Monday, March 27, 2006
Kauffman Finishes 42nd in Bristol
BRISTOL, Tenn. (March 27, 2006) — It was an unusual race weekend in Bristol, Tenn. Friday’s practice sessions were all cancelled due to the rain that poured down for most of the day. Not one car took to the track on Friday and not much could be done to work on the cars at a track where there are no garages, only tents.
The cars remained covered as the teams made their way to the infield on Saturday morning, hoping to get at least one practice in before qualifying. At 8 a.m., the NASCAR Busch Series hit the track for an hour and twenty minutes. Joel Kauffman, driver of the No. 12 Supercuts Beach Bash Dodge 44 laps during the only practice the Busch drivers would have.
Kauffman ended up 16th on the speed charts with a time of 15.49 seconds after putting on fresh tires and making a qualifying run. However, during the practice session, the car was bottoming out on the track so badly that a flywheel broke. The No. 12 team went to work on the car before qualifying began.
The qualifying run that Kauffman made would prove irrelevant after the session was delayed and eventually cancelled due to snow. The field for the Sharpie Mini 300 was set by owner’s points and Kauffman and the No. 12 Supercuts Beach Bash Dodge started in the 35th-position.
NASCAR moved the race time up a few minutes due to the possibility of more weather delays. At approximately 3 p.m. ET, the green flag dropped on the sixth race of the 2006 NASCAR Busch Season and the first caution flag flew only four laps in.
Kauffman came on the radio and told his crew, “I’m happy with the car. It’s not real tight or loose. I’m hardly stepping on the gas.”
Two more caution flags came out; one on lap 21 and the other on lap 29. When the No. 06 car hit the wall on lap 29 to bring out the third caution of the day, Kauffman told his team that he was now on the brakes so hard that the car was tight.
After three laps under caution, NASCAR stopped the race due to a heavy snowfall. When the cars were parked on pit road, Kauffman was running 28th.
One hour and nineteen minutes after the snow began to fall, NASCAR announced over the loudspeakers for the drivers to return to their cars. At 4:52 p.m., the cars once again rolled off of pit road.
The excitement would continue for the No. 12 Supercuts Beach Bash Dodge on lap 60 when the No. 01 car of Jay Sauter got into the back of Kauffman and spun the car around. There was no damage to the car, but Kauffman pronounced that his car was a little tight.
Crew Chief Butch Hylton decided at the last minute to keep the No. 12 Supercuts Beach Bash Dodge out on the track to gain track position. When the race went green again on lap 70, Kauffman was in the fourth-position.
“Kevin Harvick on new tires behind me,” Kauffman radioed in. “What a feeling.”
The joy would be short-lived when the No. 35 car of Regan Smith spun Kauffman out around lap 95 while Kauffman was running 11th. The No. 12 Supercuts Beach Bash Dodge hit the wall and smashed in the nose of the car. On lap 99, Kauffman took the car behind the wall for repairs.
The outlook seemed promising, though, when the No. 12 Supercuts Beach Bash crew discovered that the radiator had not been damaged in the accident. The crew went to work cutting off the nose of the car and finding a way to protect the radiator and get Kauffman back onto the track.
On lap 129, Kauffman was back in the race, but in the 41st-spot, 30 laps down.
Kauffman wasn’t too happy with the handling of the car and reported to the crew that the toe was knocked out. When he brought the No. 12 Supercuts Beach Bash Dodge back down pit road, the crew found that the toe was not knocked out. Hylton assured Kauffman that the car felt this way because of the earlier damage, but that the car would be fine.
Lap 140 brought out another caution flag when Kauffman and the No. 12 car spun out the No. 90 car of Matt McCall. Kauffman came back into the pits for some more adjustments. Hylton told the crew to take one round of wedge out of both sides of the car and to go two rounds up on the track bar.
When Kauffman took the green flag restart on lap 147, he had gained one spot, moving up to the 40th-position. The goal at this point was to finish as many laps as possible and try to pick up spots on the track as other cars became involved in on-track incidents.
