MAYFIELD, KAHNE ELUDE MULTIPLE ACCIDENTS; POST TOP-15 FINISHES AT TALLADEGA

TALLADEGA, Ala. (October 2, 2005) – Jeremy Mayfield and Kasey Kahne eluded three multi-car accidents Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway and earned Evernham Motorsports a pair of top-15 finishes at the 2.66-mile, high-banked track. Kahne drove the No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge to a 13th-place finish while Mayfield was right behind in the 14th spot in his No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger. For Mayfield, it was his third top-15 finish in the four restrictor plate events this season while Kahne posted a career best at a restrictor plate track.

Mayfield is eighth in the Chase for the Championship standings, just one point out of seventh and 14 points out of fifth. He’s only 112 points behind the leader.

By the time the race concluded some three-and-a-half hours after the drop of the green flag, it was evident there had been no safe havens anywhere on the track. In usual Talladega fashion, the field was bunched bumper-to-bumper and three wide much of the race. The multi-car accidents happened at the front of the field among the leaders as well in the middle of the pack. Mayfield’s crew chief, Slugger Labbe, radioed his driver “there’s no safe place on the track” following an eight-car mishap on lap 66.

Unlike previous restrictor plate races where Mayfield and Kahne have been caught up in the mishaps, each managed to drive through unscathed this time around. Mayfield managed to lead the race on one occasion and Kahne drafted his way up to the second spot a couple of times late in the race.

Mayfield’s day wasn’t without problems. Although he missed the serious mishaps, he was a victim of aggressive “bump drafting”. A hit from behind on lap 30 crumpled the left rear fender on the No. 19 Dodge Charger. A caution five laps later gave the No. 19 Dew Crew the opportunity to go to work on Mayfield’s machine. The work continued into additional caution periods as the crew tried to improve the aero and balance of the car.

Kahne encountered a different problem. Although he kept the No. 9 Dodge Charger relatively clean during the race and ran at the front with the leaders on several occasions, he found that drafting partners were sometimes difficult to find and harder to keep. Just when it seemed he was in the right line for a run to the front, his drafting partners would desert him.

Mayfield started 32nd after posting a qualifying time of 51.445 seconds at 186.140 mph in the No. 19 Dodge Dealers//UAW Dodge Charger. He dropped back in the field checking out different lines around the track when a seven-car accident in front of him brought out the first caution on lap 21. Mayfield slowed up and steered his way clear. Immediately, Labbe was thinking strategy and had Mayfield make a couple of pit stops. The second was to top off the fuel tank before green-flag action resumed.

The strategy received a setback with Mayfield was hit from behind on lap 30. On each caution, Labbe was looking for an opportunity for Mayfield to collect five bonus points for leading a lap. After eluding an eight-car mishap on lap 66, Mayfield took the point during the fifth caution on lap 78.

He then headed for the pits where Labbe and the Dew Crew took one more shot at repairs to the left rear fender.

Labbe’s strategy for a two-tire stop during the sixth caution on lap 91 moved Mayfield to 10th. He worked his way has high as sixth as the field reached the half-way mark. Over the second half of the race, Mayfield worked to find the right drafting partner. He managed to work his way into the top 15, but just couldn’t get the help to move into the top 10.

“We made it,” said Mayfield. “That’s why I’m not feeling too bad about it. I’m a little disappointed in the way we ran. The car just wasn’t really fast all weekend. We didn’t qualify that good. We didn’t run well in practice. We didn’t run well in the race. But, we made it through and that’s the main thing. Finishing at Talladega is what counts.”

After making the chase for the second consecutive year, Mayfield said New Hampshire and Talladega were two critical races for the No. 19 Dodge team. “If we can get past those, we’re in the thick of this deal,” he said. “Last year, we were involved in a wreck in both those races. That took us out of the title picture. We made it through this year and now we’re headed to Kansas. We should do well there.”

Kahne posted the 28th quickest time in qualifying with a time of 51.344 seconds at 186.506 mph in the No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger. Kahne has his first close call during the eight-car mishap which brought out the first caution on lap 21. He threaded his way through the spinning racers unscathed.

