Accident ends Young's day early at Martinsville

Conyers, Ga. -  Ron Young's first race of the 2006 NASCAR Busch Series season ended early Saturday at Martinsville during the Goody's 250, when contact from Darrell Waltrip sent Young's No. 71 Chevrolet into the outside wall and ended his day 59 laps into the event.

Young, who started the race 42nd, was credited with finishing 40th.

"We had a pretty good race car," Young said. "It's just a tough deal at Martinsville trying to stay out of trouble and always having someone on your bumper like that."

In his last nine races in the Busch Series, Young has overcome having either limited or no sponsorship to finish higher than his starting position seven out of nine times.

"With what we've got to work with, I think we've done good going against those cup guys out there," Young said. " A lot of the guys that go with us on weekends all have jobs during the weekend and are volunteers. I really appreciate everything they do."

Young's weekend started a lot better than it finished. In Thursday's testing session, he posted the 11th-quickest time. In fact, the crew led by Greg Tester made minimal changes to the car after unloading it Thursday aside from a few adjustments with the shocks

Friday, Young posted a fast qualifying time early in practice. But cloud cover Saturday had an adverse effect on Young's car and relegated him to a 42nd starting spot.

Young had some extra help in the pits Saturday with tire-changers from MB2 Motorsports helping RB1 Motorsports on pit road. But due to the early exit, Young never got to use their services.

"Unfortunately, we weren't around long enough for them to help us," Young said.

Ron and his family-owned RB1 Motorsports team are not taking much time off. They're currently preparing for this weekend's Gateway 200 presented by Shop N' Save at Gateway International Raceway. Young said that depending on how well things go at Gateway, the team could run a few more races later in the year.

Young is still seeking sponsorship for this weekend's race at Gateway and other events later in the season. Interested parties can contact the team at its shop at (770) 922-1275)or e-mail them here.

To learn more about Ron Young, visit his website at www.ron-young.net.

Fans can also visit his official site at ron71young.com.