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Aaron Fike Kansas Post-Race Notes & Quotes

 

KANSAS CITY, KS (October 8) - Aaron Fike, driver of the #43 Liberty Village Ford, started 35^th and finished 26^th in the United Way 300 at Kansas Speedway.  Fike, who was making his second career NASCAR Busch Series start at the 1.5-mile speedway, battled an ill-handling racecar for much of the weekend.  Despite his best efforts, the twenty-two year old driver finished three laps down to race winner Kasey Kahne.

 

With practice and qualifying both scheduled for Friday, Team CAG (Curb-Agajanian) had more than their fair share of work cut out for them.  On easily the coldest day of the racing season, Aaron Fike quickly got to work, posting a top-ten practice time right off of the bat.  As the track temperature rose, the young, but eager team struggled to get a grip on the changing conditions.  A fast racecar quickly became a car difficult to handle.

 

"We unloaded fast, but really struggled once the track temperature came up.  This thing is loose- really hard to drive.  We are going to throw a bunch of adjustments at it and see if we can get it dialed in before the race," Aaron Fike added before Busch Pole qualifying.

 

With 54 cars entered, Aaron Fike would have to post a solid lap in order to secure a spot in Saturday's 200 lap race.  Fortunately, Fike would complete a lap good enough to secure the 35^th starting position.  With qualifying in the rear view mirror, Team CAG turned their sights to Saturday's United Way 300. 

 

"Once we taped up the car for qualifying, it became way too loose.  We are going to have to make some serious changes once the race gets going," Fike said.  As the green flag dropped, the loose condition still loomed.  On lap 29, Fike headed to pit road for his first of several stops.  After two major adjustments and four fresh tires, Fike returned to racing action one lap down to the race leaders.  While the changes proved helpful, the car was still too loose and Fike continued to struggle.

 

Despite the difficult circumstances, the young driver held his own lap after lap.  A second stop at the halfway mark, helped tighten up the #43 Ford, but it was still not enough.  With his hands full, Fike made slight contact with the turn four wall bringing out the yellow flag.  Ultimately the call was made to add a spring rubber to the right front.  The change proved successful, as Fike ran his quickest laps of the day from that point forward.  While his chances for a solid finish were gone, Fike did his best to salvage each and every position, ultimately crossing the finish line in 26^th place.

 

Next up, Team CAG heads to Lowe's Motor Speedway on Friday, October 14^th for the Dollar General 300.  TNT and PRN will provide live coverage of the event beginning at 8:00pm EDT.