POSTED: Tuesday February 22nd 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CHANGES FACE NO. 24 TEAM AT PHOENIX
AVONDALE, Ariz. (February 22, 2011) - After a disappointing finish in the
season-opening Daytona 500, Jeff Gordon and the No. 24 team are already thinking
about changes entering this weekend's Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International
Raceway (PIR).
Gordon started second at Daytona but was collected in a lap-29 multi-car
accident at the 2.5-mile track. Lengthy repair work to the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger
Chevrolet was required and Gordon returned to the track 30 laps down. But seven
valuable positions - and seven valuable championship points - were gained before the
race ended.
But while Speedweeks gave the four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion an
opportunity to gel with new crew chief Alan Gustafson and new Hendrick Motorsports
team, more changes await this weekend. The Phoenix race date has moved from April
into the second slot of the season, and qualifying - which normally occurred on Friday
here - will now take place Saturday afternoon. The qualifying order has changed, too,
from a random draw to practice speeds - slowest to fastest.
"Alan and the entire No. 24 crew did a great job during Speedweeks," said
Gordon. "We had a fast car and were able to sit on the front row for the '500.'
"Then, after the wreck in the Duel, they did a great job repairing the car so we
could keep our starting spot for the race. The car was fast in the race, we just got
caught up in an early wreck.
"They did an amazing job of getting that car back on the track Sunday, and that
type of determination and teamwork is why I'm looking forward to racing with this group
at Phoenix and the rest of the 2011 season."
In 24 starts at PIR, the four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion has one win
(2007), three poles, nine top-fives and 17 top-10 finishes - but none of those occurred
in February.
"There will be some new things that we will need to adjust to this weekend," said
Gordon. "In the past, the sun can be difficult to deal with while driving into turn 1.
Friday's practice session will give us an opportunity to see what kind of challenge that gives us in February.
"And those practice sessions now determine our qualifying order. This should
make qualifying very interesting with the fast drivers going out later and later. We could see the top spot changing after each run.
"Qualifying well here seems to help on race day. It's not like Daytona where you
can go from 10th to the lead in one lap. Sometimes it can take several laps just to gain one position.
"And the fewer positions needed to gain to get to the front, the better."
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Keywords · NASCAR · Number 24 team · Jeff Gordon · Daytona 500 · Subway Fresh Fit 500 · Phoenix International Raceway
Name: Jon Edwards
Organization: Performance PR Plus
Email:
Phone: (704) 377-8727
URL: www.jeffgordon.com/
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