Auto Club 500 Report

AFTER RAIN DELAY, RESPECTABLE FINISH FOR BILL ELLIOTT AND NO. 21 TEAM  

FONTANA, CA — The Little Debbie® Nutty Bars® Ford Fusion prevailed with a 26th place finish on the second day of the Auto Club 500 in Fontana, California Monday afternoon. The event commenced on a rainy, chilly Sunday that NASCAR ultimately delayed after just 87 laps due to rain. The race was just 38 laps shy of the half-way point. Therefore, the teams returned on the clear and sunny Monday to finish the remaining 163 laps.

The Auto Club 500 finally began after the rain stopped and the track was dry on Sunday afternoon, NASCAR commanded the delayed start of the race during a clear sky window. Bill Elliott took to the track in 38th position due to qualifying being rained out on Friday. However, the green flag didn’t wave until nine caution laps later due to Michael Waltrip laying down oil on the track during the parade lap before the start of the race. At last, green flag racing commenced for 15 laps until the caution flag was raised when Denny Hamlin hit a patch of water seeping from the track and slid into the wall. Bill radioed in stating the car was a little tight so Crew Chief Gene Nead decided to pit to make adjustments and take four tires and fuel. The car rolled into the pit stall in position 35, and with the speedy action of the pit crew, the No. 21 raced out in 30th gaining five spots.

During the caution laps before the restart, Elliott radioed in stating that there was water seeping on the track in between turn one and two. Nonetheless, the green flag waived on lap 18 as the race went on. By lap 20 the Little Debbie® Ford Fusion climbed to 29th. Gene coached Bill over the radio, “Now go get ‘em buddy.” However, on lap 21 the yellow flag came out when a multi car wreck began with Casey Mears spinning into the wall after hitting the water seeping on the track. With the keen eye of spotter, Eddie Thrap, and the expert driving hands of Bill Elliott, the No. 21 escaped the wreckage unscathed, as the No. 77 of Sam Hornish, Jr. collided with the No.5 of Casey Mears turning the race car upside down onto its roof. At that point, the engine of Sam Hornish's Dodge caught fire which sent the rescue crews rushing to get the drivers out of the cars to safety. They were both unharmed. 

During this caution, Bill radioed to the crew, “That was big dude, this is only a 500 mile race! “ Gene responded, “yeah and we’re only on lap 21.“ He also asked if the car felt any better. Bill responded, “The car is a ton better than yesterday in practice, I’m going to try a few things on the track to help it drive better.”

This caution incident led to a 67 minute red flag as NASCAR decided to repair the track where the water was seeping. After the red flag was lifted, the drivers fired up the cars and once again hit the track under caution. Gene called to pit as soon as pit road was open. Elliott drove the Little Debbie® machine down pit road on lap 22 taking tires and making more adjustments to free it up a bit. The No. 21 restarted the race in 23rd position on lap 25. By lap 30, Bill Elliott drove his way up to 22nd, where he bounced around the top 25 until lap 39 when another caution came out for a light rain shower. Bill radioed in, “I think those last changes hurt it a little bit,” Gene responded, “We’ll change it back when pit road opens. I think we may have taken the weight off the bump stops.”  The Ford Fusion got back on the track in 30th position after taking the time to make the proper adjustments, and a few cars decided not to pit. The race resumed on lap 47 where Bill Elliott took the green flag in 28th position.

Another caution occurred on lap 54, Joe Nemechek blew a tire and checked up directly in front of the Little Debbie® car. As Bill had little time to slow down, the No. 21 hit the back of the Nemecheck's No. 78 fairly hard, but there was no visible damage to the front end. Therefore, the decision was made not to pit. The race commenced on lap 58 until lap 70 when another caution came out and the crew chief decided to take two tires to get better track position. This tactic proved to be successful as the Little Debbie® Ford came into pit in 28th and went out 18th, gaining 10 spots. The race continued until the skies opened up and Bill radioed in, “It’s raining on the back stretch”. The Little Debbie® Ford Fusion was scored in 22nd position when the race was red flagged for rain on Lap 87. The teams covered the cars and the drivers and crews sought dry shelter.

After the rain stopped, The Auto Club Raceway track services and NASCAR began the drying process only to frustratingly find that the humidity and the cold would prevent the surface from drying. NASCAR announced at 11 p.m. PST that the race would continue on Monday at 10 a.m. PST.

The Auto Club 500 kicked off on the sunny Monday morning in a timely manner when Bill Elliott took the green flag in 22nd position on lap 90.  After running ten laps, he radioed into the crew stating that the car was a little tight in the center. Nead answered back, “Keep digging buddy, we’ll get her adjusted here when we can come in. ”The green flag laps ran down until lap 123 when the caution flag flew again giving the team the opportunity to make the necessary adjustments. A quick and successful stop, allowed Bill to restart in 25th position.

By lap 134 when another caution appeared, the No. 21 Ford Fusion was scored in 25th but one lap down as the leader passed by. Elliott noted, ”It’s rolling in the center a little better.“ Under the direction of Gene Nead, the crew made more adjustments on tire pressures and the track bar, along with getting two right side tires for track position. The field lined up double wide on the restart in position 25, and Elliott was shown the first car one lap down. Spotter Thrap observably noted, “It’s a handful Gene!” Nead radioed to  Bill, “Just hold on buddy, I know it’s tough-we’ll get it fixed.” Bill responded, “It’s super tight in the center.” Caution on lap 150 permitted the team to pit once again to make more changes. They put on four tires and evened out the track bar. Elliott restarted 31st.

After being held up by the No. 96 car for several laps, Elliott raced by to pick up the 28th position. At that point, another caution flag waved for debris, and the team took the opportunity to fine tune the race car further. Pitting allowed the No. 96 and the No. 15 cars to pass by. Then the goal was to move in front of them, which would put the No. 21 in the “lucky dog” spot to hopefully win the lap back. Gene coached Bill, “We need to get by these two cars.” Bill responded, “I’m with you Geno, I’m with you dude.” 

As the team positioned themselves over the next few laps, Elliott started to feel a vibration in the car. The team pitted on lap 210 under green to get a new set of tires and fuel, the vibration seemed to dissipate with the new tires. Elliott continued to fight a tight car but managed to claim the 26th position where he would remain for the duration of the race.

Bill crossed the finish line under caution on lap 250 in the 26th position. It was one position away from the team’s goal, but they left the race confident that this was just the tip of the iceberg for the rest of the season. They will take this positive momentum to Las Vegas where the U.S. Air Force will present its colors on the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Fusion during the UAW Dodge Dealers 400 on Sunday, March 2. Contributed by Christina Cicci, Wood Brothers Racing

Auto Club 500 Results:
1. Carl Edwards
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Jeff Gordon
4. Kyle Busch
5. Matt Kenseth
6. Martin Truex, Jr.
7. Tony Stewart
8. Kevin Harvick
9. Kasey Kahne
10. Ryan Newman
26. Bill Elliott