Daytona: Chad Chaffin race notes

CHAFFIN HAS WINNING CHANCE FLY AWAY
"Driver Takes Wild Flip At Daytona"

Daytona Beach, Florida (February 20, 2005) -- NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Chad Chaffin had victory in his sights when disaster struck on Friday night. While running third with five laps to go, Chaffin was sent for a wild ride down the backstretch of the Daytona International Speedway. The result was significant damage to his #30 Germain Toyota / Arnold Development Toyota Tundra and a disappointing 21st place finish in the running of the Florida Dodge Dealers 250.

"Wow, what a wild ride out there," said Chaffin. "I told these boys this truck would fly, but I should have said it would haul the mailbecause I was bragging on how good it would fly -- and it took off on me. I was running in the third spot and really felt like we had a real good chance of winning this thing. The #46 got into the back of me twice and it just sent us for one heck of a ride. I know that it was not intentional because he does not race that way but unfortunately it turned out for the worst for us."

Chaffin started the 100 lap event from the ninth starting spot as a result of his qualifying effort on Thursday night. The early stages of the race saw the #30 Toyota Tundra flex its muscle as Chad charged to the front and led four laps in the early portion of the event. With his truck experiencing a "loose" condition while out front, Chad fell back to a comfortable position in the top five for the majority of the event. A scheduled green flag pit stop on 32 put the #30 Tundra in the back but Chad showed the strength of the truck again as he charged back to the front. He also had to charge from the back to the front when he and a few others got penalized for speeding down pit road when they used the alternative route to miss a wreck on the frontstretch. Chad would remain up in the top five until the dramatic flip on lap 95 of the 100 lap event.

With the tap from behind, the #30 Toyota Tundra completed a full cartwheel down the backstretch and luckily landed on all four wheels. Although he managed to stay on the lead lap, Chad pitted under the subsequent caution and the team discovered that an oil line had been ruptured and thus the end of a strong run for driver and team.

"Even with the disappointing finish in the season opener, I am really excited about what is ahead for me and this team," stated Chad. "The guys on this team have done an incredible job and Toyota provides us with quality equipment and some strong horsepower. The Germain / Arnold Racing team and myself both had some experiences with winning last season and I think we are going to have many chances to do that together this season. We sure did have one out there tonight but we got 24 more of these chances and I can't wait."

The 21st place finish put the driver and team in the 21st spot in the overall standings. They both look to improve on that next week as they head west to the California Speedway -- the location of the first of two wins for the #30 team last season.

For more information on this exciting team, please visit them at www.germainarnoldracing.com

-gar-