WOOD BROTHERS/JTG TEAM RIDING

THE MARGIN INTO TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Heading into this weekend’s Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, the No. 21 Motorcraft Ford team find themselves right on the margin again for inclusion in the top-35 entrants in the points. Ken Schrader and the team remain just a scant nine points out of that magic cut-off number—but they hope to move across the invisible border this weekend at the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway.

Faced with having to qualify on speed for the first time in 2007, driver Ken Schrader and the team responded with a season-best fourth place qualifying effort two weeks ago at the Martinsville Speedway. The team will again use Friday’s practice sessions to firm up their qualifying package.

Schrader has 12 starts at the Texas Motor Speedway with a top-10 effort in qualifying and a top-10 finish picked up along the way. He has led seven laps with only one DNF in the previous 12 attempts. The No. 21 Motorcraft Ford is chassis number 84, which was previously used this year at Atlanta Motor Speedway. During that event, the team experienced a mechanical malfunction on a part on the car that severely hindered their progress during the race. This time around, the team is ready to showcase their efforts at Texas Motor Speedway—yet another of the 1.5-mile tracks that dominate the schedule at the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup level.

WHAT THE TEAM HAS TO SAY
Ken Schrader, driver of the No. 21 Motorcraft Ford:
“If we go out Friday and put forth the same kind of effort we did in Martinsville, I won’t be too worried about qualifying. That right there showed how this team responds to adversity. We have at least another week of this ahead of us and hopefully if we get in, we’ll get enough points to get out of this shallow hole we’re in right now.

I’m anxious to see how our car is going to handle this weekend because the Atlanta race was a very long afternoon considering what we had to deal with. That problem has been fixed and I think the guys, myself included, are ready to see what we can put together at these mile and a half tracks.”

Ernie Cope, Crew Chief of the No. 21 Motorcraft Ford:
“If the guys respond the way we know how, we’ll be fine for Friday and then we can turn our attention to making this car go fast for 500 miles. That’s my goal and I know the guys are ready to see how we really stack up at these tracks.

The pit crew has been at it pretty hard this week, practicing and working out. We’re hoping for a good day in the pits on Sunday. It matters a lot more at a place like this.”

FAST & FUN FACTS:
-Ken Schrader will drive the No. 21 Motorcraft Ford in the Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend. It is Motorcraft’s first race as the primary sponsor of the No. 21 car.
-Ken Schrader has 12 starts under his belt at Texas Motor Speedway, with one top-ten start and one top-10 finish.
-Ken Schrader has led seven career laps at Texas Motor Speedway, with a career-best finish of 10th place in 2001.
-The Wood Brothers/JTG team is taking Chassis 84 to this weekend’s event. It has previously raced at Atlanta Motor Speedway. This week’s event is not a COT race.

RACE INFORMATION:
What – Samsung 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race
When – Sunday, April 15th, 2007; 2:00 p.m. EDT
Where – Texas Motor Speedway; 334 laps, 501 miles
Network – FOX Television Network; PRN Radio Network