Owens Takes 13th in Venturini Motorsports Debut |
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Topics: Alli Owens, ARCA RE/MAX American 200
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Emily Teeter
Venturini Motorsports
October 11, 2009
Rockingham, NC (October 11, 2009) - Alli Owens started her relationship with Venturini Motorsports off with a bang. In her first race driving the No. 35 Chevrolet, Owens piloted the ElectrifyingCareers.com Impala to a 13th-place finish in the season-ending American 200 at Rockingham Speedway. It marked Owens' second top-15 finish at "the Rock" and her sixth top-15 of the season.
Owens started the event from the 22nd position. Her car was "tight off the corners" when the race began. Owens exercised patience and didn't push the issue while waiting for an opportunity for her crew to adjust her vehicle. Unfortunately it was an atypical green flag run and the first caution flag didn't wave until lap 70. Owens lost a lap to the leaders as she fought the handling of her car. During the yellow, the crew changed her tires and topped off the fuel cell. They added tape to the grill and adjusted the track bar to loosen up Owens' car. She returned to the track in 22nd-place.
Green flag action returned on lap 76. Owens reported her car was "much better, but still a tick too tight" as she paced the high banks of Rockingham Speedway. She maintained the 22nd position until the next caution period, lap 116, and returned to pit road for more adjustments. The Venturini Motorsports team gave Owens four fresh Hoosiers, filled the fuel cell and made a wedge adjustment to loosen up the No. 35 Impala. Owens rejoined the field in 19th-place.
The race went green on lap 122. Owens fought her way into 19th-place and claimed the highest position among the cars one lap down. The caution waved on lap 139 and Owens was awarded the Lucky Dog pass, which allowed her to return to the lead lap. Owens lined up in 17th-place for the restart.
After a short green flag run, she made her final pit stop of the day on lap 148 when the caution flag waved again. The crew changed her tires; the ElectrifyingCareers.com was "its best yet," so no adjustments were made to the No. 35 car. Owens went back on the track with 39 laps remaining. On the ensuing green flag run, Owens turned her best laps of the race, often running circuits as fast as the leaders. She continued to move up the leader board before taking the checkers in 13th place.
"The ElectrifyingCareers.com Chevy was a little bit too tight when the race started," said Owens after the event. "The crew made all the right adjustments and made it better each time I came down pit lane. On the last run, it was just about perfect. I wish we had more laps because we were charging through the field.
"That was a great way to kickoff my relationship with the Venturinis," continued Owens. "I'm already looking forward to next season. To score a top-15 in our first race together says a lot about this organization. It usually takes time to develop driver/crew chief chemistry. It seemed like the No. 35 crew knew exactly what I needed to dial the car in. It's only going to get better from here. We've got a lot to look forward to next year."