Long Day Ends Long Weekend for Raines, DLP HDTV Team

Date:                      Aug. 21, 2007 (Delayed two days by rain)
Event:                     3M Performance 400 (Round 23 of 36)
Series:                   NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series
Location:               Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn (2-mile oval)
Start/Finish:        37th/ 34th (Running, completed 201 of 203 laps)
Winner:                Kurt Busch of Penske Racing (Dodge) in a green/white/checkered finish

Tony Raines and the DLP HDTV team could never quite find the right combination to make their No. 96 Chevrolet get around the 2-mile oval that is Michigan International Speedway.  As a result, they finished 34th in Tuesday’s rain-delayed 3M Performance 400 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race.

The race was originally scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 19, but was postponed until Tuesday due to rain, the first Nextel Cup race run on a Tuesday since July 4, 1978 at Daytona (Fla.), when the Firecracker 400 ran on its traditionally scheduled Fourth of July date.

Raines started 37th in the No. 96 DLP HDTV Chevrolet and along with the 42 other drivers, completed the first 10 laps under caution as heavy fog kept the race from going completely green.  After 10 laps NASCAR officials had the cars park on pit road for more than 45 minutes as everyone waited for the fog to subside.

Finally, at 11:02 a.m., nearly 45 hours after the original start time on Sunday, the race went green.  Unfortunately for Raines and Co., they never ran higher than 30th as they struggled with a car that could not hang with the leaders.

Despite a series of wedge, track-bar and tire adjustments, the team could not seem to hit on anything that worked, and a long, green flag run from lap 99 to lap 177 caused Raines to go down two laps and ultimately finish 34th.

“It was a long day and a long weekend,” Raines said.  “We made some progress during the race, but the long, green flag runs didn’t help us.  We’ll go to Bristol and see what we can do.  The CoT races have been pretty good for us, so hopefully we can have a better weekend there.”

Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway is next up for the Nextel Cup Series, and it’s the 10th race for the Car of Tomorrow.

The No. 96 fell two spots to 24th in Nextel Cup owner points with 2,061 points.  Raines fell one spot to 32nd in driver points with 1,778 points.

Kurt Busch won the 3M Performance 400 to score his 17th career Nextel Cup victory and his second of the season.  Martin Truex Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin rounded out the top-five.  Dave Blaney, Carl Edwards, Brian Vickers, Bobby Labonte and Tony Stewart comprised the remainder of the top-10.

There were eight caution periods for 36 laps, with four drivers failing to finish the 203-lap race, which was extended three laps past the scheduled 200-lap mark due to a green/white/checkered finish.

The Aug. 25 Sharpie 500 at Bristol starts at 8 p.m. EDT with live, high-definition coverage provided by ESPN beginning with its pre-race show at 7 p.m.