Catchfence

West Allis, Wis. (June 22, 2009) – Following torrential rains on Friday evening, the NASCAR Nationwide Series was welcomed by sunshine and perfect weather for Saturday’s NorthernTool.com 250. Burney Lamar fought a tight condition throughout the day’s events to bring the No. 32 Dollar General Toyota home in the 22nd position.

Throughout the two Saturday morning practice sessions, crew chief, Trent Owens and the Dollar General team worked to correct the tight handling that Burney Lamar continued to report. Not having run a mock qualifying lap in final practice, the team was not sure what to expect for qualifying. Lamar turned in a 30.125-second lap around “America’s Legendary Oval” to start in the 26th position.

As the sun began to set in the West Allis, Wisconsin sky and teams lined up for the 250-lap race, Burney Lamar climbed into the No. 32 Dollar General Toyota knowing that he had some work ahead of him for the night. Despite a strong start which moved him into the top-20 within the first five laps, Lamar reported that the car’s tight condition was worsening as he slid back to the 25th spot.

Drivers began to make green-flag pit stops on lap 70 with Lamar bringing the No. 32 Camry to pit road for service on lap 74. The Dollar General crew went to work and quickly changed four tires and made track bar and air pressure adjustments in addition to adding a spring rubber in the right rear. As teams cycled through the green-flag pit stops, Lamar returned to the 25th position by lap 90.

The first caution of the night came out on lap 124 when the No. 99 made contact with the wall and the No. 28 machine began to give off smoke and oil. On lap 126 Lamar came down pit road for fuel, tires and adjustments. With the car’s continued tight condition, crew chief, Trent Owens, called for wedge and air pressure adjustments.

Lamar returned to the track in the 25th position and went to work once again. He managed to gain ground and moved into the 24th spot by lap 150. With debris reported on the track, NASCAR displayed the yellow flag on lap 191. Reporting that the car remained tight and he was having trouble getting on the gas, Lamar returned to pit road on lap 195 for further adjustments. The Dollar General team put on four fresh tires, packed the Camry with fuel and made track bar and air pressure adjustments.

The next caution came out quickly when the No. 20 spun on lap 206. Knowing that track position would not change, Owens called Lamar to pit road for a track bar adjustment only. Lamar returned to the track and restarted the race in the 23rd spot on lap 210. Lamar made a trip down pit road to serve a pass-through penalty for passing to the left on a restart, which relegated him back to the 24th position. Following the final caution on lap 214 for a multi-car accident in Turn 4, Lamar gained two additional positions to finish the night in the 22nd place.

“Today was just a very long and frustrating day,” said Lamar. “I can say, the team never gave up and never stopped trying to adjust the Dollar General Toyota tonight. I really appreciate all their hard work. This was not the finish I had hoped for here. But we’ll just put this one in the books and move forward.”

Brian Vickers returns to the driver’s seat of the No. 32 Dollar General Camry for the next three Nationwide Series events.

Next Stop: The NASCAR Nationwide Series heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway next weekend for the Camping World RV Sales 200 presented by Turtle Wax. The race will be broadcast LIVE on ABC and on PRN Radio starting at 2:30 p.m. EST. The green flag is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. EST.

- Braun Racing Press Release