Sean Caisse

Pelham, NH: Last weekend Sean Caisse of Pelham, NH enjoyed the biggest payday of his young career-not only financially but emotionally as well. The 19-year old driver scored a fifth place finish in the prestigious NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown to earn over $14,000 in prize money. The accomplishment was made even sweeter with a heat race victory on Friday night on national television.

"This was huge for my career, " said Caisse. "We needed to come away from here with something…I guess we needed to make a statement with our performance. And we accomplished that. We ran consistently and we stayed out of trouble. I think that we gained some respect with the competitors and turned some heads. "

Each year the Busch North Series has the opportunity to shine as they officially end their season at Irwindale Speedway in CA with the Toyota All-Star Showdown. The post-season invitational event finds the best of the best from the NASCAR Elite and Grand National divisions competing for nearly $500,000 in prize money. This year Caisse, the 2005 Busch North Series Rookie-of-the-Year, was among the best and was invited to participate in the 3^rd Annual Showdown.

"I think that we approached this race differently than a lot of more experienced teams, " said Caisse. "The Toyota Showdown is a big money show and most teams go to win and win big. It was not about winning to us. It was about running consistently in the public eye. "

The NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown was broadcast nationally on SPEED Channel. Live coverage began on Friday, November 11th at 11:00 p.m. (ET) and resumed on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. (ET) with the main event.

The portion of the Showdown that featured the NASCAR Grand National Division Busch North and West Series was comprised of two segments. The first was a 100-lap segment where caution laps counted. The second 50-lap segment (where caution laps did not count) followed a 10-minute break where teams could make adjustments to their cars. The field was set through heat races on Friday night.

Caisse started in the ninth position in the first of two 50-lap heat races on Friday night and went on to claim a dominating win on national television. The heat race was comprised of the competitors finishing in even numbered positions in the final 2005 point standings from the top-15 in points from both the Busch North and West Series.

"My car was working so good on Friday night it was unbelievable, " said Caisse.

The performance in the heat race helped to boost the confidence of Caisse and the team. Much like the progression of the 2005 season, the goals of the Casella Waste Services team changed at Irwindale during the course of the event with the added confidence.

"This year we started out on a race by race deal. The goal was to finish races so that we could compete the next week, " reflected Caisse. "We came to Irwindale with only one car and a limited budget. We initially came here to finish. Once we got into the heat race and got to the front, we never looked back. I knew that we had a car that was capable of winning. "

By virtue of his heat race victory, Caisse started the 100-lap segment from the outside pole starting position. He officially led the first lap-his first lap of feature action at the Speedway. Eventual winner Mike Olson, also of New Hampshire, led lap two. Caisse went on to lead laps 3 to 35.

"We started the race on sticker tires while most of the guys ran scuffs, " said Caisse. "The car was great in the beginning of the race but it fell off as the tires began to wear. We got loose from the center off of the corner later in the first segment. "

Caisse fell back as far as seventh position. During the intermission the Casella Waste Services crew went to work making adjustments to the #5 machine also putting on a set of fresh tires.

"We worked our way back up into the fifth position in the second segment, " continued Caisse. "I tried to run a smart race. I did not take any chances or put my car were it did not belong. The stagger just never came in on the second set of tires. We had an eighth place car and in the end we came home fifth. We are very proud of what we accomplished here this weekend. "

The impressive finish was the perfect ending for an outstanding season for Sean Caisse.



	Caisse Shows Maturity & Talent with Top Finish in Toyota Showdown Pelham, NH: Last weekend Sean Caisse of Pelham, NH enjoyed the biggest payday of his young career-not only financially but emotionally as well. The 19-year old driver scored a fifth place finish in the prestigious NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown to earn over $14,000 in prize money. The accomplishment was made even sweeter with a heat race victory on Friday night on national television. "This was huge for my career, " said Caisse. "We needed to come away from here with something…I guess we needed to make a statement with our performance. And we accomplished that. We ran consistently and we stayed out of trouble. I think that we gained some respect with the competitors and turned some heads. " Each year the Busch North Series has the opportunity to shine as they officially end their season at Irwindale Speedway in CA with the Toyota All-Star Showdown. The post-season invitational event finds the best of the best from the NASCAR Elite and Grand National divisions competing for nearly $500,000 in prize money. This year Caisse, the 2005 Busch North Series Rookie-of-the-Year, was among the best and was invited to participate in the 3^rd Annual Showdown. "I think that we approached this race differently than a lot of more experienced teams, " said Caisse. "The Toyota Showdown is a big money show and most teams go to win and win big. It was not about winning to us. It was about running consistently in the public eye. " The NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown was broadcast nationally on SPEED Channel. Live coverage began on Friday, November 11th at 11:00 p.m. (ET) and resumed on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. (ET) with the main event. The portion of the Showdown that featured the NASCAR Grand National Division Busch North and West Series was comprised of two segments. The first was a 100-lap segment where caution laps counted. The second 50-lap segment (where caution laps did not count) followed a 10-minute break where teams could make adjustments to their cars. The field was set through heat races on Friday night. Caisse started in the ninth position in the first of two 50-lap heat races on Friday night and went on to claim a dominating win on national television. The heat race was comprised of the competitors finishing in even numbered positions in the final 2005 point standings from the top-15 in points from both the Busch North and West Series. "My car was working so good on Friday night it was unbelievable, " said Caisse. The performance in the heat race helped to boost the confidence of Caisse and the team. Much like the progression of the 2005 season, the goals of the Casella Waste Services team changed at Irwindale during the course of the event with the added confidence. "This year we started out on a race by race deal. The goal was to finish races so that we could compete the next week, " reflected Caisse. "We came to Irwindale with only one car and a limited budget. We initially came here to finish. Once we got into the heat race and got to the front, we never looked back. I knew that we had a car that was capable of winning. " By virtue of his heat race victory, Caisse started the 100-lap segment from the outside pole starting position. He officially led the first lap-his first lap of feature action at the Speedway. Eventual winner Mike Olson, also of New Hampshire, led lap two. Caisse went on to lead laps 3 to 35. "We started the race on sticker tires while most of the guys ran scuffs, " said Caisse. "The car was great in the beginning of the race but it fell off as the tires began to wear. We got loose from the center off of the corner later in the first segment. " Caisse fell back as far as seventh position. During the intermission the Casella Waste Services crew went to work making adjustments to the #5 machine also putting on a set of fresh tires. "We worked our way back up into the fifth position in the second segment, " continued Caisse. "I tried to run a smart race. I did not take any chances or put my car were it did not belong. The stagger just never came in on the second set of tires. We had an eighth place car and in the end we came home fifth. We are very proud of what we accomplished here this weekend. " The impressive finish was the perfect ending for an outstanding season for Sean Caisse.

Caisse Shows Maturity & Talent with Top Finish in Toyota Showdown