Loudon II: Jimmy Spencer race summary

Team Target finishes 15th in the New Hampshire 300; Spencer takes highest finish in Dodge Motorsports camp.

LOUDON, N.H. (September 15, 2002) - The No. 41 Target Dodge Intrepid R/T driven by Jimmy Spencer finished in 15th place in the New Hampshire 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway. Spencer took the highest finish of the entire Dodge camp; he is currently 25th in the NASCAR Winston Cup Championship points battle.

Spencer started the 300-lap event in 28th position and was getting comfortable when the early rain caution fell at lap 20. Two hours later when the race resumed, Spencer continued his fight from the 25th position. Spencer radioed in early on that the car was tight so Team Target made adjustments throughout the afternoon to free it up.

Running neck in neck with teammate Sterling Marlin, the two stayed in 21st and 22nd position for a majority of the race. A good pit stop during the second caution of the day brought Jimmy up into the 17th position while Marlin was pushed back to 23rd.

Spencer continued to fight all day working his way to the 14th position at the midway point of the race. During a scheduled pit stop at lap 161 Spencer and the Target Team also decided to take four tires. Spencer came out of the pits in 17th position.

"We put four tires on there at the end and probably should have put on two," said Spencer following the race. "That cost us a shot at the top-10. Some of those guys beat us because of that. Track position was so critical, especially at this track because it's so hard to pass."

With the weather looking very threatening Spencer continued to dig hard and battled his way to 15th position when the final caution of the day came out at lap 200. The race was cut short due to bad weather at lap 207 leaving the Target Team to settle for 15th position.

"Track position was so critical," continued Spencer. "I really feel the Dodge needs help, but they're not going to give us any help. The Chevy and Pontiacs and Fords are strong. We had a real good car.

"We're not going to give up on the championship hunt. Hopefully Sterling can come out of Dover with a solid run and get back on track, but when your car is not handling aero wise and the rest of them are, it's pretty hard to beat 'em."

Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 12 Alltel Ford, won the New Hampshire 300; his first Winston Cup win. Next on the schedule for the No. 41 Target team is the MBNA All-American Heroes 400 at the Dover International Speedway on September 22, 2002.

-cgr-