Kahne stayed in the top 20 throughout the first half of the race. He was running 14th when the fifth caution fell on lap 78. Crew chief Tommy Baldwin elected to go with a gas-only stop, sending Kahne back on the track in the seventh spot. He continued to run in the top 10 when the leaders headed to pit road for service during the sixth caution on lap 91. Baldwin elected to go with right-side tires only and fuel. Kahne restarted third behind Tony Stewart. On the restart, Kahne teamed with Stewart and the two headed to the front. Kahne ran second to Stewart until he was shuffled out of the line.

Another two-tire stop on lap 129 opened the door for Kahne to make another charge to the front. He was second by lap 132, but once again was deserted by his drafting partners. He remained in the top 20 through the rest of the race including the green-white-checkered finish with the final lap halted by the 10th caution.

“You got all you could,” Baldwin told Kahne. “You did a good job all day. You just didn’t have a lot of drafting help out there today. It will come.”

Kahne is 21st in the season point standings, 20 points out of 20th and 220 out of 15th.

“That was a good job by all the guys at Evernham Motorsports, building the cars and engines,” said Kahne. “It was a good finish for us. These restrictor plate tracks have been tough on us, and that was a good result. We dodged some wrecks. I think we were in the right spot all day long with the wrecks and we were able to survive.”

Erin Crocker was the third Evernham Motorsports driver to take to the high banks of the Talladega Superspeedway this weekend. Crocker made her first start at a superspeedway in her racing career in Saturday’s ARCA RE/MAX 300-mile race.

Crocker’s debut began on Thursday with a 52.536 sec., 182.902 mph. qualifying effort in the No. 98 Auto Value/Bumper to Bumper Dodge Charger, putting her fourth in the starting lineup for Saturday’s race. The 24-year-old Massachusetts-native would stay equally fast come race day.

As the green flag flew on Saturday, it didn’t take long for the first cars to get sideways, causing quite a pileup on just lap three. The melee happened just a few cars behind Crocker, and she would settle in at the fifth position on the ensuing restart.

Team owner, Ray Evernham, helped spot Crocker through her first drafting experience, reminding her on several occasions to, ‘Just stay in your lane,’ as she began to get more comfortable in the multiple draft currents.

During the race’s third caution on lap 73, Team Director, Chris Andrews called for Crocker to come in for fuel only, and the quick service by the Auto Value/Bumper to Bumper pit crew put her back out on the track in the lead position.

Nearly the entire crowd attending the ARCA RE/MAX 2005 season finale came to its feet and cheered as the race was waved green and Crocker held the lead spot coming through the tri-oval at full speed in the No. 98 Auto Value/Bumper to Bumper Dodge Charger.

The rest of the pack gained some steam drafting behind Crocker, and she would move to the fifth place position by lap 81. But, the Evernham Motorsports development driver wasn’t done yet. She made a pass for fourth and was all over the rear bumper of the No. 5 in the final 10 laps of the race. However, the No. 5 car maintained its position with several sharp blocks to the bottom of the racetrack, sealing off any room for Crocker to maneuver her way into a top-three finish.

“I’m happy to come away with a top five in my first superspeedway race,” Crocker said after finishing fourth. “I know I learned a lot. Hopefully, I got some experience to go to Daytona in the spring. I’ve got to thank my team and Ray for giving me a great opportunity. It was a lot of fun. I’m pretty content with it. It was nice to run with some veterans and just get some drafting experience.”

Crocker’s finish bested Christi Passmore’s fifth place run at Talladega two years ago to hold the record for the highest finish among the seven women who have raced at the superspeedway.

EVERNHAM MOTORSPORTS IN THE NEWS

Mayfield was interviewed by MRN prior to qualifying on Friday and MRN and ESPN after his qualifying run. On Saturday, Mayfield participated in an open interview session, answering question from the media which included the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Birmingham News, Charlotte Observer, NASCAR Scene, NASCAR.com, Insider Racing News, MRN, PRN and XM Radio. On Sunday, Mayfield was interviewed by NBC prior to the race.

Kahne was interviewed by MRN prior to qualifying on Friday and MRN prior to the race on Sunday.

SPONSOR NEWS

Kasey Kahne hosted a group from Mountain Dew at the No. 9 transporter to begin his race morning on Sunday. Following that group, Kahne headed outside to the Siemens hospitality chalet for a question and answer session with the group.

Ray Evernham met with VIP guests from Freightliner at the No. 19 transporter and was then joined by Jeremy Mayfield to conclude the morning with Siemens TOP (Team Owners Program) guests from Tyler Stones Company.

it always amazes me how much they have do on a race morning......I'd be tired before the dang race started