Leicht, Racing Gearz Chevrolet Score Top-12 Finish at Nashville
Despite struggling with an ill-handling Racing Gearz Chevrolet, Stephen Leicht drove Richard Childress Racing’s No. 21 entry to a 12th-place finish in Saturday’s Pepsi 300 at Nashville Superspeedway.
Leicht was one of the quickest in each of the Nationwide Series twin practices Friday afternoon. The Racing Gearz team knew they had a car that was fast in race trim and followed that up with a strong qualifying run. The Ashville, N.C., native navigated the suburban Nashville speedway in 29.623 seconds (161.996 mph), posting the sixth-fastest qualifying time.
The 21-year-old driver started the 225-lap race on the outside of row three and quickly went to work moving up the leader board. By lap four, he was fourth and maintained the position over the next 20 laps.
On lap 40, Leicht radioed to crew chief Shane Wilson that his black No. 21 Chevy was developing a loose-handling condition getting into the turns. The young driver raced in and around the top 10 over the next several laps before heading to the pits just past the one-quarter mark.
The second caution of the day came on lap 61 for debris on the track and provided the Racing Gearz team the opportunity to ease the handling for their driver. Leicht followed the leaders down pit road in the eighth position and Wilson called for four fresh Goodyear tires, fuel and a pair of chassis adjustments. With quick service by the over-the-wall crew, Leicht maintained his position as he exited pit road.
The field came back to green on lap 64 and the changes seemed to work as Leicht set his sights on the leaders once again. By lap 74 he had moved into seventh and seven laps later powered to sixth.
He radioed Wilson on lap 102 that he was still loose entering the turns and tight through the middle. Despite his car’s inconsistencies, he continued to race in the top 10 throughout the event’s middle stages.
Green-flag pit stops began on lap 122 and Leicht peeled off the racing surface four laps later. He brought his No. 21 Chevy down pit road for four fresh tires, with an air pressure adjustment to the right-rear tire, fuel and another wedge adjustment. He returned to the track and was scored in 10th on lap 133 as green-flag service cycled through the field.
On lap 154, he radioed to Wilson that he thought he had a right-front tire going down. One lap later, the caution flag waved for debris on the track and Leicht made his way down pit road. The team went to work bolting on right-side tires, with an air pressure adjustment, adding fuel and sent their driver on his way. Wilson summoned Leicht back to pit road one lap later for left-side tires. Despite the added trip down pit road, the No. 21 machine held the 10th position when the field went back to green on lap 160.
Over the closing laps, the handling on the No. 21 machine went away and Leicht spent the remaining laps running a steady pace to maintain his position. He crossed the finish line 12th.
Scott Wimmer scored his first win of the season and Bowyer finished second for a Richard Childress Racing one-two finish. Carl Edwards, Brad Keselowski and Kelly Bires rounded out the top five.
The Nationwide Series enjoys a weekend off before heading to the Lone Star State in two weeks.
Texas-native Bobby Labonte will be behind the wheel of the No. 21 Chevrolet for the O’Reilly 300 at Texas Motor Speedway. Live coverage of the event will be televised live on ESPN2 Saturday, April 5 beginning at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). The seventh race of the 2008 season will be broadcast live on the Performance Racing Network (PRN) and Sirius Satellite Radio.
“The first part of the race the Racing Gearz Chevrolet was really strong and we were running fourth behind my teammate Clint Bowyer. After the next restart, the car changed and we weren’t sure what happened. With about 100 laps to go, I thought we had a tire going down and I came in during the last caution to try to fix the situation. I kept hoping for another caution so I could get the No. 21 back down pit road to remedy the issue. It’s disappointing because we were so strong during practice and qualifying but overall a good finish for Richard Childress and congratulations to my teammate Scott Wimmer on his win.”
RCR has won the past two Nationwide Series races and swept the top three positions in last weekend's Sprint Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Bowyer finished second Saturday, with the third RCR driver, Stephen Leicht, finishing 12th.
The Nationwide Series enjoys a weekend off before heading to the Lone Star State in two weeks.
The first open week of the Nationwide Series season began today with some on-track activity as teams converge on Richmond International Raceway for the third scheduled test of the year – and the only one slated for a short track.
Leicht will be joined by RCR teammates Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, and Bobby Labonte this week during the Richmond testing session.
The .75-mile facility will host the Nationwide Series 250 on May 2. |
