Russ Tuttle Madison recap

Tough day for Tuttle and Team Conseco at Madison.

MADISON, Wis. (July 29, 2002) - An early race incident during the running of the American Speed Association (ASA) BF Goodrich Tires 300 in Madison, Wis., put an end to Team Conseco's shot at repeating last week's stellar performance.

Coming off a second place finish at Salem (Ind.) Speedway, Russ Tuttle and Team Conseco were walking on air heading into Sunday afternoon's event. The team was especially confident due to the fact that it had finished fourth in the 2001 event held at Madison International Raceway.

Unfortunately, the team's notes from last year's night race didn't provide much information as Sunday's event was held in the afternoon sun. The team made several changes to the car over the course of the first two practice sessions hoping to hit on the right set-up. After suffering a broken rear end gear in the third practice of Saturday's sessions, Russ Tuttle and his team headed into qualifying unsure of what the No. 16 Conseco Chevrolet Monte Carlo had to offer. Tuttle's qualifying lap landed him in the 22nd position on the starting grid.

Immediately following the drop of the green flag, Tuttle radioed to crew chief Glen Allen Jr. that the car was loose. The two made plans to make adjustments at during the first pit stop. Unfortunately, their scheduled pit stop came much sooner than they expected when on lap five the No. 51 hit the Conseco Chevy in the right rear sending the car and its passenger into the inside retaining wall.

The damage to the No. 16 included right rear and nose area damage. With a car that was already loose from the start of the race, the additional damage only worsened Tuttle's situation. Despite the handling conditions, Tuttle's determination took over for the remainder of the laps. When the checkered flag flew, Team Conseco was credited with an 18th-place finish.

Tuttle and team will return to racing action in two weeks for the running of the Toledo-Northwest Ohio Dealers 300 scheduled for Sunday August 11. The race will be broadcast live from Toledo (Ohio) Speedway beginning at 2:00 p.m. Eastern on The National Network (TNN).

-tcr-