphere. All day shoots can get very boring, so it helps the day go by faster by adding some humor and comfort to the studio.

This weekend, we head to Memphis Motorsports Park for the Nationwide Series race and I’m back behind the wheel of the No. 5 National Guard Chevy for JR Motorsports. I’m traveling out there early because I, along with Cale Gale, will be making an appearance at a local Kroger gas station on Wednesday afternoon from 3-5 p.m. local time. For those of you in the area, please come stop by. The address is 2835 Kirby Parkway in Memphis, Tenn.

I will also get the chance to visit St. Jude Children’s Hospital this Thursday while in Memphis. It’s pretty cool to go and see the children and put a smile on their faces. A lot of them are NASCAR fans and to go in there and make their day and hopefully be the light in their world for a little bit is what we go there to do. It will be a lot of fun to spend some time with the kids and get to know them.

Finally, I’m signing autographs twice this weekend while at the track. On Friday, I’ll be on the front stretch from 5:15-6:15 p.m. local time and on Saturday, I’ll be signing autographs at the JR Motorsports souvenir hauler outside the track from 11:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. local time.

Here’s my playlist for the week. Enjoy!

AFI – “Silver and Cold”

Thursday – “Paris in Flames”

The Vandals – “Behind the Music”

Have a great week!

Cheers,

Landon

P.S. For those of you who’ve been watching “The Office” the past couple weeks, how great has season five been so far?!?! Man, the new HR person, Holly, is hilarious and I love how off-beat she is, just like Michael Scott. Perfect match!

Hey, everyone. Hope you've all been well this past week.

Charlotte race week is always a busy one for everyone in the NASCAR industry. We are already getting things ready for next year, and last Thursday I had a photo shoot for our new sponsor, Unilever. We made the announcement on Friday at Lowe’s Motor Speedway that they will be a primary sponsor for the No. 5 JR Motorsports Chevy in 10 Nationwide Series races in 2009. The 10-race sponsorship package will be divided amongst four popular Unilever brands – Hellmann’s® mayonnaise, Ragu® pasta sauce, Klondike® ice cream, and Lipton® tea. 

The photo shoot was pretty fun, and fortunately, the team of people working in the studio was very efficient, so the shoot was pretty quick and didn’t take all day. It’s always cool to check out the new paint schemes and colors for next year, and I really look forward to working with my new sponsors and representing their brands. My next Unilever photo shoot is next Monday, so I’m looking forward to that.

Track activity started on Thursday and we pretty much just sat in the rain that afternoon. Luckily, it stayed dry the rest of the weekend for the track’s festivities. I took off to the racetrack on Friday and watched the Nationwide Series race, as well as the Sprint Cup series event on Saturday evening. I always enjoy the races in Charlotte. I definitely have Lowe’s Motor Speedway as one of my top five favorite tracks to go to.

I spent most of Sunday and Monday helping out with the Dale Jr. Celebrity Sports Auction by attending the Gary Allan/Kyle Petty concert at Whiskey River in Charlotte, and attending the auction Monday night in Concord. It was cool to see a lot of my friends from the NASCAR industry at Whiskey River, supporting Dale Jr. and his foundation. Kyle Petty did a great job too in his rare appearance, performing a few acoustic songs on stage.

I also had a blast at the auction on Monday night. There were a lot of cool people there, and we had a great time promoting the donated items from the many different sports celebrities. The pro golfer Boo Weekly was at both events, and he was a blast to hang out with too. He was hilarious and very friendly. Look him up if you haven’t seen him golf before. He’s pretty good. Lastly, I’m proud to say that a pair of my Puma racing shoes sold for $500 at the auction! Thanks to everyone that attended and especially those who supported the Dale Jr. foundation.

I’ll see you all next weekend in Memphis. One more weekend off and then I’m back behind the wheel of the No. 5 National Guard Chevy.

Here’s my playlist for the week. Enjoy!

My Chemical Romance – “Thank You for the Venom”

Hey Monday – “Homecoming”

The Spin Cycle – “Last”

Adam Richman – “Mary Anne”

Cheers,

Landon

After four long four days in Talladega, I’m back home in Charlotte getting ready for a busy week here in town.

