Late Race Misfortune Ruins Raines Top-Ten Run

PHOENIX, AZ (November 9, 2002): As the NASCAR Busch Series headed to the Phoenix International Raceway for the 33rd event of the season, Tony Raines was hoping to find his own desert jewel in the form of a trip to victory lane in the Bashas Supermarkets 200.

Raines and his Bayer Consumer Care Team would have their work cut out for them as a Friday afternoon engine change on the No. 33 team would force Raines to drop to the rear of the field for the start of Saturday's event. Earlier in the day, Raines piloted his Alka-Seltzer Plus Chevrolet to 31st place qualifying spot with a timed lap of 27.970 seconds and at a speed of 128.709 mph around the uniquely shaped one-mile racetrack. Problems under the hood would force the team to quickly remove the engine and replace it with a new power plant.

"Starting at the back shouldn't hurt us too much," stated Raines. "We didn't exactly have the qualifying effort we were hoping for and we think the engine may have contributed to our sub-par qualifying performance. We are not losing a lot by giving up a few spots, but feel we have much to gain by starting the race with a fresh engine and no questions about what is under the hood."

For Raines, patience behind the wheel would be key to finding his way to the front to put himself in the right position to capture a solid finish in the 200-lap event. With the green flag waving to the field, Raines quickly went to work on a few of the slower cars at the back of the pack in an effort to clear those cars and avoid any danger of being involved in an early race accident.

Just 28 laps into the Bashas' 200, Raines had powered his way into the 26th place spot as he battled the cars of Hank Parker Jr. and Elton Sawyer for position. "I am tight to the throttle," radioed Raines to his crew. "Just a little change will do, I can use the track to help it the rest of the way."

"We will get you fixed up on the next stop," replied crew chief Michael Kadlecik.

By lap 50, Raines was riding on the heels of breaking into the top-20 for the first time on the afternoon as he stalked the No. 54 and 24 machines for a few laps until he was able to work by both machines on lap 55. The following lap would see the caution flag fly for debris as Raines prepared to bring the Alka-Seltzer Plus Chevrolet down pit road for service and a minor change to correct the cars tight handling condition.

While on pit road, Raines was fitted to four fresh Goodyear tires and a full tank of fuel. However, a problem with the right rear tire during the stop would force Raines to restart from the 25th place spot. A slight air pressure adjustment was made to the tires to help the cars tight handling characteristics.

Raines would quickly make up the lost positions with the restart on lap 62. Over the next 25 laps, Raines would maneuver inside, outside and around cars as he settled the Alka-Seltzer Plus Chevy into 17th place in the running order. Raines would run here until the caution flag flew once again on lap 102. "I am still a little too tight in the center," radioed Raines.

Raines would follow the leaders down pit road to the attention of the Bayer Consumer Care crew. This time, the crew would deliver a solid 18.7-second, four-tire stop that featured adding a spring rubber to the right rear.

With the restart on lap 112, Raines would once again find himself in heavy traffic as he set his sights on moving into the top ten. By lap 140, Raines had powered into the 12th place spot when he had to make an evasive move to avoid the spinning cars of Kevin Harvick and Hank Parker Jr. in turns one and two. With those two cars out of the race, Raines would slide up two spots to move into tenth.

Over the next 50 laps, Raines would be in a heated contest with the No. 18, 26 and 21 machines as he worked to stay inside the top-ten to bring home another solid finish on the season. However, lap 196 would bring unseen trouble as Raines was clipped from behind by the No. 18 machine of Mike McLaughlin as the two cars raced into turn one. McLaughlin's brakes apparently went out heading into turn one and collected the cars of Raines and Jeff Green. Raines would be unable to finish the event and would be regulated to a 28th place finish.

"It is unfortunate," stated Raines. We worked hard all day to come from the back and were definitely heading towards a good finish. It is frustrating to end a good day in that fashion."

With that finish, Raines remains 12th in the overall point standings heading into the season finale in Homestead Miami this coming weekend.