UP AND DOWN WEEKEND FOR THE WOOD BROTHERS/JTG TEAM

Having missed the last two events on the NASCAR schedule, Ken Schrader and the No. 21 Motorcraft Ford team came ‘loaded for bear’ at the Darlington International Raceway for the Dodge Avenger 500. After a tense Friday practice session, Ken Schrader blistered the track during his qualifying run, garnering the 8th overall starting position in the No. 21 Motorcraft Ford. The Wood Brothers/JTG Race team was buoyed by the effort and ready to take advantage on Saturday night. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans. On the eve of Mother’s Day, the race was rained out in a spectacular downpour.

The teams lined up on Sunday for the 1:00 p.m. start and Schrader put the No. 21 Motorcraft Ford through its paces in the opening laps of the Dodge Avenger 500. It’s often been said that you don’t race the competition at Darlington, you race the track. Schrader was a master of this during the first half of the event as he worked hard to concentrate on his race only. NASCAR threw a mandatory caution flag on lap 40 so that teams could check tire wear and make adjustments. Schrader asked that the car be tightened up for both corners.

On the team’s second pit stop of the day on lap 98, the over-the-wall crew knocked out a 13.61-second stop, holding serve on pit road for a four tire change with no adjustments. Schrader was still asking to be tightened up more as he tiptoed around the egg-shaped 1.33-mile racetrack billed as NASCAR’s oldest superspeedway.

Ken Schrader would have to dig very deep on the ensuing run as he fought hard to stay out ahead of the leader Denny Hamlin. In doing so, Schrader kept moving forward and putting other cars in between him and the leader. He had to pit under green on lap 176 with about a two-second lead over the leader. The pit crew once again shone and he came back out onto the track still ahead of Hamlin. He staged a side by side duel with Hamlin over the next few laps and went a lap down on lap 181 of the 367-lap event. However, as luck would have it (finally!), the caution flag flew on lap 182 for debris and this handed the Lucky Dog pass to Schrader.

The team restarted as the final car on the lead lap in 25th on lap 189. By lap 228, he was running some of the fastest lap times on the track. Little did the team know it, but trouble was just around the corner that would bring the entire No. 21 Motorcraft Ford team back to Earth. After wrangling with the rookie driver David Ragan about what side to pass on, Ragan had the decision made for him as Schrader got into the No. 6 car and spinning him out—bringing out the caution. Crew Chief Ernie Cope made the decision to keep Schrader out on the track in order to lead a lap—which he did, getting credit for leading lap 240. The car suffered some damage to the right front fender and nose, which the team tried to fix in the pits without going a lap down.

Schrader returned to the race in 24th place on lap 242; however he seemed to know right away that he had a problem. Twelve laps later, the fender wore a groove in the right front tire, which sent the No. 21 Motorcraft Ford hard into the wall, ending their day. Immediately afterward, Schrader radioed to the crew about the hit, “Oh that hurt.”

Unfortunately, the team knew exactly how he felt. The Wood Brothers/JTG Team were credited with a 41st place finish, and can now focus on getting Schrader into the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup All-Star event under the lights this weekend at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

WHAT THE TEAM HAD TO SAY
Ken Schrader, driver of the No. 21 Motorcraft Ford:
““We cut a tire. When I got into David Ragan on the yellow before that, I messed up the front end. We thought we had it all fixed. Maybe we did and maybe we didn’t, but we cut a right-front.

I hate it for the guys. We had some good things happen this weekend in practice, qualifying and the race. It’s just a matter of putting it all together. We made some progress this weekend.”

Ernie Cope, Crew Chief of the No. 21 Motorcraft Ford:
“We’re leaving here disappointed, but I’m going to choose to remember how we qualified and the other things we’ve figured out on this car of tomorrow. We had a great car today during the long green flag runs and we’ll need this information later this year for sure.”

FAST & FUN FACTS:
-Ken Schrader drove the No. 21 Motorcraft Ford to a 41st place finish in the Dodge Avenger 500 at Darlington International Raceway.
-Ken Schrader was the “Lucky Dog” recipient on following a lap 182 caution for debris.
-Jeff Gordon won the Dodge Avenger 500, followed by Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman and Carl Edwards rounded out the top-five finishers.

RACE INFORMATION:
What –NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge
When – Saturday, May 19th, 2007; 9:00 p.m. EDT
Where – Lowe’s Motor Speedway
Network – FOX Television Network; PRN Radio Network