My weekend at Talladega went pretty well. The ARCA Series race on Friday didn’t go the way I would have liked it to. However, the next day went better in the Craftsman Truck Series race, and we were able to represent the National Guard well with a top-10 finish. We really laid back all day and sort of let the race play out on its own. We put ourselves in great position after the final pit stop by being behind Kyle Busch, but when the No. 5 truck hit us on pit road it sort of put a spin on our strategy. I had to go from the back to the front through the middle with little to no drafting help, but we were able to pull it off and come up with a sixth-place finish.

It feels great to get another top-10 finish for Randy Moss Motorsports. I definitely learned some things about drafting and just am really proud of this No. 81 National Guard/Randy Moss Motorsports team. I can’t thank them enough for putting me in their Chevy Silverado. It was a lot of fun.

In general, I think patience was a huge thing that I learned racing at a superspeedway. You can't win the race on the first lap, but you can definitely lose it. Even though the ARCA cars are a lot different than the trucks at Talladega, there are still simple drafting techniques that apply as well.

I returned home late Saturday night, and on Sunday I stayed at home and watched the Sprint Cup Series race, and kept up with the football scores for my fantasy team. This week, I was matched up against Bryan Clauson, and fortunately, I came out on top! The guys came over on Monday night to watch football and play cards, and hopefully Bryan can quickly recover from his loss in the fantasy football league, haha.

I haven’t answered fan questions in a while, so please send me some more e-mails and comments and I’ll get back to answering them over the next few weeks. My e-mail address is landoncassillfoxblog@live.com.

This week’s playlist is Underoath’s new CD titled “Lost in the Sound of Separation.” I’ve always been a huge Underoath fan, so it’s great to hear their new album – it’s now available on iTunes.

“ChelseaD” wrote:

How is your fantasy football thing going with Bryan Clauson?

LC: As I wrote above, I beat Bryan this week, but I haven’t been too specific on the current rankings. I am currently ranked No. 1 with a 4-1 record, and Bryan is ranked No. 6 with a 2-3 record. This week, I am matched up against No. 2 ranked David Smith from www.davidsmithmotorsports.com. His record is also 4-1.

“Nawlinz” wrote:

I have an unhealthy crush on your truck paint scheme. That thing is awesome.

LC: Thanks! My friend, Will, designs our paint schemes over at Randy Moss Motorsports and does a great job with them as well. I was very happy with the look of the No. 81 National Guard Chevy this past weekend and hopefully we can do many more like that.

Have a great week!

Cheers,

Landon

P.S. I'll be signing autographs at JR Motorsports in Mooresville, N.C. this Friday from 11-11:45 a.m. local time, so for those who will be in town, please be sure to stop by. Also, I'll be joined by my teammate Brad Keselowski and Dale Jr. this upcoming Monday, Oct. 13 for the Dale Jr. Celebrity Sports Auction at the Embassy Suites in Concord, N.C. Proceeds from the event will benefit The Dale Jr. Foundation, Make-A-Wish and Victory Junction Gang Camp. There also will be a charity concert, featuring country artist Gary Allan and a special appearance by Kyle Petty, at Whisky River in Charlotte on Oct. 12. If interested in attending, please visit www.thedalejrfoundation.org for more information.

Before I left for Kansas last week, I attended the Championships at The Palisades tennis tournament in Charlotte on Wednesday and hung out with Jim Courier. He showed me the sport and all the excitement around it. I really had a great time.

I had never been to a professional tennis match before, so the environment was definitely new to me, but I enjoyed it. We were hooked up with front row V.I.P. seats and a nice dinner. One thing that I had to get use to was being quiet when the players were competing on the court. You could hear a pin drop for crying out loud. Obviously, I’m use to how loud a racetrack can get. It was a nice change though.

It’s truly amazing to see in person how fast those players can hit the ball, and react to different shots. Like anything else, it’s a lot different than what you see on television. Please check out this video of me at the tennis tournament on dalejr.com: http://www.dalejr.com/#multimedia/videocenter
. Search under “Multimedia,” then “Video Center.” It’s titled “Landon’s Video.” I successfully got an autograph from one of the ball boys!

On Thursday, we flew to Kansas for the Nationwide Series race that was on Saturday afternoon. Even though I wasn’t driving, I still like to check things out and support my No. 5 JR Motorsports Chevy team. It is also a great opportunity for me to learn more from my teammate Mark Martin, who was in the car this past weekend. Mark is a brilliant and talented race car driver and I learn more and more every time I’m around him. Watching him all weekend made me even more pumped up for my next races in Talladega.

