ELLIOTT EAGER TO BUILD ON SUCCESS AT INFINEON RACEWAY
On the heels of the Wood Brothers/JTG NASCAR NEXTEL Cup team’s best finish of the year at Michigan International Speedway last week, Bill Elliott has the troops ready for battle at the Infineon Raceway road course event on Sunday. The team is looking to take advantage of some desperately needed momentum, which finally arrived in the form of an 11th place finish.
In preparation for the Toyota/Save-Mart 350k Event, the No. 21 Little Debbie Ford team traveled to Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, South Carolina, two weeks ago, to shake down the primary car that’s now headed for California. The chassis is a brand new COT car, named C-7.
Bill Elliott has 14 starts at the 1.99-mile, 10-turn road course, with a best finish of third place, coming in his first attempt in 1989. That year was also the scene of his best qualifying effort, also third. Overall, Elliott has three top-five finishes and five top-ten finishes to his credit. He has also led 28 laps of competition.
WHAT THE TEAM HAS TO SAY
Bill Elliott, driver of the No. 21 Little Debbie Ford:
“I think last week was a real shot in the arm for this whole team. I know that we just did miss out on a top-10, but we’ll take 11th there and see what we can do with this momentum we’ve got going right now. I wouldn’t say we’ve had an out-and-out breakthrough, but the communication and the way all the guys worked together at Michigan is something we can definitely draw on this week. We had us a good test at Kershaw and I got a chance to shake the rust off of the right hand turns, so we’ll see what Fatback and I can get done come Sunday.”
Michael McSwain, Crew Chief of the No. 21 Little Debbie Ford:
“We’re bringing a brand new car with us this week and it’s one that we built with a lot of care, knowing that we have to set it up for neutral at a road course. We took two cars with us to the test in Kershaw a few weeks ago and this one outperformed what’s now our backup car. We’re going to have to play it smart this weekend and get aggressive when we need to be aggressive and be patient when it’s time to be patient. Our guys on pit road had their best day of the year last Sunday and I’ve challenged them to do it again for us this week. The times were excellent and it kept us in the hunt all day long. It’ll mean even more Sunday with the importance of track position here.”
FAST & FUN FACTS:
-Bill Elliott will drive the No. 21 Little Debbie Ford in the Toyota/Save-Mart 350k this Sunday at Infineon Raceway.
-Elliott’s record at Infineon includes 14 starts, three top-fives and five top-ten finishes. He has a best start and finish of third place, both coming in the 1989 season and he’s led 28 laps of competition at the 1.99-mile, 10 turn course.
NEXT RACE INFORMATION:
What – Toyota/Save-Mart 350k NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Event
When – Sunday, June 24th, 2007; 5:00 p.m. EDT
Where – Infineon Raceway; 110 laps; 218.9 miles
Network – TNT Television Network; PRN Radio Network
