EARLY END TO THE NIGHT AT CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY FOR THE BATTERY TENDER TEAM
JOLIET, Ill. (June 5, 2011) – Mikey Kile made his second
NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) start of the season for Turner
Motorsports at Chicagoland Speedway sporting the colors of Battery
Tender and Sears Auto Centers. With a new sponsor on the hood,
Kile was ready to have a successful weekend at 1.5-mile track.
Running top-five in both practice sessions on Friday, Kile rolled off
from the fifth spot after rain forced NASCAR to cancel Saturday
afternoon qualifying. Unfortunately, bad luck struck the No. 30 team
on lap 62 and ended the team’s night early. Kile will return to the seat
of the No. 30 Chevrolet at New Hampshire International Speedway.
The Battery Tender/Sears Auto Centers Chevy was near perfect from
the time the team unloaded on Friday. In the two practice sessions Kile proved impressive, posting the fifth-fastest laps both practices. Rain rolled through the Joliet, Ill.-area on Saturday afternoon, forcing the cancellation of qualifying and setting the Battery Tender team up to start the STP 300 from the fifth spot.
The rain subsided and the Nationwide Series teams prepared to start the race under setting summer skies. Kile raced the first segment of the race inside the top-10 with veteran NNS drivers. NASCAR threw a competition caution on lap 25 and Kile reported his Chevrolet felt good, but was a tick tight through turns three and four. Crew chief Stewart Cooper called him to pit road for four tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment. Kile returned to the track in the 14th position.
Going back under green-flag conditions, Kile began picking off competitors to get back inside the top-10. Unfortunately, on lap 62 Kile reported he felt as though he had a dropped a cylinder just as smoke began pouring from the No. 30 machine. Taking the Battery Tender Chevy to the garage, it was diagnosed by the team to be an expired engine, relegating Kile to a 33rd-place finish.
“I am disappointed in how our night ended, but I am proud of how strong we were leading up to that. We had a top-10 car right off the truck and we had to make very few changes. Hopefully we will rebound from this in New Hampshire in a few weeks. I really want to thank Battery Tender, Sears Auto Centers and STP for jumping onboard this week. It is very exciting to have the support of such great companies, even as a rookie,” said Kile after the race.
