Impressive Runs at NHIS Finish Provide Positive Results for Andy Santerre Motorsports
Caisse Moves to Second in Points With Runner-Up Finish; Earnhardt a Solid 11th
CONCORD, NC (September 17, 2007) – New Hampshire International Speedway has always been the kind of place that Andy Santerre, a three-time winner at the “Magic Mile” himself as a driver, really enjoys coming to. It’s a place that both Sean Caisse and Jeffrey Earnhardt enjoy, as well. The eagerness to succeed at the biggest track that the NASCAR Busch East Series visits shows in another positive run for both Andy Santerre Motorsports-prepared rides on Friday, September 14th at New Hampshire International Speedway.
Sean Caisse, in the Casella Waste Systems #44 Chevrolet, had a strong racecar that was consistently up front before a pit road miscue forced him to fight his way back up for a shot at the win. The young Caisse diced his way up to the leaders and had a strong shot at the victory, possibly his first-ever at NHIS, late in the race, but Caisse was forced to settle for a still-impressive second-place finish.
“Once again, it was a good race for us,” said Caisse. “We came back to the front and got a top-three finish. We were really, really tight rolling through the middle of the corner – especially in three and four. We had a little bit of a miscue in the pits, but I’ve made plenty of mistakes out on the racetrack so I’m not mad at my crew at all. We all work as a team. We had a great car and came up through the field. It was really cool to have a good enough car that my crew gave me to come up through the field.
“We had a dominant car, so it kind of stinks that we had that happen, but we were still able to turn it around and have a good day.”
With the second-place finish, Caisse moved into second in NASCAR Busch East Series points with just one event remaining at Dover International Speedway on September 21st. Even though he hasn’t officially been eliminated from the championship schematic, Caisse is quick to acknowledge the success of his title rival, Joey Logano.
“I do want to congratulate Joey for wrapping up the championship this year. I guess there’s always next year for the championship, but we’ll be going for a win at Dover next week.”
Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Development Driver Jeffrey Earnhardt, driving the Bass Pro Shops #1 for DEI, turned heads once again in his rookie season with a strong 11th place finish in an Andy Santerre Motorsports-prepared Chevrolet.
““It was better than the first one,” said Earnhardt, referring to his first venture to NHIS in June that resulted in a 15th-place finish. “We kept the car in one piece, but we fought a tight racecar all day. We came in and took tires and we were wicked fast there at the end, but we just had a tight car. It wasn’t a bad race at all.”
“The #52 (Jamie Hayes) got into us a little bit going into turn one and I got a little sideways. I made a pretty good save there. I thought I was going around. We dodged two big wrecks in three and four today too. We dodged a few bullets, kept our car clean, and came away with a decent finish.”
Both Caisse and Earnhardt will conclude the NASCAR Busch East Series schedule on Friday, September 21st at Dover International Speedway (DE). Caisse is 171 points behind Logano atop the championship standings, while Earnhardt enters the final event of the season seventh in points.