Rains washed out the best chances for drivers to get much-needed practice
on the 7/8-mile speedway, and when the skies finally cleared, USAR officials
gave the teams 45 minutes of practice.
Elliott caught onto the track rather quickly and was ranked third in
overall lap times.
With NASCAR’s Nationwide Series also set to race on Saturday and rain
again interfering with the schedule, the starting line-up was set by car
owner points, and that wasn’t the best thing for Elliott and his Aaron’s
Dream Machine team as they have only competed in a few of the USAR events
this season.
When the track was dried, and the cars rolled onto the front stretch,
Elliott lined up in the 13thposition in a field of 20. The green flag
dropped, and for Elliott it was an almost identical replay of his father’s
opening lap at Indy last weekend where he skillfully avoiding a wreck on the
start. Young Elliott did likewise, taking evasive action as drivers spun in
front of him. He barely clipped Steven Nasse’s car as he came down the
track. Still he took his Aaron’s Dream machine to pit road where his crew
checked the toe-in and cleaned the front grill.
Crew chief Ricky Turner reported that the car was in good condition and
sent Elliott back onto the track. After four tries at a start, the race
finally got under way with Elliott moving up to start ninth due to attrition
in front of him. He was in sixth after just two green-flag laps and
maneuvered around Ryan Heavner for the fifth position on Lap 10.
USAR officials threw a competition caution flag on Lap 15. J.P. Morgan was
the only driver in the top five to pit, and that gave the fourth position to
Elliott.
He held fourth for the next 33 laps, until the caution flag flew on Lap 50.
He pitted on Lap 52 for four tires and again a lap later for fuel, which put
him in position to run the rest of the race without another stop.
Excellent pit stops by the Aaron’s pit crew put Elliott back in the fourth
position just behind eventual race winner Clay Rogers for the restart.
Logan Ruffin got around Elliott on the restart putting Elliott back to the
fifth position. On Lap 52, the caution was displayed for a blown engine in
Johanna Long’s car.
When spotter Bill Elliott inquired about the car, young Elliott replied:
“My car is really good. I just need to get my rhythm down and make some
good lap times.”
It was then that Elliott looked down at his gauges and reported that the
engine was overheating. Elliott came to pit road where the crew removed tape
from the nose and cleaned the grill again. They also checked the tail pipes
for water leaks that would signal a terminal problem with the engine.
Elliott went back out on the track in the seventh position and reported
that the engine was cooling. Then the gauge shot back up to 260 degrees and
back down to 210, so it was determined that the gauge was faulty.
By Lap 72 Elliott was back in the hunt in the fifth position and tracking
down Heavner for fourth. While Elliott and Heavner were putting on a show
racing for the fourth and fifth positions, Rogers was cruising at the front.
Elliott got his nose in front of Heavner for the position on Lap 113 just
as the caution flag was displayed due to fog. Elliott was put back in line
behind Heavner. Eight more laps were run under caution before the race was
called, giving Elliott his second top five in four starts with the USAR
series.
But Elliott was wanting more.
“Dang, this car was good,” he said. “I could have got [Heavner and Ruffin]
on the outside, and I feel like I could have gotten the 56 [A.J. Frank]
too.”
Elliott’s next event will be the fourth pair of races in the Sunoco Gulf
Coast Championship at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola and Mobile
International Speedway August 13th and 14th. Elliott currently leads the
series points.
- Bill Elliott Racing Inc. Press Release
