Catchfence

Brian Scott Post-Race Recap

New England 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

July 16, 2011

Race Highlights:

- Brian Scott and the No. 11 Shore Lodge Toyota team earned the ninth starting spot for the New England 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday. The No. 11 Shore Lodge Toyota was fast off the truck and among the fastest in practice on Friday afternoon.

- Tight, tight, tight was the issue Scott battled during the first several circuits around the one-mile New Hampshire track. The car was so tight and lacking front grip that he slapped the wall in turn two at lap 15. The team made an aggressive adjustment during their first opportunity to pit at lap 31, raising the track bar two rounds, adjusting the air pressure in the tires, adding four tires and fuel. Scott was in 19th place for the restart at lap 37.

- Scott noticed an immediate improvement and requested a little more of the same adjustments as the car was still too snug. He had climbed to the 15th position by the time the second caution waved at lap 93. The team made another round of air pressure and chassis adjustments during the pit stop. Quick pit work put Scott in the 11th position for the restart at lap 99.

- A series of cautions would ensue from lap 101 to lap 115, during which time Scott reported that the car felt just as tight as it was during the beginning of the race. Crew chief Kevin Kidd called Scott to pit road during the fifth caution at lap 115 for wedge and air pressure adjustments, two tires and fuel. Different strategies played out during the caution as some teams elected to do fuel only or to not pit at all. The two-tire approach placed Scott in 15th place for the restart at lap 125.

- Scott was patiently aggressive during the next 50 laps around the track, breaking into the top 10 with less than 30 laps to go in the race. He was in the ninth position when he narrowly avoided a massive accident at lap 190 that collected a number of cars. When racing resumed at lap 196 Scott was in the fifth position and poised for a top-five finish.

- The No. 11 Shore Lodge Toyota Team’s effort was thwarted however as Scott came off the backstretch. Driver Steven Wallace had been “chopping” Brian throughout the lap and when Scott went to nudge Wallace out of the way a number of drivers collided, including Scott, bringing out the ninth caution of the race.

- The Shore Lodge Toyota team was able to repair Scott’s car on pit road and keep him on the lead lap for the green-white-checkered flag finish. He finished the race in the 17th position.

- Scott’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch scored the win on Saturday afternoon, securing his 100th win across NASCAR’s top-three touring series.
The 17th-place finish dropped Scott a position in the NASCAR Nationwide Series driver point standings. He is currently in 10th place, 10 points out of ninth place and 15 out of eighth. Elliott Sadler maintained his lead in the championship point standings. He owns a seven-point lead ahead of Reed Sorenson.

- Joe Gibbs Racing Press Release