Daytona Dreams Spin Out Late for Schrader and the 21 Team
Ken Schrader’s hopes of a solid finish in the 49th running of the Daytona 500 came to a shocking and sudden end just 15 laps shy of the finish, dashing the hopes of the No. 21 Little Debbie race team in the process. With the final run well underway, a turn four incident which Ken Schrader initially avoided wasn’t over yet. The No. 22 car of Dave Blaney dove down pit road, also to avoid the accident, but when he rejoined the track at the pit road exit and due to a flat right front tire, his car drifted right into the path of the No. 21 Little Debbie Ford Fusion, ending Schrader’s day with a hard front-end collision. The mishap resulted in a 35th place finish for the day.
After rolling off the starting grid from the 19th position, Schrader used the first 30 laps to feel out the No. 21 Little Debbie Ford. It’s a long race and veterans like Schrader know that the events aren’t won in the first 100 miles, but rather the last 100 yards nowadays. He reported that the car was fine and that everything was working OK, though he was running behind the main pack for most of the first half of the event.
On the team’s second pit stop on lap 64, Schrader asked for help loosening up the car and the team responded with a 13.79 second pit stop for four tires and a wedge adjustment. The crew turned in sub-14 second stops four of the five times on pit road Sunday, proving once again they’ve brought their ‘A-Game’ in 2007.
Following just the second caution period on lap 79 (this one for debris), Schrader reported that he was still a bit tight off the corners. On more pit stop and a slight air pressure adjustment had the No. 21 Little Debbie Ford ready to make a run to the front. After restarting the event from the 25th spot, Schrader worked his way up into the lead draft to 16th by lap 94, just ahead of the halfway point of the race.
The first three-quarters of the event were pretty tame for a race as big as the Daytona 500. Single-file racing was the norm, though it’s fairly uncommon at superspeedways. However, with the stakes as high as they are these days to please the sponsors and the pressure to win, it was only a matter of time before the 43 drivers began to mix it up in a sometimes frightening three and four-wide draft.
Schrader wisely kept an eye out for trouble and for whatever reason, lap 163 of the 200-lap event seemed to be a silent trigger for the entire field to go for broke. Ten laps later, disaster struck just in front of the No. 21 Little Debbie Ford. 2006 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson tried to squeeze back in line high on the backstretch and touched off a four-car accident which unfolded right out the front windshield of Schrader’s car. “I know that was close, but I saw it happening,” said an alert Schrader.
Ken Schrader brought the No. 21 Little Debbie Ford down pit road for the final pit stop of the day on lap 175 for a four-tire change and enough fuel to easily go the distance. After restarting in 18th place on lap 179, Schrader was trying to hold serve when the accident that would ultimately end his day began with an incident in turn four.
Following the impact with the No. 22 car just past pit road, the No. 21 Little Debbie Ford spun helplessly into the grass entering the first turn and came to a rest, unable to continue. Ken Schrader was escorted to his mandatory visit to the infield care center, but checked out just fine and was released before the race ended.
The last 15 laps proved costly for many teams as two major incidents in those final laps ruined the days of all of the top contenders for NASCAR’s Greatest Prize. Even after red-flagging the event and setting up a green/white/checkered finish, there was another major incident coming to the line on the final lap which collected several cars, sent one into the pit road wall barrier and another upside down in the tri-oval grass. Luckily all of the drivers walked away unhurt…save for their pride at losing a chance to claim stock car racing’s ultimate trophy.
WHAT THE TEAM HAS TO SAY
Ken Schrader, driver of the No. 21 Little Debbie Ford Fusion:
“Blaney came out of there pretty fast and couldn’t make a left. He needed a lot more race track and we were there.
It all happened pretty quick--I just saw Blaney come across the track. There was nothing I could do.
We were waiting for our final run to the end there. The Little Debbie car was good. All of the Fusions were pretty good, but it just didn’t end the way we wanted.”
RACE NEWS
-Kevin Harvick won the Daytona 500. He was followed by Mark Martin, Jeff Burton, Mike Wallace, and David Ragan rounded out the top-five finishers.
-Four of the five pit stops by the No. 21 Little Debbie Ford pit crew were sub-14 second stops for four tire changes with adjustments.
-Schrader earned 58 points and completed 185 of 200 laps.
NEXT RACE INFORMATION
What: The Auto Club 500
Length: 500 miles, 250 laps
Where: California Speedway, Fontana, California
Time: Sunday, February 25th, 2007; 3:30 p.m. EST
Network: FOX Television/MRN Radio – Live Coverage
