Sunday
Brian Scott, No. 11 Shore Lodge Toyota Camry Watkins Glen International Post-Race Report
Press Release
Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International
August 13, 2011
Race Highlights:
* Brian Scott and the No. 11 Shore Lodge Toyota team started the Zippo 200 from the 16th position after Scott’s qualifying effort on Saturday morning. It was only Scott’s second qualifying attempt at Watkins Glen International and an improvement of nine positions over his 25th-place qualifying run last year.
* Scott slipped back a few spots after the initial start of the scheduled 82-lap road course race. He was sitting in the 18th position when the first round of green-flag stops began on lap 19. Scott brought the Shore Lodge Toyota onto pit road on lap 22 for four tires, fuel and no major adjustments.Scott’s only complaint to crew chief Kevin Kidd was a braking issue, he had trouble being aggressive with the brakes in the corners. The brakes would lock up when he applied pressure on the pedal instead of just slowing the car down.
* The No. 20 Shore Lodge Toyota broke into the top 10 for the first time on lap 30 and at the midpoint of the race was sitting in the ninth position. He did have an aero tight condition through the esses, but overall was happy with the handling of the car. He pitted under green again on lap 50 for tires and fuel with just 18 cars remaining on the lead lap.
* The team’s top-10 run was sidelined when the engine on the No. 11 car started pushing water out with temperatures reaching over 260 degrees. Scott was forced to pit to prevent the engine from blowing on lap 56 so the No. 11 pit crew could clean off the grill and pull some tape from the nose. He returned to the track in the 22nd position and one lap down to the leader.
* The race, which had few cautions, saw the yellow flag wave with just two laps to go. Despite the temperatures still running high, Scott remained on the track in the 15th position for the green-white-checker finish. He picked up one spot in the closing laps to salvage a 14th-place finish. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular Kurt Busch took the checkered flag after starting from the pole. Scott’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Joey Logano and Kyle Busch finished third and fourth, respectively.
* Scott moved up one spot in the NASCAR Nationwide Series driver standings with his top-15 finish at Watkins Glen International. He is 10 points behind Steven Wallace in eighth place. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. remains in the top spot in the standings, 10 points in front of Reed Sorenson in second.
“That was the longest Glen race I’ve ever been a part of. I know it went green a long time, it just felt like a long race. We had a couple mechanical issues. We overheated and fought some brake stuff. Overall, it was just a long day. The guys fought hard. I was in position for the ‘Lucky Dog’ for a while. The nature of having so few cautions makes it’s hard to get back on the lead lap. Just about the type of year we’re having. We seem to finish 14th or 15th every week and we can say for a number of different reasons and this weekend it was overheating water temperature.”
- Joe Gibbs Racing Press Release
Article Tags: Brian Scott, JGR, Joe Gibbs Racing, Kevin Kidd, NASCAR Nationwide Series, NNS, No. 11 Shore Lodge Toyota Camry, Reed Sorenson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International road course, Zippo 200
