No. 16 Con-Way Freight Team Shows Determination, Despite Finish

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (February 13, 2010) –  Rain cancelled Friday’s qualifying for the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Daytona International Speedway, and the field was set by the rule book, putting Colin Braun and the No. 16 Con-way Freight Ford Fusion ninth on the grid for Saturday’s DRIVE4COPD 300.  Even though the No. 16 team’s day was cut short after being collected in a multi-car incident on lap 68, the team showed their mettle by making quick repairs and sending Braun back out on track for two laps, before finishing 34th.

fter surviving a lap-one caution, Braun was tagged on the right side during a multi-car accident on lap seven.  He brought the No. 16 Con-way Freight car down pit road for two tires as well as repair to the right side of the car and restarted 30th on lap 10.  By lap 20, the young driver had climbed to the 22nd spot, but radioed to the team he was experiencing a tight handling race car.  Braun brought the car down pit road for a green-flag pit stop on lap 49 while running fifth.  The Con-way Freight team changed four tires and made a track bar adjustment to correct the tight condition. 

The adjustments helped as Braun ran consistently in the top-15 for the next 13 laps before falling victim to a multi-car accident on the front stretch, which also laid claim to teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr.  The car was sent back to the garage where the No. 16 Con-way Freight team went to work, quickly trying to make repairs to get their driver back out on the track in order to gain valuable points.  Their determination paid off as Braun rejoined the field for two circuits on lap 95, gaining him two more positions to finish 34th. 

“This was obviously not the finish we were hoping for in the debut of this Con-way Freight Ford Fusion, but I can’t say enough about how hard my guys worked on the car to get it back on the track,” Braun said after the race.  “We had just made a really good adjustment and were working the draft when the wreck happened.  But getting back in the race for just those couple laps got us a few more positions.  All we can do is head to California next week with the same drive and determination we had here, and hope for a better result.” 

After the finish at Daytona, Braun is third in the Raybestos Rookie-of-the-Year standings behind leader James Buescher and second place Brian Scott.  The No. 16 team heads to California Speedway next week for the Stater Bros. 300 on Saturday February 20 which will air at 5:00 p.m. (ET) on ESPN2.