SCHRADER RACES THE LITTLE DEBBIE FORD FUSION

TO THE 23RD PLACE STARTING POSITION FOR SUNDAY’S DAYTONA 500

 

 

One turn on one lap was all it took to move Ken Schrader and his Little Debbie Fusion back from fifth to twelfth Thursday afternoon in the first Gatorade Duel 150 at Daytona International Speedway.  The two races determine the starting positions in the Daytona 500 for all but two competitors.  The top two times run in this past Sunday’s qualifying lock in the first and second starting spots for the race.  But the balance of the 43-car field and where they will start is decided by the two Thursday events.

 

Rain delayed the start of the first race for over an hour, but when it got underway it became apparent that Schrader’s car could keep up with the best and stay up front.  Then with 10 laps to go in the scheduled 60 lap event, Carl Edwards almost lost control of his car right in front of Ken.

 

"Carl got to wiggling big time,” explained Schrader.  “He had to check up.  I was right on his bumper, but he wasn't a full car width right off the yellow where I could fit underneath him, so Sterling (Marlin) got into the back of me and moved me up and then we were three-wide, and I lost the spots."

 

Ken started moving up early.  By the end of the first lap he had gone from his 16th place starting spot to 12th.  And by lap 38 he was a solid fourth.  As competitors maneuvered for position, Schrader dropped to sixth, moved back to fourth and was running fifth when Edwards had his problem.

 

Following the race, Schrader pointed out that his Ford really didn’t suffer any great damage.  “One turn killed us. That one turn killed us. It’s good, real good. And, it’s all straight for Sunday. We don’t have to thrash on it as far as to get it handled for Sunday. We don’t have to thrash on it to get it handling good.” 

 

Elliott Sadler won the first 150 and Jeff Gordon bested the field of the second 150.  By virtue of his qualifying run on Sunday, Jeff Burton will start on the pole Sunday followed by Gordon, who qualified second and Sadler who won today.

 

Ken starts inside row 12 in 23.

 

Television coverage of The Daytona 500 is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, February 19, with the start of the raced slated for 2:30 p.m. on NBC.  The event will also be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) of radio affiliates.

 

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series qualifying was held Thursday evening following the finish of the second NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series 150.

 

With no points from the 2005 season to rely on for starting positions in Friday night’s GM FlexFuel 250 NCTS race, both Wood Brothers/JTG Racing entries, driven by Jon Wood and Stacy Compton, had to make the field through qualifying.  Compton was the first to go out of the pair, and his 50.643 second lap was good enough for him to start the race from inside the second row – third.

 

Wood’s qualifying run came minutes later in the #20 U.S. Air Force F-150.  His time – 50.710 seconds – placed him outside his teammate in row two on the starting grid in the fourth position.

 

Following his run Wood told the media, "All we did when we were here testing was qualifying runs because there are some Toyotas that aren't in on points, like us, and it's very crucial to have a good qualifying position, the very opposite of our Busch car."

 

Asked about running a truck for the first time in two years and all of the rookies in the series Wood said, "There are 16 rookies in this field, and there isn't a lot of experience, so I'm just going to try to stay out of trouble.  If somebody wants to work with me, that's fine, but I'm not really looking for anybody to work with until the end of the race.  I'm a little scared on this starting-up-front thing because we're in qualifying trim, so we'll be lagging in the back pretty quick."

 

Mark Martin grabbed the pole position in a Roush Racing prepared Ford F-150, and Bill Lester qualified his Toyota second.

 

Speed Channel TV will carry the event live beginning at 8:00 p.m. Friday, February 17.  The NCTS race will also be broadcast live on MRN.

 

The Nextel Cup Series cars will practice from 1:40 – 2:40 p.m. Friday followed by Busch Series qualifying beginning at 3:05 p.m.