Theriault Reels In Top-15 Finish At Nashville

Topics:  Michelle Theriault, Music City 150

Chris Knight
Spraker Racing Enterprises
July 24, 2007

“Female Sensation Recovers From Flat Tire”

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (July 24, 2007) - - Michelle Theriault’s 13th place finish in the Music City 150 presented by Coyote Ugly Sunday evening was hard fought after the NASCAR Busch East Series Rookie-of-the-Year candidate battled back from a flat tire late in the race to thunder back towards her fourth top-15 finish of the 2007 season.

Earlier in the day, Michelle Theriault, driver of the No. 37 GLOCK, Inc. Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS racked in the 20th and 18th practice times respectively with the Spraker Racing Enterprises team making adjustments hoping to aid the only full time female NASCAR competitor in qualifying.

In time trials, Theriault maneuvered the 18th fastest lap with a quick lap of 19.970 seconds at 112.669 MPH. “Our GLOCK, Inc. Chevrolet is pretty good. We’ve been adjusting our car for the race; I think that’s when we’ll come to life,” explained Theriault.

At the start of the 150-lap event, Theriault quickly began racing a tight mid-pack scramble. Working the outside lane, the fastest way around The Music City Motorplex Theriault had advanced to the 16th position when the first yellow flag waived on lap 23.

Theriault remained quiet on the radio trying to remain focused on the job at hand. Car owner Jeff Spraker tackled the spotting duties for Theriault’s Nashville NBES debut, coaching and guiding his protégé through the competitive field.

On the restart, Theriault drove under her competition picking up the 15th position, but intense side-by-side action saw Theriault drop to 18th when the caution flag waived again on lap 54.

During the caution, the former USAR Hooter’s Pro Cup Series competitor radioed to her crew that there was a miss under the hood. The crew acknowledged her concerns and asked her to switch ignition boxes.

On the restart, Theriault quickly jumped three spots and fell solidly into the top-15 when the next caution waived several laps later. Reporting a loose condition on her car, Theriault brought her machine to the attention of the Spraker Racing Enterprises crew where they made a track bar adjustment while also raising the hood to verify that all the connections were secure. The crew performed flawlessly on pit road and sent her back into battle.

Theriault would restart 20th on lap 77 and fall into a heavy green flag run. She would be overtaken by the leaders on lap 103, but the yellow flag would waive one lap later, awarding her the lucky dog, putting the team back on the lead circuit.

She would maintain a clean solid run in the top-20 when the yellow flag waived again inside twenty five laps remaining.

While running under caution on lap 125, the Spraker Racing crew noticed a flat left front tire forcing Theriault to bring her automobile to pit road. Quickly, the crew changed left side tires and sent her back into competition. Theriault had slipped back in the running order to inside the top-25 but vowed to make some ground up on the last run.

During the anticipated last run, two cars got entangled forcing a blocked track for Theriault. Instead of choosing a lane that might have resulted in a damaged racecar, Theriault paused her GLOCK, Inc. racecar on the track before quickly putting the throttle down and rejoining the group.

During the final twenty circuits, Theriault would race hard, while also taking advantage of several lead lap cars that ran out of fuel, to persevere during a wild green-white-checkered finish to race in the 13th position completing all 150 laps.

“It was a good night. The car was neutral most of the night. We had a flat tire late in the race and luckily for us it went down during a caution. If it would have went during a green flag run, we would have been in trouble,” offered Theriault.

She continued, “I want to thank the team and especially Jeff for their hard work Sunday. It was a one day show with two practices, qualifying and the race. I know they are tired, but it’s good to load up with a solid run and a clean racecar.”

Stephanie Plumecocq, Director of Marketing & Advertising for GLOCK, Inc. offered, “We are very proud of the team’s accomplishments Sunday in Nashville . The team was able to make vast improvements all day long and it showed in the final race rundown. We are looking forward to another great weekend of racing this week in Adirondack.”

Theriault isn’t done with the Music City yet. On Tuesday, she’ll climb behind the wheel of her No. 37 GLOCK, Inc. Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS ARCA RE/MAX Series machine participating in an open test at Nashville Superspeedway in preparation for the TOYOTA ARCA 150 at the 1.333-mile speed plant next month.

“I’m really excited about jumping back over to the ARCA RE/MAX Series,” Theriault said. “It’s a great series and Jeff (Spraker, owner and spotter) has a lot of experience over there and his knowledge will be very influential not only on Tuesday but for the race too. We have one more NBES race to focus on and then it’s time to go have a little fun in ARCA.”

For more on Michelle Theriault, please visit MichelleTheriault.com

For additional information on GLOCK, Inc and Team GLOCK, please logon to GLOCK.com and TeamGLOCK.com

About GLOCK, Inc:

GLOCK, Inc. is proud to announce that the Tennessee Highway Patrol (G31 and G33), Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (G22, G23 and G27), Tennessee Wildlife Resource Center (G22) and the Metro Nashville Police Department (G22) currently carry GLOCK pistols.

Utilizing advanced technological methods, GLOCK, Inc. has a leading position in the world market as a pistol and accessories designer and manufacturer. With their commitment to uncompromised quality, GLOCK, Inc. uses high-tech engineering to provide the international benchmark for safety, reliability and ease of maintenance. GLOCK's, Inc. remarkable knowledge and experience from their applications and processing of steel and polymer are being used to design revolutionary products.

These products meet and exceed the ongoing demands of law enforcement, military and civilian customers for firearms that demonstrate the very best in reliability, durability and safety of use. Their high-tech engineering and construction create a handgun that can stand up to punishment that even the most unforgiving conditions can generate.

MEDIA CONTACT:

NAME: Chris Knight, Spraker Racing Enterprises
PHONE: 239.834.9797
EMAIL: Knight849@aol.com