Danny O’Quinn Jr. fought a tight-handling race car all night in Friday’s Emerson Radio 250, but late-lap passes brought him a respectable 27th-place finish.
O’Quinn qualified the No. 56 Smith Transport Chevy 30th at Richmond International Raceway, and he brought the car up to the 28th spot early on. But then he began to lose positions, and no matter what changes the Mac Hill Motorsports team made throughout the race, the Monte Carlo SS seemed to be tight.
“We struggled with the setup on the car tonight, ” said O’Quinn, the reigning 2006 NASCAR Busch Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year.
But the driver and team wouldn’t give up, and O’Quinn started to pass cars one by one in the final 30 laps to end up 27th.
“I have to thank Smith Transport for supporting us, ” O’Quinn said. “I hate that we didn’t get a better finish for them, but on the bright side, everybody worked hard tonight, and we ended up with a car that we can try to improve for the next race. ”
Team owner Jack McNelly agreed. Of the finish, he said: “We’ll take it, the car is one piece and it gives us something to work on. ”
Bringing the car home in good shape may not sound that important in a sport sometimes characterized by the beating and banging of fenders, but wrecked cars mean substantial costs in terms of time and money. And those costs mean even more to a small team like Mac Hill than to a large racing organization.
They also show another reason why sponsors are so important to race teams. Without sponsors’ help, most teams literally wouldn’t be able to race, and McNelly said he’s grateful for all of Mac Hill’s marketing partners, including Smith Transport, the primary sponsor on Friday.
In turn, Smith Transport Senior Vice President Bob Becker said his company has enjoyed the opportunities it has received in motorsports. The Roaring Spring, Pa. -based business, which specializes in transportation and logistic services, has been a major associate sponsor of the 56 car in the Busch Series this year as well as a sponsor of Mac Hill’s USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series teams. However, Friday’s race was the first in which Smith Transport has been the primary sponsor of the No. 56.
“Smith Transport has been involved in NASCAR as an associate sponsor for the past 12 years, ” Becker said. “And Mac Hill Motorsports generously moved us from an associate sponsor to a primary sponsor for the Richmond Busch race. Throughout the years, we have used our associate sponsorships with NASCAR to help in our truck-driver-recruiting programs and to entertain our customers who are avid NASCAR fans.
“Over 1,500 Smith Transport employees also know we are involved in NASCAR. We also use show cars and drivers from various teams that we are involved with to promote the charity organizations Smith Transport supports. These opportunities, along with using show cars and racers for our annual truck driver appreciation week picnics, are just some of the many things that this sport provides. ”
| 
|