Grubb Scores Season Best Third in GNC Live Well 250

West Allis, WI (July 1, 2001) ... Kevin Grubb scores a season best third place finish in the GNC Live Well 250 at The Milwaukee Mile on Sunday afternoon. It was the second consecutive strong outing for Grubb and the Timber Wolf Racing Team following their eighth place finish in the Outback Steakhouse 300 at Kentucky Speedway on June 16th.

The GNC Live Well 250 turned out to be a "gas mileage" race when the final 150 laps of the 250-lap event were run under green flag conditions. Grubb, who made his final pit stop of the race on lap 149, toured the one mile Milwaukee track the final 101 laps on a tank of fuel. Grubb, race winner Greg Biffle, and second place Matt Kenseth were the only three competitors able to "stretch" their fuel over the final 100 laps. In fact, Grubb was happy to see the checkered flag wave when it did.

"With about three laps to go, something went wrong with the engine," Grubb explained. "I didn’t know if it was out of gas or something internal. Regardless, it didn’t sound right. I changed (ignition) boxes and was able to just about coast to the flag. Then, as I got to turn one after taking the checkers, the engine cut off. I was out of fuel. Now that’s cutting it pretty close. I had to get pushed back to pit road after the race."

The third-place finish was the first top five finish of the 2001 NASCAR Busch Series season for the Mechanicsville, Virginia driver. It was his third top ten finish of the season. Grubb finished eighth at Talladega and Kentucky for his only other top tens.

Grubb and the Timber Wolf Team knew that they had a good racecar during the practice session leading to qualifying. Grubb reported that the car felt great and, with a few minor adjustments, would be strong in the race. Grubb would be the 18th car to make a qualifying run and would post a fast lap of 120.846 mph to earn the 13th starting position.

If there were any superstitious members on the Timber Wolf crew prior to Milwaukee, they may have other ideas now. Not only did Kevin Grubb qualify 13th, but the crew would have pit stall number thirteen during the race.

From his 13th starting position, Grubb would move through the field and into the top ten by lap 23. When Grubb made his first pit stop of the afternoon on lap 56, he would be running eighth. With several competitors electing to take only two tires during this stop, Grubb would restart 16th on lap sixty.

Within ten laps, Grubb would jump back into the top ten and start his charge toward the leaders. As several cars that took two tires began to fade, Grubb quickly moved into the fifth position on lap 97. When "green flag pit stops" started around lap 140, Grubb would continue to march toward the lead. Grubb took the lead on lap 147 and held the top spot for two laps before he made his final stop of the race on lap 149. Grubb was the last of the leaders to make their stop for tires and fuel.

When the "cycle" of green flag stops was complete, Grubb would stand in sixth position. Almost all of the lead cars held their positions on the track as the laps began to wind down. With no caution periods, crew chiefs began to figure gas mileage and attempt to calculate just how far their driver could go on his tank of fuel. It was obvious that most of the top cars would have to pit within the final ten laps for fuel.

One by one the leaders make their necessary stop for fuel in the final stages. Crew Chief Terry Shirley, engine specialist Tommy Chandler, and gas man Sam Nelson compared notes to see if Grubb could make it to the finish without stopping. Spotter Rocky Roan urged Grubb to "conserve fuel" almost every lap. Then, the unthinkable almost happened.

When Grubb radioed to Shirley that he was having a problem with the engine, smiles quickly turned to frowns in the pit area. However, Grubb was able to "nurse" his Timber Wolf Chevrolet home in third position. Those frowns quickly turned back to smiles and cheers from the jubilant crew. A relieved, but happy, Kevin Grubb greeted the media after the event.

"I’ll have to hand to Terry (Crew Chief Shirley) and the Timber Wolf crew. They did a great job with this car all weekend. This car was strong right off the truck and stayed that way all weekend. I’m sure glad Sam (gas man Nelson) got all of that fuel in on our last stop. As it showed, I had none to spare. This race and Kentucky is the way our whole season should have been. There’s still a long way to go this season. Today marks the halfway point, so there’s lots of racing left."

On the strength of his third place finish, Grubb gained three positions in the overall Busch Series point standings. Grubb now stands 19th after seventeen races this season. Actually, Grubb is tied with Matt Kenseth for 18th, but Kenseth gets the nod based on his win earlier this year. This is the highest Grubb has been in the Busch Series points this season. His previous highest was 20th after the Sam’s Town 300 at Las Vegas in March.

"This was a big shot in the arm for Kevin and this team," Shirley commented. "We’re still working hard to get that first win, but if we keep putting ourselves in good position and run this strong each race, it (win) may not be far down the road. These last two races (Kentucky and Milwaukee) sure give us momentum heading into the second half of the season."

The next race on the Busch Series schedule is the GNC 200 at the Watkins Glen International Speedway on Sunday, July 8th. The 82-lap event over the 2.45-mile road course will start at 1 p.m. ET next Sunday. Qualifying will be held at noon on Saturday, July 7th. The GNC 200 is the only road course race on the Busch Series schedule. The GNC 200 will be televised by TNT, with MRN providing the radio coverage.