June 19, 2005

Mission Accomplished at Stafford for BNS Rookie Caisse

Stafford Springs, CT: Before Friday Night, Sean Caisse of Pelham, NH had run only one NASCAR Busch North Series races but never an event with his new team headed by Series veteran Barney McRae. Nor had the rookie driver ever run a full 150-lap event. But at the end of the night it was mission accomplished at Stafford Motor Speedway.

"Our goal tonight was to finish the race and learn how to work together successfully as a team," said Caisse. "We did what we set out to do."

Caisse finished the entire 150-lap distance to post a 14th-place finish in the Aubuchon Hardware 150. The performance, which was broadcast live on HDNet TV, also earned the Caisse Sunoco Rookie of the Race honors.

The teenager started the event from the 19th position after a Bud Pole qualifying run of 20.347 seconds, 88.487 MPH. In the early going of the event, Caisse settled into position behind veteran Dave Dion. The two ran nose-to-tail inching their way through the pack. By lap 33, Caisse had climbed to 14th behind Dion.

"During the first part of the race I was trying to follow Dion," said Caisse. "He is an accomplished racer and I wanted to follow the line he was running. With tire conservation being important in this event, I also wanted to learn his pace."

Throughout the mid portion of the race Caisse sat comfortably just outside of the top ten; however pit strategy began to play a role. Cars who pitted early began to work their way through the pack on fresher tires. At one point, Caisse fell as low as 18th in the running order.

Patience and good tire management proved to be the key as slowly but surely Caisse was regaining the positions he had lost earlier. By the halfway marker in the event, the Trik Custom Sleds #5 was back in the 14th position. Caisse took a spot way from Brian Hoar and ran virtually all alone in the 13th position for a number of laps.

Unfortunately, the forward progress was halted at 13th. On lap 129, contact between Caisse and Mike Stefanik sent the #5 spinning to bring out the caution. This provided an opportunity for Caisse to bring his car down pit road for service for a two tire change. Caisse returned to the race in the 15th position for the restart on lap 136.

"The crew did a phenomenal job on the pit stop," said Caisse. "The guys have never worked together before but they clicked right away and have just proven to be an excellent team."

Over the final 14 laps of the event, Caisse was able to regain a position from Hoar and was working on the #99 of Brian Chew when the laps ran out. Caisse ran under the checkers for a 14th place finish.

"Finishing the race and working together like we did, it is just great," said Caisse. "It is like a win for us here tonight. We could not have done this without the help of Trik Custom Sleds, Town and Country Floor Covering, Synergyn Racing Oil, and Power Mist Racing Fuels. This is truly a team effort and I could not be more proud."

Amazon Carpentry of Massachusetts came on board the McRae/Caisse as an associate sponsor at the Stafford race to join the budding team.

All the action from the Aubuchon Hardware 150 will be re-broadcast on SPEED Channel on Friday, July 8 at 2pm.

Caisse and company will join the Busch North Series for the trek to Holland, NY next Saturday night, June 25 for the Fuccillo Auto Park HUGE 150 at Holland International Speedway.