News/October 2002

GOOD RUN FOR FEDEWA IN FIRST OUTING FOR HERZOG JACKSON MOTORSPORTS RACING TEAM

CONCORD, N.C. (October 14, 2002) - Veteran NASCAR Busch Series driver Tim Fedewa was behind the wheel of the Excedrin QuickTabs Chevrolet Monte Carlo this weekend at Lowe's (Concord, N.C.) Motor Speedway.  Fedewa, who has been racing in the Series for over 10 years and had made 19 starts on the 1.5-mile oval, drove the Herzog Jackson Motorsports Chevy to a 12th-place finish in Saturday's Little Trees 300.

Fedewa encountered a loose handling racecar during his qualifying laps on Friday and posted a speed of 176.771 miles per hour around the track during his qualifying run.  The Excedrin Racing team was forced to take a provisional starting spot and lined up on the grid in the 38th position.

The green flag flew for the start of the event and Fedewa picked up 11 spots on the first lap.  The first caution flag appeared on lap eight of the event and Fedewa radioed to crew chief Tony Liberati that the car was extremely loose in the corners.  Fedewa drove down pit lane to the attention of his crew on lap 10.  The team made a track bar adjustment and placed a spring rubber in the left rear spring in an effort to tighten up the car. 

Fedewa was running in 30th place when the next caution period came on lap 35.  Liberati made the call to take on only two new tires and make another track bar adjustment in addition to making an air pressure change to help the handling of the No. 92 Excedrin QuickTabs Chevrolet, which had become a bit too tight.  Thanks to the two-tire call by Liberati, Fedewa picked up 18 spots and returned to the track in 12th place.  Fedewa fell several spots as he again dealt with a tight handling car, but the pit crew came to life again on lap 96 when he once again drove into the pit stall for service.  Fedewa picked up four positions in the pits and was in 13th place at the halfway point of the race.

The Excedrin QuickTabs Chevrolet hovered between 11th and 12th place before the next round of pit stops began.  Fedewa led laps 166 and 167 before ducking into the pits for a scheduled stop.  Eventual winner Jeff Burton set a blistering pace in the closing stages of the race and only three cars were able to finish the race on the lead lap.  Fedewa took the checkered flag in 12th place, a career-high at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

"Tony made some great calls out there today," said Fedewa.  "The Excedrin QuickTabs Chevrolet ran well and we were able to make adjustments that helped throughout the day.  This is a Winston Cup-caliber team with good equipment and a great crew.  I'm glad I had the opportunity to drive this car and am impressed by the whole organization.  We're pretty happy with the results today given the situation."

The NASCAR Busch Series heads to Memphis (Tenn.) Motorsports Park next weekend for the running of the Sam's Town 250 on Saturday, October 19.  The race will be broadcast live on NBC and MRN radio beginning at 2:00 p.m. EDT.