September 5, 2005 (Hickory, NC)
Hickory Motor Speedway – Brett Butler took the tack in the #00 Aaron’s Dream Machine in one of the longer races of the season, 200 laps around the .363 mile track also know as the “Bullring”. Unlike most races, caution laps do not count in the Late Model Series. Cars can make adjustments under yellow without going a lap down. This makes for some exciting racing. It becomes what Ken Butler describes as “the race for survival”. Rubbing is racing in Late Models. Cars jockey for position, and because the caution lap don’t count, you better believe the racing gets exciting! Cars constantly challenge each other lap after lap pushing their way to the front, most of the time ending up in a spin or in the wall as a result, and because caution laps don’t count, they keep coming back from more.
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As the green flag dropped, Brett and the Aaron’s Dream Machine found themselves in the back of the pack qualifying 19th out of 22 cars. From the very start, the #00 Brett and #71 car of Jimmy Doyle tangled going into turn 3 for the first caution of the afternoon. This would be the first of many cautions of the afternoon.
Through it all, Brett stayed focused and found himself in the 10th position at the halfway mark. At the halfway mark, all cars must take a mandatory 10-minute break. This gives the teams a chance to work on the cars. The crew of the Aaron’s Dream Machine took on right-side tires and gas only.
Brett did a great job staying on the lead lap never falling below 15th and working his way up to the 8th position with less then 25 laps to go before all heck broke loose. “The race for survival” began. The #8 car of Jay Gerst pushed the #92 car of Chris Bristol into the Aaron’s Dream Machine spinning the #00 in the backstretch. When the race resumed at lap 176, only 2 laps had been completed before the #8 car of Jay Gerst tangled up with the #2 car of Travis Mcintyre. The incident occurred going into turn 1, right in front of our very own Dream Machine. The two cars could not be avoided and Brett slammed into the outside wall ending his great run. What was looking to be an 8th place, lead-lap finish, ended up being an 10th place finish overall, several laps down.
The winner of the Bobby Isaac Memorial 200 at Hickory Motor Speedway was the # 84 car of Mark Setzer.
Brett’s next race is scheduled at Hickory Motor Speedway on September 17, 2005 this marks the Final Point Race of the 2005 Season in the Late Model Stocks Series. It will be a shoot-out from start to finish!
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