(Daytona Beach, Fla.) February 16, 2009 – Primed to make new trails in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, Robert Richardson, Jr. and the No. 23 Mahindra Tractors car were all geared up for the start of the 2009 season with the Camping World 300 at the Daytona International Speedway.
With strong practice sessions that left the No. 23 Mahindra Tractor team near the top of the boards, the team realized that their hard work in the off-season had paid off and they were a force to be reckoned with.
Richardson, Jr., qualified the car in the 29th position and was ready to move the car through the pack to the front of the field. Unfortunately, however, an issue with the spark plug wire in the engine early in the race caused the No. 23 Mahindra Tractors team to pit early and go laps down.
“It was disappointing for our No. 23 Mahindra Tractor car to have issues so early on in the race,” said Richardson, Jr. “However, once the team fixed the issue, our car was as strong as the leaders and back to where it should have been. I just didn’t get the chance to race today, but I do want to say thanks to my pit crew who did an outstanding job to get the car back to competitive mode. We learned a lot to add to our superspeedway program and now it is time to focus on the rest of the season.”
Richardson, Jr. took the green flag in the 34th position. Richardson, Jr. and the No. 23 team are ready to continue to plow through the season and will be back in action as the head to the west to race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in two weeks.