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Houston Rallies For 15th Place Finish At Mansfield
Team ASE/CARQUEST Dodge Suffers Suspension Woes
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Emmett Byrd
704.792.2091 (office)
704.425.3262 (cell)
emmettbyrd@aol.com
MANSFIELD, OH- (May 16, 2004) -Andy Houston and his Team ASE/CARQUEST
Dodge crew overcame a mysterious suspension problem and rallied from two
laps down to claim a 15th place finish in the UAW-GM-Ohio 250 NASCAR
Craftsman Truck Series event at Mansfield Motorsports Speedway on Sunday.
The 33 year-old Hickory, NC native was making his 100th career NCTS start,
and while he has seen a lot of bizarre circumstances over that span of
races, most if not all of it pales in comparison to Sunday afternoon.
"In all my days of short track racing I have never seen anything like
that," Houston claimed. "The Team ASE/CARQUEST Dodge was really
competitive for the first part of the race and then it was like somebody
flipped a switch or something. At first I thought I had a flat. Something
really strange happened. The truck just wouldn't turn in the corner at
all. It would lay over on the right front and just stay there. It had a
really weird feel like something was broken or twisted."
Inclement weather forced the 36-truck field to start the race by 2003
NASCAR Craftsman owner's points placing Houston eighth on the grid. He
started the day in promising fashion. On the first lap Houston maneuvered
into the sixth spot, claiming two positions. He rode comfortably in sixth
through the first few caution periods and then on lap 58 his fortunes fell
in dramatic fashion. Houston came over the radio and reported problems
with his Team ASE/CARQUEST Dodge. He dropped from 6th to 28th in one lap.
During a series of pit stops at the next caution his Ultra Motorsports
crew, led by crew chief Dennis Connor, examined potential problems with
Houston's Dodge. Houston returned to the fray in the 29th position but was
still forced to make repeated stops for repair whenever caution periods
would allow it. On lap 111 the team changed the right front shock, losing
two laps in the process. Houston's crew added a spring rubber to the right
front on lap 150 and made extensive air pressure and chassis adjustments
over the course of several stops. Houston made one lap back just past lap
200 and made his second lap back when a massive melee occurred on the
backstretch involving Bill Lester, Chase Montgomery, Steve Park and
several others. After a short red flag interruption, Houston restarted in
the 20th spot. He fought hard to regain five positions over the last 15
green flag laps, claiming two of those spots during the last two laps of
competition.
"I am proud of these guys," Houston said after the race. "Dennis Connor
and all these guys never quit all day long, they never gave up and that
says a lot. This was a classic example of refusing to give in. It was a
tough day but there was no quit in any of them. We are not happy with a
15th place finish but at least we didn't roll over."
Jack Sprague claimed victory in the UAW-GM-Ohio 250, his 24th career win.
The race was slowed by 94 caution laps, a series record. Houston climbed
two spots in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series standings to the 17th
position, only 203 points back from new points leader Dennis Setzer. The
next stop for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is the Infineon 200 at
Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, NC on Friday May 21st at 8:30pm ET.
The event will be broadcast live nationally on the Speed Channel, MRN
Radio and XM Satellite.
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