Bristol, Tenn. (April 4, 2005) – NASCAR Busch Series races at Bristol Motor Speedway are known for being “crash fests,” and Monday’s 250-lap event didn’t disappoint in that department.

The race, which was postponed due to rain on Saturday, was slowed 14 times for caution periods, and featured three red flag stoppages before the checkered flag was finally displayed on Monday afternoon.

Hendrick Motorsports driver Blake Feese had a front row seat for two of those cautions, but held on to bring his battered No. 5 Lowe’s/Shop Vac Chevrolet home in 28th position.

“It was a long day for the Lowe’s/Shop Vac crew,” Feese said. “I felt like a pinball out there. All I can say is that we finished the race and I learned a lot, so you have to look at today as a learning experience and move on. We’ll take what we learned and head to Texas (Motor Speedway) in a couple of weeks. My goal is to just improve as much as I can every time I’m in the car.”

Starting from the 15th position, Feese’s entry suffered damage early on when Johnny Sauter bumped Feese on lap 16, sending the Lowe’s car into the outside retaining wall. After his Hendrick pit crew made repairs, Feese returned to the track in 40th position for the lap 22 restart.

“I thought I gave (Johnny) Sauter plenty of room to get by, but I guess he just got a little impatient,” Feese said. “I don’t know how I could have handled that one differently.”

Restarting that far back on the tight .533-mile oval resulted in Feese going a lap down to the leaders by lap 30. Feese and his Lowe’s crew weren’t willing to concede defeat, and Feese worked his way back on the lead lap when he received the “Lucky Dog” pass on lap 146.

By staying out when other drivers pitted under caution on lap 164, Feese moved back up to the 14th position, but cars on newer tires passed the Lowe’s Chevrolet in the following laps, dropping Feese back to 25th position by lap 182.

Martin Truex, Jr., caused the next caution period when he bumped Geoffrey Bodine, sending Bodine’s entry into the outside retaining wall. The accident set off a chain reaction crash further back in the field that collected Feese and J.J. Yeley.

With damage to the nose of his machine, Feese came to pit road for repairs. There, his crew spent the next six laps fixing his car’s front end alignment and pulling sheet metal away from the radiator to keep the engine from overheating.

Feese returned to the race in 31st position for the lap 198 restart, with crew chief Jim Long reminding his driver to give the leaders ample room to race. Feese crossed the finish line seven laps down to race winner Kevin Harvick.

“The car was loose in the early going, then after the first accident it was tight, tight, tight,” Feese said. “Jim (Long, crew chief) and I are getting better with our communication, though, so I think we’ll be able to start future races with a setup that’s a lot closer to what we need, and I’m confident we can put the Lowe’s Chevy up front.”

The Team Lowe’s Racing crew now gets a weekend off as the NASCAR Busch Series has no race scheduled until the April 16 event at Texas Motor Speedway. Feese will make his third start of the 2005 season in that 300-mile event, which will air live from Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday, April 16, beginning at 2 p.m. EDT on FOX and MRN Radio affiliates.