Owens started the race out like a ball of fire. After qualifying in 16th-place, she pedaled her way into the 13th position before making her first pit stop, Lap 33. The ElectrifyingCareers.com crew took advantage of the yellow flag to change Owens’ tires and top off the fuel cell. The No. 15 machine was too free for Owens’ liking, so the crew made a track bar adjustment to tighten up the car. The crew bolted off a lightning fast stop and returned Owens to the track in 11th-place.
The race returned to green on Lap 44. Owens was knocking on the door of the top-10 and drew alongside of the No. 36 car. The 36 car drove to Owens’ outside and loosened up her car, causing it to loop around. Owens managed to keep it off the wall and not hit anything. Other than flat-spotting the Hoosiers, the ElectrifyingCareers.com Chevy was unscathed. Owens brought her car to the attention of her team. The crew changed her tires and made another track bar adjustment to tighten up the car. Owens returned to the track in 19th-place, two laps down to the field.
Owens was down, but definitely not out. She took the green flag on Lap 64 and raced into position to receive the Lucky Dog pass. A fortuitous caution flag waved on Lap 67 and allowed Owens to get one of her laps back.
Green flag action returned on Lap 71 with Owens in 18th-place. As per the ARCA rulebook, she had to start at the tail-end of the longest line. No matter, Owens made up the deficit and once again raced into position to receive the Lucky Dog pass. Another caution flag waved on Lap 87 and gave Owens the break she was looking for. Owens returned to the lead lap in 16th-place.
Owens took the green flag on Lap 91 with nine laps remaining. Track position was her enemy, as she restarted from the tail-end of the longest line again. Although she was a straightaway behind the cars ahead of her on the leader board, Owens caught the field and picked up two positions before taking the checkered flag.
“It was a great effort by our team tonight,” said Owens. “Our ElectrifyingCareers.com Chevy was a little bit free when the race started. We made an adjustment in the pits and it seemed to help. We were working our way through the field and it looked like we had a top-10 in the bag. When the 36 car drove along my outside, it just sucked my car around. I just spun out without warning. We had a really good car though, and we were able to get back on the lead lap. I wish the race was a little longer because we were hauling the mail when it ended. We were running down the cars in front of us and just ran out of time. I think we had a seventh or eighth-place car, but just didn’t have enough laps to catch them.”
- Breaking Limits Press Release
