Jack Daniel's Racing Finish Grand Prix Event

Kelly 18th, Price 21st in sweltering Melbourne heat

Melbourne, Vic - March 16, 2008 - Jack Daniel's Racing's Todd Kelly and Shane Price have finished 18th and 21st respectively in the third and final race for the Sprint Gas V8 Supercar Manufacturer's Challenge at the ING Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

After making positive steps in yesterday's 15 lap contest Kelly struggled with car setup in the extreme hot weather conditions, as did team-mate Price - who started from the rear after being knocked out in lap 1 Saturday.

Holden dominated the inaugural Manufacturer's Challenge, winning with 2012 points to Ford' s 1568 - the Toll Holden Racing Team's Garth Tander clean sweeping qualifying, the top 10 shootout and the three races.

Tander's closest rivals, Ford drivers Jamie Whincup and Mark Winterbottom knocked themselves out of the contest in a second round melee - Winterbottom's car crashing and Whincup parking his Falcon after receiving a drive-thru penalty.

The Jack Daniel's team will now test before the next round of the 2008 V8 Supercar Championship Series, the inaugural street race in Hamilton, New Zealand on 18-20 April.

Todd Kelly, #7 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore VE:

"After a good day yesterday where I felt we took some good steps forward, we were really in the deep end today and struggling. We worked hard like we did in Adelaide and at Eastern Creek where we threw everything at the car, and today we only made a few small changes today but it transformed the car. There's something there that we have to get our heads around, but I'm sure when we do and get to the bottom of it we'll have some good pace. Even with our struggles we still finished the weekend 14th. I'm really not sure of the Holden v Ford format; it obviously works for some, but every time we made positions we got put back. It didn't suit me this weekend, but it was good to try something different."

Shane Price, #11 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore VE:

"I'd have to say I had a bit of a frustrating weekend; yesterday's race when we got turned around on lap 1 was really my error, just a bad racing decision. Race 3 we had to start last and didn't really have the pace to make much of an improvement. It was a lot hotter and the car didn't behave quite the same, it was a lot more slippery with today's extreme heat than what it was yesterday. The fact is we struggled, but we'll test before Hamilton and hopefully I can improve and we'll make inroads with the car."

Sprint Gas V8 Supercar Manufacturers Challenge - Race 3 (Results)

1. Garth Tander, Toll Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore VE
2. Will Davison, Jim Beam Racing Ford Falcon BF
3. Rick Kelly, Opes Prime HSV Dealer Team Holden Commodore VE
4. Mark Skaife, Toll Holden Racing Team Holden Commodore VE
5. Russell Ingall, Supercheap Auto Racing Holden Commodore VE
6. Steven Richards, Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon BF
7. James Courtney, Jeld-Wen Motorsport Ford Falcon BF
8. Cameron McConville, WOW Sight & Sound Racing Holden Commodore VE
9. Steven Johnson, Jim Beam Racing Ford Falcon BF
10. Craig Lowndes, Team Vodafone Ford Falcon BF
18. Todd Kelly, Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore VE
21. Shane Price, Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore VE

Sprint Gas V8 Supercar Manufacturers Challenge - Overall Points: 1. Tander - 300; 2. Davison - 276; 3. R Kelly - 252; 4. Skaife - 228; 5. Ingall - 176; 6. McConville - 172; 7. Johnson - 160; 8. Winterbottom - 160; 9. Holdsworth - 150; 10. J Richards - 148; 14. T Kelly - 116; 25. Price - 64.