FLAT TIRE COSTS JEFFERSON AT CNS

DACONO, Colorado Momentum and luck have a lot to do with racing and Jeff Jefferson of Naches, Washington ran shy of the good stuff Saturday night at Colorado National Speedway in round five of the NASCAR Camping World Series-West.

Jefferson, a normally stout qualifier was among the fastest in practice leading up to qualifying for the Toyota/NAPA "150" but only managed to post the 12th fastest time. At a track where a good starting position typically means a good finish, Jefferson would have his work cut out for him.

Cool evening temperatures changes the track conditions from what the teams practiced in all afternoon but that did not worry the MJ2 racing team. At the drop of the green Jefferson decided to not take a very aggressive approach and dropped back two spots letting the field sort out.

By lap, Jefferson had moved back up to the tenth position and was at the tail end of the front runners. His luck changed in an instant when he was tapped by rookie competitor Jamie Dick and the #42 Chevrolet went spinning through turn three. Jefferson rejoined the action and stayed on the lead lap but the car did not handle the same after that.

Jefferson restarted the race from the 16th position and over the next 100 laps he managed to move back up to the tenth position but a right front tire let loose on lap 135 ending any chance for a top ten finish.

Jefferson pitted for new rubber after losing three laps and eventually finished 17th. "To say we are disappointed is an understatement," Jefferson said. "The track was really rough and we did not hit the setup that could handle all the bumps. The team has worked extremely hard all year and we will continue to focus in order to put ourselves in a position to run up front.

The finish will unofficially drop Jefferson to tenth in the season point standings as his MJ2 Racing team head to their next event Saturday, June 21 at Infineon Raceway as part of the Sprint Cup weekend at the picturesque road course. The Bennett Lane Winery "200" will mark Jefferson's first visit in competition to the 1.94 mile facility.

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