CHASE HEATS UP—FOR THE WOOD BROTHERS/JTG SPOT INSIDE TOP-35

With all eyes on Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s quest to nab the final spot in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Chase for the Championship, a similar battle is heating up on the other end of the point spectrum. By virtue of Bill Elliott’s 26th place finish in the Sharp AQUOS 500 at California Speedway Sunday night, the No. 21 Wood Brothers/JTG race team is now back into safe territory for a protected starting position in event’s moving forward. But it’s only a four-point margin. The most recent effort marks the third time this season that the No. 21 team has moved across the invisible but important line into the top-35 in points. Previously, the team inherited the 35th spot when the No. 14 team shut down prior to the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. They once again earned their way across after Boris Said’s 12th place effort at Watkins Glen last month. And finally, the team is hoping that their third foray up the ladder is the charm for them, as they head into the season’s final 11 events in 2007. It’s not about getting there, it’s about staying there.

In preparation’s for Saturday night’s Chevy Rock n’ Roll 400 at Richmond International Speedway, the No. 21 Air Force Ford will be ready to take flight and hopefully rain on Chevy’s marquee event at the 3/4-mile oval. The Wood Brothers/JTG team is bringing a brand new COT car into service, Chassis C-8. The car has never been utilized in a race, but was recently shaken down during a two-day test at the Nashville Superspeedway. As mentioned earlier, the car will have the United States Air Force colors this weekend, marking the seventh of eight races for the military branch. The Air Force’s final event as the primary sponsor of the No. 21 car will occur two weeks from now at Dover International Speedway—the close home of Dover Air Force Base.

Wood Brothers/JTG driver Bill Elliott has enjoyed some success at the Richmond International Raceway. In 44 starts at the ¾-mile track, Elliott has one victory (1992), eight top-five finishes and 15 top-10 efforts. He has also led 492 laps of competition at Richmond and garnered three Bud Pole Awards along the way—the most recent coming in the 1997 season. The second Richmond race in the 2006 season marked the team’s best finish of the year—a seventh place effort that was largely overshadowed by the hoopla surrounding the cutoff for the Chase for the Championship, which saw driver Tony Stewart miss out on his opportunity as the sport’s defending Champion.

Saturday night will likely be a refrain familiar to the Wood Brothers/JTG team’s season thus far---each lap will be all about the points. The No. 21 team is heavily engaged in a four way battle for safe ground, competing against the No. 22 Dave Blaney entry, the No. 45 of Kyle Petty and the No. 70 of Johnny Sauter. All are within a 54-point striking distance of 33rd place in the owner point standings. So while the real Chase for the Championship heats up throughout the next two months, there will also be a lesser known battle on the opposite end, but no less important to those organizations looking to make sure that the 2008 season starts out on the right foot.

WHAT THE TEAM HAS TO SAY:
Bill Elliott, Driver of the No. 21 Air Force Ford:
“Getting back into the top-35 in points last weekend was a real blessing to us. To the fans, it might mean to them that we’re guaranteed that spot we need to start the race, but for the team, it pays a whole lot more benefits than that. First, we’ll get to use our Friday practice session to work on the race setup of the car, instead of focusing on qualifying. Before, we’d have to divide out time and hope for the best. Richmond has always been a handling track and fun to drive and we’ll get to use that time to do both on this Air Force Ford. We’ll have more of an advantage this week than we usually do so I’m hoping we can make the most of it.”

Michael McSwain, Crew Chief of the No. 21 Air Force Ford:
“If I’ve learned something over the summer, this is a fighting team. I think when we have to, we can scrap with the best of them. We have a four point margin in the points right now, and we got that by virtue of the five bonus points for having Bill lead a lap at California. This is another chance for us to build. We’re not going away and it’s probably going to be a pretty fierce four-way battle for keeping ourselves in the top-35. Bill has done such a terrific job for us and helping claw our way up each time. We’ve got to focus on our race setup this weekend and see if we can’t put some distance between ourselves and the other two teams we’re chasing right now. That’s our Chase right now.”

FAST & FUN FACTS:
-Bill Elliott will drive the No. 21 Air Force Ford in the Chevy Rock n’ Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway Saturday night under the lights.
-Elliott holds a steady record at the 3/4-mile Richmond International Raceway. In 44 starts, he has one victory, eight top-fives and 15 top-ten finishes. He also has led 492 laps of competition and earned three Bud Pole Awards along the way.
-Wood Brothers/JTG co-founder Len Wood will participate in a Friday morning Daytona 500 Car Owner Press Conference Event in order to promote awareness of the 50th running of the Daytona 500 next February. Wood will share the stage with other Daytona 500 winning team owners Bud Moore, Larry McClure, Richard Petty and Richard Childress. The Wood Brothers race team has one the sport’s most prestigious event four times: 1963 with driver Tiny Lund, 1968 with Cale Yarborough, 1972 with A.J. Foyt and finally in 1976 with David Pearson. The 1976 Daytona 500 victory was voted the most exciting finish in NASCAR history.

NEXT RACE INFORMATION:
What – Chevy Rock n’ Roll 400 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Event
When – Saturday, September 8th, 2007; 7:30 p.m. EDT
Where – Richmond International Raceway; 300 laps; 400 miles
Network – ESPN Television Network; MRN Radio Network