TUMS QuikPak 500

A MOVE UP IN POINTS IS A GOOD HOMECOMING FOR WOOD BROTHERS TEAM

MARTINSVILLE, VA — Bill Elliott had his season best 16th place finish with the Wood Brothers Racing team at their home track, Martinsville Speedway. Carring the navy blue paint scheme of the U.S. Air Force, Elliott was able to stay out of trouble and notch a top-twenty finish with the support of his team.

With qualifying washed out by rain Friday afternoon, NASCAR lined up the 43 car field by owners point standings. That meant Bill's starting grid position was set at 37th. Early on, Elliott reported a very tight condition. When the first of the race's 12 caution flags flew, crew chief David Hyder called the No. 21 down pit road to make adjustments, put on four fresh tires and added fuel. Elliott fell back a few laps to restart in 41st on lap 33.

With pit stop strategy and optimal lap times, Elliott was able to move up to the 28th spot by lap 93. On lap 161 the yellow flag waved, and Elliott reported that the car was better by the end of the run. With that information, Hyder decided to pit for right side tires only on lap 164. He restarted the race 23rd.

At the halfway point of the 500 lap event, Elliott had moved to 20th place where he stayed until lap 258 when another caution flag waved. The No. 21 came down pit road for four tires and fuel. Elliott restarted 24th on lap 268. On lap 300, Elliott had moved back up to 21st.

Jimmie Johnson, the race leader, approached the No. 21 on lap 346, but Elliott battled to stay ahead of him. It took two laps, but the No. 48 was able to pass Elliott two laps later which put him one lap down to the leaders. Bill tried to stay behind Johnson so he would hopefully win the "Lucky Dog" pass to get back on the lead lap.

Caution occurred again on lap 380, and Elliott came down pit road in the 17th position. The team’s goal was to get him back out to the track while staying in the top 20. The Wood Brothers pit crew did just that by changing four tires and adding fuel in 13.60 seconds. Bill restarted the race in 18th on lap 388.

With less than 100 laps to go, Hyder radioed to Bill, "Do whatever you can here and use all of the brakes you need to; 90 laps to go." Caution came out on lap 457, and Hyder called the No. 21 down pit road for two right side tires only and fuel in hopes of gaining more track position. The race restarted on lap 467. Bill was in 16th place. Elliott stayed away from any incidents, other than the usual beating and banging. He commented to the team after caution on lap 498, “I’m just going to hang on here, It’s been a great day boys.” The race restarted on lap 502 and under the green, white, checkered flags. Elliott was able to maintain position and brought the No. 21 home in the 16th position.

Elliott commented on the days performance, “I don’t care what they say -- you boys did one heck of a job. We worked really hard this weekend. You did a great job, and I’m proud of you.” Hyder responded, “Way to drive, you did a great job yourself. You got yourself a season best finish. We really appreciate it.”

JTG Racing and Marcos Ambrose will travel to Atlanta Motor Speedway with the No. 47 Little Debbie Ford Fusion for the Pep Boys Auto 500 on Sunday, October 26th. Contributed by Christina Cicci, Wood Brothers Racing

TUMS QuikPak 500 Results:
1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
3. Carl Edwards
4. Jeff Gordon
5. Denny Hamlin
6. Casey Mears
7. Kevin Harvick
8. Matt Kenseth
9. Clint Bowyer
10. Martin Truex, Jr.
16. Bill Elliott

2008 Final
Point Standings:
1. Jimmie Johnson — 6684
2. Carl Edwards — 6615
3. Greg Biffle — 6467
4. Kevin Harvick — 6408
5. Clint Bowyer — 6381
6. Jeff Burton — 6335
7. Jeff Gordon — 6316
8. Denny Hamlin — 6214
9. Tony Stewart — 6202
10. Kyle Busch — 6186
11. Matt Kensteh — 6184
12. D. Earnhardt, Jr. — 6127
36. M. Ambrose* — 2655
*Listed by Owner Points for Michael Waltrip Racing/
JTG Daugherty Racing