Martinsville, Virginia, USA (March 28, 2010) History was made on Saturday as Narain Karthikeyan became the first ever Indian-born driver to compete in a NASCAR Series. Karthikeyan debuted in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on March 27 in the Kroger 250 at Martinsville (Virginia, USA) Speedway. Driving the No. 60 SafeAuto Chevrolet Silverado, Karthikeyan finished in 13th place after staring in the 11th spot.

“This kind of racing is completely different from what I am used to, a lot of shoving and banging, but once I started running it felt good. My goal today was to stay out of trouble, finish the race and do the best that I could. I am very happy to have finished the race in the 13th spot,” said Karthikeyan following the race.

At the conclusion of the race, Starbeast Motorsports Team Owner, Miguel Abaroa, said, “We are very proud of him and the result he got today. To finish 13th out of 36 trucks at Martinsville in his first ever NASCAR race is incredible! We threw him to the wolves by starting him here and he responded very well. We couldn’t be more excited to have Narain representing Starbeast and we see a very bright future for him in NASCAR.”

At only half a miles in length, Martinsville Speedway is thought to be one of the toughest tracks on the circuit. The race track known as “The Paperclip” delivered its share of bumps and bruises to the NASCAR Rookie. In Lap 114, Karthikeyan got caught up in a wreck but managed to avoid major damage. Lap 152 saw him scrap the inside of the backstretch wall while his truck got loose and was turned backward in Lap 200. Through it all, Karthikeyan sustained minimal damage and was able to continually press forward to gain track position.

“The biggest thing I saw with Narain today was his composure” said Crew Chief, Chad Kendrick. “Through all of the hits and spinouts, he never waivered, never lost his temper, never got flustered. He just stayed focused. He is determined to do well and you could tell throughout the day. This being his first time at Martinsville and in a stock car race, this is an unbelievable finish.”

Veteran NASCAR driver, Stacy Compton of Wyler Racing, served as Narain’s spotter during the race and was pleased with the outcome of the race, as well as Karthikeyan’s ability to adapt quickly to driving in a stock car in such a tough environment.

“He was patient when he needed to be today and did a good job of racing this race track. Certainly this was a very impressive run for him,” said Compton.

Karthikeyan will race in at least nine more NASCAR truck races this season with his next race being on May 2 at Kansas Speedway. The Kansas race will be shown in India on NEO Sports and in the USA on Speed Channel.