Keller Loses Ground in Phoenix

During most of the 2003 NASCAR Busch Series season, Jason Keller has found it difficult to catch the break he needed to win a race or gain significant ground in his quest for his first championship.   Saturday's test at Phoenix International Raceway proved to be no different.

Keller struggled with his Albertson's Supermarkets / Northeastern Supply Company sponsored Ford Taurus.  Another disappointing qualifying effort on Thursday afternoon forced Jason to start the Bashas' Supermarkets 200 in the 22nd position, and Keller languished in or around that position most of the day during a race that was delayed at the start for more than two hours by rain.  An ill-handling machine was the culprit, and often Keller found himself behind the cars of the drivers with whom he is battling for the championship.

At one stage in the race, Keller had moved up as high as fifteenth on the grid with last week's point leader, David Green, also struggling and running behind Jason.

During a caution period on lap 105, all of the lead lap cars made pit stops for fuel, tires and chassis adjustments, and whichever way Keller's crew chief Steve Addington chose to go with the car's setup proved to be the wrong way.  After the restart, Keller's machine just could not run through the corners sufficiently and Jason drifted further back into the field and behind all of the contending cars in the 22nd spot.

One of Keller's only remaining chances at coming away with a top ten finish was to be able to complete the event without making another pit stop for fuel and hope that other cars could not.  While the cars of eventual race winner Bobby Hamilton, Jr., Kevin Harvick dominated, and darkness began to fall over the speedway, Keller's hopes of such a strategy ended when NASCAR officials announced that the race would be shortened by 10 laps.

With just 25 laps remaining, Stacy Compton's car wrecked on the backstretch to bring out the race's next to last caution flag to give Keller's team one last ditch effort at pulling out a good finish.   All of the leaders elected to remain on the race track while Keller did bring his #57 machine down pit road for fresh tires, a move that many thought was going to work in Jason's favor.

Following the restart on lap 161, Keller improved his position by four spots and appeared to have his team's last ditch strategy working as he found himself closing on other cars.  But as luck would have it, the rain started again to bring out another caution flag under which the race ended with Jason in 17th.

Green finished one spot better than Jason but lost the points lead to Keller's teammate at ppc Racing, Scott Riggs, who finished sixth.  Riggs now holds a 17-point advantage over veteran Ron Hornaday who moved up two spots in the points standing by finishing fifth.  Brian Vickers, the points leader for a 3-week stretch last month, finished third and jumped up two spots in the points standing to third, 21 behind Riggs.  Green is but 22 points out of the top spot in fourth place while Keller is still in the hunt in fifth in the standings, 60 markers behind Riggs.

Hamilton, Jr., the hottest driver on the Busch circuit over the last half of the season ever since Harold Holly came on as crew chief, became the season's top winner by notching his fourth victory and second in a row.  This late-season rush has enabled Hamilton, Jr., cut his point deficit to the leader by nearly 200 and to now close to within 125 points with two races remaining.

Keller will attempt to improve his chances at a comeback run to the title next Saturday in the Target House 200 at North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham, NC.  That race will be televised live by TNT beginning at 1 p.m. EST.