Newton, IA (May 18, 2008): It may have been windy at Iowa Speedway this weekend, but the racing was certainly no breeze for the drivers of Ken Schrader Racing. In only the second event for the NASCAR Camping World Series East, Jamie Hayes struggled with the handling on his #52 JL Hendrick Automotive Chevrolet and finished 33rd while team mate Ricky Carmichael got caught up in an early race tangle and finished his #4 Monster Energy Drink Chevrolet in 22nd.

Hayes struggled weekend-long trying to get his machine in balance. They threw wholesale changes in it, but nothing seemed to work.

“We were either way too loose or way too tight,” said Donnie Richeson, Hayes’ crew chief. “We couldn’t find any kind of happy medium. It was a new car that we hadn’t ever raced before and we just kind of fought that all day. I’m anxious to get back home and kind of look at things and see if there’s something that we overlooked that is giving us a problem. I wish I had a better answer than that, but I don’t.”

After two disappointing practice sessions, Hayes went out and turned a lap of 24.630 seconds in qualifying. It was the 47th quickest of 53 cars. The team was forced to take a provisional starting position.

In the race, Hayes continued to struggle with the handling, but still improved his position on the track for a 33rd place finish.

“After 50 laps into the race, without things being better, you just know that you’ve got to make a point to try and stay out of trouble and finish the race. We wanted to bring it home in one piece,” said Hayes.

Carmichael qualified for the race on his own time with a speed of 129.294 mph (24.363 seconds), and started the race from 36th. The team was optimistic for a solid performance in the race. Three laps into it, however, Carmichael got tangled up in an accident and had to pit for a tire change.

“When we got turned around on lap three it flat spotted our best tires. From that point on, it was an uphill battle all day,” he said.

The torrid pace set by the leaders – Jeff Barkshire and Kasey Kahne – put Carmichael a lap down early in the race. The former motocross racer, however, was given the beneficiary, or lucky dog, on a caution at lap 75.

Still, Carmichael had more hurdles to jump.

Five laps before the conclusion of the race, Carmichael, who himself was battling an ill-handling racecar due to a bent rearend housing and right front suspension, went a lap down.

“I think Ricky did a great job holding on considering what he had to deal with,” said Jerry Babb, interim crew chief on Carmichael’s Monster Energy Drink Chevrolet. “To come out of here with a top-25 finish, considering everything that went on, it was a respectable day.”

Ken Schrader Racing will return to action in the NASCAR Camping World Series East on Saturday, May 31st at South Boston Speedway. Hayes is tenth in series point standings after Iowa, and Carmichael is currently seventh in points.