Accident Halts Strong Qualifying Effort, Race Run for Jason Keller, No. 27 GoodNites Ford at Gateway

Madison, Illinois (July 23, 2007) –  It looked as though Jason Keller and the No. 27 GoodNites Ford Fusion Brewco Motorsports team were on their way to a top-five finish at Gateway International Raceway, after a fourth place qualifying position and strong early race run. However Keller was caught up in an accident on lap 133, effectively ending the team’s chances at victory in the Busch Series 250 Saturday night.

Keller and the Brewco team struggled with the setup of the No. 27 GoodNites Ford in the practice sessions, but Crew Chief Newt Moore knew that he had a good driver, a great team, and a car to work with for qualifying and for the race. He was right: Keller ran a qualifying speed of 133.881 and time of 33.612, which was fourth fastest overall.

By lap six of the Busch Series 250, Keller radioed to Moore that the car was “pretty free.” The loose conditions would continue and while running in the ninth position, Moore called Keller into the pits on lap 67 for the team’s first pit stop. During the green flag stop, the Brewco crew changed four tires and added fuel and sent Keller back to the track in 22nd place. He moved back into the ninth position by lap 89 and told the No. 27 GoodNites Ford crew that the changes “really helped the back of the car,” but that tight conditions were developing through the center of the corners.

Keller would pit again on lap 93 and a fast pit stop gained the team three positions in the running order. In the eighth spot by the halfway point of the 200-lap race, Keller radioed to Moore that the No. 27 GoodNites Ford Fusion was “free on entry,” and that he wanted the Brewco team to work on getting the car into the race track more so that they could make a charge toward the front of the pack. Moore told his driver that the team had a plan to help him get what he was looking for. However, Moore would never get a chance to implement that plan. On lap 133 Keller was involved in an accident with the No. 42 and No. 33 cars. The damage to the No. 27 GoodNites Ford Fusion was extensive enough that Moore called his driver back to the garage and the team was done for the evening. Keller would finish the race in the 30th position.

“The 42 car spun in front of me and I was committed to running low and somebody got in the back of me,” Keller said after the race. “It was one of those chain reaction deals.  It’s a bummer.  The GoodNites Ford Fusion was a solid top-10 race car and it actually got better as the race went on.  I take this personally, I wish I could have gone up the middle, but I couldn’t in this case.  The 42 (Kevin Hamlin) spun in front of me and I checked up and the next thing I knew, I was turned around.”

“It was a disappointing end to what could have been a great race for us,” Moore said. “We really hate it for Kimberly-Clark and all of our fans, but we have another chance to get into victory lane with Jason next weekend in Indianapolis. We’re looking forward to getting there and making a run for the win.”

Next for the No. 27 Brewco team will be the Kroger 200 at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis on Saturday July 28. Television coverage of the race begins at 7:30 pm EST on ESPN2.