Busch Grand National Series

Amick's Return to Busch Series Yields Top-10 Finish in Kansas

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (September 28, 2002) -Lyndon Amick and the Sunrise Farm Fresh Ford Taurus made their racing debut this past weekend at Kansas Speedway by way of a third NASCAR Busch Series ppc Racing team. Amick and the team tested at the facility for two days several weeks prior to the event and the practice paid off. Amick drove the No. 15 Ford to a ninth-place finish in the Mr. Goodcents 300 on Saturday afternoon.

Amick posted impressive practice times during the session leading up to qualifying and then backed up those speeds with a 12th place qualifying effort on Friday. Amick ran a speed of 172.414 miles per hour during his qualifying lap around the 1.5-mile oval.

"I was probably a little conservative," stated Amick following his qualifying run. "We were better than that in practice and I could have probably run better, but since it's my first time in a car in a while and we're solidly in the field, that's pretty good. The car is really good. The body is really good. It's great to be associated with organizations like ppc Racing, Ford and Robert Yates motors. It's fun, but the potential is also there for us to do really well. I knew we were fast and then I started thinking about getting the pole, so I probably got a little ahead of myself."

The green flag flew for the start of the event and Amick was able to pick up several spots on the first lap. Amick was in the sixth spot by lap two and soon radioed to crew chief Buddy Barnes that the car was tight, but was much better than they were in the final practice session on Friday. Amick remained in the top 10 and then took the opportunity to make the first pit stop of the day during a caution period on lap 33. The pit crew, made up of an amalgamation of men from the Petty Enterprises Winston Cup organization, changed four tires (with air pressure adjustments already made) and filled the Sunrise Farm Fresh Ford Taurus full of fuel with lightening speed. Several cars took on only two tires and the No. 15 Ford returned to the track in 11th. Amick fell back slightly during the next 30 laps after encountering a loose handling condition, but as the run continued the car's handling became better and better.

After a second pit stop on lap 104, Amick made his way back into the top 10 while posting some of the quickest laps on the track. Amick led laps 132 and 133 before heading back into the pits for a stop for fuel only. Amick returned to the track in 15th place and thanks to a good handling Sunrise Farm Fresh Ford Taurus, great pit stops by the Petty Enterprises crew and a great race driven by Amick, the team, in its' debut, finished the event in ninth place.

"This is just a tribute to ppc Racing, Ford and Robert Yates engines," said Amick following the event. "Everything went our way today. There were a lot of wrecks out there and I'm very thankful and happy I was able to keep out of trouble. It's either your day or it's not, and today it was our day. The car ran well, and it was just a good day for me. For my first race back and my first time at Kansas, leaving here with a top-10, is tremendous for me."

Tentative plans call for Amick and the No. 15 team to participate in a test session at Lowe's (Charlotte, N.C.) Motor Speedway this week before heading back to the 1.5-mile oval for the next event on the Busch Series schedule. The Little Trees 300 will be held on October 12, and will be broadcast live on TNT and PRN Radio at 1:00 p.m. EDT.