|
LifeLock 400 Report
WOOD
BROTHERS TEAM ABLE TO STAY IN THE RACE AT
MICHIGAN
BROOKLYN, MI — Almost
as soon as the LifeLock 400 began, the field of cars
had to slow back down as an early caution came out on
lap three. Because it was too early to determine how
the car was performing, Bill Elliott pitted the No. 21
Motorcraft Ford Fusion to top off with fuel only. The
race went green once again on lap five. By lap 37, Elliott
radioed that the handling of the car was too tight through
the corner. About that same time, other teams began their
scheduled pit stops. Since Elliott had topped off with
fuel on lap three, he didn’t pit
until lap 42 to try to gain better track position. Elliott
had to start the event in the 37th position after
NASCAR cancelled qualifying due to rain.
Crew Chief, Mike Smith, radioed
for Bill to come in and pit for four tires, fuel and
make some small adjustments. As a result of the changes,
Bill felt the car getting better by lap 50.
On lap 60, Elliott raidoed, “Clean air
and the adjustments made a difference, but now I have
no grip off the corner. I can’t believe that
little bit of a change made that much difference.”
Since most pit stops
were made during green flag racing, the crew had to
be quick. However, during the pit stop under
caution on lap 91, the Wood Brothers race team made
major adjustments to help with the “lack of grip” and
put on four fresh tires and fuel. Elliott restarted
the race 38th on lap 96.
On lap 101 another caution flag waved, and the team
decided to make more adjustments. The swift No. 21
pit crew made a left front shock adjustment, track
bar adjustment, changed four tires and added fuel to
the car within 15 seconds. Bill and his car were able
to resume the race on lap 106 in 39th position.
As green flag laps continued, it was determined that
the adjustments seemed to work against Elliott.
Smith decided to reverse some of the changes that were
made in previous pit stops. On lap 152, another caution
flag flew which allowed the team to reverse some of
the chassis adjustments. With one lap to go before
the green flag restarted the race, the No. 21 was called
back down pit road to top off for fuel in hopes
that this would be the last stop of the afternoon.
The race resumed on lap 156 with Elliott in 36th position.
As Elliott continued through green flag laps, the
handling issues persisted. Fortunately, on lap 197
the caution flag came out for the fifth time. On lap
199, the No. 21 pitted for more tires, fuel and another
small adjustment. The race restarted under the green,
white, checkered flags and Bill was there in
35th position. With one lap to go, a wreck occurred
which caused the final lap to end under the checked/yellow
condition. Bill Elliott crossed the finish line in
the 36th position on lap 203.
Wood Brothers Racing will travel to the golden hills
of Sonoma, California to Infineon Raceway where Marcos
Ambrose will make his Sprint Cup debut in the No. 21
Little Debbie® Honey Buns Ford Fusion. Contributed
by Christina Cicci, Wood Brothers Racing
LifeLock 400
Results:
1. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
2. Kasey Kahne
3. Matt Kenseth
4. Brian Vickers
5. Tony Stewart
6. Jimmie Johnson
7. Carl Edwards
8. David Ragan
9. Elliott Sadler
10. Jamie McMurray
36. Bill Elliott
Next Race — Toyota/Save
Mart 350:
Where: Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, CA
Date: Sunday, June 23, 2008
Network & Time: TNT, 3:30 P.M. / PRN Radio,
5 P.M.
|

Previous Reports:
2/17 Daytona
2/24 Fontana
3/2 Las
Vegas
3/9 Atlanta
3/16 Bristol
3/30 Martinsville
4/6 Fort
Worth
4/12 Phoenix
4/27 Talladega
5/3 Richmond
5/10 Darlington
5/17 Charlotte
5/25 Charlotte
6/1 Dover
6/8 Pocono
6/15 Michigan
6/22 Sonoma
6/29 Loudon
7/5 Daytona
7/12 Chicago
7/27 Indianapolis
8/3 Pocono
8/10 Watkins
Glen
8/17 Michigan
8/23 Bristol
2008 Point Standings:
1. Kyle Busch — 3609
2. Carl Edwards — 3397
3. D. Earnhardt, Jr. — 3193
4. Jimmie Johnson — 3191
5. Jeff Burton — 3117
6. Tony Stewart — 3013
7. Greg Biffle — 2984
8. Kevin Harvick — 2972
9. Jeff Gordon — 2951
10. Matt Kenseth — 2921
11. Denny Hamlin — 2900
12. Clint Bowyer — 2855
41. Bill Elliott — 790
51. Marcos Ambrose — 333
2008 Owner Standings:
42. G. Wood No. 21— 1360 |