FLAT TIRE SPOILS TOP 3 RUN AT MESA FOR JOANIDES

Source: JSI Motorsports
Date: 10/22/2003

BAKERSFIELD, California -- Nick Joanides, Gail Chase and Jackson Race Cars entered their second race of the season in the Featherlite Southwest Series at Mesa Marin. After a strong run at Irwindale and the prior success they have had at Mesa Marin, the team was confident for a good run.

The day started well as Nick posted the 9th quickest lap of 38 cars in qualifying. Typically the inside line is the preferred line, however at Mesa Marin, the inside lane has been worn and the outside line turned out to be the fast groove for the night. At the start of the race, the outside line took off and Nick had dropped back to 14th by the time he could move up. Nick stayed patient and began picking off cars one at a time as well as avoiding the many cars that got turned around. An accident at lap 100 caused a red flag with Nick already up to the top 3 and running lap times faster than the leader. On the restart, Nick realized the right front tire was going down, however was still able to maintain a top 5 position, however with just three laps to go, the tire finally blew and dropped him from a top 5 run to an 11th place finish. "The car ran great and we were faster than leaders with a real shot to win, so it was a big disappointment to have another flat tire at Mesa" Joanides commented, referring to a flat tire while leading the race last season. "We keep cutting tires at this track while either leading or running in the top 3, I keep trying to talk Nascar into letting us run Fix-A-Flat, but they're not going for it!"

Nick hopes that his runs in the top 5 in both Southwest Series races he ran this season will open the door for 2004. "I hope that I've shown what I'm capable of enough to have a team be interested in partnering up for the 2004 season" said Joanides. "We finished fourth in points in 2001 and I would love the opportunity to run for a championship next year"

More information is available at www.joanides.com

See Also .:

• Nick Joanides Driver Card
• Mesa Marin Raceway Track Page

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