Elliott Finds a Bit of Luck, Claims Top-5 in Triple Crown Series

For the David Elliott Racing Team, the night of August 14^th started off like many of the other Friday night’s at Delaware Speedway this season…the #37 Pennzoil Impala was not handling well.

The crew had made numerous repairs after last week’s wreck and they hoped that the handling woes had been taken care of, but David continued to fight a car which alternated from loose to tight throughout practice.

After the last session, the team found a broken shock mount. Quick repairs were made and the car was lined up for qualifying.

David’s first lap qualified him in the 16^th spot for the first 25-lap feature race and he turned his quickest qualifying lap of the year, a 19.354, on his second lap, but it was still only good for a 13^th starting spot for the second feature.

David slowly began moving forward in the first race before contact with the #14 of Rick Emery caused David to slow drastically. Fortunately, a caution flew and David was able to pit for repairs without losing a lap. The Pennzoil Impala returned to the track, but could only muster a 13^th place finish.

The team made repairs and adjustments to the #37 before the final 25-lap feature. This race was very important as it was the final leg of the JBM Auto Leasing Triple Crown. David entered the race 4 points behind the #02 of Mark Watson and #22 of Jamie Ramsey, who were tied for 4^th in the three-race series.

The #02 had problems in the first feature and was rolled across the start/finish line to earn 22^nd place points in the 2^nd feature. That left the #37 and #22 to battle for the top-5 spot overall.

David had climbed up to 11^th position when he was tapped by another car and spun in turn 3. He restarted in 15^th place with 5 laps to go. A rash of cautions, including a wreck that eliminated the #22, followed and  David moved up to 12^th.

When the white flag flew, things got crazy. At least 3 separate incidents occurred during the last ½ mile of racing. David wove through the carnage and gained 5 positions. His 7^th place finish, combined with the bad luck for the #02 and #22, unofficially gave David 4^th place in the JBM Auto Leasing Triple Crown.

“Lady luck finally decided to smile on us,” said David. “All year, we’ve been caught up in those accidents, but tonight we were able to avoid them and bring the car home in the top 10.”

The team will now prepare for Delaware ’s final Friday night event of the year next weekend and for the Great Canadian Weekend Total/ APC 300 on the Sunday of Labour Day Weekend.

Hope to see you at the track!