Accident Relegates Huffman to 37th at Homestead

Shane Huffman

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (Nov. 20, 2006) – A promising evening for Shane Huffman, driver of the JR Motorsports’s No. 88 Navy Accelerate Your Life Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS, came to an end on Lap 66 when he was caught up in an accident in Saturday’s NASCAR Busch Series Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Huffman started the day off by qualifying fourth for the race with a fast lap of 31.282 seconds, 172.823 mph. The qualifying effort was impressive in part because those were the first laps Huffman made in the No. 88 after brushing the wall two laps into Friday’s final practice. The team worked late that night and came to the track early on Saturday to repair the damage and got the car back into shape for the race.

Once the race got underway, Huffman slipped back a few spots as the team employed a conservative strategy in the opening segment of the race, but he remained in the top 10 for the first 40 laps. The team elected to pit under caution on Lap 47 for four tires and fuel. Crew chief Wes Ward called for air pressure adjustments to correct the tight-handling condition Huffman reported to the crew.

The air pressure changes helped the handling of the car and Huffman looked set for a solid top-10 finish until the No. 88 Navy Chevy was caught up in an accident on Lap 66. The Nos. 5 and 99 cars made contact ahead of Huffman and left him with no where to go. Ward called Huffman back to the garage area so the team could make the necessary repairs.

The No. 88 returned to the track on Lap 100 and Huffman completed the remaining laps to finish 37th.

“That definitely wasn’t the way we wanted to end the season,” Huffman said. “The team did an awesome job getting the car ready after I hit the wall in practice on Friday and we were on our way to a good finish when the Nos. 5 and 99 got together there.

“My spotter radioed for me to go low, but it was too late. The Navy crew managed to get our car fixed and back out to complete the second half of the race.

“The last few races have proven that we’ve got the equipment and the team behind me to get the job done. We’ve been hit by a bit of bad luck, but hopefully we’ll manage to shake that in the off season and come back strong at Daytona.

“I can’t thank the Navy and everyone at JR Motorsports enough for giving me the opportunity to gain a ton of experience in the last few races this year. It’s going to mean a lot as we move forward into next season.”

Despite the finish, the No. 88 team finished out the 2006 season 19th in the owners points standings.

Navy Racing in the Media: On Sunday, Huffman was a guest on PRN’s Sunday Drive show. On Monday he called into Texas Motor Speedway’s Total Access show. That same day he was a guest on WGFX 104.5’s The Driver’s Zone show. On Tuesday Huffman was featured on MRN’s NASCAR Live with Eli Gold. The next evening Wes Ward was a guest on MRN’s NASCAR Performance Live. On Saturday, Huffman was interviewed by FOX Sports Radio and WSM from Nashville. After qualifying fourth for the evening’s race, Huffman was interviewed on SPEED Channel. During pre-race festivities he was interviewed by MRN and SPEED Channel. He also talked with MRN and TNT’s pit reporters after the No. 88 was tangled up in an accident on Lap 66.

Next on Deck: The No. 88 JR Motorsports team will spend the off season preparing for 2007.