Good Run Cut Short After Contact for Goodson Racing
Good Run Cut Short After Contact for Goodson Racing BRISTOL, TENN. (Aug. 22, 2007) – Steven Davis, driver of the No. 6 Goodson Consulting/Davis Iron & Metal Ford Fusion for Goodson Racing, was en route to a top-10 finish when contact with a fellow competitor relegated him to a 17th-place finish in Wednesday night's USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway. “We avoided all the wrecks tonight. We just got caught up in a little tussle with the No. 75 car [Caleb Holman]," Davis said after climbing from his car on the hot summer night. "We’re a little disappointed [about our finish]. We just can’t get any luck. Doesn’t seem like there’s anything we can do to change it right now, but we’ll keep trying.” Team owner and former driver Tracy Goodson said he was still "really proud" of his driver. “We’re a little disappointed in the final result, but I’m really proud of the run we had,” Goodson added. Davis qualified 27th out of the 50 cars trying to make the 32-car field for the Food City 150 presented by Naturally Fresh. However, qualifying was a little nerve racking for Davis, who spun in the morning practice session and hit the backstretch's inside wall, causing some damage to the car's right rear. That cut Davis' practice session short. “I just lost it and I wrecked it,” Davis said in explaining the practice session incident, “so we didn’t get any practice, but the guys worked really, really hard to get me back out there for qualifying.” Goodson agreed with Davis that it was a tough morning for his team. “Steven had some trouble during practice, so we had to work on it a little bit," Goodson continued. "We didn’t get any practice after that, so I really wasn’t sure what to expect [for qualifying]." After earning a position on the grid, expectations were high for Davis. It even appeared that his luck was turning around when he threaded his way through a three-car melee in turns one and two on lap 23. With cars scattered across the banking, Davis chose the high line and remained close to the wall. Never letting off the gas, he made it through without a scratch. “It was close, real close. I really don’t know how we made it through there,” the 22 year-old driver said. “I went high and I really just closed my eyes, gripped the wheel, held my line, and we made it through there without any damage. I couldn’t believe it.” After avoiding a couple of more close calls, Davis found his luck, and his good run, would end on lap 66 of the 150-lap event. He had fought his way up to 11th and was working on the outside for 10th when Holman's car slid up the track, hooking Davis’ right front and knocking him into the outside wall. Davis managed to keep his car on the track, but the damage clearly affected his run, as he dropped back through the field. “I think it messed up the spindle or the tie rod," Davis commented after the race. "The steering wheel was all messed up and we were just really tight from then on." After the contact, Davis strugged to keep up, falling back to 20th before the next caution flag would fly when then leader Wade Day cut a tire and hit the wall on lap 85. This caution allowed the team to pit and take a look at the damage. The team first changed tires, then came back in and worked on the Goodson Racing Ford's fender. Davis returned to the track, but struggled for the rest of the night, finding himself one lap down at one point. He held on to the ill- handling machine and received the Lucky Dog award, which allowed him to get his lap back when the caution flag flew on lap 141 for a spin on the frontstretch. Despite the damage, Davis and the No. 6 Goodson Racing team held on for an impressive run, ending the night in 17th. The next race for Davis and the Goodson Racing team is the Aug. 31 Super Late Model event at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla. Goodson Racing’s marketing is being handled by Future Stars in Racing Academy & Marketing of Harrisburg, N.C. For more information on the Academy, please see the Web site at: www.futurestarsinracing.com.