Stephen Leicht Scores Top-20 in Memphis

Stephen Leicht

MILLINGTON, Tenn. (October 28, 2006) — Despite several on-track tribulations, Stephen Leicht brought home a 19th-place finish for the running of Saturday’s NASCAR Busch Series Sam’s Town 250 at Memphis Motorsports Park.

After posting the fifth fastest practice time on Friday and securing a 12th-place qualifying spot for the Sam’s Town 250, Leicht had high expectations for a solid finish. The chance for victory quickly eluded Leicht, as he was involved in several on-track incidents during the 250-lap event. The first incident occurred around lap 53 when Leicht was running in the 15th position and was forced to slam on his brakes to avoid a crash in front of him and suffered minor cosmetic damage. Leicht had to pit to replace the flat spotted tires, which resulted in a loss of 10 positions.

Leicht would rejoin the race in the 25th position. Two laps later, Leicht radioed the crew that he felt a very bad vibration. Luckily a caution would fall on the next lap, allowing him to pit for four fresh tires and fuel. The vibration disappeared and Leicht was beginning to make up some track position when he was tapped from behind and went for a spin around lap 120. Only minor damage was sustained to the CitiFinancial Ford, but the incident put Leicht a lap down.

The No 90 would come down pit road for fuel, four tires, and an air pressure and chassis adjustment. Leicht would rejoin the race in 30th place on lap 130. A caution would fall on lap 137, allowing Leicht to receive the ‘Lucky Dog’ award and return to the lead lap. He would work his way back into the top-20, but he would get caught up in another on-track incident, which would also result in minor damage. Despite all of the challenges Leicht faced during the 250-lap event, he still brought home a 19th-place finish.

Kevin Harvick scored his eighth NASCAR Busch Series victory of the season Saturday, crossing the finish line in front of his teammate, Clint Bowyer. Carl Edwards, Johnny Sauter and Shane Huffman followed to complete the top-five.

“Absolutely nothing went our way today,” said Leicht. “The CitiFinancial Ford was awesome during practice Friday and the entire team was excited about getting another strong finish. Unfortunately, it seemed like everyone was driving like it was the last lap out there and we got caught up in a lot of wrecks as a result. The (crew) guys did a great job and hung in there and we finished on the lead lap which was pretty impressive considering the day that we had.”

The NASCAR Busch Series will return to action when the series visits the Lone Star State for the O’Reilly Challenge on Saturday, November 4 at Texas Motor Speedway. Coverage begins at 2 p.m. E.T. TNT and PRN will cover the live broadcast.