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Sixth-Place Finish in Iowa
06/09/2009
Ryan Gifford and the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil team finished sixth in the Central Iowa Building and Construction Trades 125 on Friday night at Iowa Speedway. It is the third top-10 finish Gifford and Co. have earned in NASCAR Camping World Series competition this season.
We had a strong qualifying effort, which is something we have been trying to get better at each weekend.
Gifford kicked the race weekend off by posting the 12th- and third-quickest times in Friday's duel practice sessions. The 20-year old Richard Childress Racing developmental driver backed his efforts in qualifying, earning the seventh starting spot for the race.
The green-flag waved shortly after 8 p.m. local time to begin the 125-lap event and Gifford wasted little time moving toward the front. He raced his way into sixth on lap two and was fifth on lap 19. The Winchester, Tenn., native took over the fourth spot on lap 36 and remained there until the yellow was displayed 40 laps later, signaling a10-minute break and freezing the 27-car field.
During the break, the Camping World Series West teams were allowed to change tires, add fuel and make adjustments allowed during routine pit stops. The Wayne Orme-led crew made chassis adjustments, bolted on four fresh Goodyear tires and added fuel to their No. 29 machine.
Gifford restarted fourth for the lap-78 restart, but faded to seventh before a lap-90 caution. He lost another position when racing resumed on lap 96, but picked off two spots over the final 28 laps to finish sixth.
David Mayhew led 124 of the 125 laps en route to victory, beating Jason Bowles to the finish line by 2.288 seconds. Max Gresham finished third, Brett Moffit was fourth and Jeff Barkshire rounded out the top-five.
Next up for Gifford and his Team Dillon Racing crew is a trip to Tri-County Motor Speedway in Hudson, N.C., for a 100-lap season finale race at the four-10ths of a mile track.
Gifford's next start in the NASCAR Camping World Series will come at "The Monster Mile," Dover International Speedway, on Sept. 25.
RYAN GIFFORD Quote:
"It was a strong weekend for the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil team. We had a strong qualifying effort, which is something we have been trying to get better at each weekend. These guys worked hard to make our car better on the long runs and it showed there at the end. If our Chevrolet handled the way it did at the end 15 laps earlier, I think we could have had a top-three finish. It was a good showing for us and we learned a lot that we can use for races later this season."