Phillip Island: Jack Daniel's Racing race report

RICK AND OWEN KELLY SCORE FOURTH PLACE AT PHILLIP ISLAND

Jack Daniel's Racing pairing Rick Kelly and Owen Kelly have scored a fourth place finish in the L&H 500 at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Victoria today.

The pairing, no relation, drove their #15 Jack Daniel's Commodore well all day in the first endurance race of the season, falling just 0.678 seconds of a podium finish in today's 500 kilometre race.

Rick Kelly started from second place on the grid today and in the first part of the race led 21 laps as part of his battle for ascendancy with Jamie Whincup.

Owen Kelly's double stint in the middle of the race was a feature of the team's strong result, racing hard against the likes of Mark Skaife and many of the full-time championship front runners before handing back to Rick Kelly.

The two-time Bathurst winner then charged home but fell just short of overhauling Jason Richards for third place in the closing laps, scoring a fourth place race finish for the fourth time this season.

Rick Kelly rises one spot to now sit seventh in the 2010 V8 Supercars Championship Series standings after 17 races.

Todd Kelly and Dale Wood were less fortunate in the #7 Jack Daniel's Commodore, charging home on course for a top 10 finish until misfortune fell their way in the latter stages of the race.

Kelly's chances of a top 10 were dashed when he was turned around by Greg Murphy at MG Corner with 11 laps remaining, dropping to 18th position, where he would finish the race.

Holden veterans Craig Lowndes and Mark Skaife won today's L&H 500 ahead of Mark Winterbottom and Luke Youlden and the #8 Commodore of Jason Richards and Andrew Jones.

The next event of the 2010 V8 Supercars Championship Series is the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 at Mount Panorama on October 7-10.

JACK DANIEL'S RACING QUOTEBOARD:

RICK KELLY - #15 Jack Daniel's Holden Commodore

"The thing with the top four cars today is that whoever came out after their stops in front was going to stay there," said Rick Kelly.

"It was just that kind of race and everyone was very close in terms of their lap times. To be honest, the Safety Cars and strategy we played today didn't work for us and the other guys jumped us.

"I must say from the weekend we've had I'm very disappointed not to have been up the front and fighting for it but that's just the way it is.

"We move on to the next one now at Bathurst.

"I think the team should be proud of how strong we were all weekend. It shows where we are at. We can take confidence from that and move forward.

"The rest of the year is going to be like that. We've still got two endurance races to come and if other guys in front have some bad luck like we've had in the previous rounds we will be well and truly up there moving towards those top three.

"That for us is exciting but we need to be able to do a very good job to be able to do that.

"We had Owen do the middle stint today and he did a fantastic job dicing with guys like Skaife. As a team we're quite proud of that and Owen enjoyed himself out there as well.

"We take confidence from that and that helps when you move on to a place like Bathurst."

OWEN KELLY - #15 Jack Daniel's Holden Commodore

"It was a good day and I was really happy with my speed in the Jack Daniel's car," said Owen Kelly.

"It's not every day that you get to run down Mark Skaife and pass him when you're not a regular driver.

"It was pretty cool. The Jack Daniel's car was great and the boys did a great job.

"We were on a different strategy to everybody else and that's what cost us in the end.

"We certainly had the car speed to be right there, which is encouraging for Bathurst but it's disappointing to miss out on the podium.

"It looks good for Bathurst."

TODD KELLY - #7 Jack Daniel's Holden Commodore

"It just wasn't our day," said Todd Kelly.

"We didn't have the car anywhere near right and we had the strategy wrong. That's where it put us and then we really struggled with the car as it killed its tyres in the last part of the race.

"I ended up in a bit of a drama and really nothing for us went right this weekend, but the speed is there so we will look to be up there with Rick and Owen at Bathurst."

DALE WOOD - #7 Jack Daniel's Holden Commodore

"It was a reasonable first half of the race," said Dale Wood.

"We were looking OK for a top 10, even towards the end, but then with a few laps to go Todd got in a tangle with Murph at MG Corner.

"That's how it goes so now we move on to Bathurst. We've got a little bit of work to do with our Jack Daniel's car but I think we will be in a reasonable position going to Bathurst.

"Early on in the weekend we had a really good car but for whatever reason we lost that and we couldn't seem to chase it. Car 15 obviously did a good job with keeping on top of their car and maybe we left things slide a little bit too much.

"We need to get on top of that for Bathurst and hopefully get ourselves more solidly in the top 10 and up towards the top five."

-source: kelly racing