ANAHEIM, Ca. (March 18, 2001) - Another top-ten finish by one of the sports most youthful contenders for the podium, helped tighten up the 2001 points race. Brandon Ash, driver of the 23 Springfield/Western Family Ford finished 7th - his second consecutive finish in the top-ten - in the Foods Co 200 at Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield, California, Sunday afternoon. Gaining three spots in Winston West point standings, Ash now trails point leader Mark Reed by 118 points with 10 races remaining in the season.
“A dominant car and a first-class pit crew allowed us to increase in point standings and that is exactly what we need to do each race,” said driver Brandon Ash. “We have gone out to every race with at least a top-ten car and I owe that to the crew - the crew is determined to put the Springfield/Western Family Ford in Victory Circle.”
Ash adopted the strategy of efficiency at the wave of the green flag – drive the car nice and smooth, dig in, and pick off positions as they come. Suddenly at the halfway mark in the race, Ash realized that he had a top-ten car and perhaps even a top-five car as long as they continued green-flag racing.
“Considering we didn’t have the opportunity to test at this track, we had a satisfying run,” said Ash. “I fought the brakes throughout the entire race, nevertheless the Springfield/Western Family Ford ran up near the lead pack all day with competitive lap times. We weren’t going to contend for the win, but we’ll take the seventh place finish.”
