stephen leicht
Stephen Leicht, driver of the No. 90 CitiFinancial Ford, won his first career NASCAR Busch Series race Saturday night at Kentucky Speedway. After running in the top five for the majority of the race, Leicht passed Brad Coleman with 12 laps to go and drove away to win the Meijer 300.
The win marks Leicht’s first victory in just his 38th NASCAR Busch Series start. His previous best finish of eighth place came in April at Nashville. 20-year-old Leicht became the second first-time winner of the 2007 season, joining Juan Pablo Montoya who won in Mexico City back in March. Leicht also became the second consecutive first-time winner at Kentucky and the seventh different winner in seven races at the track.
“It feels so good to get CitiFinancial their first win, ” said Leicht. “Those were the longest 10 laps of my life. I never thought they were going to end. I was in third there for the last two or three restarts and I could keep up with those guys on the bottom groove but after three or four laps, my tires got up to temperature and my car got a little tight and I couldn’t run the bottom anymore. On that last restart, I tried to work the top groove and the CitiFinancial Ford came to life for me. I wish I had moved up there sooner, we might have been up front earlier than we were.
“My team worked so hard for this win. We knew coming into tonight after the practice session on Friday that we had a great car. We knew Carl [Edwards] was going to be tough and I hate the way things ended like they did. I really would have loved to race Carl for the win there at the end. I can’t say enough about the CitiFinancial team and our car tonight. It was just awesome. We were in the right position at the right time and we were able to capitalize on it with 10 [laps] to go. Cully [Barraclough] and the guys did a great job of making the proper adjustments to keep up with the racetrack and we were there at the end when it counted.
“This win relieves a lot of pressure because they say the first win is the hardest win, ” continued Leicht. “We’ve shown the last four or five weeks that we’ve had cars capable of winning. Once you get the first one out of the way, hopefully they will come easier. ‘’
Barraclough brought Leicht down pit road three times for minor chassis adjustments en route to the win.
“Winning this race just proves what this CitiFinancial Team is capable of, ” said Barraclough. “We’ve had good cars, but we just haven’t been able to capitalize on them until tonight. Stephen started out the race a little bit tight, but we continued to make adjustments on the car and in the end, it was exactly where he wanted it to be. ”
Leicht’s victory was the first NASCAR Busch Series win for the team’s sponsor CitiFinancial and Robert Yates Racing.
“Robert and I are Ecstatic, ” said RYR co-owner Doug Yates. “We’re very proud of Stephen, Cully and the entire CitiFinancial team. They’ve shown a lot of progress over the last month and to see Stephen win was exciting. He drove a great race and the crew did a great job. ”
On an appropriate Father’s Day weekend, Leicht’s father Russ was in Victory Lane to celebrate. He has attended all but one of Leicht’s races since he began racing at the age of six.
“This is the best Father’s Day gift I could ever ask for, ” said the elder Leicht. “This has been a long time coming and it feels so good, I am so proud of him. ”
The win garnered Leicht seven positions in the NASCAR Busch Series driver point standings. He is now in 12th place, 28 markers behind 10th.
The CitiFinancial Team will travel to The Milwaukee Mile next weekend for the AT&T 250. Coverage begins June 23 at 8 PM EST live on ESPN2 and MRN.