I’m running double duty this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway in the ARCA Series -- driving the No. 88 Stanley Chevy for JR Motorsports -- and also with Randy Moss Motorsports in the Craftsman Truck Series -- piloting the No. 81 National Guard Chevy. Talladega is always a soft spot in any racer’s heart. This will be my first time racing there, and I’m hoping to leave with a trophy.

Here’s my playlist for the week. Enjoy!

Breathe Carolina – “Lovely”

Runner Runner – “She Will Be Loved” (Maroon 5 cover)

The Format – “Dog Problems”

Have a great week!

Cheers,

Landon

P.S. I also met Ricky Bobby this weekend at a restaurant in Kansas and got my picture taken with him! Haha not really, but this guy was wearing a Wonder Bread hat, and he looked just like the Ricky Bobby character, so I couldn't resist -- I had to get my picture taken with him. How ironic, right? Haha

P.S.S. The season premiere of "The Office" last Thursday was awesome! I don't want to spoil it for those who didnt see it, but all I have to say is way to go Jim Halpert.

Things didn’t go the way we would have liked them to this past weekend at Dover. We struggled in our first practice on Friday morning. The guys worked really hard on the National Guard Chevy, changed the entire set up and improved things for the second practice later that afternoon.

On Saturday morning, we didn’t qualify where we wanted to. When the race finally started that afternoon, we got in the race and I was battling a tight-handling race car. We went down a lap and under a caution, we were able to make a pit stop and tweak on the No. 5 Chevy. We were then able to race for the lucky dog position and finally got back on the lead lap.

We had some run-ins toward the end of the race and unfortunately, we ended on a low note, but we are looking forward to Talladega. I’ll be driving the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevy in the ARCA Series event on Oct. 3 and then driving the No. 81 National Guard Chevy for Randy Moss Motorsports in the Craftsman Truck Series event on Oct. 4.

Today, I gave a tour at Lowe’s Motor Speedway to a group of people that included two professional tennis players -- Jim Courier and Wayne Ferreira. I showed them around the garage area and introduced them to Rick Hendrick, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus. Since I hadn’t seen Jim in a couple weeks, it was great to catch up and spend some more time with him. Jim is a great guy and turns out he’s a fan of “The Office” too, so you know I had a lot to talk about haha. In all, it was really fun showing them around the NASCAR garage because it was something they’ve never really seen before so I was happy to give them the V.I.P. treatment.

On Wednesday evening, I’ll be attending The Championship at the Palisades tennis tournament in Charlotte to watch Jim at his finest. I’ve never been to a tennis tournament before, so I’m really excited to go there and watch a match in person. Anna Kournikova will be playing there on Saturday, so yes, I’m pretty disappointed that I won’t be there to meet and watch her play tennis!

Well I’m off to Kansas this weekend to attend the Nationwide Series race. I won’t be racing, but I’ll be there to learn and show support for my teammates, Brad Keselowski and Mark Martin.

Here’s my playlist for the week. Enjoy!

Sky Eats Airplane – “She Is Just A Glitch"

Underoath – “A Fault Line. A Fault of Mine”

Watchout! There’s A Ghost – “Never You”

Have a great week!

Cheers,

Landon 

P.S. Season Five of "The Office" starts this Thursday night - I'm so excited!!! 

Hey, everyone!

I had the past weekend off, so it was nice to just relax around the house, hang out and work on my RC cars. I also caught up on sleep, which was great! Some might call it a boring weekend, but sometimes you just need one of those to recuperate.

Today, I went to JR Motorsports and got things all squared for Dover. I’ll be back behind the wheel of the No. 5 National Guard Chevy this weekend in the Nationwide Series race. I’ve raced at Dover twice before and the biggest thing about that track is simply surviving the entire race. We've shown in the past that speed is not an issue for us. I just need to focus on keeping the No. 5 National Guard Chevy in one piece all day. With a solid run like that at the Monster Mile, we should easily be in position for a top-10 finish. Bottom line, I need to have a strong run at Dover in order to maintain the Raybestos Rookie of the Year lead, which is a main goal our team is looking to achieve at the end of the season.

This Wednesday, I’ll be traveling to Spring Valley, Minnesota to race in “Night of Victory,” a United States Modified Touring Series event at Deer Creek Speedway -- dirt racing at its finest. I’m flying out with fellow Chevrolet driver Kevin Harvick tomorrow afternoon. I’m pretty excited about this event because it will be my second time driving in a dirt race. It will be interesting to see how we do on the dirt.

