Jorge Goeters and
Brewco Have Historic
Weekend in Mexico City
MEXICO
CITY (March 7, 2005)-
Prior to this weekend's
inaugural NASCAR Busch
Series race in Mexico
City, Jorge Goeters was
a little-known Mexican
talent with the
opportunity of a
lifetime. On Saturday,
the thirty-four year old
Mexico City native
became part of NASCAR
history as he captured
the pole for Sunday's
Telcel Motorola Mexico
200. Goeters is the
seventh driver in NBS
history to win the Busch
Pole award in their
first attempt. With fan
favorite Adrian
Fernandez forced to go
to a back-up car,
Goeters became an
overnight hero in his
native country.
Goeters
was no stranger to the
pole position as he also
started from the top
spot in Saturday
afternoon's Desafio
Corona race.
Goeters went on to
finish second to his
brother, Patrick Goeters,
in the Mexican stock car
series race.
"Obviously, this is
very, very exciting. I
must thank my team-
Clarence Brewer (team
owner) and Newt Moore
(crew chief) took a
chance on me, and I owe
them a lot. We have been
working for this for the
past few weeks and
really felt like we had
a shot to win the pole.
I can't say that the lap
was perfect as I was a
little loose in the
corners. I just tried
to be as smooth and
careful as possible. I
didn't even know the lap
was that good until my
team told me, 'you did
it- you are the man.'
This is the best feeling
in the world, and it's
twice as special to do
it in front on my
hometown crowd. Today's
environment was
electric," Goeters added
after capturing the pole
position is his first
ever attempt.
Per the
2005 NASCAR Busch Series
rulebook, all cars were
impounded until race
time. As a result of
his newly found fame,
Goeters spent most of
Sunday morning fighting
through a frenzy of
Mexican media. When
asked if he was
overwhelmed, the
charismatic driver
responded, "No not at
all, this is something I
have dreamed about. I
want to thank all of the
press for their amazing
support and coverage.
This event is very
exciting for all of us.
Not only is this an
opportunity to showcase
our drivers, but it has
been a great way to show
the world what our
country is all about. I
would not be here today
without the support of
my sponsors: Canel's,
Comex, Scotiabank
Inverlat, and Ford
Racing, and most
importantly my family. I
am thrilled to have
joined the NASCAR family
today and cannot express
to you how much this
event means to me and my
country. I have always
dreamed about racing in
NASCAR, and now I
finally have the
chance."
Most of
the discussions during
Sunday morning's
drivers' meeting,
centered around the
first lap, more
specifically, the first
turn of the first lap.
Agreement or no
agreement, Jorge Goeters
was determined to lead
the initial lap- and
that he did. At the
drop of the green flag,
Goeters held off a hard
charging Martin Truex
Jr. going into the first
chicane. Within two
laps, Goeters had a
significant lead on the
2004 NASCAR Busch Series
champion. The first of
several caution flags
fell on lap seven. When
asked how his car was
handling, Goeters
responded, "I've got a
slight push on exit, but
other than that the car
is fantastic." Before
the race resumed on lap
eleven, crew chief Newt
Moore reminded his
rookie driver to pace
himself and conserve
fuel on the next green
flag run. Ron Fellows
attempted to pass
Goeters on the restart,
but an aggressive block
ultimately kept the road
course ace in second
position. The second
and third cautions of
the day fell on laps
seventeen and twenty.
As several of the lead
lap cars headed to pit
road, Newt Moore told
his driver to stay out
as originally planned.
Moore explained, "Jorge
and I talked about it
earlier, and we said
that no matter what we
were going stay out
until the end of our
fuel window. We are
only going to stop
twice. Track position
is so important here,
and we are not about to
give it up this early."
Ultimately, Goeters
headed to pit road and
gave up the lead spot on
lap twenty-five.
Carefully working his
way down pit road, the
NASCAR rookie had
trouble locating his pit
stall as his Team Brewco
pit crew stood anxiously
awaiting his arrival.
After a slight air
pressure adjustment,
four tires, and fuel,
Goeters returned to
racing action in 35th
place. Disappointed but
not discouraged, Goeters
showcased his driving
abilities over the next
thirty-five laps. By
lap thirty-two, the
Mexico City native had
worked his way back into
the top-twenty. A few
laps later, Tyler Walker
made contact with
Goeters, sending the #66
Canel's Ford spinning.
Goeters wasted little
time getting back on
track and back into
contention.
Despite
caution after caution,
Goeters continued to
work his way through the
field. On lap
fifty-eight, while
running 11th,
Goeters radioed, "Newt,
I think there is
something wrong- the oil
temperature is 280
degrees and I smell
smoke. I don't know if
it's going to make it."
Despite the impending
engine problems, Goeters
continued setting a
blistering pace, running
lap times as quick as
the leader. With
fingers crossed, Team
Brewco could only hope
for the best, but
unfortunately the engine
expired on lap
sixty-five. Goeters
would finish the event
in 38th
place.
"Obviously, that is not
the finish I was hoping
for, but overall this
was an amazing weekend.
There's no doubt we had
the car to beat. I
cannot thank the Brewco
family enough for giving
me this opportunity. We
were working our way
back through the field,
and unfortunately I made
contact with the
thirty-three car. Road
course racing can get
pretty aggressive, and
it's hard to make clean
passes lap after lap.
I'm pretty sure that the
contact caused some
radiator damage. I
learned a lot today and
more importantly had a
lot of fun. I can't
wait to race with these
guys again," Goeters
said.
Next up,
Team Brewco heads to Las
Vegas Motor Speedway for
the Sam's Town 300.
Greg Biffle will return
to the driver's seat on
Saturday, March 12th.
FX and PRN will carry
the event live at 3:30pm
ET.
