Grubb Keeps Rollin’ With Third at Gateway

Madison, IL (July 21, 2001) … Kevin Grubb kept his "summertime streak" rollin’ right along with a third place finish in the Carquest Autro parts 250 at the Gateway International Raceway on Saturday night, July 21st. The third-place run was his fourth top-ten and second top-five finish in the last five races. Grubb has now gained ten positions in the overall NASCAR Busch Series point standings during the five- race stretch.

Starting with an eighth-place run at the Kentucky Speedway on June 16th, Grubb has posted finishes of third at Milwaukee, 13th at Watkins Glen, and ninth at Chicagoland prior to the third at Gateway. During the five race "summertime streak", Grubb has completed all 932 laps and has moved from 24th to 14th in the overall Busch Series points.

"This weekend was an awesome weekend for the Timber Wolf Racing Team", Grubb commented. "I knew that we were going to be strong right off the trailer. In the first practice session, the car just handled great and I had a good feeling it might be ‘our weekend’. Then, in qualifying, the car was a little loose in the turns. I felt like I had a shot at the pole, but tenth isn’t bad. I knew that the car would be a good car for the race, so I wasn’t worried."

A good car for the race might have been an understatement. Grubb quickly moved up in the running order from the wave of the green flag. Within five laps, Grubb had gained three positions to seventh. By lap thirty, Grubb had moved into fourth and was showing that he had a car capable of contending.

Grubb would make his first pit stop of the race on lap 46 under caution. The Timber Wolf crew quickly changed four tires, added fuel, and made a small chassis adjustment. Grubb entered the pits running fourth and would restart fourth on lap fifty.

On lap 54, Grubb passed Jeff Green for third and two laps later passed Kenny Wallace for second. A brief caution slowed the field for three laps before returning to action on lap 61. Four laps later, Greg Biffle would slip by Grubb into second. Grubb would maintain his strong third place position until his second pit stop on lap 102. Another quick pit stop by the Timber Wolf crew got Grubb back on the track in fifth position for the restart on lap 107.

Within two laps, Grubb passed Kenny Wallace and Jeff Green again to move into the third position. Then, Grubb would work his way around Greg Biffle for second on lap 150. At this point in the race, Grubb was trailing the leader, Kevin Harvick, by thirteen seconds. However, a caution on lap 160 would tighten the field for the finish.

Grubb would make his final pit stop of the race on lap 161 for four tires and fuel. With several teams electing to take only two tires, and others electing to take only fuel, Grubb would restart in the ninth position on lap 165.

With only thirty-five laps remaining, Grubb would have not only the eight lead-lap cars, but several lapped cars to deal with on his way to the front. With Crew Chief Terry Shirley assuring Grubb that he had "plenty of time" and to "be smooth", the 23-year old Grubb began his "march to the front". And, what a march is was.

On lap 167, Grubb passed Hank Parker Jr. for 8th, and, on lap 173, passed Harvick for 7th. One lap later, Harvick moved around Grubb to take back the seventh position. With Grubb basically following Harvick to the front, the Timber Wolf Chevrolet passed Mike McLaughlin, Kenny Wallace, Elton Sawyer, and Jeff Green to move into third by lap 191. Trailing only Harvick and Jason Keller as the laps wound down, Grubb mounted one final charge. However, Grubb would have to settle for a strong third-place finish for his efforts in the Carquest Auto Parts 250.

"What an awesome night," Grubb commented after the event. "The Timber Wolf crew did another great job in the pits tonight and that really makes my job easier when you can maintain or gain positions in the pits. The Timber Wolf Chevrolet was strong all night and Terry (Crew Chief Shirley) made great calls in the pits. I knew when we got four (tires) on our last stop that we could handle those guys that took only two. Man, this was a fun race! Running in the top five almost all night really keeps you pumped up. It was really hot in that car, but racing up front took my mind off all the heat."

"I really can’t explain why we have been on this ‘streak’," Grubb continued. "I really haven’t done anything different driving the car, but in the last five races we’ve been able to avoid any ‘bad luck’ that plagued us earlier this season. The pit stops have been great and that has been a big lift. With the momentum that we’ve got right now, I can’t wait to get to the next race. Runnin’ good makes you feel that way. There’s still lots of racing left this season, and the Timber Wolf Team is going to continue to make our presence felt. Now, on to Pikes Peak."

As mentioned previously, Grubb has gained ten positions in the overall Busch Series point standings in the last five races. Now in 14th, Grubb is mounting a charge toward the coveted "top ten". After twenty of the thirty-three races on the 2001 tour, Grubb trails 10th-place Randy Lajoie by only 109 points.

The next race on the 2001 NASCAR Busch Series schedule is the NAPA Autocare 250 at the Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain, Colorado on Saturday afternoon, July 28th. Qualifying will be held on Friday, July 27th, with the green flag set for 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. The TNT Network will provide live television coverage with MRN handling the radio broadcast.