Technical Difficulties
South of the Border
Mexico City
(March 6)
– The NASCAR Busch
Series made the history
books this weekend with
its first ever race in
Mexico City, the “Telcel
200.” Sure enough,
Kleenex® Racing was
there this Sunday at the
Autodromo Hermanos
Rodriguez road course to
help kick off the event,
and compete for the
win. Starting off 11th
in the field with an
impressive qualifying
run, David Green and the
#27 Ford Taurus were
looking good.
Unfortunately, while
maintaining a near
top-10 position for most
of the race, the
Kleenex® Racing machine
experienced some
technical difficulties
involving transmission
troubles and oil leaks
midway through the
race. After making some
major adjustments in the
garage, the
Kleenex®/Scott® products
Ford Taurus was back on
the track to finish it
out, and ended the day
in 39th.
Starting 11th
in the field with a
qualifying lap time of
88.677 seconds, Driver
David Green knew that
starting position would
be important in this
race. “The good
positions are going to
be either up front, or
in the back, said
Green. Those first laps
are going to be
treacherous, but I’m
really happy with that
lap.”
Making great lap times
from the start of the
race, Green was in good
shape to make gains and
become a front-runner in
this inaugural race.
However, on lap 8,
troubles began as David
lost a few positions and
fell to 14th
place, due to a slightly
loose back end.
Conveniently, the
caution flag was up, and
crew chief Stewart
Cooper brought the car
in for new tires and a
track bar adjustment.
While many cars didn’t
pit, the #27 Ford Taurus
was now in 21st
place for the green flag
on lap 12.
Battling it out on the
fierce road course,
Green was striving to
gain positions. By lap
14, he was up two spots
to 19th.
Maintaining his status,
on lap 26, Cooper came
over the radio to lend
some words of
encouragement. “Your
doing great David. Keep
it up, every lap is
faster than the last,”
said Cooper. Due to
excellent performances
by driver and crew, the
#27 Kleenex Ford had
worked their way all the
way back up to 13th
by lap 34. A few laps
later, troubles began as
the caution flag was up,
and David came over the
radio to tell the crew
that his transmission
was broken. Only 4th
gear was operational.
Attempting to keep the
car in the race, Cooper
brought it in for a
quick pit to receive
four new tires, and then
was pushed off.
However, despite best
efforts, just 2 laps
later the team realized
they had a serious oil
leak. Unable to stay in
the race, it was now
confirmed that the #27
Ford Taurus had to come
in for repairs.
The #27 Kleenex/Scott
products team hustled to
make the many necessary
repairs in order to
finish the race. After
fantastic efforts by the
crew, the #27 Ford
Taurus was back on the
track by lap 59 and in
41st place.
Unfortunately, with the
end of the race nearing,
too much damage had been
done to make significant
gains. However, thanks
to powerful performances
by driver and crew,
David Green and the #27
Kleenex Ford were on the
track and running for
the finish of this
historical race. They
finished the day in 39th.
“Well, I was really
disappointed in that
finish,” said David.
“My guys worked hard and
they deserved better
than that. Every point
counts and my team did
everything they could to
get me back out there to
get the best finish I
could. I’m really proud
of them, and I know that
we have what it takes to
go out and get’ em in
Vegas."
Media Contact: Stephen
Kirby
SMC 500
910-692-4600
skirby@smc500.com
