Driving a special-themed Caterpillar Chevy Impala, commemorating Dale Earnhardt’s induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Jeff Burton and the No. 31 Richard Childress Racing team overcame a 17th-place starting position to finish third in the annual Sprint Showdown 40-lap event. 

The race, which precedes the yearly All Star event, consists of two 20-lap segments where both green flag and caution laps count toward the first 20 laps, followed by another 20 laps where only green-flag laps are scored.

Friday’s opening day gave the 29 entries an 80-minute practice session so they could fine tune their race cars for Saturday night’s contest. The Todd Berrier-led team meticulously used every second of the session and when it was all said and done, the Cat Racing team was listed second on the scoreboard.

Later that night, Burton was slated to roll of the grid 17th in the qualifying session and toured the 1.5-mile oval fast enough to position himself right behind the provisional pole sitter. But, with four cars left to make qualifying runs, Mother Nature swarmed the Concord area and delayed the time trials session for rain. Track-drying efforts, coupled with a race against the clock to get the Camping World Truck Series race in, forced NASCAR officials to cancel the Sprint Showdown qualifying session and set the starting lineup based on qualifying order.

Despite starting deep in the field, Burton & Company were overall pleased with the performance of the Caterpillar Chevy in Friday’s practice session and hoped that it would translate over to the 40-lap brawl.

The RCR entry did not disappoint.

The veteran driver moved into 12th just two laps in, 10th on lap six, and cracked the top five at lap 12.

Tussling with a machine that was tight through the middle of the turns and loose on the exits, a caution on lap 17 provided an opportunity for Berrier to summon Burton to pit road where the veteran crew chief called for a two-tire pit stop that included air pressure adjustments.

Restarting fourth, the 21-time Sprint Cup Series race winner narrowly missed a three-car racing incident that placed him fifth for a 19-lap shootout.

The South Boston, Va., native traveled to fourth on lap 23 and into third on the ensuing lap, where he spent the remaining laps trying to reel in the second-place car. But, the handling on the Caterpillar Chevy shifted to the tight side in the closing circuits and Burton couldn’t make up any time on the frontrunners, taking the checkers third.

Martin Truex Jr. captured the win while Greg Biffle crossed the line second, posting finishes that allowed both drivers to transfer into the All Star Race. Burton, Paul Menard and Marcos Ambrose rounded out the top-five finishers.

Burton’s RCR teammate Clint Bowyer retired to the garage early after making contact with the wall, resulting in a 23rd-place finish.

Fellow stablemate Kevin Harvick competed in the All Star Race where he finished sixth.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing continues at Charlotte Motor Speedway next weekend for its annual longest race on the 2010 circuit. Flag-to-flag coverage of the Coca-Cola 600 will take the green flag Sunday, May 30, beginning at 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The race will be televised live on FOX and broadcast on the Performance Racing Network and Sirius XM Satellite Radio. Qualifying for the 13th points-paying race on the 2010 schedule will be telecast live on SPEED Thursday, May 27 beginning at 7 p.m. EDT.

Race/Date:  Sprint Showdown on May 22, 2010
Location:  Charlotte Motor Speedway – Concord, N.C.
Start Position:  17th
Finish Position: Third   
Points Position: Eighth – Maintained position, non-points event

Ring Power's virtual storefront, storefront.ringpower.com, has a great selection of Cat Racing apparel, Caterpillar scale models, Cat Racing t-shirts, Cat hats and more. Ring Power Corporation, North and Central Florida's Caterpillar dealer, is headquartered in St. Augustine, Florida, with branch locations in Brooksville, Daytona, Gainesville, Jacksonville, Lake City, Lakeland, Ocala, Orlando, Palm Bay, Perry, Sarasota, Tallahassee, Tampa and Tarpon Springs. Ring Power is comprised of eight divisions and has more than 45 years of experience servicing and supporting Caterpillar and allied equipment.

RPN_Winter_2009_low.pdf (2.16 mb)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing new national emissions standards for hazardous air pollutants for stationary reciprocating internal combustion engines that are not already covered by earlier EPA regulations.

The newly announced regulation would set emission limits from certain stationary diesel engines. EPA expects the plan to be fully implemented by 2013. The EPA is required to complete the final rule by February 10, 2010.