My friend Vaughn Gitten Jr. from Drift Alliance will be there too, and I’m really stoked to get back on the dirt and see how it shakes out. It is always fun and rewarding participating in events like this. Not only do we get the opportunity to race, but we also get the chance to interact with fans and show our appreciation. In addition, this event will be raising money for the Victory Junction Gang Camp, so it will be racing for a good cause.

Don’t forget to tune into the Nationwide Series race this Saturday at Dover -- it airs live on ESPN2 at 3 p.m., ET.

Have a great week and I look forward to reading your e-mails/comments too - landoncassillfoxblog@live.com.

Cheers,

Landon

Instead of having the Nationwide Series race on Friday night at Richmond, it was postponed to Sunday evening because of Tropical Storm Hanna. It was kind of weird racing after the Sprint Cup Series race -- mostly because that rarely happens -- but I didn’t mind because I was ready to race.

My National Guard team really worked hard all weekend, and we didn’t give up and that’s what’s important. We had a solid day of practice on Friday morning and clocked in the third fastest time. We were hoping to qualify and get the race in that night, but unfortunately, we couldn’t. We ended up flying back home to Charlotte later that night to only have to come back Sunday afternoon.

When the race finally started on Sunday evening, we lined up 11th. The beginning of the race was pretty hopeful, as we drove into the top 10, and as high as seventh early on. But the car fell off on the long runs, causing me to have to get creative on the racetrack with my race line in order to maintain track position. I hate that we had to work so hard during the race, though. Sometimes you’d like to have an easier run, but we definitely earned a 12th-place finish.

With my car, it seemed like it was hard to keep up with the rest of the field because we were just trying to find what it wanted. It was a little slick out there, but my National Guard team did a good job in the pits. We just have to work and continue to try to find some speed.

Personally, I learned a lot about the racetrack like how some of the lines are finicky, how you need to stay on the wheel, and how you must find your strong points and amplify it. Our strong point of the night was restarts and I had to amplify that in order to get by as many cars as I could on the restart. 

We had the 371st Sustainment Brigade on the National Guard Chevy this weekend, so it was great meeting with them on Friday. Hopefully they were there for the race and stuck it out with the weather. We’re just going to work on our cars more and make them better. That’s what makes a successful team.

Today, I had the pleasure of playing tennis with former professional Jim Courier, Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith, and Marty Smith from ESPN in uptown Charlotte. The event was promoting The Championships at The Palisades tennis tournament, which will be held in Charlotte on Sept. 24-28. Former NBA player Dell Curry and ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas were also there to join in the festivities.

It was a pretty cool event, I got to play Wii tennis with some kids and then hit the mini court to play against Jim and the other guys. I believe I held my own against them, but Jim was a pretty good player, and I think he could probably turn up the heat against me if he wanted to.

Here’s my playlist for the week:

He Is Legend – “I Am Hollywood”

The Devil Wears Prada – “Still Fly (Big Tymers Cover)”

Hot Hot Heat – “Running Out of Time”

Fear Before the March of Flames – “Fashion Tips Baby”

Have a great week!

Cheers,

Landon

P.S. The tennis photo is courtesy of Paul Williams.

I flew out early to Los Angeles, California last week to spend some time with buddies of mine and enjoy the beautiful West Coast before I headed to the racetrack on Friday. I met up with the guys from the band Runner Runner and stayed with them in Huntington Beach on Wednesday and Thursday.

On Wednesday, I hung around the house with the guys and watched them record some new songs, and later that afternoon, I went for a run. That evening, Ryan and Jon from the band introduced me to the best frozen yogurt place I’ve ever had – it was called Pinkberry, and it was in Huntington Beach (I ate there like four more times throughout the weekend – that good!). After that, we went to go see the movie “Tropic Thunder.”

After a good night’s sleep on the couch, the guys took me out to Huntington Beach on Thursday, where I went surfing for the first time. It was pretty cool catching some waves, even though I wasn’t very good at it. I’m pretty sure I want to try surfing more now because I had a lot of fun.

I really enjoyed my couple days off in Huntington Beach with the guys from the band Runner Runner, who were so gracious enough to have me over. They make great music, and have become one of my new favorite bands. Please check out Runner Runner on MySpace – www.myspace.com/runnerrunnermusic.

