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NASCAR WCUP: Hillenburg May Have Had Trouble Getting To Daytona, But No Trouble Getting Around The Track

23 January 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

DAYTONA: Who would have guessed that the driver who posted the fourth fastest lap of pre-season General Motors NASCAR Winston Cup Series testing at Daytona International Speedway on Tuesday, January 11, 2000, would have arrived in town late Sunday evening after hitch hiking to the hotel.

Andy Hillenburg, who is driving the unsponsored No. 91 LJ Racing Chevrolet owned by Joe Falk, found himself stranded in South Carolina when his 1993 truck broke down. After recording the fastest lap of last week's optional GM test at Daytona, he was determined to back it up in the "mandatory" test, to begin Monday morning; in order to do that, he had to get there! So, he hitched a ride with two vacationers returning home to Florida.

Andy proved that last week's test session was no fluke. For the second time in two weeks, the #91 LJ Racing Chevrolet posted the fastest non-drafting speed at the end of the day Monday. Late in Monday's test session, the Chevrolet of Sterling Marlin and the Pontiac of Ward Burton got together and drafted, putting Ward Burton at the top of the official NASCAR practice results sheet. The #91 Chevrolet was second, the fastest Chevrolet, and without any drafting help.

When the two-day test ended Tuesday, Hillenburg had met his goal of backing up his first test, posting the fourth fastest speed of 186.834 mph (Sterling Marlin was first with an average speed of 187.153 mph.) Andy's new challenge was how to get home. He, again, hitched a ride home. This time in the LJ Racing transporter.

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