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TIRE PROBLEMS COSTLY FOR EVERNHAM MOTORSPORTS AT MARTINSVILLE - Crocker Gains Experience and Seat Time in Memphis MARTINSVILLE, Va. (October 23, 2005) – The Subway 500 at Martinsville Speedway had a record 19 cautions for a total of 113 laps Sunday afternoon. Although more than one-fifth of the race was run at a speed of 35 mph, unscheduled green-flag pit stops for flat tires took both Evernham Motorsports teams out of contention for top-10 finishes or even better. For Jeremy Mayfield, it was a serious blow in his bid for the Chase for the Championship title. He had overcome a pit road penalty earlier in the race and was running just outside the top five in the No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger when he cut down a right-front tire on lap 406. He had to make an extra lap before clearing traffic to make the entrance to pit road for service by his crew. He fell three laps off the pace and ended up finishing a disappointing 28th. Kasey Kahne had a similar misfortune, cutting down the right-front tire on lap 274. He lost two laps making the green-flag stop. Kahne was able to make up one lap early in the race in the No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger and would erase the two-lap setback later in the race to finish 17th. Mayfield started seventh in the No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger after posting a qualifying time of 19.433 seconds at 97.442 mph. He had moved to sixth when the first caution appeared on lap 47. Mayfield stopped for four tires, fuel and a track-bar adjustment and was back on the track in the top 10. However, NASCAR said the No. 19 had exceeded the 30 mph speed limit on pit road and was sent to the end of the longest line. Mayfield restarted 31st. Despite the setback, all was calm in the No. 19 pit. Mayfield’s car was working extremely well. Crew chief Slugger Labbe used one two-tire pit stop during the next caution to gain track position. Mayfield did his share on the track, picking up spots to put the No. 19 Dodge Charger back in the top 10 by lap 232. Mayfield kept the No. 19 Dodge Charger low on the track, the preferred and fastest line around the half-mile oval. He was seventh by lap 291 and moved to the sixth spot on lap 336, setting the stage for a round of pit stops during the 13th caution on lap 343. The No. 19 Dew Crew turned in a quick stop and had Mayfield fifth among the cars that pitted and in the 11th spot overall for the restart. He was sixth by lap 380 and was running in that spot when he cut down the tire on lap 406. “We had a great car,” Mayfield said. “We just had the tire problem and didn’t have enough time to make up any of the deficit. I messed up on pit road to get the speeding penalty, but we worked our way back into the top 10. Then we cut a tire down. We had a good car all day. Actually, it was a great car. “ Mayfield is now 10th in the Chase for the Cup standings, 67 points out of fifth. Kahne started 34th in the No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger with a qualifying lap of 19.744 seconds at 95.908 mph. Starting deep in the field posed a problem early as Kahne was caught up in the first mishap of the day. On lap 46, a spinning car in turn one forced Kahne to get on the brakes hard. As the No. 9 Dodge was slowing, it was hit from the rear by another car and pushed against the spinning car. Repairs were quickly made by the crew, but the No. 9 was a lap down. It would take Kahne some 200 laps to finally get back on the lead lap. But, an even bigger obstacle was looming just ahead. Without warning, Kahne lost the right-front tire on lap 274. The ensuing green-flag stop put the No. 9 two laps down. However, the car was not damaged and was still competitive on the racetrack. Kahne made up one of the laps on the track by passing the leader. A free pass during the 15th caution on lap 366 had the No. 9 back on the lead lap. Kahne restarted 29th and had worked his way up to 17th when the race ended. “The car was good”, Kahne said. “We just had to battle being laps down. We had great pit stops. Tommy made a lot of good calls to help the car and make it better. I wish we could have gotten a better result considering how hard we fought all day. It was a good effort by everybody. It’s just tough to make up laps. “We had a good enough car to run up front. It didn’t need a lot of adjustments. We just got behind with the tire problem.” Kahne is 20th in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup point standings. He’s 251 points out of 15th. “Kasey did a good job staying focused all day and our guys stayed in it all day,” Baldwin said. “We made up three laps today and ended up 17th. It wasn’t a lost cause. We definitely had a top-10 car today. We were ready to show everybody, and we got the flat tire. That’s the way it goes sometimes.” Crocker Runs the No. 40 Cheerios Dodge Charger in Memphis Erin Crocker continued to gain valuable seat time and experience with her run at Memphis Motorsports Park this past weekend. For the first time, Crocker teamed up with fulltime 2006 sponsor General Mills and Cheerios. Crocker also carried the banner for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and raced to support the world’s leader in the fight against childhood cancer and other catastrophic diseases. The No. 40 Dodge Charger helped increase awareness of St. Jude among NASCAR fans and unite the race team and its sponsor for a cause beyond just racing. This weekend’s special paint scheme was in memory of Griffin Warniment, a St. Jude patient whose wish to attend a NASCAR race was granted earlier this year by St. Jude Children’s Hospital and the Make a Wish Foundation. He always wanted to design a paint scheme, but passed away before he had an opportunity. This weekend honored his request. The No. 40 team was fielded by a partnership between Evernham Motorsports and FitzBradshaw Racing. Crocker, who did not test at Memphis Motorsports Park and hadn't driven the No. 40 machine previously, qualified in the 41st position. Evernham Motorsports engineers and crew members made a number of improvements to the car between qualifying and race time to improve the handling. Crocker spent much of the race getting the feel for the car and the track, as well as working through traffic. She gained valuable experience on the 0.75-mile oval, both passing cars and working with lead lap traffic. Her No. 40 Dodge Charger developed a tire rub and front-end vibration early in the race, and she had to come in for an unexpected pit stop. Given the short circuit, she soon went a lap down. But she continued to battle traffic and run clean laps at speed with the lead lap cars. On lap 186, the No. 49 car nudged Crocker and sent her spinning, but Crocker saved the car from hitting the wall and oncoming traffic, resulting in minimal damage. The team fixed the body damage and quickly got her back on the racetrack. The caution flag continued to fall throughout the afternoon, collecting numerous cars between turns three and four. Two multi-car crashes sent many teams to the garage, but Crocker was able to drive through both field-clearing accidents with no damage. She finished the day in the 29th spot. "Today was a great opportunity to get the experience we need," said Crocker. "I really appreciate the efforts by General Mills to support our team and help us get seat time. I think races like today are going to make our entire team better for next year. Our Cheerios/Betty Crocker Dodge Charger was pretty good today, but we really had to work on the handling throughout the race. I learned a lot working with Keith Barnwell, our general manager for next year's team, and Josh Browne, our engineer. "And, I had an opportunity to build visibility for a cause I really believe in -- cancer research," Crocker added. "I visited St. Jude's Children's Hospital on Thursday and it was amazing to meet the kids there. It was really an honor to drive the car in honor of Griffin and to support the great work the hospital does for kids with cancer."
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