Joliet, IL (June 13, 2003) - For a rookie in the Winston Cup Series, there are many lessons to be learned when it comes to racing in NASCAR's premiere division. BACE Motorsports driver Tony Raines can safely say after finishing the Tropicana 400 on Sunday that a key lesson at Chicagoland Speedway is that track position is key.

"It's a lot different from the Busch Series where you can start in the back with a strong car and drive through the field to the front," said Raines. "You have to have an outstanding car, like the 48 (Chevrolet of driver Jimmie Johnson) was today, to do that over here. If you car is just a tick off, then the leader will be on your bumper in no time."

Good track position was something that Raines had hoped to secure during qualifying and all signs pointed to yes after a strong practice on Friday where he was 16th quick. The only bump in the plan came in the form of the first draw in qualifying. To add insult to injury, a thunderstorm pounded the Joliet area just prior to the start of qualifying wiping any existing rubber off of the track. Without any rubber to provide grip and the excess jet dryer (used to dry the track) fuel on the track surface, it was a wild two-lap ride for Raines.

"It was loose, loose, loose," said Raines after finishing his qualifying effort. "I was just glad to hold onto it."

Even with the elements against them, the No. 74 Team would score the 29th starting position for Sunday's event. "I think we could have easily made the top-20, maybe even the top-15 if we had gone out later in the session," stated Larry Carter, crew chief for the No. 74 Team. "We new it would be tough going first so we are just happy to have a solid starting position for Sunday."

On Saturday morning, Raines' backed up his strong performance on Friday by finishing top-10 in both practice sessions, fifth and eighth respectively. The No. 74 Team wrapped up the final session early confident of their car as they headed into Sunday's race.

With the drop of the green flag on Sunday, Raines picked up where he had left off on Saturday bolting from his 29th starting spot into the 23rd position within five laps. "I'm loose going into one and two and tight off," radioed Raines. He would maintain the 22nd position until his first pit stop of the race on lap 60 which came under the green flag. The 16.0-second stop consisted of four fresh tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment in the right rear tire to help correct the tight condition.

On lap 69, the No. 20 Chevrolet of Tony Stewart would pass Raines placing him one lap down behind the field. Raines was currently 22nd at the time of the pass but was unable to hold off the hard charging Stewart whose lap times were a half second quicker than the majority of the field.

During the second caution of the race on lap 91, Raines would pit again for four sticker tires returning to the track in the 25th position. The tight condition remained and Raines would continue to battle the ill-handling racecar for the forty laps until a pit stop under caution around lap 129. The BACE Motorsports Team would change four tires as well as pulling two spring rubbers out of the left rear spring and going up one turn on the trackbar.

The changes seemed to help the No. 74 Chevrolet as Raines returned to the track in the 33rd position and over the next 50 laps picked up 11 positions moving him into the 22nd spot. Raines would pit once again on lap 197 for four tires and fuel but when exiting his pit stall collided with the No. 15 Chevrolet of Michael Waltrip who was entering his stall for service. The incident on pit road cost Raines valuable track position and he returned to the track two laps down and in the 28th position.

Raines would continue to fight for position during the closing laps of the race eventually moving as high as the 20th position but on the final restart he lost two spots to the No. 40 and No. 16 machines ending the race in the 22nd position, two laps behind the race winner.

"This was a great weekend for the team," said Raines. "I think with what accomplished during the practice sessions on Saturday we had hoped for better results on Sunday but we'll go on to New Hampshire and try to improve on our finish there. Running in the top-10 in practice is a huge morale boost for this team. These guys on this team work extremely hard every week to get these cars ready so this really pumps them up heading into the next week."

This week the No. 74 BACE Motorsports Team will head to New Hampshire International Speedway for the New England 300. The race will be aired live on Sunday, July 20 at 2:00 PM EST on the TNT Television Network and on all MRN affiliates.