What happened to the 21?

Bill and the team were doing a great job, and running in the top-15 for the first half of the race. Then, next time I looked, they were a lap down? TV never mentioned what happened, of course.

Anyone know?

Great job all weekend, regardless though. Solid effort...

I missed much of the race from lap 30-lap 140 because I stopped watching, but I made sure to tune in for the last 20 laps so I could see who won.

I haven't heard anything on what happened to them, but if I find it I will post it.

when bill came in for a green flag pit stop, they were running fine. the team called bill back in either for a loose lug or wheel or something like that. thats what cost them 1 lap. sucks b/c they had at LEAST a top-20 most likely much better

edit:
just saw this

Quote :

BILL ELLIOTT NOTE: Bill Elliott finished 26th and was one lap down at the finish after a lugnut got sandwiched between the left-front wheel and hub during his final pit stop. Elliott was running 15th at the time and had to pit a second time because the wheel wasn't tight. Leonard Wood said after the race that there was an imprint of the lugnut on the wheel and that in all his years of racing he had never seen something like that happen.

-credit: ford racing

darn! that's too bad

That is a shame. Bill and the 21 were doing great!

That's just unlucky... too bad for Bill and the team, but at least the car was fast!!

Quote :

After consistent practices and a 4th place qualifying effort, the #21 Motorcraft Ford Fusion took to the track Sunday before a crowd of over 180,000. Crew Chief David Hyder and the team did a great job preparing and adjusting the car. For the first three quarters of the Brickyard 400, the car raced in and around the top ten, often posting the fastest lap times.

Unfortunately, during the last pit stop of the day, a lugnut from the left front tire change became lodged between the new tire and the hub and prevented the tire from being properly tightened. The unfortunate chain of events required the car to come back to pit road and resulted in the car going one lap down. Bill eventually brought the car to the checkered flag in 26th place.

With over 60 years of racing under his belt, Leonard Wood said after the race that there was an imprint of the lugnut on the inside of the wheel and that in all his years of racing he had never seen something like that happen.

While the initial reaction was disappointment, after further reflection, the team couldn’t help but felt good about the weekend. Co-owner Eddie Wood said “With all the moving parts and pieces, strange things happen. The car ran well, Bill drove hard, and the team performed well. We can take those positives and continue to get better. The results can’t help but come. We’re getting really close.”

This kind of luck seems to bite the Woods in the butt EVERY time they have a good car that's capable of finishing in the top-15. But like I said before, I am hoping that they can go for even more races next season since they seem to be so good every week they race this season.

Good point! It's odd that often times it has to do with wheels too! I remember back in 05 when Ricky had a great car at Atlanta, the 21 was so fast, and he had a broken wheel I believe ruined it.

roosterrage wrote:

Good point! It's odd that often times it has to do with wheels too! I remember back in 05 when Ricky had a great car at Atlanta, the 21 was so fast, and he had a broken wheel I believe ruined it.

I remember that day too!! I thought Ricky was going to win until his problem, and then Carl Edwards ended up winning that day (his first win).

I was there that day! It was awesome seeing Carl get his first win. I'll have to look up the pics I took then- hopefully I can find them.

That's cool... would love to see the pictures!

Sorry, it has been a while. I've been on vacation. I thought for sure I had more but this is all I can find now.

I did see another Carl win at Atlanta. Even took video of the backflip. I'll have to look those up too.

Thanks Matt... great pics!

Yatesracing wrote:

Andrewwwww what do you think the chances are, that the 21 car will be racing the FR9 at Michigan?????

No idea, but it would be GREAT!!