Elliott Rallies from 2 Laps Down

to Finish 4^th in Delaware Opener

 

David Elliott was one driver who was glad to have the first of the JBM Auto Leasing Triple Crown 50 lap features at Delaware Speedway  rain delayed after 4 laps on May 8^th. Since he and his crew were attending crew chief Eddie Askin’s wedding, they had to have a Ron Lancaster start the race in the #37 Pennzoil Chevrolet. A broken axle forced Lancaster to bring the car to the garage after just two laps. However…rain at lap 4 gave the #37 a second chance.

   

 On May 15^th, 30 drivers lined up for the remaining 46 laps of the race. David was two laps down in 30^th place, but, thanks to NASCAR’s lucky dog rule, he made up one lap before taking the green flag and another lap when the first caution of the night flew.

Once back on the lead lap, David pitted to make an air pressure adjustment in the rear tires and rejoined the tail of the field. A multi-car pile-up allowed David to move into the top 20 before 10 laps were completed.

“Our plan was to get the car back on the lead lap, then start making adjustments to get the Pennzoil Impala to the front,” said David

At the 25-lap mark, David had clawed his way up to 18^th place. The team pitted again during a mid-race caution to make further adjustments.

   

The second half of the race saw David narrowly missing several accidents as he picked him way through the field and into the top 5. David’s #37 and Matt Box’s #27 put on a spirited battle for several laps.

With 10 laps to go, David sat in third place behind the #52 of Ron Sheridan and the #28 of Steve Roblee. Jesse Kennedy, who had led much of the race before he cut down a tire, had passed Box for 4^th and was glued to David’s bumper. Kennedy got a nose under David and took over the 3^rd position with just a few laps to go.

“Jesse was faster than I was there at the end,” said David. “I could have blocked him, but after coming back from 2 laps down, I didn’t want to do anything that could take both of us out of the race.”

The evening’s second scheduled late model feature was postponed when rain once again interfered with the speedway’s race line-up.

David and the entire team were ecstatic about their 4^th place finish as they set their sights on the 2009 Delaware Speedway Championship. The team will be back racing at Delaware on Friday, May 29^th. We hope to see you at the track.