The No. 12 Supercuts Beach Bash Dodge had picked up one final spot by lap 160, but had to call it a day when the car was unable to reach the minimum speed set by NASCAR.
After completing 127 laps, Kauffman finished the race in the 42nd-position.
Kauffman will be back in the No. 12 Supercuts Dodge Charger at the O’Reilly 300 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 8. The race is being broadcast on FOX and PRN at 3 p.m. ET.
Olympia Steel Buildings are the proud co-sponsors of FitzBradshaw Racing
and Car #12
Monday, March 20, 2006
Finishes 33rd in Nicorette 300
HAMPTON, Ga. (March 20, 2006) - The
No. 12 Supercuts Dodge driven by Joel Kauffman was able to avoid
the tire problems that plagued many others, including teammate Tracy
Hines, and gained valuable experience at the fast 1.54-mile speedway.
Kauffman qualified for the Nicorette 300 in the 37th-position and
was a little tight from the center off. When the first caution flag
waved on lap 11, Crew Chief Butch Hylton made the decision to bring
the No. 12 Supercuts Dodge down pit road. The crew topped the car
off with fuel while taking one round of wedge out of the left rear
and raised the track bar two rounds.
30 laps later, the second caution came out when the No. 5 car of
Kyle Busch blew a right rear tire, the start of the tire issues.
“I’m a little free, but I run better if I’m on
the bottom,” radioed Kauffman. “I need the nose to turn
better late in the center.”
Hylton called the car in for a second stop to adjust the tire pressures
on the Supercuts Dodge. The crew took two pounds out of the left
front and put two pounds in the right rear. However, something was
amiss on the car when Kauffman headed back out on the track and felt
a bad vibration. Hylton thought it might be a loose lug nut on one
of the tires, but when Kauffman came back in a few laps later, they
found that all the lug nuts were tight. Luckily for the team, the
vibration went away on its own.
On lap 63, the third caution of the day occurred.
“I feel like I’m floating across the racetrack,” Kauffman
said. “I need the car to be held down more. It feels like I’m
driving on ice.”
Hylton decided the crew needed to close the shocks, but it would
take two consecutive stops for the No. 12 Supercuts team to make
all the adjustments.
Another problem arose when the crewmember began taking tear offs
from the windshield. When the tearoff was pulled off, the glue did
not come up as it should have, and resided on the windshield making
it impossible for Kauffman to see. The crew would have to spend valuable
time on pit road removing the glue from the windshield.
When A.J. Foyt, IV spun in the No. 38 car, Kauffman came back in to get his windshield taken care of. The crew had to tear off every protective layer on the windshield and tried to clean the glue off in order to help Kauffman see. Meanwhile, the left front fender of the car had been damaged, but Hylton informed Kauffman that the tire was not being damaged and that they would fix the problem on the next stop.
“These guys are good!” yelled Kauffman as Jeff Burton, the eventual race winner, passed him to put Kauffman three laps down. “I was giving it about all I could.”
The work to repair the fender helped Kauffman, but on lap 150, when the No. 12 Supercuts Dodge came back in, Hylton called for a half pound of pressure to be put into the right rear tire to help the car even more. However, on lap 171, Kauffman radioed in to say the car had gone to the tight side.
Kauffman was able to pick up a few spots before the race was over, though. The No. 12 Supercuts Dodge finished in the 32nd-position.
Next week, Kauffman will drive the No. 12 Beach Bash Dodge Charger in the Sharpie Mini 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway. The race will take place at 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 25 on FOX. PRN will also broadcast the race.
Olympia
Steel Buildings are the proud co-sponsors of FitzBradshaw Racing
and Car #12
Monday, March 6, 2006
Even With Obstacles, the No. 12 Take Me On Vacation Dodge Finishes Unscathed
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (March 6, 2006) - Joel
Kauffman and the No. 12 Take Me On Vacation Dodge team were determined
to start the Telcel MOTOROLA 200 presented by Banamex Sunday despite
feeling ill and spending most of the morning before the race in the
infield care center. The 20-year-old Raybestos Rookie of the Year
candidate was being treated for dehydration and Crew Chief Butch
Hylton searched for a replacement driver to take over for Kauffman,
but Kauffman decided he was ready to get into the seat and drive.
