J.R. Hildebrand and NWR Score at Houston

04.23.2007

J.R. Hildebrand drove a calculated and intelligent race to score a convincing top-ten result on Sunday at Houston's JAGFlo Raceway at Reliant Park, bringing the Newman Wachs Racing #36 home in seventh position.

After dealing with bad luck in the first two races of the season, J.R.'s primary goals at Houston were to finish, and to finish strong. He accomplished both on Sunday.

During the practice and qualifying sessions, J.R. consistently ran in the top five. In the critical second qualifying session, J.R was fluctuating in the third to fifth position until he pitted just prior to the end of the session due to low fuel. Unfortunately, three drivers had an extra lap and moved ahead of J.R. at the checkered flag.

Starting eighth, J.R. Was able to hold his position through the opening laps, avoiding any trouble at the first turn chicane.

While J.R. was clearly faster than several of the drivers ahead of him, he controlled his natural aggression, balancing his urge to advance against the need to make sure to get the points from a top-ten finish. Taking advantage of other driver's mistakes, and making none of his own, allowed J.R. to move up to seventh at the checker.

"Now that I've got this finish under my belt, I'll be able to be a bit more agressive at Portland in June. The team has really gelled, and I'll be spending quite a bit of time over the break working with Eddie (Wachs), Don (Halliday) and the team back at the shop to make sure that we're ready to put it all together at Portland."

"At the same time, I'm going to stay focused on keeping my fitness at the high level I've reached. I feel like I could have easily gone another 40 laps, and that's going to make a difference later this season."

Follow NWR and J.R.'s continued progress at www.newmanwachsracing.com. J.R also would like to thank his personal sponsors Formotion, Mockett.Com. and the Jim Russell Racing School.
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