NASCAR Cup

Chicagoland: Chad Chaffin race report

CHAFFIN AND BAM RACING TEAM UP FOR SUCCESS AT CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY No. 49 team captures 26th place starting position; Gains position in owner points standings Joliet, Ill. (July 16, 2007) --Chad Chaffin returned for a second race with the BAM ...

Published: Jul 16, 2007, 10:38 PM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

CHAFFIN AND BAM RACING TEAM UP FOR SUCCESS AT CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY
No. 49 team captures 26th place starting position; Gains position in owner points standings

Joliet, Ill. (July 16, 2007) --Chad Chaffin returned for a second race with the BAM Racing organization this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway and, for the second time, the team made the race on Sunday. The addition of interim crew chief Dean Johnson helped both driver and crew focus and make improvements across the board. After an impressive qualifying effort, Chaffin ran a smart race and was able to secure a respectable 31st place finish in the Paralyzed Veterans of America Dodge.

With 49 teams entered in the race, including one past champion, six teams would not qualify for the USG Sheetrock 400. The 19th competitor to take the track, Chaffin posted a fast lap time of 29.965 seconds at a speed of 180.210 miles per hour. The effort was the 26th fastest overall and was one of the strongest runs for the team in recent weeks.

As racing action began before an estimated crowd of 80,000 fans, it took only a matter of laps for Chaffin to report that the car was loose in the corners, pushing in the middle of the turns and loose on exit.

When green flag stops began on lap 48, the team prepared to make a pit stop for four tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment. Chaffin brought the Paralyzed Veterans Dodge to pit road on lap 50 for service.

The first caution of the day came out just laps later on lap 60 and Chaffin reported that the racecar was still on the loose side. He came to pit road for four tires, fuel, a track bar adjustment and spring rubbers in the left rear spring. He restarted the race in the 38th position.

A long green-flag run ensued and many drivers found themselves falling laps down to the leader. By lap 100, Chaffin was running in the 40th position three laps down. When green flag pit stops began again, Chaffin reported the car was loose and came to pit road on lap 115 for four tires and fuel.

By lap 150, Chaffin reported that the series of adjustments made throughout the afternoon had really improved the racecar.

"This is the best the car has been all day," radioed Chaffin. "I moved up the track in the last 10 laps and it felt faster."

When the caution came out on lap 165 for a single-car accident in turn-2, Chaffin was happy with the racecar. He came to pit road for four tires, fuel and slight adjustments. He restarted the race in 37th place.

Chaffin began posting lap times comparable to drivers in the top-20 in the running order. Like many drivers, he found himself racing to regain laps in order to improve his position in the running order.

When the caution came out on lap 203, Chaffin remained happy with the BAM Racing Dodge. "That's the hardest I've been able to drive it all day," he radioed.

Chaffin was able to avoid trouble on the track as a series of cautions ensued and secured a respectable 31st place finish for the team. BAM Racing gained one position in the owner points standings moving into the 46th position.

"We worked hard during the race to improve the racecar," said Chaffin. "The team was able to really dial it in to the point where I was beating many of the lead lap cars into the corners of turns one and two. The team has been able to gain two positions in the owner points standings since the race in New Hampshire and I am proud to be a part of that success."

The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series will enjoy a well-deserved weekend off before heading to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the excitement of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. The race will air on ESPN at 1:00 p.m. EDT and will broadcast live on IMS radio.

-credit: bam

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article Chicagoland: Goodyear Racing race report

Next article RFR, Biffle adds sponsor partner

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

Toyota answers critics who doubted it could win in WEC’s competitive Hypercar era

WEC

WEC WEC

Barcelona

48 min

Toyota answers critics who doubted it could win in WEC’s competitive Hypercar era

Honda ADUO engine upgrade pegged driveability back near Spec 1 level

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

United States GP

1 h

Honda ADUO engine upgrade pegged driveability back near Spec 1 level

Why Alex Marquez hasn't been able to replicate his 2025 MotoGP form

MotoGP

MGP MotoGP 2 h

Why Alex Marquez hasn't been able to replicate his 2025 MotoGP form

Williams has better cooling vests than anyone – Alex Albon

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1 3 h

Williams has better cooling vests than anyone – Alex Albon

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts