USAR: Ace: Steven Christian race report

Top 5 for Christian at Ace.

Altamahaw, NC - Steven Christian racked up his third Top 5 finish of the 2002 season at Ace Speedway Friday night.

Driving the Lucas Oil Products #16 Ford Taurus, Christian qualified at 16.113 seconds, lining up 12th at the grid. At the restart following a lap 68 caution, Christian had moved up to 8th, and by lap 108 was sitting in 5th.

Pitting on lap 159, Christian rejoined the field in 7th spot. On lap 167, Christian got spun on lap 167, and was forced back into the pits for minor sheet metal repairs. Coming out 9th, Christian alternated back and forth between eighth and ninth position, pitting again on lap 226. Rejoining the field in 7th, Christian began to move up. When a lap 233 caution, brought on by the #11 and #55 car, came out, Christian moved into fifth and held on to the finish.

"Obviously, we had hoped for a better finish here at Ace", said Christian. "We had problems early on with the Chevrolet and brought the Ford out to replace it. The Ford was really tight and there were some brake problems during the race. We'll try again at Coastal Plains."

Christian is currently 3rd in USAR points for the Southern Division. The team moves next to Coastal Plains, NC for racing action on Saturday, April 27. The Ace Speedway event will be carried on Speed Channel on Thursday, April 25 at 9:00 pm. Bobby Gill, race winner, was the recipient of Friday's $1,000 Lucas Halfway Leader Award.

-lop-