Tony Raines No. 33 RoadLoans.com Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS Ford 300 Race Recap

Raines Caps Off Season with a Strong Seventh-Place Finish

Homestead, Fla. (November 19, 2007) — The NASCAR Busch Series (NBS) made their final stop of the 2007 season Saturday, at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway, where Tony Raines was behind the wheel of the No. 33 Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) RoadLoans.com Chevrolet for the final time. Raines began the race from the 39th position and brought the No. 33 RaodLoans.com Chevrolet home with a seventh-place finish.

The teams unloaded on Friday morning for two practice sessions and qualified Saturday morning before running 200 laps around the 1.5-mile track. Struggling with an ill-handling car, Raines rounded out the first Busch Series practice 35th with a lap time of 32.743 (164.810 mph). Prior to final practice Friday evening, the team made changes and adjustments to the car to help with the handling. Raines was 38th on the speed charts for final practice, with a lap time of 32.416 (166.584 mph). The teams returned to the track on Saturday morning for qualifying, with Raines laying down a lap time of 32.653 (165.375 mph) placing him 39th on the starting grid.

With the race starting at 4:30 p.m., teams were faced with beginning the race under sunny skies and finishing under the lights.

Once the race started, Raines wasted no time moving toward the front of the field. By the end of the first lap, Raines had gained three positions placing the No. 33 RoadLoans.com Chevrolet in the 36th spot. The caution flag waved for the first time of the day on lap four when KHI teammate Bobby Labonte wrecked the No. 77 Dollar General stores Chevrolet in turn three. Crew chief Dan Stillman asked Raines about the handling of the car and Raines informed Stillman the car was “a little tight, but not bad.” Stillman made the call to stay out and the No. 33 RoadLoans.com Chevrolet restarted on lap seven in the 31st position.

During the next two cautions, Stillman continued to make the call for Raines to stay out. When the fourth caution flag of the race waved on lap 26, Raines was in the 20th position. Stillman made the call to pit with the leaders and Raines pitted for four fresh tires and fuel. Raines restarted on lap 30 in the 32nd position.

Continuing to march toward the front, Raines moved into the 18th position by lap 70. The sixth caution flag of the night came on lap 85 and the team made the decision to stop for four tires and fuel.  Prior to making his pit stop, Raines told Stillman “the car is a little tight.” “10-4,” said Stillman. “We’ll fix you up here,” continued Stillman. Raines restarted on lap 90 in the 19th position.

One lap later, on lap 91, the seventh caution of the race came out and the No. 33 RoadLoans.com Chevrolet suffered damage to the left front and the rear of the car when cars checked up for the caution. Stillman made the call for the team to stop before pit road opened to begin repairs on the car. The team quickly worked to make repairs, changing four tires, adding fuel and applying bearbond tape to the front and the rear of the car. Starting at the tail end of the longest line, Raines restarted on lap 96 in the 23rd position.  On the next few cautions, Raines continued to pit for the team to work on repairing the car and each time topping the car off with fuel, staying on the lead lap. Following the 11th caution, Raines restarted in the 26th position on lap 125. Stillman informed Raines “we are good on fuel and are done with stops.”

On lap 162, the leaders began making green flag stops for fuel and fresh tires. The 12th and final caution of the night came on lap 169, catching many cars one lap down. Raines took advantage of this caution, pitting from the eighth position and taking on fresh tires and fuel. The No. 33 RoadLoans.com Chevrolet restarted on lap 176 in the ninth position.

Gaining two positions by lap 200, Raines brought the No. 33 RoadLoans.com Chevrolet home in the seventh position.

The No. 33 Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) Chevrolet finishes the season sixth in the 2007 NASCAR Busch Series Owner’s Point Standings. The Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami (Fla.) Speedway marked the final race of the season and final race with Anheuser-Busch as the title sponsor of the NASCAR series.

STATS RECAP

Date: November 17, 2007
Track: Homestead- Miami (Fla.) Speedway
Event Name: Ford 300
Race: 35 of 35
Driver: Tony Raines
Started: 39th
Finished: 7th
Owner’s Point Standings: 6th

Next on Schedule

Date: February16, 2008
Track: Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway