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LAS VEGAS, NV, (March 11, 2007) – After running a successful first third of the race at the newly repaved Las Vegas Motor Speedway, 19 year-old NASCAR Busch Series driver Brad Coleman slid into Turn 4 and sustained extensive damage as the car caromed off the track wall on Lap 65 of the Sam’s Town 300. Unwilling to call it a day, the Joe Gibbs Racing crew pulled the car into the garage and 45 laps later had Coleman back on the track where he completed 147 of 200 laps finishing the car in 35th position.
“I felt like the little white ball on the roulette wheel in Las Vegas,” stated Coleman. “All the drivers were fighting the combination of the newly paved track and incredibly hard tires they provided us. That made for very slippery conditions and we were all bouncing around at nearly 200 mph while keeping the car on the edge. I had already avoided a number of accidents that others were involved in and felt like we were on our way to a good finish.”
Coleman credited his team with the determination to continue, “I thought we were done then my crew pulled off a miracle, rebuilding the No.18 Z-Line Designs Chevrolet and getting me back on the track. When I saw how hard they worked to get me back out there I was even more determined to finish the race. I am very proud to be a part of this team and want to thank them for their efforts this weekend.”
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The Sam’s Town 300 ended up setting a new record with 12 cautions on the day, many of which were created in the same corner of the track. The Sunday NEXTEL Cup race posted nine yellow flags.
Next Up
Coleman will drive the No.18 Z-Line Designs Chevrolet Saturday, April 7th at Nashville Superspeedway in the Pepsi 300 NASCAR Busch Series race. This will be the first track Coleman has run for Joe Gibbs Racing where he has previous racing experience. He finished second in his first career ARCA race at Nashville last spring and backed that up with a third place finish at the same track later that summer. He also made his first NASCAR Busch Series start at Nashville the same week he graduated high school, finishing 29th in the June 2006 event.