Practice: Friday, June 15 (ESPN2 at 6 p.m./AT, 5 p.m./ET)

Qualifying: Saturday, June 16 (ESPN2/TSN-Alt. at 6 p.m/AT, 5 p.m./ET

Race: Saturday, June 16 (ESPN2/TSN-Alt. at 9:00 p.m./AT, 8:00 p.m./ET)


Stephen Leicht hoists his first Busch Series trophy.

Stephen Leicht Captures First NASCAR Busch Series Win
Special to Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

SPARTA, Ky. (June 16, 2007) -- Steve Wallace made sure Carl Edwards wouldn’t win another NASCAR Busch Series race.

Instead, 20-year-old Stephen Leicht became a first-time winner in the series, passing his best friend Brad Coleman with 12 laps to go and pulling away to win the Meijer 300 at Kentucky Speedway.

The 19-year-old Coleman, who took the lead on Lap 157, finished second. Scott Wimmer was third, with David Stremme fourth and Shane Huffman fifth.

Aric Almirola was sixth, followed by Kelly Bires, David Ragan, Mike Bliss and Greg Biffle.

Leicht’s victory came a year after another upset win, when David Gilliland stunned the field with a victory here. Working in his pit that day was Cully Barraclough, who interestingly now serves as Leicht’s crew chief.

Edwards dominated the race, leading 96 of the first 156 laps. Edwards held a 11.6-second lead when NASCAR threw a caution for debris on Lap 151. On the restart, Steve Wallace tried to dart around Edwards, but when Edwards moved to block, Wallace dumped him, sending the No. 60 Ford spinning as the field drove toward Turn 1.

Edwards came down the track and hit Wallace, causing heavy front-end damage. Wallace was able to continue, though he fell to the end of the lead lap. Coleman was running third when Edwards and Wallace wrecked, leading Wimmer and Leicht. Two more cautions slowed the action, but Wimmer wasn’t able to mount a challenge on Coleman.

Regan Smith also had a strong car, leading 45 laps early in the race after winning his first Busch Pole. But after a long green-flag run, Smith ran out of gas coming into the pits, and his Ginn Racing team could not get the No. 4 Chevrolet restarted. Smith lost two laps and didn’t get back on the lead lap until 44 laps remained.

The 200-lap race started slowly, with three cautions in the first 17 laps. Smith was the driver to beat, passing Edwards on Lap 38 and staying out front the next 25 laps until he ran out of fuel.

Coleman led after the completion of green-flag pit stops, but Edwards reclaimed the lead just before a caution on lap 90 for Danny O’Quinn Jr.’s crash.

On Lap 97, three laps before the halfway point, Wallace grabbed second place but couldn’t close in on Edwards. The yellow waved again on Lap 98 when A.J. Frank bumped Bobby Hamilton Jr. into the wall.

After a restart on Lap 105, Edwards steadily pulled away, though his large lead was erased with the race’s seventh caution.

Complete race results and point standings in the Related News section below..

Checkered Flag Fast Facts

• Stephen Leicht, 20, won the Meijer 300 Presented by Oreo, his first win in 38 NASCAR Busch Series races.
• Leicht’s previous career best finish was eighth at Nashville on April 7, 2007.
• This is Leicht’s second top 10 at Kentucky Speedway. He finished 10th here last year, his only previous Kentucky start.
• This is Leicht’s third top-10 finish this season.
• Leicht led 13 laps, the most he’s ever led in a race. He has now led 24 laps this season.
• There has been seven different winners in the seven races at Kentucky Speedway.
• Brad Coleman (second) had his best career finish. His previous best was ninth at Talladega on April 28, 2007.
• Scott Wimmer (third) matched his best finish of the season (Dover).

