Another car gets loose underneath No. 23 Aaron’s Dream Machine taking him out
Starting 36th for the 200-lap NASCAR Nationwide Series race on Saturday, the driver of the No. 23 Aaron’s Dream Machine was doing what any rookie driver should do at a place like Dover in the R3 Motorsports Chevrolet. Bide your time, learn on every lap, hit your marks, work with the ever-changing track and settle in to run your race.
Before the race, the most recent Sprint Cup Series winning driver, David Reuitmann, and his team owner, Michael Waltrip, stopped by the Aaron’s car to talk with Butler. They offered advice and driving tips for how Butler should tackle the Monster Mile. And, once the green flag dropped, that’s exactly what the Raybestos’ Rookie of the Year driver was doing.
Going from 36th to 31st on the first lap, the caution waved on lap 2. When it restarted on lap 7, Butler was lined up in 28th. He would drop back to 34th to run his race logging laps trying to figure out how to best race the one-mile concrete oval.
However, on lap 27, the No. 09 of John Wes Townley was loose going into turn 1 and through turn 2. After wobbling a few times, he entered turn 2 and zipped up the track right into the left-rear quarter panel of Butler.
The No. 23 Aaron’s Dream Machine quickly suffered the foils of Dover’s layout as the right rear hit the outside wall and then slid down the banking with the left front slamming hard into the inside wall. After trying to drive it to the garage, Butler quickly decided it was better to have the car towed in to avoid further damage
While that was happening, KB3 was checked and released from the Infield Care Center with no injuries. When the checkered waved, the R3 Motorsports team was left with an undeserved 37th place finish.
Ken Butler III, driver: “Man, this is not what we wanted. I was just trying to make it to the mandatory caution on lap 35 so I could get a good feel of the track and let the crew make adjustments. I knew the 09 was down there, but I had no idea he was going to come up into me like he did. We just got wrecked; plain and simple. I’m fine, though.
- Packman Public Relations, Press Release