FORT WORTH, Tx. (April 16, 2010) –Alli Owens looked well on her way to capturing her second-straight top-10 finish in Friday’s Rattlesnake 150 at Texas Motor Speedway. Unfortunately, Owens’ performance was cut short. A spin through the grass, compounded by an issue with the No. 15 car’s battery, forced Owens to retire early the event. Owens finished in 24th-place.
Thursday afternoon’s qualifying session was rained out. The field was set according to last season’s owner point standings, which put Owens 25th on the starting grid. When the race got underway, it didn’t take long for Owens to work her way to the front. She moved into 12th-place by lap 25 and was running equivalent times to the leaders.
On lap 26, the ElectrifyingCareers.com Chevy suddenly broke free exiting Turn 4 and caused Owens to take an unexpected detour through the Texas Motor Speedway lawn. Owens made a terrific save and prevented it from hitting the wall. She returned to the track, but her tires were flat-spotted and the fenders accrued damage that needed repairing. She brought her car to the attention of her crew on the next lap, where they pulled the fenders away from the tires and changed her Hoosiers. She returned to the track two laps down.
Owens’ Venturini Motorsports crew continued to try and improve the handling of her race car and put her in position for the Lucky Dog pass. Unfortunately their efforts were preempted on lap 87. Owens’ car lost power without warning and coasted to a stop. The culprit was being evaluated after the race, but the team’s initial belief was that the rough ride through the grass caused a wire to come loose and short out the power source. The ElectrifyingCareers.com team pushed the car to the garage for the remainder of the 100 lap event. She finished in 24th-place.
“My car’s balance was a little off when I started the race. I was waiting for our first pit stop before I got more aggressive with the throttle. I know Jeff (McClure, crew chief) would make the right adjustments and get me fixed up. While I was biding my time, my car just snapped loose. It was a crazy ride. I went skidding through the grass. Unfortunately it jarred a few of our wires loose. I think it caused our battery to short out. I’m really proud of my guys for never giving up. Even after I spun, Jeff (McClure) kept making improvements to the handling. We stood a good chance of finishing in the top-20 until I lost power.”
Owens’ next race is the ARCA Racing Series 250 at Talladega Superspeedway on April 23. Coverage can be seen on SPEED.