Results from Kentucky Speedway
1.  Stephen Leicht, No. 90 Ford
4.  David Stremme, No. 41 Wrigley’s Winterfresh® Dodge 
21.  Kevin Hamlin, No. 42 Texaco/Havoline Dodge

SPARTA, Ky. (June 16, 2007)-It was a long day at Kentucky Speedway Saturday, as the NASCAR Busch Series (NBS) teams prepared to go racing.  David Stremme and the No. 41 Wrigley’s Winterfresh team agreed by the end of the night their run was well worth the wait as they battled back from a 27th-place starting position and fixed a loose-handling condition to finish fourth.  The top five marked the team’s best finish so far this 2007 season and also moved it up two more spots—into 25th place—in the NBS owner standings.

Pulling his second double-duty shuffle between two separate states this weekend so he could compete in both the NASCAR Busch and NEXTEL Cup races, Stremme flew in from Brooklyn, Mich., Saturday to qualify the No. 41 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS) Busch Dodge.  He had his hands full with a very loose-handling race car during the two trial laps but did his best to recover to score a 27th-place starting position.  Unfortunately, the loose condition stuck around to greet Stremme and team in the beginning laps of the Meijer 300, as Stremme radioed crew chief Brian Pattie less than five laps into his run to tell him the car was still way too loose. 

The team made three different pit stops, two under yellow-flag conditions and another under green, between laps 18 and 100 to make wedge and air pressure adjustments to its car.  Sure enough as the sun went down and as each adjustment was made the car seemed to take a liking to the 1.5-mile speedway.  Just past the half-way point of the 300-mile competition, the cool blue Wrigley’s Winterfresh Dodge broke inside the top 15 and proceeded to only move forward from there. 

The highlight of the CGRFS Busch team’s run was when the sixth yellow flag of the race waved on lap 151.  Running 13th, Pattie called his driver to pit for one last time on lap 152 so the team could fit its Dodge with four tires and top it off with fuel.  As the field resumed racing on lap 156, the No. 41 was listed ninth on the infield score tower.  Stremme’s over-the-wall crew had gained him four positions in the pits and helped him break inside the top 10.

Less than 10 laps later, Stremme moved inside the top five.  Then, as the field came around to complete lap 186 of the 200-lap competition, the Wrigley’s Winterfresh team watched its car move into the fourth spot to finish the last 14 laps of the race.  Stremme’s teammate Kevin Hamlin finished 21st.

Next weekend, CGRFS development driver Scott Lagasse Jr. will take the wheel of the No. 41 Wrigley’s Juciy Fruit ® Dodge to go racing in the AT&T 250 at the Milwaukee (Wis.) Mile.  The race is scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. ET and will broadcast live on ESPN2, MRN radio and Sirius Satellite Radio channel 128.

CGRFS Driver Quoteboard

DAVID STREMME:  “The Wrigley’s Winterfresh Dodge was really loose early on, but Brian and the guys did a great job working on the car here tonight to get it to come around and it did just that.  I am happy to finish fourth.  Our Busch program is great and the guys need to look at tonight and be proud.  When the sun went down, the car really seemed to come to life, and then the guys pulled such a great stop there toward the end that really gave us the boost we needed.  So, I just want to say thanks to all of them.”