FOUNTAIN, CO. (July 24) – An accident left Blake Feese and the No. 5 Lowe’s / Shop Vac team with a 37th-place finish at Pike’s Peak International Raceway.

Starting Saturday’s NASCAR Busch Series event from the 41st position, Feese had worked his way up to the 26th spot on the leaderboard by lap 188 of the 250-lap race. Feese was attempting to pass the No. 78 of Jerry Robertson when Robertson lost control and slid up into Feese’s No. 5 Chevrolet.

The contact sent Feese sliding into the outside retaining wall, doing heavy damage to his Hendrick Motorsports entry. After track workers towed the injured machine back to the garage, members of the Team Lowe’s Racing crew determined the car could not be repaired in the laps remaining.

“It was a long weekend all around,” Feese said. “We struggled in practice and qualifying, but the guys didn’t give up and we just kept working on it all through the race. I was finally getting to where I was comfortable with the car, and we get wrecked. It’s extremely frustrating for me, and I feel bad for the guys back at the shop that have to repair this thing. We just can’t seem to get a break. I don’t know what else to say.”

From the beginning of the race, Feese told crew chief Jim Long that the No. 5 Lowe’s / Shop Vac Chevrolet had a tight handling condition in the middle of the corners. The team got a lucky break when the caution flag came out on lap 26, as Feese was on the verge of going a lap down to race leader Clint Bowyer.

During the caution period, Feese came to pit road for new tires and chassis adjustments, returning to the track in 26th position for the lap 31 restart.

The tight handling condition persisted, which resulted in Feese going a lap down on lap 64. On the next pit stop, the team quickly made additional chassis adjustments, sending Feese back out three spots ahead of where he was when he came to pit road.

The crew continued to work on the car as the race progressed, but the accident on lap 188 negated the team’s efforts.

“We had been side by side with the No. 78 for a couple of laps,” Feese said. “I don’t think he was even on our lap, which is what’s frustrating. I’m not sure why he was racing us, but he got loose and we were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now we’ve got a torn up racecar, which really wasn’t necessary. Again, it’s frustrating for me, and I know the guys on the team have to be frustrated.”

With the finish, team owner Rick Hendrick holds the 27th position in the Busch Series owners’ points standings.

The team now heads to Madison, Ill., for next weekend’s race at Gateway International Raceway. Boston Reid will make his sixth start of the Busch Series season behind the wheel of the No. 5 Lowe’s / Spectracide Chevrolet in that event.

The race holds special meaning for Team Lowe’s Racing sponsor, Spectrum Brands, makers of Spectracide and Sta-Green products, as the company is headquartered in nearby St. Louis.

The 250-mile Busch Series event will air live from Gateway International Raceway on TNT and MRN Radio affiliates on Saturday, July 31, beginning at 8 p.m. EDT.