Keller Escapes from Charlotte Still in Contention

Jason Keller and 42 other NASCAR Busch Series drivers and their teams had to wait an extra 15 hours to run the Little Trees 300 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte when rain postponed the event from its scheduled 8 p.m. start on Friday night.  Keller is glad, however, to put this one behind him.

Keller, who qualified 15th for the 29th of 34 races on the 2003 Busch Series schedule, never could muster much of a charge during the 200-lap test.  However, he did just what he had to do to remain in contention for the Busch Series championship by notching a 10th place finish and keeping his Albertson's Supermarkets/Northeastern Supply Company Ford Taurus out of harm's way.

"The car just did not handle the way we had hoped, and much of that had to do with the fact that we had set up the car to run in cool, damp weather conditions and suddenly we had sunshine," Keller explained after the race.  "The key thing, though, is that we stayed near the other contenders, finished decently and are still in the thick of the title battle with plenty of racing left."

Winston Cup Series regular Greg Biffle, the 2002 Busch Series champion, dominated the second half of the race and went on to win by a whopping 17-second margin over Michael Waltrip, another Winston Cup driver.  Mike Bliss, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, finished third.  Only nine drivers remained on the lead lap.  Keller was the second of nine drivers who finished one lap down.

Of the 2003 championship contenders Keller is racing against, current points leader David Green finished sixth while young sensation Brian Vickers was fourth.  The other two drivers still in the thick of the Busch Series title battle, Keller's ppc Racing teammate Scott Riggs and veteran Ron Hornaday, finished behind Jason in the twelfth and 13th spots, respectively.

As a result, Green still holds a 36-point advantage over the now second place Vickers while Riggs dropped down a spot to third in the championship point standings, 47 behind Green.  Hornaday remained in fourth, but Keller is only 4 points behind Hornaday in the fifth slot and only 80 behind Green.

"We had nothing for the front-runners today, but at least we were able to keep tabs on the ones we are battling with for the championship, said Keller, who has five more races with which to make his move towards what would be his first Busch Series title.

The first of the final five events will be run this coming Saturday in Memphis, TN with the Sam's Town 250 at the Memphis Motorsports Park.  That race is set to take the green flag at 3 p.m. EDT and will be televised live by TNT.