Dover Ken Schrader Preview

At the Miller Lite 400 at Dover Downs International Speedway in May, the Skoal Bandit Racing team was surprised with their 25th starting position since they had practiced much faster. Schrader escaped an early crash involving several cars, but noticed that the water temperature was rising rapidly as outside temperatures soared past the 100 degree mark so the crew removed some tape from the front grill. With the rising temperatures, the No. 33 became extremely tight and the crew made several changes to correct the handling problem. He finished 15th despite the extremely hot cockpit that caused burns to his left heel. In last weekend's Exide NASCAR Select Batteries 400 at Richmond International Raceway, Ken Schrader and the Skoal Bandit Racing team posted their best qualifying effort of the season (second) and tied their best finish (fourth). Schrader remained in the top five for all but a handful of laps after being blocked in the pits and slipping back to seventh. Schrader is now ninth in points.

"Dover is one of my favorite tracks and if there is anywhere to better last weekend's fourth-place finish, Dover's the place," said Schrader. "The pit crew has improved drastically in the past few weeks and it has helped the race program a lot. With the competition as tough as it is today, gaining positions in the pits is as important as gaining position on the track. We need to capitalize on every opportunity." The Skoal Bandit Racing team will utilize "Doc Holiday" this weekend. It is the first time this season they have used this car. Last year, "Doc Holiday" competed at Rockingham, Darlington, California, Pocono and Dover. In eight starts in 1997, "Doc Holiday" produced three top-10 finishes.

Ken Schrader will pull double duty this weekend driving the No. 15 Oakwood Homes Chevrolet in the MBNA Gold 200 on Saturday.

Ken Schrader, Mike Wallace and Kenny Wallace were in their native hometown of St. Louis, Mo., on Wednesday night to attend a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game.