NASCAR Nationwide Series at Daytona International Speedway Cut Short for Scott Lagasse
- 16 Feb 2009
No. 11 victim of circumstance at The Camping World 300 in NASCAR Nationwide Series, photo credit Christina Ramzel 2009
Significant damage on the No. 11 forced The America's Incredible Pizza Team to end the day short at the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Season Opener, photo credit Christina Ramzel 2009
The 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series Season Opener started out promising for the America's Incredible Pizza Company Race Team, photo credit Christina Ramzel 2009
Scott Lagasse Jr., faces accident in front of him at Daytona International Speedway with nowhere to go, photo credit Christina Ramzel 2009
The No. 11 Toyota Camry with K&N products posted the quickest lap time out of 50 cars in the first practice session at Daytona, photo credit Christina Ramzel 2009
Scott Lagasse Jr. is waiting for the NASCAR Nationwide Series to resume at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, photo credit Christina Ramzel 2009"
A promising run at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida was cut short just past the midway point of the 120-lap high speed shootout. Scott Lagasse Jr. became a victim of circumstance. An accident in front of Lagasse left him with nowhere to go and sent the No. 11 Toyota Camry back to the garage with 49 laps to go.
The NASCAR Nationwide Series season-opener was promising for the team and they were quick right from the start. In Lagasse’s Nationwide Series debut, he was able to get right in the mix out on the track and post the fastest lap time out of 50 cars during the first practice session.
The No. 11 America’s Incredible Pizza Company Toyota with K&N products posted a lap time of 49.003 at 183.662 mph. That quick time was followed up with the fourth quickest time in the final practice the following day. The No. 11 ran a 49.026 at 183.576 mph.
The Camping World 300 got underway under sunny skies Saturday afternoon. The green flag waved and the first race of the 2009 season commenced without a hitch. Lagasse remained patient and calm as he started out in 19th position and picked other cars around the race track to draft with.
The first pit stop occurred under caution on lap 28 and the crew quickly changed four tires, refueled and made a track bar adjustment.
By lap 39, Lagasse was running in 10th position. A tight handling condition pushed the Rookie of the Year candidate back a few spots to 21st place before the next pit stop was called.
The team’s optimism was cut short when the No. 11 became a victim of circumstance. Two drivers had an on-track altercation in front of Lagasse, which caused him to collide with the No. 66 driven by Steve Wallace. The damage was significant and Lagasse ended the day and settled for a 43rd place finish at Daytona.
“I just saw a couple of guys getting together in front of me and tried to slow it down and just couldn’t,” said Lagasse. “I hate it for our guys. They built a great race car. After the way our practice and qualifying went I know this is not what we were expecting down here. We’ll go to California and see what happens.”
The No. 11 is equipped with K&N products. “K&N provides us with excellent power and filtration,” said Media Relations Manager Shayna Keller. “It also protects our engine on the race track.”
The NASCAR Nationwide Series heads out west next weekend to Fontana, California. The Stater Brothers 300 at the Auto Club Speedway will air live on ESPN2 at 7:00 pm EST.
Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world.
