| Concord, NC (May 28, 2005)
| Michael Waltrip brought the No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine to Lowe’s Motor Speedway for the NASCAR Busch Series race Saturday. Waltrip and the crew concentrated on a good race setup during the only two practices on Friday and qualified 22nd. Kasey Kahne won the pole with a track record 28.918 seconds around the 1.5-mile tri-oval track with a speed of 186.735 mph.
It was only a few laps into the 200-lap event Saturday when Waltrip reported that the car was “way too tight” through the turns fell back a few positions. The first caution flag fell on lap-16 and gave the crew its first opportunity to make some adjustments to the Dream Machine. Michael came into the pits 28th and the crew made a variety of changes to the car hoping to get it handling better. |
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Unfortunately the changes didn’t help as much as Crew Chief Gere Kennen had hoped, so more changes were on tap for the next couple of pit stops. It seemed that even some of the drastic changes made to the Dream Machine could not help the handling. Waltrip stayed mired back in the mid-20th positions for much of the race and worked his way past a few cars during the closing laps to finish in 16th.
Kyle Busch won the CarQuest Auto Parts 300 followed by Sterling Martin, Ryan Newman, Greg Biffle and rookie Reed Sorenson.
The next NASCAR Busch Series race for the Aaron’s Dream Machine will be the Winn-Dixie 250 at the Daytona International Speedway, July 1, 2005. |
May 27, 2005- Anderson, SC.-
Fans began piling into Anderson Motor Speedway awaiting the checkered flag for the start of the Aaron’s ProChallenge race. With blue skies and warm temperatures, drivers could not ask for better race weather as they anticipated and longed to take home the checkered flag.
Aaron’s was well represented on and around the track with not 1 but 3 Dream Machines, signage and giveaways. As fans entered the speedway, Aaron’s sports marketing team welcomed each guest and encouraged everyone to register for a chance to win the 55 Chevy honoring the 50th Anniversary. On the track, Ken Butler III, driving the #99 Aaron’s Dream Machine, started the race in the 4th position. Following three spots behind KBIII was his younger brother, Brett Butler driving the # 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine. Michael Foy was behind the wheel of the # 98 Dream Machine, starting in 19th position. Foy experienced difficulties getting his Dream Machine started and was forced to miss qualifying placing him in the last position to start the race. With KBIII and Brett Butler beginning the race with their best starting positions of the year, things looked promising for the Butler Brothers.
The Aaron’s ProChallenge kicked off at 8:30 pm. Foy, having confidence that his earlier problem had been eliminated, was forced to park his #98 Dream Machine after only 3 laps. Foy said, “ I only lasted 3 laps because the car quit on me. The car was already running bad, not to mention we could not get it to crank, causing us to miss qualifying. We spent a lot of time working on the car since the last race at Senoia and I felt we had made an improvement but it just kept getting worse. All in all, it was a flat out bad day.”
On a positive note, the Butler Brother’s ran a great race, maintaining the 3rd and 4th positions throughout almost the entire race. The 50-lap race was caution free until the 47th lap when the # 51 car spun out and brought the first caution. Brett Butler, positioned in 5th, was hit during the restart, ripping the front left side off of his Dream Machine, taking him out of the race with only 3 laps remaining. KBIII continued a great run. Making a pass on terry Mathis, KBIII only missed taking 2nd place by inches.
May 28, 2005- Hickory, NC. -
While fans filed in, drivers warmed up for the USAR Series Race at Hickory Motor Speedway. Brett Butler, driving the #00 car started out strong, having qualified in the 20th position. In a fight to the front, Butler drove his way to the 10th position. The first caution of the night came out on lap 34 when Butler was spun out and forced to the back of the field to take the 24th position. Passing more cars than anyone during the course of the race, Butler finished 13th.
May 29, 2005- Atlanta, GA-
| With the best record in the league and the home field advantage on their side, the Georgia Force defeated Tampa Bay Storm in the first game of the AFL National Conference. “Back and Forth” was the name of the game this past Sunday as the teams battled it out for a chance to continue on in the playoffs. With a buzzer-sounding touchdown, the Georgia Force led the Tampa Bay Storm, 26-19 going into halftime. With a Tampa Bay kick off to start the second half, the football reflected off the goal post and was retrieved by Tampa Bay who took it in for a touchdown during the first play of the half. With a tie game of 26-26, the Georgia Force kicked it into gear and scored 2 more touchdowns, making the final score 62-46, kicking the Tampa Bay Storm out of the playoffs. |
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Next Weekend: Conference Championships
National Conference Championship:
Georgia Force v. Orlando Predators: Sat. June 4, 2005 @ 3:00 pm in Atlanta
American Conference Championship:
Chicago Rush v. Colorado Crush: Sun. June 5, 2005 @3:00 pm in Colorado
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