After winning the last NASCAR Winston West Series race in Salt Lake City, Ut., NASCAR Winston Driver Sammy Potashnick arrived again with a car to beat for the Las Vegas Motor Speedway 24 Hour Fitness 150.
Potashnick's No. 65 Lucas Oil Chevrolet was a dominant force, ending the last practice as the third fastest car and qualifying 4th for the race. Within just 10 laps of the 100 lap event, Potashnick began experiencing handling problems while he lost his spot in the top five. Crew Chief Chris Diederich instructed Potashnick to bring the car into the pits to access the problem.
The team discovered that the track bar adjuster had broken and that part failure was to blame. Unfortunately it was not something that could be corrected during the race. Potashnick lost 10 laps due to the malfunction and finished 19th in a field of 28 cars. At present time, the team is taking a deeper look into the part failure in order to eliminate it from happening again.
"It's unfortunate that this happened," Potashnick said, "We had another winning car, but there's not much that any team could do about a part failure like this. The same thing could happen to any one of these teams. What we can learn from this is how the car handled as a result of the problem. If it happens again we'll know where to look and not lose as many laps in the process."
Despite the bad luck, Potashnick and team are optimistic. Eagerly anticipating the off season, the team plans to regroup and prepare for a strong 2002 season where they expect to be front runners taking Lucas Oil to a Winston West championship. With supervision from champion Crew Chief Chris Diederich, the goal should be particularly within reach.
One race is remaining on the 2001 Winston West Schedule. The final event will be at Irwindale Speedway in Irwindale, Calif. on Nov. 10. Potashnick is a former Track Record Holder and Pole Sitter at Irwindale Speedway and has lead nearly 100 laps at the track. For more information log onto www.Sammy65.com.