EPA’s announcement said that in 2008, over 1 million of these engines generated electricity, powered equipment and operated during emergencies at industrial, agricultural and other facilities. Specifically, EPA said these engines are used at facilities such as power, chemical and manufacturing plants to generate electricity and power pumps and compressors. They are also used to produce electricity and pump water for flood and fire control in emergencies.

EPA said this rule would apply to engines that are smaller than or equal to 500 hp that were manufactured before June 12, 2006. It also covers engines larger than or equal to 500 hp that were manufactured before December 19, 2002.

Owners of operators of existing engines would be required to install emissions control equipment that would limit emissions by up to 90-percent, perform emissions tests to demonstrate engine performance and compliance with rule requirements and burn ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel in non-emergency engines with a site rating greater than 300 hp. To meet the proposed emissions requirements, owners and operators would need to install aftertreatment controls on the exhaust system, such as filters or catalysts.

The proposed EPA rule focuses on two options for aftertreatment control of emissions. One is oxidation catalysts, a technology the EPA believes can achieve air toxics reductions up to 90-percent, but can only reduce fine particle emissions by about 30-percent. Catalyzed diesel particulate filters are also a listed technology to reduce air toxins and particle emissions, including black carbon soot at over 90-percent.

Phoenix Products specializes in the manufacture of generator set enclosures, fuel storage tanks, electrical control panels and insulation blankets for exhaust systems, as well as metal stairs and platforms. Their headquarters reside in Jacksonville, Florida with offices in Oakdale, California.

Ring Power's St. Augustine branch donated the heavy equipment paint shop's expertise to the Rodeheaver Boys Ranch by offering to restore the charitable organization’s Ford C-Series fire truck. The ranch, which is located in Palatka, Fla., utilizes the fire truck for small brush fires, Boy Scout merit badge training, and to train boys for future public service careers.

The truck had been eaten away by rust, leaving holes in the roof and body. A special thanks to the whole St. Augustine paint shop crew for making the truck look as good as the day it rolled off the assembly line!

"The standard in our industry for years has been the use of the big generators…because of our need for uninterrupted power," said Colin DeFord, an independent technical producer based out of Park City, Utah. "This product will take off in our industry because we are simply eliminating fuel costs and we are no longer emitting fumes into the air."

The unit operates in series between the utility and the end-user, with a backup generator being tied to the UPS. If power is lost from the utility, the UPS keeps the end-user seamlessly powered while simultaneously activating the backup generator. After the UPS senses the voltage from the generator for a set period of time, a breaker is closed within the UPS to allow the end-user to be powered directly by the generator.

Once power from the utility is restored, the UPS will reestablish the utility as the source of power and shut down the generator. The unit also compensates for the utility's spikes and dips, providing a clean power flow to the end-user without having to activate the generator.

The greenest live-show solution currently available to the entertainment market, Entertainment Services' UPS system greatly reduces carbon emissions of the entire production. The unit is noiseless, produces no fumes or exhaust, and is configured for ease of transport and on-site positioning.

For more information about Entertainment Services and the UPS system, visit es-cat.com or contact our sales staff at any of our US locations: Los Angeles, CA (866-762-5228); Dallas, TX (888-908-4228); Kenilworth, NJ (908-272-8400); North Kingstown, RI (888-296-4492); Tampa, FL (866-769-3761); or Orlando, FL (877-228-2852).

Entertainment Services is committed to conducting business in an environmentally responsible and conscientious manner. We utilize renewable energy sources wherever and whenever practical to reduce our carbon footprint, and we engineer safety into all of our products to reduce the risk of injury or damage to the environment. Our generator set engines are emissions-certified and meet all EPA standards. Our sound attenuated enclosures, fuel tanks and other specialized products are designed with UL-listed components according to stringent production standards to ensure safe fluid containment and reduced noise levels.
For years Entertainment Services has offered bio-diesel as an alternative to our clients in the entertainment industry. To limit our carbon footprint even further, while still delivering dependable power, we are alos developing a production technology that uses house power during pre-production, with a seamless transfer to generator power on show days.
Our environmental philosophy is in alignment with Caterpillar’s market-based approach to the aggressive development of current and future clean technologies that reduce emissions and sustain the environment.
In summary, Entertainment Services strives to conserve natural resources; reduce waste through emissions technology, recycling and the safe disposal of consumable items; and by example, we encourage our business partners and customers to do the same.

es-cat.com