Kansas Cup Race Recap

30 September 2007 WOOD BROTHERS/JTG TEAM SURVIVES WILD RACE AND WEATHER AT KANSAS SPEEDWAY

The Wood Brothers/JTG team took two cars to the Kansas Speedway this weekend in preparation for the Lifelock 400, but only one made the show, Ken Schrader, running the No. 21 Little Debbie Ford, put the car 37th on the grid for Sunday's start. Teammate Jon Wood, in the No. 47 Nutty Bars Ford did not make the race on speed.

With gusting winds and a threat of rain in the forecast, the race got underway as scheduled at 2 p.m. Schrader got bumped up two spots in the starting lineup to 35th after two competitors had to go to the rear of the field. The teams only got 12 laps of green flag racing in the books before a brief rain shower halted the proceedings. After a 45-minute delay to dry the track, the race got back underway. During the two subsequent caution periods on laps 28 and 32, the 21 car came down pit road for an assortment of adjustments to help tighten the chassis. By lap 50, Schrader was being shown in 36th place. But Schrader reported that the car was coming around, and his progress on the track showed it. The fourth caution flag of the day flew on lap 60 with Schrader up to 32nd place in the field. He pitted and returned to action with four fresh tires and a topped off fuel tank on lap 64. Over the next five laps, the progress continued and Schrader moved up to 29th on the leader board. He pitted again after a lap 69 caution, this time for a two tire stop, which several other teams completed successful earlier in the day.

As the mid-point of the race closed in, it looked as if the rain might not be done for the day. When the seventh caution flag flew on lap 99 for debris, crew chief Michael McSwain elected to have Schrader and the 21 car stay out on the track rather than pit. The team then inherited 20th position for the lap 103 restart. Though Schrader did fade back as the green flag run continued, the strategy worked in the short term. The team returned to pit road for a regularly scheduled pit stop just past the halfway point of the race on lap 141. The team changed four tires and returned to the track in 36th place. Four laps later, the caution flag flew again for rain, this time for an approaching line of storms from the southwest.

Torrential rains followed for the next half hour, but then the skies rapidly cleared. NASCAR dispatched their jet-dryer fleet and within two hours, the track was dry enough to turn the cars loose once again—but with darkness closing in on a race track with no lighting system. NASCAR made a decision to run 70 more laps prior to the field getting the green flag. Unfortunately, just as the teams got going, Michael Waltrip jumped into the middle lane in an attempt to pass on the restart and Schrader got loose underneath him. The 21 car looped around and received left side damage as several competitors were swept up into the accident. The 21 car was able to make it back around the track under power and came down pit road for four tires and repairs, pitting several laps in a row to fix the damage. While back out on the track, Schrader reported that the steering box was still straight enough to continue. After some final touches to the front valence and fenders, Schrader was ready for the restart—still being shown in 36th place.

The teams got going until the next three-car incident in turn three just 10 laps later…this time it was all Chase participants including Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards. There were now 48 laps to go. During the caution period that followed, Schrader was able to radio that the car was OK to drive. The 21 car was being shown in the 34th spot. NASCAR then sent an update up and down pit road that the race would be further shortened to lap 210 of the original 267 planned laps. It was a tough adjustment for NASCAR's Race Control as the pace of the race was competing with what little daylight remained. The team took advantage of the lengthy caution to further check the car in the pits and change tires before getting underway with 27 laps to go and once again from 34th.

Unfortunately, the cautions were far from over as another incident broke out just as the cars reached the backstretch. This particular accident involved Denny Hamlin and Jamie McMurray. Heavy clean up was unnecessary and the green flag flew after two caution laps. Schrader was still running competitive lap times with just 15 circuits to go as the darkness continued to close in on the speedway. With the attrition around them from other competitors, the Wood Brothers/JTG team was able to move up the leader board. Ken Schrader crossed under the checkered flag in 32nd place at the finish under the 13th and final caution flag of the day.

WHAT THE TEAM HAS TO SAY: Ken Schrader, Driver of the No. 21 Little Debbie Ford: "This wasn't a good day for us overall, but we made it to the finish. I think everyone had their rhythm thrown off a bit by the weather and it seemed like every restart we had today was full of trouble. We got involved in one of those and were fortunate we could keep on going. I'm fairly glad to be done here at Kansas today—it was a long day for everyone."

Michael McSwain, Crew Chief of the No. 21 Little Debbie Ford: "We worked on some stuff today that we learned in Happy Hour and those same changes seemed to make a good difference. Unfortunately, we got caught up in an incident before we could finish out the race the way we wanted. The guys did an excellent job getting the repairs done on this car during all the pit stops. It was a long day, but I'm real proud of Kenny and all the guys."

FAST & FUN FACTS: Ken Schrader drove the No. 21 Little Debbie Ford to a 32nd place finish in the Lifelock 400 event at Kansas Speedway on Sunday.

Greg Biffle won the event, followed to the line by Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson, Casey Mears and Jeff Gordon rounded out the top-five finishers on the day.

NEXT RACE INFORMATION: What UAW Ford 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Event When Sunday, October 7th, 2007; 2:00 p.m. EDT Where Talladega Superspeedway; 188 laps; 500 miles Network ABC Television Network; MRN Radio Network

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Jeffrey Cheatham, PR Wood Brothers/JTG Racing (704) 658-6098