JEREMY MAYFIELD – COCA-COLA 600
LOWE’S MOTOR SPEEDWAY

CONCORD, N.C. (May 27, 2007) – After making great strides last weekend during the Nextel Cup All-Star weekend, Jeremy Mayfield and the 360 Racing team looked forward to their return to the 1.5-mile track. Mayfield, who celebrated his 38th birthday Sunday, qualified his No. 36 Bill Davis Racing entry in the 24th spot for the running of the Coca-Cola 600 and spent much of the evening in the top 15 before engine problems late in the race relegated the team to a 25th-place finish.

Standing outside the top 35 in points, qualifying is always a bit stressful for the team, but after a successful test session several weeks ago and their performance last weekend, Mayfield and the crew hoped they had this one in the bag. The first of 49 competitors to take to the track for his two-lap qualifying run, Mayfield made his way around the track at an average speed of 182.303 miles per hour and landed his 360 OTC Toyota Camry solidly in the field for Sunday evening’s event.

Mayfield lined up on the starting grid in the 24th spot and wasted no time making his way toward the front of the field, breaking into the top 15 by lap 45 of the 400-lap event. Mayfield communicated to his crew that his Camry was tight going into the corners and loose off. Interim crew chief Tommy Baldwin made plans to make an air pressure adjustment during the first pit stop, which came on lap 49. Mayfield returned to the track for the lap 52 restart in 15th place.

Mayfield fell back slightly near the lap-80 mark as the car became tighter, but rallied back to his spot in the top 15 by lap 100. Breaking into the top 10 just 17 laps later, Mayfield let his team know that the car was one of the best he’d driven in a long time. Mayfield went one lap down to the leader just before a caution flag flew on lap 141 and was the beneficiary of the lucky dog pass during that caution, putting him back on the lead lap. After making a pit stop for four tires and fuel on lap 144, Mayfield lined up for the restart in the 14th position. It wasn’t long before Mayfield once again radioed to his crew that the car was great and broke back into the top 10.

Mayfield was posting some of the quickest times on the track and running in eighth when a yellow flag flew on lap 252. Baldwin made the decision to take on only fuel during the ensuing stop and Mayfield was the first car out of the pits. The No. 36 car led laps 253-256 before falling several spots to cars with fresher tires, but remained within sight of the leaders. Mayfield made an impressive save after he lost control of his car coming off turn four on lap 290. After sliding through the frontstretch grass and spinning back out on the track, Mayfield gathered it together before hitting anything and drove to the attention of his crew on lap 292. The crew made several stops to repair very minor fender damage and sent their driver back out on the track in 11th.

Mayfield and the 360 OTC team were gearing up for their best finish of the season when smoke began rising from their Toyota Camry on lap 383. Ducking into the pits, the team went under the hood to diagnose the problem and, after assessing the situation, pushed the car to the garage, cutting their evening shirt. Mayfield was credited with a 25th place finish.

The Nextel Cup Series next travels to The Monster Mile in Dover, Del. for the running of the Autism Speaks 400 Sunday afternoon. Qualifying for the event will be held Friday and Sunday’s race is scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. ET start. The race will be broadcast on FOX, MRN Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio. The 360 OTC Racing team plans to spend Tuesday testing at North Carolina Speedway in preparation for this weekend’s event.