Shutt Looks for Redemtion in Kansas City

Kansas City, KS ---- Redemption. That's the first word out of the mouth of Tim Shutt, crew chief for the # 18 MBNA NASCAR Busch Grand National Pontiac. After leading the race with 20 laps to go in Dover last week before falling victim in an accident, Shutt and driver Mike McLaughlin head to the new Kansas Speedway looking for redemption from last week. This pairing of veteran driver and rookie crew chief has proven successful in 2001, with the two combining for a win earlier in the year at the Talladega Superspeedway. McLaughlin has remained inside the top-ten in point standings all season long.

Now the pair wants to grab its second win of the year and close out the season on a high note.

"After having two DNFs in a row, I am ready to get to Kansas City and run up front," Shutt said. "Last week was so disappointing to have one of the best cars all race and then be taken out of contention there at the end. We have a really good race team and a great driver here and we want to run up front every week. Saturday's race would be a great one for us to win and make a statement as we close out the year."

With Kansas Speedway being a new facility, Shutt realizes that finding the right setup will be a guessing game. The MBNA team may have a leg up on the others as their Winston Cup teammate, Bobby Labonte spent time earlier this month testing on the 1.5 mile oval.

"We have some of the information from Bobby's test and combined with our notes from Chicago and Las Vegas, I think we will give Mike a good racecar," Shutt said. "The playing field is basically even this weekend with it being everyone's first race at the track."

The Mr. Goodcents 300 will take the green flag on Saturday at 2:00pm EDT.. Keep an eye on McLaughlin and the MBNA Racing Team as they look for a little redemption.