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Schrader
Chronicle #6
Leaving the Short Tracks, For Now, Unsatisfied By Steve Stakem April 12, 2005 (This column covers Nextel Cup Driver Ken Schrader over his final season, or two, on NASCAR's biggest circuit.) Martinsville, VA - Tire troubles plagued Ken Schrader and the 49 Schwan's Home Service Team on lap 252 at Martinsville Speedway, and they never recovered, finishing four laps down to winner Jeff Gordon. To begin with, Schrader didn't make things easy on himself. An 11th place starting spot was ruined when Schrader pancaked the 49 into the wall on lap two of qualifying, and the team was relegated to its backup car and a start at the rear of the pack. A poor starting position didn't phase Schrader however, as he quickly began passing cars to move into the top 20 before his right-front tire went south. "I’m still a little bummed about the accident in qualifying," Schrader said. "But, these guys did a great job preparing [the] backup and it was nearly as good as the primary. We were going to be able to get a good finish until the right-front went down. That kind of thing is out of our control; at least we were able to dig out a decent finish despite our problems." Schrader finished 29 more laps than at Bristol's 500-lap race, but finished one position worse in 24th. After six races Schrader finds himself 32nd in points (no change), 479 back of leader Jimmie Johnson and 234 back of 10th place Dale Jarrett. The points situation, and having ran two short tracks in a row, have Schrader and BAM Racing looking forward to visiting Texas. "Finally… some elbow room! Believe me, I love short-track racing as much as the next guy, but after 1,000 laps of beating and banging on one another, it’ll be nice to have a little breathing room at Texas," said Schrader. "At least we’ll have about a mile more of race track this week than we have the past two. "Not only is Texas fast, but you know its fast. At some of the bigger tracks where we carry a lot of speed, most of the time the track is so wide or the turns are so gradual where you don’t get that speed sensation like you do at Texas - that is, unless you get sideways, then you figure it out pretty quickly. With Texas, you can really feel yourself ‘stick’ when you go through the turns. "This Schwan’s team is going to Texas looking to change its luck a little bit. We’ve had a good car at both Bristol and Martinsville, but some things happened that we just didn’t have much control over. We had tire issues at Martinsville, and ‘other car’ issues at Bristol. But, that’s part of the game. These guys have really worked hard all year to get these cars where they need to be, and we’re making gains. Anybody that’s watched us run can tell that. Now, we just need some finishes [to] prove that." Let's hope some luck changes for the mostly luckless veteran. Random Notes Still Out of the Loop - Two drivers who have run all six races still aren't guaranteed a starting spot for the Texas race. Mike Wallace and Bobby Labonte are 36th and 37th in points respectively. Poor Bobby, Redux II - Yes, three weeks of a repeat in the 'Notes' section ... More bad luck for Bobby Labonte. His engine blew with 65 laps remaining at Martinsville. What would have been a solid top-10 run for the 18 Interstate Batteries team went up in smoke. He is 303 points behind 10th with 20 races to go until the Chase. Gordon Goes Again - Win No. 71. Incredible. The 24 Dupont Chevy came from three laps down early to not only secure a good race, but win the darn thing. Gordon jumped from 12th to 6th in points and is 205 behind leader and teammate Jimmie Johnson who scored his 12th-straight top 10. Martin Up Six - Mark Martin's solid 3rd place finish moved him from 10th to 4th in points, 198 behind leader Johnson. Rudd Stays Out of Trouble - A 7th place finish for the 21 Wood Brothers team saw their driver move from 37th to 34th in points. Safely for them, they are in the show for Texas. 2005 Advance Auto Parts 500 Results 1. Jeff Gordon, Dupont Chevrolet, $186,051 2. Kasey Kahne , Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge, $143,915 3. Mark Martin, Viagra Ford, $109,625 4. Ryan Newman, ALLTEL Dodge, $132,241 5. Rusty Wallace, Miller Lite Dodge, $121,308 24. Ken Schrader, Schwan's Home Service Dodge, $69,200 |
