Texas II Weekend

[Darnell99Fan]

~Race2Win

Dickies 500 - Bill Elliott Notes
WOOD BROTHERS/JTG TEAM RIDES HERD WITH NEW SPONSOR INTO TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY FOR HOME STRETCH EFFORT

With a successful effort last week at Atlanta Motor Speedway, in which driver Bill Elliott collected an 18th place finish after starting dead last, the Wood Brothers/JTG race team is hoping to capitalize on some recent momentum this week as they prepare for the Dickies 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup event at the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway.

The team will be bringing a brand new sponsor on board this weekend in Delimex®, an authentic brand of frozen Mexican Cuisine under the H.J. Heinz banner. This will mark the second of three events in which a Heinz-backed brand will adorn the legendary No. 21 car on the race track. The Wood Brothers/JTG team was so pleased with the performance of new chassis 77 that they will bring the same primary car used last week in Atlanta. The backup will be chassis 84, another intermediate car.

Driver Bill Elliott has produced the best of combined records at the Texas Motor Speedway, having logged one top-10 finish in 10 starts, but he does have one Bud Pole Award to his credit, coming during the 2002 season. He also has led 82 laps of competition at the mile and a half quad-oval.

The Wood Brothers/JTG race team did have a very successful points day last weekend at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. After starting shotgun on the field, Elliott craftily moved up the leader board while staying out of trouble during many caution periods to bring home an 18th place finish—third best of the 2007 season. The team was able to cut the owner point margin to a scant 82 points with three events remaining on the year.

WHAT THE TEAM HAS TO SAY:
Bill Elliott, Driver of the No. 21 Delimex Ford:
“We had such a great outing in Atlanta with this car, which I’m looking forward to Texas this weekend. I think [crew chief] Gene [Nead] and I had some excellent communication and feedback during the end where we really got the car dialed in as the laps wound down. Working together earlier this week for the test at Atlanta is still furthering our relationship and all of the guys on the crew have stepped up as of late. We’ve got ourselves a bit of a turn around now and I’d love nothing more than to keep snagging those extra owner points as it comes down to the wire.”

Gene Nead, Crew Chief of the No. 21 Delimex Ford: “We’re achieving what we need to right now and that’s communication between the driver, me and the crew. These guys don’t give up and their efforts finally paid off last weekend. We’ve got a procedure in place that seems to be gaining momentum and there are a lot of similarities between Texas and Atlanta. We chipped away at the points and we’d love to take another big step in that direction this weekend.”

FAST & FUN FACTS:
-Bill Elliott will drive the No. 21 Delimex Ford in the Dickies 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday.
-In 10 starts at Texas, Elliott has one top-10 finish. He’s led 82 laps of competition and owns one Bud Pole Award, coming in the 2002 season.
-The Wood Brothers/JTG race team participated this week in the two-day 1.5-mile COT test at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.

NEXT RACE INFORMATION:
What – Dickies 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Event
When – Sunday, November 4th, 2007; 2:00 p.m. EDT
Where – Texas Motor Speedway; 334 laps; 501 miles
Network – ABC Television Network; PRN Radio Network