PHOENIX, ARIZ. (Feb. 4, 2001) -- "Im happy for being my first race. Too bad we had an unfortunate situation."
That "unfortunate situation" was Rookie driver Burney Lamar being run into by Ken Kaltschmidt on lap 30 of a 100 lap stock car race at Phoenix International Raceway, Sunday afternoon.
The incident sent Lamar into a spin, from which he recovered, but it put him back into 24th and 22 minutes later, Lamar finished in 17th place. Winston Cup regular, Ken Schrader won the event.
The finish was a disappointment for the Colorado Springs, CO. based Bonicelli Racing Team, in that Lamar qualified the Waveshield, Western Funding, AmeriSuites Pontiac 4th in Saturday's qualifying and was running in 5th place in the race when the contact between the two cars took place.
Despite the disappointment, Lamar was warmly greeted by his pit crew following the race figuring he did a very good job of driving considering the situation. They finished the event, and in one piece.
Lamar said, "As a team we worked real well together and I'm looking forward to the next race at California's Cajon Speedway!"
