The Lows of Lowes... | More >> | Recap Archives: 2005 | 2004 | 2003
Start - 3rd | Competitors - 14| High - 1st | Low - 10th | Finish - 10th | analyzer report
Race Report - October 18th, 2005 - Race 31 of 36Quad oval, it sends a shiver through the soul. A Bruton Smith creation, Lowes motor speedway was designed to provide a great viewing opportunity for fans. The AMSOIL team is missing something at the quad ovals. Short runs are productive but long runs are the detriment.
Kevin ripped off a surprising speed for qualifying that resulted in an inside second row starting spot. Kevin put that starting spot to good advantage by staying in the top five for better then forty laps, while even leading a handful of laps. Perhaps it was false pretenses as those drivers who were specs in the mirror soon loomed large in the rearview and then zoomed on by. It seems no matter the strategy, conserve or run with the lead pack in the beginning, the end result is always the same - a slow car at the end of the run. To make matters worse, Kevin clipped the wall off turn four and did some significant damage at about the 1/3rd mark in the race.
Riding in the back and not a caution in sight, Kevin pitted, fixed the damage and found himself at a disadvantage. To rub salt into the wound, he got into the pitbox too hot for the second week in a row and the crew could only change two tires. The crew chief sent him back up and prayed to the gods for a caution but it never came. Kevin had to pull in for four tires one more time and everyone else was good to go the distance. So you say it can't get worse? Well Kevin bounced the car off the apron exiting the pits, clipped the inside wall and damaged the car pretty seriously. In the end it was a comedy of errors and the team was disappointed to be totally out of contention.
Kevin rode around for the rest of the race and finished a disappointing tenth.
