News/September 2002

BAD LUCK CONTINUES FOR EXCEDRIN QUICKTABS RACING TEAM

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (September 28, 2002) -The Excedrin QuickTabs Racing team traveled to Kansas Speedway this past weekend with hopes of putting on a good show for the hometown Herzog Contracting Corp. crowd.  Unfortunately, the team's day didn't go as planned after an incident on lap 38 ruined its chances for a good finish in the Mr. Goodcents 300.

After posting quick times in the morning's first practice session on Friday, Todd Bodine ran a speed of 173.472 miles per hour around the 1.5-mile oval during his quickest of two qualifying laps.  That run was quick enough to place the No. 92 Excedrin QuickTabs Chevrolet on the inside of the second row on the starting grid, in third.

With all four Herzog Jackson Motorsports owners, including Reggie Jackson who served as Grand Marshal of the event, looking on, Bodine took the green flag and immediately took second spot away from Jeff Burton.  He then set his sights on pole sitter Michael Waltrip, and passed Waltrip for the lead on lap two.  Bodine held on to the lead through lap eight before communicating to Excedrin QuickTabs crew chief Tony Liberati that the car was loose in the corners.  The team made its first pit stop of the day during a caution period on lap 33 and took the opportunity to change all four tires, add fuel to the Chevrolet Monte Carlo and make a track bar adjustment.  The field took the restart on lap 36 and just two laps later, while fighting for a spot in the top 10, Bodine and Jack Sprague made contact, which sent the No. 92 into the outside wall.  Bodine drove the car down pit lane to the attention of the crew, and Liberati made the call to take the car to the garage for repairs.

The damage to the Excedrin QuickTabs Chevrolet was extensive, but the team went to work to fix the damage.  Bodine returned to the track on lap 74, in 38th place, and was able to pick up several spots during the remainder of the race to finish 32nd.

"It's disappointing,' said Bodine.  "We had a good race car.  We qualified well and were fast in practice and were hoping to put on a good show for everyone that is here with the Herzog's."

The NASCAR Busch Series takes next weekend off before heading to Lowe's Motor Speedway near Charlotte, North Carolina in two weeks for the running of the Little Trees 300 on Saturday, October 12.  The race will be broadcast live on TNT and PRN radio beginning at 1:00 p.m. EDT.