With the support of the team and a lot of fortitude, Kauffman rolled
off the grid 42nd.
"I feel better when I'm sitting down," is how Kauffman responded when asked if he was feeling okay. Car Chief Josh Tucker replied, "Well, you'll be sitting down for a long time."
Kauffman took to the track and dropped to the back of the field by choice. He and Hylton had decided that it would be better to get behind everyone and stay out of the trouble that was sure to be in front of them.
More troubles plagued the Take Me On Vacation Dodge when on lap 20, a transmission leak on pit road sent the car and crew into the garage. The team replaced the entire transmission in only 13 laps and gave Kauffman a chance to get out of the car and rest.
The No. 12 Dodge Charger went back out on lap 33 running in 41st-place. Since Kauffman was running on his own lap and not fighting for position with anyone else, Hylton told Kauffman to drop to the back of the field at every restart.
"All we needed to do was finish the race," said Hylton. "We knew if we took it easy and just ran our own race and stayed out of other driver's wrecks, we could pick up spots."
That strategy paid off in the end when Kauffman ended up gaining seven spots after other drivers fell out of the race, but it didn't come easily.
With 20 laps left, Kauffman radioed in to the crew that he had lost his brakes. On lap 62, the No. 36 car driven by Tim Sauter lost one of its tires in front of Kauffman. Luckily, Kauffman was able to avoid the debris and remain running to finish the second annual Mexico City race.
"It wasn't a great race for us, obviously, but the fact that I was able to start the race was important to me," said Kauffman. "The guys did a great job with the transmission and even though we had so many problems today, we still managed to finish the race. I think that shows how well the crew works together and how hard they work each and every week."
This week, Kauffman will drive the No. 12 Supercuts Dodge at the Sam's Town 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 11. The race begins at 6 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on the FX Network as well as MRN Radio.
Olympia
Steel Buildings are the proud co-sponsors of FitzBradshaw Racing
and Car #12
Monday, March 6, 2006
Mexico City Native Top Mexican Driver
MEXICO CITY, Mexico (March 6, 2006) - Carlos Contreras, one of eight native Mexicans racing in the Telcel MOTOROLA Mexico 200 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Sunday, earned top honors amongst the hometown drivers. Contreras, who started the race in the 22 nd-position, finished 11th in the No. 14 Goulds Pumps Dodge. Adrian Fernandez, another Mexican hero, finished just behind Contreras in 12th.
"I was very happy with the results that we had," Contreras said. "We had a great strategy and the team worked so hard on the car and we had great pit stops all day."
Contreras had moved into the top-10 in only 13 laps and was able to stay out of the problems that other drivers were having. He moved up to the 5 th position by lap 18 and for most of the race, the only time he was out of the top-10 was after a pit stop.
On lap 48, Contreras took the lead for the first time and remained there until a caution came out on lap 50 and Contreras went in for a pit stop. When the No. 14 Goulds Pumps Dodge went back out on the track, he was jut out of the top-20. Again, with strategy and patience, Contreras soon got the car back into the 13 th spot.
"We worked hard all day," said Crew Chief Ed Buffington. "When Carlos would start in mid-pack, it wouldn't take him long at all to start moving up toward the front of the group. He did a really good job of driving for us today and he brought home a solid finish for this No. 14 Goulds Pumps Dodge team."
"We had a really strong car all day," said Contreras. "I was happy to be on the track for FitzBradshaw this weekend. I wish we could've had a top-10 finish, but with an 11 th-place finish, we were able to help the No. 14 car move up nine spots in the owner's points and that makes me feel great."
Next week, Tracy Hines will be back in the No. 14 Take Me On Vacation Dodge at the Sam's Town 300 in Las Vegas. The race will be broadcast on the FX Network beginning at 6 p.m. ET, as well as on MRN Radio.
Olympia
Steel Buildings are the proud co-sponsors of FitzBradshaw Racing
and Car #12
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