Related News

Entry List (PDF)

Friday First Practice (PDF)

Friday Rookie Practice (PDF)

Friday Final Practice (PDF)

Qualifying Order (PDF)

Qualifying Results (PDF)

Starting Lineup (PDF)

Race Results (PDF)

Point Standings (PDF)

Green Flag Fast Facts
The Race: Meijer 300 presented by Oreo
The Place: Kentucky Speedway
The Date: June 16, 20071
The Time: 9:30 p.m./AT, 8:30 p.m./ET
TV: ESPN2 & TSN-Alt., 9 p.m./AT, 8 p.m./ET
Track Layout: 1.5-mile oval
Race Purse: $1,441,056
2006 Winner: David Gilliland
2006 Pole: Denny Hamlin
Schedule (local track time): Friday–Practice, 5-6 p.m.; Rookie Practice, 6:15-6:45 p.m.; Final Practice, 7-8 p.m.; Saturday–Qualifying, 5:10 p.m.
Year-To-Date Standings: click here

Green Flag Notes

• WHAT TO WATCH FOR AT NASHVILLE: THOUGHTS FROM JOE BALASH, NASCAR BUSCH SERIES DIRECTOR - Kentucky Speedway, like most 1.5-mile tracks, is a track where finding the best balance in the car to make the car turn is key. Most teams will be trying to optimize a "Coil Bind" set-up. This is where the front spring is fully compressed. It makes the car look like it is riding on the front bumper. With this set-up, the nose seals to the track giving the best aerodynamic advantage to the team that can use their shocks to hold the car down the best. This set-up also helps the car rotate in the corner so the car turns. The last part of the equation is how the driver uses his brakes to "set" the car down on the spring. They do not want it to slam; it must be a smooth compression of the spring.
• Carl Edwards’ series-leading fourth win of the season has helped Ford close the gap on Chevrolet in the Bill France Performance Cup standings as the series heads to Kentucky this weekend. In the last couple of weeks, Ford has been climbing back into contention for the lead with the Roush Fenway Racing teammates Matt Kenseth (No. 17 Arby’s Ford) and Edwards blazing the path. Chevrolet still holds on to the lead by nine points with a series-high seven wins. Dodge is still ahead of Toyota in third place, but Jason Leffler’s (No. 38 Great Clips Toyota) third-place finish at Nashville helped Toyota chip away at the nine points that separate the two.
• David Ragan (No. 6 AAA Ford) came back in impressive fashion this weekend by grabbing the Raybestos Rookie of the Race award and re-taking the lead in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings after finishing seventh in Nashville. Marcos Ambrose (No. 59 Kingsford Ford) finds himself back in second after catching Ragan last weekend to tie-up the points lead. This season, Ragan has posted nine top-20 finishes.
• Brad Coleman (No. 18 Carino’s Italian Grill Chevrolet) will be making his first start at Kentucky in the NASCAR Busch Series, but this won’t be the first time the rookie driver has taken on the 1.5-mile track. Last year in the ARCA RE/MAX Series Coleman won at Kentucky defending the lead from eight-time ARCA Series champion Frank Kimmel. After he won he got out of his car (below) and did his signature “‘Brad Coleman Bow.”
• Another stand-alone this weekend where double-duty drivers will have subs for practice and qualifying. Seven drivers are scheduled to sub at Kentucky this weekend. Matt McCall will sub for standings leader Carl Edwards, while Auggie Vidovich does the same for Edwards’ teammate David Ragan; Chad Blount for Dave Blaney (No. 10 Camping World Toyota); Chad Chaffin for J.J. Yeley (No. 1 Miccosukee Resort Chevrolet) and Casey Atwood for Greg Biffle. Two drivers will be filling in for the whole weekend; Kertus Davis and Cale Gale will be subbing in the No. 77 Dollar General Chevrolet and No. 33 Camping World Chevrolet, respectively.
• J.R. Motorsports’ Shane Huffman (No. 88 NAVY Chevrolet) will make his first ever start at Kentucky Speedway. He heads into this weekend with two top-10 finishes looking to be the next fresh face to win at Kentucky and keep the streak alive of never having a repeat winner. Though he has a big challenge ahead of him, he has raced on several 1.5-mile tracks, notching a ninth place at Las Vegas this past March.
• Wood Brothers/JTG Racing announced June 5th that developmental driver Kelly Bires, driver of the team’s No. 21 Ford in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competition, will stand in for Jon Wood in the No. 47 Clorox/American Red Cross Ford this weekend at Kentucky. Bires (pronounced BY–ers) is a 22-year old native of Mauston, Wis., who has started six races in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series this season, five for Wood Bros./JTG Racing. He posted his career-best finish (10th) at Atlanta earlier this year. Prior to Dover, Wood had started 83 consecutive races in the NASCAR Busch Series dating back to 2004, his first full season in the series. He was 22nd in the point standings with one top-10 finish this season – 10th at Mexico City in March – prior to Dover.

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