On Thursday evening, I drove up to Fontana, which is where I stayed until Saturday night. On Friday at the racetrack, I went for a three-mile run, which was totally unnecessary due to the extreme heat, but I did it anyways. I stuck around for practice, as well as the race on Saturday, and headed back home to North Carolina late Saturday night.

I spent all day Sunday at my house catching up with East Coast time. I literally slept from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. After plenty of rest, I went out on the lake Monday afternoon, and went wakeboarding with a couple guys from my team. We found another rope swing on the water, and spent some time on that before we headed back to the house.

Overall, I had a great weekend, but now I’m getting focused to go racing at Richmond for the Nationwide Series race on Friday night. I’ll be driving the No. 5 National Guard/371st Sustainment Brigade Chevrolet for JR Motorsports, so I’m looking forward to that and working with the team again.

On a final note, today Season Four of “The Office” came out on DVD and yes, I purchased it! Now I can start brushing up on my ‘Office’ knowledge because season five starts on Sept. 25 and I need to be all caught up. Here’s a funny quote from Season Four:

Pam Beesly: “Michael. Do you remember you specifically told me to bring one sheet of paper. You said it only takes one sheet to make a difference. I said, 'are you sure Michael?' And you said, 'Pam! Pam! Pam!' And then you sneezed in my tea and then you said, 'don't worry it's just allergies.' Do you remember that?”

Here’s my playlist for the week – enjoy!

Runner Runner – “So Obvious” (and also their acoustic version)

RX Bandits – “Prophetic”

Four Year Strong – “Heroes Get Remembered, Legends Never Die”

Have a great week!

Cheers,

Landon

Hey, everyone!

That was a pretty cool Nationwide Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway this past Friday night. We had the 196th Field Artillery Brigade with us this weekend, and my crew chief, Cam Strader, did a great job. I’m definitely proud of my team and the crew’s continuous hard work each weekend.

The National Guard Chevy was good the majority of the night. We were actually pretty good there at one point, and we were steadily working our way through the field. However, I got into the wall trying to pass a lapped car and that slowed us down a little bit. It’s all part of it, I guess. It could have been a lot worse, since Bristol is notorious for bad wrecks.

As a team though, we need to do better than that to win Raybestos Rookie of the Year, and that’s our goal right now. It’s achievable, so we just have to get back in the swing of good races, and I think we can do it. I enjoyed racing at Bristol for the first time in my NASCAR career, and I think I learned some valuable things that I now know for the future.

Also, congratulations to my JR Motorsports teammate Brad Keselowski on his great win at Bristol. It was exciting visiting him and the No. 88 team in Victory Lane.

This Wednesday morning, I’m flying out to Southern California since the NASCAR races will be at Fontana this weekend. I won’t be racing, but I’ll be going to observe and learn some things from my teammates Brad and Jimmie Johnson. Jimmie is driving the No. 5 Chevy for JR Motorsports this Saturday.

Given I’ll have two days off in sunny Southern California, I’ll probably explore the area and possibly even surf at one of the beaches -- I’ll keep you posted on that! Pretty much, it will be great to have some time to relax and unwind.

On a final note, I’ve officially joined a fantasy football league with Bryan Clauson and a bunch of guys at Motorsports Management International (MMI). This should be pretty interesting, since I really don’t know much about NFL football. My team is called the Minnesota Diamondbacks, named after the Minnesota Vikings/Arizona Diamondbacks. Pretty funny, right? Haha! Let the season begin :).

Please keep the e-mails/comments coming - landoncassillfoxblog@live.com. Have a great week!

Cheers,

Landon

Last weekend, I went back to Hawkeye Downs Speedway in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and had my first major fundraiser that benefitted flood victims in the Cedar Rapids area. I spent the week home in Iowa, preparing for the big event on Friday night. We challenged the fans to donate $10k, allowing me, Rick Hendrick, Dale Jr., and Kyle Busch to match the donations. We boosted our charitable contributions to $50k, which will be given to the Aid to Women and the Salvation Army in Cedar Rapids.

We packed the stands with over 7,000 people, many of them donating and participating in the track walk during the night’s festivities. It was cool to see all the people walk around the racetrack and see everybody so pumped up about just everything that was going on. A lot of the fans were struggling themselves from the flood, so to see them dig in and find that extra motivation to help out with our charity was amazing. I think we really made a big impact on the community, and it's just a good feeling to know that we are helping those in need.

Thanks again to all who joined in and contributed – it was great seeing you there!

