No. 47 Clorox Ford Fast So Far At Vegas

The No. 47 Clorox Ford turned in the 16th fastest overall time during the first practice session at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in preparation for the Sam’s Town 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series event tomorrow.

Chassis 45, though not the team’s first choice for the 1.5-mile track, turned out to be quite a back up car after all. Bires quickest lap of the session was clocked at 31.036 seconds at 173.991 miles per hour. Bires ran a total of 25 laps during the one and a half hour session.

With one practice session left to go before qualifying, the No. 47 Clorox Ford will get another one a half hour segment to fine tune the car. Curiously enough, Bires’ teammate Marcos Ambrose was just ahead of him, in the No. 59 Kingsford Hickory Ford, on the speed chart in 15th place overall.

Qualifying for the Sam’s Town 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is set for Saturday, March 1st at 12:05 p.m. EST. Qualifying can be seen live on the SPEED Channel. The Sam’s Town 300 NASCAR Nationwide event can be seen live at 4:00 p.m. EST. on the ESPN 2 Network.

WHAT THE TEAM HAS TO SAY:
Kelly Bires, Driver of the No. 47 Clorox Ford:
“The car wasn’t too bad at all. When we had this car here back in January for testing, the only thing on this car we struggled with was finding a setup package that compensated for the bumps on the race track. I think we’ve found something that works without hurting the overall balance of the car—which is a relief.

We’ve got a lot of Clorox folks with us this weekend and we want to turn in our best performance. I’d also like to pick up some points and make up for last weekend at California. Right now, all systems are a go for a good run."

Scott Zipadelli, Crew Chief of the No. 47 Clorox Ford:
“This isn’t bad for having to change our game plan and approach at the beginning of the week. We would have liked to use Chassis 42, but it was damaged last week in California. [Chassis] 45 is looking pretty good at the moment and Kelly’s pretty happy with it. I’d say if he’s happy with it, we’ve always got the chance to finish top-10 or better.”

FAST & FUN FACTS:
-Kelly Bires will drive the No. 47 Clorox Ford in Saturday’s Sam’s Town 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. .
-The No. 47 Clorox team is using Chassis No. 45 as their primary Vegas car.
-Kelly Bires turned the 16th fastest time during the first practice session at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The teams will have one more practice session prior to qualifying.
-Qualifying for the Sam’s Town 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is slated for Saturday, 12:05 p.m. EST and will be shown live on the SPEED Channel.
-The Sam’s Town 300 can be seen live at 4:00 p.m. EST on the ESPN 2 Network.

NEXT EVENT NEWS:
WHERE: Las Vegas Motor Speedway; Las Vegas, NV
WHAT: Sam’s Town 300 (200 laps, 300 miles)
WHEN: March 2nd, 2008; 4:30 p.m. EST
NETWORK: ESPN 2 Network; PRN & Sirius Satellite Radio Networks