Stremme Finishes 29th Sunday at the “Monster Mile”
September 27, 2009
DOVER, Del. (September, 27, 2009) – Penske Racing driver David Stremme was looking to capitalize on a strong starting position Sunday at Dover International Speedway before an untimely caution in the early going ended the chances for a solid run for the No. 12 Penske Dodge and the team wound up finishing in 29th place.
Stremme started the AAA 400 in the 18th spot, and he battled a tight-handling race car during the first 75 laps. He explained to the team that the car was struggling to turn in the center of the corners and the condition hindered his ability to get back on the gas coming out of the turns.
Stremme remained in the top-25 for the first 175 laps, but continued to battle an ill-handling race car. He again radioed to his team on lap 159 to explain that the car was still handling tight in the middle of the high-banked corners.
On lap 160, Stremme brought the Penske Dodge down pit lane for a green flag pit stop. The team changed four tires and filled the car with racing fuel. The No. 12 crew also made both air pressure and chassis adjustments, hoping to free up the car’s handling for the next green flag segment. Three laps later, the caution flag was displayed to the field, which wound up leaving the Penske Dodge three laps down to the race leaders.
Stremme, determined to work his way back towards the front, remained focused and hoped that a couple of quick caution flags would allow him to return to lead-lap racing. On lap 271, Stremme’s right front tire exploded coming out of turn 4 and sent the Penske Dodge into the outside retaining wall. The contact caused severe damage to the right side of Stremme’s machine. He brought the No. 12 down pit lane on the next lap and the team began to make the necessary repairs to the car. Stremme was able to return to the track and finished the race in the 29th spot.
“It was a tough day,” commented Stremme after the event. “We struggled to find the handle early in the race. We came down pit road and the caution came out which put us behind. Then we had a tire go down and I hit the wall. We just can’t buy a break. We will regroup and move on to Kansas.”
Stremme and the No. 12 Dodge team now sit 31st in the Cup Series driver point standings with eight races remaining on the schedule.
Next week, the team moves on to Kansas Speedway for Sunday’s Price Chopper 400. The race will be seen live on Sunday, October 4 on ABC-TV. Race coverage is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. ET. The event will also be heard live on MRN Radio as well as Sirius Satellite Radio, channel 128.
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David Stremme AAA 400 Statistics
Start: 18
Finish: 29
Laps: 385/400
Laps Led: 0
Status: Running