I am now riding along down the road on my way to Bristol, Tennessee, where I’ll be making my first start at the historic Bristol Motor Speedway. On Wednesday night, I’ll be driving the No. 24 National Guard Chevy in the Hooters Pro Cup Series race and on Friday night, I’ll be back behind the wheel of the No. 5 National Guard Chevy in the Nationwide Series event.

The folks at Tatman Motorsports have provided me with a car to drive for the Pro Cup race, in order to help me gain experience for the Nationwide Series event. I just want to get all the laps in and learn how to pass at Bristol. It's going to be really important. I will learn what the surface wants and learn what the car needs, and, hopefully, I can use all that information for the Nationwide Series race. It has been three weeks since I have driven the No. 5 National Guard Chevy, and I am excited to get back in the swing of things, and continue working with my new crew chief, Cam Strader.

I have another long weekend of racing ahead of me in Bristol, but I am really looking forward to it. Bristol seems to have a soft spot in every racer’s heart. As a little boy, I grew up watching many races at Bristol, so it will definitely be a stepping stone in my career to make my first start there.

Hopefully everyone has been doing well. It has definitely been a busy few weeks for me trying to keep up with the road course races, as well as getting focused to get back into my No. 5 National Guard Chevy for JR Motorsports.

On another note, I’m very excited that we’ll be racing at Iowa Speedway next season in the Nationwide Series. Iowa is a great racetrack, and it was designed perfectly for these race cars. It will put on a great show for the fans, and I can't wait to run there. I know I'm going to have a lot of friends and family there, and it will give me a chance to go back home and see all of them. The race fans in Iowa are pretty dedicated!

Thanks for checking out my blog. Please keep the e-mails/comments coming - landoncassillfoxblog@live.com.

Here’s my playlist for the week. Enjoy!

Mates of State – “What I Could Stand For”

Modest Mouse – “The World At Large”

The Monkees – “I’m a Believer”

Panic! At the Disco – “Nine in the Afternoon”

See ya next week!

Cheers,

Landon

Finally, the final round of road course racing for the year has concluded. I had a great time in all three of my races with my guys from Phoenix Racing, and because of them, I am much more prepared to race on road courses in the future.

At Watkins Glen this past weekend, we had a decent race car in practice. We weren’t terribly fast, but I felt comfortable and I felt like I had a car that could race well and work itself through the field the next day. Unfortunately, in my last run of practice, the skies opened up and rain fell on turn 1, causing me to slide slowly across the runoff and into the tire barriers. My team worked very hard on the backup car, and prepared it for me for the race, where we began to work our way into the top 20 in the first half. Once again, bad luck struck our team -- we had a brake failure, causing us to go six laps down because we had to fix the issue in the pits. However, the team once again worked hard and we got back out on the track.

Even though we didn’t get the finish that we had hoped for, I believe that I learned a lot of very critical things about road racing, and I will be able to approach them with confidence in the future. I think getting that seat time is very important, especially when we are racing against some of the best road racers in North America.

I spent most of Sunday at home, relaxing, and preparing myself for my first experience at Bristol Motor Speedway on Monday morning. Bristol is about a three hour drive from Charlotte, so I had to get up at 5 a.m. in order to get to the track on time. I tested all day in my No. 24 National Guard Hooters Pro Cup Chevy, and my crew chief Rich Lushes and I felt pretty comfortable with our car. There were many competitors at the test, so it is difficult to tell if we have a car that is capable of winning, but I think we can be competitive and put ourselves in position for a good finish. The race is next Wednesday, August 20.

I arrived home late Monday night after my Bristol test, and early this morning, I got up and headed off to the airport. I am now on an airplane, writing this blog, en route to Richmond, Va., for a media advance promoting the upcoming Nationwide Series Race in Richmond in September.

To finish out my week, I’ll be heading back home to Iowa to host a charity late model race benefiting flood victims in Cedar Rapids, at the Hawkeye Downs Speedway. My dad helped me to set this charity event up at the track. We’ll be hosting a fan walk before and I -- along with Dale Jr. and Rick Hendrick -- will match donations by the fans up to $10k. I am very excited for the event, and I am also looking forward to racing a late model for McGrath Powersports at Hawkeye Downs on Friday night. Let me know if you are interested in helping out with the fundraising!

My playlist for the week:

M.I.A. – “Paper Planes”

Flobots – “Handlebars”

David Banner – “Get Like Me”

Chris Brown – “Forever”

Have a great week!

Cheers,

Landon