Race Report – Kansas Speedway

#49 Schwan’s Home Service Dodge

Banquet 400, Oct. 9, 2005

1.5-mile

 

RESULTS:

1. Mark Martin, Ford

2. Greg Biffle, Ford

3. Carl Edwards, Ford

4. Tony Stewart, Chevrolet

5. Matt Kenseth, Ford

17. Ken Schrader, Dodge

 

FULL RUNDOWN: http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2005/30/data/results_unofficial.html

 

Over 400.5 miles of racing, one thing was clear, the Roush Racing contingent was going to be hard to beat.  While crew chiefs and drivers were amazed at the lack of responsiveness of their cars to chassis adjustments all through the ranks on pit road, Roush Racing rose to the top, taking the win and four of the five top spots in the Banquet 400.

 

Contrary to the large pile-ups from last week’s race at Talladega, the 267 laps of racing at Kansas Speedway amounted to only five cars out of the race.  At the front of the field, race fans saw 16 lead changes between 12 drivers, with Mark Martin leading the most laps, 139.

 

Aside from lead changes during pit stop sequences, Matt Kenseth was the dominant car early on. Teammate Greg Biffle took the helm next, then yielded to Martin.  From there, Martin basically took his fellow racers to school, teaching them a fun game he surely called ‘Follow the Leader - Me.’ 

 

From lap 122 through the checkered flag, Martin led all but seven laps - sharing the top spot only during pit stops.  Tony Stewart, Ken Schrader and Mike Bliss were among the few non-Roush racers that got to follow Martin on his quest for his second victory of the season.  When the white flag waved, Martin could see nothing but Roush in his mirror save for one lone outsider - Stewart.

 

Mark Martin won easily over Biffle, Edwards, Stewart and Kenseth.

 

The #49 Schwan’s Home Service Dodge rolled off the starting grid 24th.  Driver Ken Schrader made it clear on the radio, and on the track, that his car was fast.  Schrader jumped to 15th after a two-tire stop during the race’s first caution period.  By lap 75, Schrader was running 10th and picking off cars steadily under green flag runs. 

 

Throughout the race, Schrader frequently radioed to his crew to tell them the car was good.  It was so good, in fact, that the crew made no adjustments to the car until the second half of the race.  When the late afternoon sun bore down on the track, the Schwan’s Home Service pit crew made some very slight adjustments to tighten up the car - the adjustments worked, but the car was still loose on fresh tires.

 

Schrader kept the Schwan’s Home Service Dodge in and around the top five and top 10 for the better part of the Banquet 400.  He ranked as high as second and took the checkered flag in 17th position.

 

“We were just too loose on stickers,” Schrader explained to his crew as he took the checkered flag and inquired about his finish position.  “The car was good.  It felt really good, it just got loose on stickered tires and when we were in a pile, or pack of cars.  The car came in for me after a few laps, but it wasn’t great on fresh tires. Seventeenth might sound better if we hadn’t been in the top five and top 10 so many laps today.”

 

The Banquet 400 aired live on NBC and was broadcast live on MRN Radio.

 

The NASCAR Nextel Cup Series will head south to Lowe’s Motor Speedway, for Saturday night racing at the 1.5-mile track in Concord, N.C., in the UAW-GM Quality 500.

 

 

www.schwansracing.com   www.bam49racing.com   www.schraderracing.com