Rival teams chip in to help repair Slade Camaro
Rival teams have chipped in to help Nulon Racing’s repair efforts of Tim Slade’s damaged Chevrolet Camaro.
Slade crashed heavily at Turn 5 during Practice 1 at the Beaurepaires Melbourne SuperSprint.
The 401-race veteran’s #23 Nulon Camaro picked up significant rear and left-corner damage.
Notably, the left-rear wheel was plucked out of the car, with Slade hitting the tyre barriers before slapping the concrete.
The crash not only ruled Slade out of Practice 2, but the back-to-back ARMOR ALL Qualifying sessions for Races 3 and 4.
Three rival teams — Triple Eight, Penrite Racing and Brad Jones Racing — have since helped with the repair job.
Notably, Penrite Racing lent its fabricator to the Nulon Racing outfit as the team scrambled to fix the car in time for Race 3.
Slade's damaged Nulon Camaro immediately after the crash
Nulon Racing also has a technical alliance with Triple Eight, with boss Jamie Whincup also watching his team fix Shane van Gisbergen's car.
Van Gisbergen crashed in Practice 1 just minutes after Slade found the wall, and recovered to score pole for Race 4.
"Obviously the whole pit lane’s pretty tight with parts,” Whincup said on the broadcast after van Gisbergen's incident.
"I reckon there’ll be a bit of camaraderie between sharing parts in between cars as well.
"Of course, the other car in the fence, Tim Slade, is a customer car as well, so we’re supplying parts there also so.
"Hopefully we’ve used our bikkies up on Thursday and it’s clean from here on in, but who knows, it’s motorsport."
Nulon Racing Team Principal Matt Cook was hopeful the car would be ready for Race 3, which launches at 5:45pm local time.
However, Cook was more impressed by the community spirit in the paddock despite the competition.
The scene at Nulon Racing 70 minutes out from Race 3
"It’ll be close, we’ve already applied for dispensation,” Cook told Supercars.com.
“Everyone’s helping put Humpty Dumpty back together again, there’s community spirit which is good to see.
“I’ve got a good relationship with Dave Cauchi, they’ve been generous helping us out with their fabricator.
“There’s a lot going and a lot of bits everywhere, but we’re trying our best."
Slade will start 25th for Races 3 and 4, but is likely to start from pit lane for Thursday’s 19-lap sprint.
The incident was the second major crash for a new Gen3 car following James Courtney’s Newcastle Shootout shunt.
Courtney was forced to miss Race 2 after he crashed his #5 Snowy Rivers Caravans Ford in the one-lap dash.
Such was the damage, that Tickford Racing sent the chassis to PACE Innovations, where it underwent fabrication work.
