GMAC Racing Finishes Fourth At Lowe’s

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Oct. 14, 2003) – GMAC Racing put last weekend’s 33rd-place finish at Kansas Speedway in their rear-view mirror and responded with a very solid fourth-place effort during the rain-delayed NASCAR Busch Series race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Rain forced the cancellation of Friday’s Little Trees 300 after nine laps and the event was rescheduled for Saturday morning. On the heels of their best qualifying effort of the season (second), Brian Vickers and his No. 5 group showed why they are a championship-caliber team. With the change in track conditions from Friday to Saturday, many teams were optimistic that they would be able to get the right setup dialed into their cars for Saturday’s 300-miler. The GMAC team hit the nail on the head as they nearly won the race. After the start of the event it took Vickers only 57 laps to assume the lead, despite the car being just a little tight in the center of the corners. On Lap 67, the team pitted under the green flag for four tires, fuel, track bar and air pressure adjustments. After the pit stops cycled through, Vickers re-assumed the top spot on Lap 73. The yellow flag waved again on Lap 92 for oil on the track with the No. 5 Chevrolet still in the lead. The GMAC team led the field down pit road for another round of pit stops where they changed four tires, added fuel and made an air pressure adjustment. Racing resumed on Lap 96 with Vickers in second, but he quickly moved to the lead again on Lap 99 where he would stay until Lap 116. The final round of pit stops began cycling through on Lap 150 and shortly thereafter (Lap 162), Vickers brought his Chevrolet Monte Carlo to pit road for four fresh tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment to try and help with the car’s tight-handling condition. Vickers re-entered the event in fourth where he would remain for the final 38 circuits before taking the checkered flag. The team’s finish vaulted them one place in the championship standings to second, just 36 points behind leader David Green with five events remaining. The Busch Series will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 18 at Memphis (Tenn.) Motorsports Park. The race will be broadcast live on TNT and MRN Radio beginning at 3 p.m. ET.