Tony Raines Bayer Consumer
Care Racing Race Report
Daytona Beach, FL-The Bayer Consumer Care Racing
team made their way to the Daytona International Speedway this past weekend for
the NASCAR Busch Series season kickoff.
A weeklong event started on Monday when the haulers entered
the garage area. Tony Raines was eager to start racing; however, he patiently
waited as the BACE Motorsports crew, led by newly appointed crew chief, Michael
Kadlecik, unloaded the Chevrolet Monte Carlo carrying the #33. All the hard work
and long hours over the winter months would soon prove to be very beneficial.
On Wednesday, qualifying day, the sun was very bright and
the air was hot. The garage was sweltering and was a place of wrench slinging
and head scratching. Tony qualified
the Bayer Consumer Care Racing machine with its new bright yellow paint scheme,
around the 2.5-mile track with his best time of 50.101 and a speed of 179.637
mph. His time would put him in the
40th starting position.
After practice on Thursday, the team opted to stand on
their time from the previous day, and not requalify the car. They decided to set
their sights on race day. They knew that they would not be bumped from the race
since there were only 45 cars entered in the 43-car field. A motor change was
made to the #33 car, but practice times did not improve.
Friday was a day for working and lingering on the set up on
the car. The last practice of the day was a good one for Tony Raines. "I think
that we are going to be okay tomorrow," crew chief, Michael "Dover"
Kadlecik said. "We just need to be good on our pit stops, and Tony needs to
stay out of trouble."
After a long and hot week, race day finally came. The green
flag flew for the 120 lap Napa Auto Parts 300. Joe Nemechek led the field into
turn one for the first of 33 races this year. Tony Raines was trying to be
patient as the beginning laps were ticking off. Crew chief, Kadlecik, told Tony
before the race that patience was the key at the 31 degree banked track. Tony
held on and progressed through the field. By lap 14, Tony was in the 21st
position. On that same lap, rain clouds were over the speedway, and it started
to sprinkle. Tony came into pit under caution. The crew found a piece of metal
under the car that was eating a tire away. After Tony left pit road, the red
flag came out for heavy rain.
Approximately one hour later, the rain passed and the race
was underway. Tony came down pit road again, this time for mechanical problems.
Tony returned to the tail end of the field. He had worked the #33 up to
the 36th position when the 3rd caution of the day came on
lap 45. The majority of the field came down pit road, including Tony Raines.
After a 20.219-second pit stop, Tony returned to the race in the 26th
position. He gained 10 spots just from the pit stop. By lap 60, the half
waypoint of the race, Tony was 14th.
Tony had lost his draft and was shifted back into the field
to be in the 26th spot when the yellow came out on lap 83. Todd
Bodine, Jay Sauter, and Kevin Grubb all crashed hard in turn 2.
Tony made his last pit stop of the race under the caution.
After taking on four new tires and gas, the Bayer Consumer Care Racing crew put
the #33 machine 9 spots closer from where they were before they pitted, in the
17th position, after an awesome 18-second pit stop.
The 5th and final caution of day occurred on lap
102 and the Bayer Consumer Care Racing car was involved. Raines was tapped from
behind on the backstretch sending him airborne, and almost flipping the car.
Luckily, with the grass still wet from the rain, the car just slide across the
grass in the field after it came down from being in the air. Tony went behind
the pit wall.
"We were
fairly decent today," stated Tony Raines after the race. "I'm excited
about the pit stops we had, the crew did a great job. The guys worked really
hard this past week."
Tony finished the race in the 36th spot while
Randy LaJoie took the win.
"I am really pleased with the way we ran," crew chief
Michael Kadlecik said. "The crew has put a lot of hard work into this, and the
pit stops were great. I think that with the tone set with the pit crew, the pit
crew will win us a race this year. I'm pretty excited about Rockingham next
weekend. That's a track where patients is the virtue, and Tony is pretty
patient."
The Bayer Consumer Care Racing crew will head to the North
Carolina Speedway in Rockingham, NC next weekend to compete in the Alltel 200.
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