Ken Schrader Fights Tight Car in Las Vegas,
Yard-Man Ford Finishes 17th   

Las Vegas, NV (March 13, 2006) – Cold weather and inconsistent track conditions left Ken Schrader fighting a tight racecar throughout the Sam’s Town 300 weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  Brewco Motorsports’ Yard-Man racing team adjusted on the car throughout the day and when the checkered flag flew Schrader brought the No. 66 Ford Fusion home in 17th place.

“Tight” was the word of the weekend for Schrader, beginning with first practice on Friday.  Schrader ran the 16th fastest lap of the first session, pacing the 1½ mile long track in 32.708 seconds.  The Yard-Man team worked to free up the car between practices and at the end of happy hour Schrader had posted the 25th fastest lap time.  A qualifying lap time of 32.607 seconds put the Yard-Man Ford 21st on the starting grid for the Sam’s Town 300. 

When the green flag flew on Saturday, the Yard-Man Ford Fusion held steady around the 21st position.  After climbing to 19th, Schrader radioed on lap 30 that the car was “tight everywhere.”  After voicing concern for a vibration on lap 50, Schrader brought the Yard-Man Ford down pit road for four tires and went back out on the track in 31st position. 

Schrader was one lap down in 19th place when he reported that the car wouldn’t “turn in or off.”  When the next caution flew, Schrader told the crew to “free it up everywhere.”  Four fresh tires and a track bar adjustment was the call and Schrader went back out on the track in 21st place. 

The Yard-Man Ford was up to 19th by lap 148 but Schrader was still complaining about tight conditions.  When the next caution came out, Schrader made the day’s last trip down pit road for four tires, Sonoco fuel and a track bar adjustment.  The Yard-Man Ford restarted 18th on lap 155 and finished in 17th, the first car one lap down.

“The Yard-Man Ford Fusion was a handful this weekend,” said crew chief Newt Moore.  “We were tight in practice but the guys adjusted on the car and I felt like we were getting better.  When the race started we were just real tight.  Schrader did great with what he had and these Brewco Motorsports guys worked real hard all day to free it up but we never got ahead.  We’ve got a good group here with the Yard-Man team.  We’ll take what we learned and go have a strong weekend in Atlanta.” 

Schrader will return to Brewco Motorsports and the No. 66 Yard-Man Ford Fusion next weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Nicorette 300.