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Las Vegas 350K
| Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Race No. 19 | September 25, 2004
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TrackSideLive! from Las Vegas Motor Speedway
09-21-2004 5:59 pm
TrackSideLive! coverage of the Las Vegas 350K from Las Vegas Motor Speedway begins Saturday morning, September 25, 2004.
TrackSideLive! Audio
As we get set for racing in Vegas, TrackSideLive! caught up with
Ted Musgrave,
Travis Kvapil,
Dennis Setzer
and
Steve Park
for thoughts on Saturday nights race
Click on name for audio. You must have the Windows Media Player installed, or a program capable of handling Windows Media .wma files.
Click here
for free player
Good Day from Las Vegas Motor Speedway
09-25-2004 12:57 pm
Welcome to TrackSideLive! from Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The weather is fantastic - blazing sunshine with temperatures currently in the mid-80's with about 12% humidity. Bud Pole Qualifying is scheduled for 6:30 pm EASTERN and temperatures are expected to be in the low 90's. The field will take the green around 10 pm EASTERN and the temperatures should drop down to the low 80's.
Top-10 Practice Rundown
09-25-2004 1:39 pm
Fifteen minutes into today's practice session, here's your Top-10:
1) #6 Matt Crafton, 33.022 at 163.527 mph
2) #75 David Starr
3) #5 Mike Skinner
4) #62 Steve Park
5) #46 Dennis Setzer
6) #18 Chad Chaffin
7) #24 Travis Kvapil
8) #21 Hank Parker, Jr.
9) #15 Shane Hmiel
10) #50 Jon Wood
Top-15 Practice Rundown
09-25-2004 1:50 pm
Nearly a half-hour into practice, here's your Top-15:
1) #6 Matt Crafton, 33.022 at 163.527 mph
2) #2 Brandon Miller
3) #75 David Starr
4) #62 Steve Park
5) #5 Mike Skinner
6) #30 Todd Bodine
7) #17 David Reutimann
8) #46 Dennis Setzer
9) #18 Chad Chaffin
10) #15 Shane Hmiel
11) #22 Bill Lester
12) #24 Travis Kvapil
13) #99 Carl Edwards
14) #16 Jack Sprague
15) #21 Hank Parker, Jr.
Caution Briefly Slows Practice
09-25-2004 2:00 pm
The caution flag slowed today's practice session briefly - the track has been cleared and we're back to green flag practice.
Top-10 Practice Rundown
09-25-2004 2:17 pm
An hour into practice, Matt Crafton continues to pace the field - here's your Top-10;
1) #6 Matt Crafton 163.527 mph
2) #2 Brandon Miller
3) #75 David Starr
4) #4 Bobby Hamilton
5) #62 Steve Park
6) #5 Mike Skinner
7) #30 Todd Bodine
8) #17 David Reutimann
9) #46 Dennis Setzer
10 #1 Ted Musgrave
Vegas Heat Checks In
09-25-2004 2:32 pm
The No. 67 Fiddle Back Racing Ford and driver David Ragan has lost an engine - no caution on the track and the field stayed green.
On the Bubble - 30th thru 34th
09-25-2004 2:38 pm
Here's a look at 30th through 34th place:
30) #29 Deborah Renshaw, 34.394
31) #74 Eric Jones, 34.438
32) #88 Tracy HInes, 34.474
33) #66 J.R. Patton, 34.723
34) #07 Shane Sieg, 34.757
TruckShots! Photo Gallery
09-25-2004 2:43 pm
Our TruckShots! Photo Gallery has been posted from LVMS -
Click Here
Ragan Catches A Break
09-25-2004 3:07 pm
The No. 67 Fiddle Back Racing Ford burned up a front left wheel bearing and not an engine as we had initially reported. The team has made repairs and is back on-track currently 35th with a best lap at 34.915 seconds at 155.364 mph.
Top-20 Practice Rundown
09-25-2004 3:27 pm
With about a half-hour left in today's practice session, here's a look at our Top-20:
1) #6 Matt Crafton
2) #2 Brandon Miller
3) #75 David Starr
4) #4 Bobby Hamilton
5) #62 Steve Park
6) #5 Mike Skinner
7) #17 David Reutimann
8) #30 Todd Bodine
9) #46 Dennis Setzer
10) #1 Ted Musgrave
11) #18 Chad Chaffin
12) #50 Jon Wood
13) #16 Jack Sprague
14) #15 Shane Hmiel
15) #22 Bill Lester
16) #24 Travis Kvapil
17) #99 Carl Edwards
18) #21 Hank Parker, Jr.
19) #12 Robert Huffman
20) #14 Rick Crawford
Practice Session - Final Top-10
09-25-2004 4:06 pm
Today's 2 1/2 hour practice session has concluded without incident - here's your official Top-10 rundown:
1) #99 Carl Edwards, 32.861 at 164.329 mph
2) #5 Mike Skinner, 32.958
3) #6 Matt Crafton, 33.022
4) #2 Brandon Miller, 33.078
5) #75 David Starr, 33.098
6) #46 Dennis Setzer, 33.141
7) #4 Bobby Hamilton, 33.175
8) #62 Steve Park, 33.214
9) #17 David Reutimann, 33.242
10) #30 Todd Bodine, 33.268
Practice Results - Complete Rundown
09-25-2004 4:27 pm
1) #99 Carl Edwards, 32.861, 164.329 mph
2) #5 Mike Skinner, 32.958, 163.845 mph
3) #6 Matt Crafton, 33.022, 163.527 mph
4) #2 Brandon Miller, 33.078, 163.250 mph
5) #75 David Starr, 33.098, 163.152 mph
6) #46 Dennis Setzer, 33.141, 162.940 mph
7) #4 Bobby Hamilton, 33.175, 162.773 mph
8) #62 Steve Park, 33.214, 162.582 mph
9) #17 David Reutimann, 33.242, 162.445 mph
10) #30 Todd Bodine, 33.268, 162.318 mph
11) #03 Denny Hamlin, 33.312, 162.104 mph
12) #16 Jack Sprague, 33.326, 162.036 mph
13) #38 Brandon Whitt, 33.327, 162.031 mph
14) #1 Ted Musgrave, 33.381, 161.769 mph
15) #18 Chad Chaffin, 33.395, 161.701 mph
16) #24 Travis Kvapil, 33.444, 161.464 mph
17) #14 Rick Crawford, 33.462, 161.377 mph
18) #50 Jon Wood, 33.478, 161.300 mph
19) #15 Shane Hmiel, 33.485, 161.266 mph
20) #22 Bill Lester, 33.511, 161.141 mph
21) #02 Kelly Sutton, 33.512, 161.136 mph
22) #21 Hank Parker, Jr, 33.541, 160.997 mph
23) #12 Robert Huffman, 33.569, 160.863 mph
24) #61 Scott Lynch, 33.607, 160.681 mph
25) #8 Chase Montgomery, 33.667, 160.394 mph
26) #59 Andy Houston, 33.722, 160.133 mph
27) #23 Johnny Benson, 33.801, 159.759 mph
28) #10 Terry Cook, 33.946, 159.076 mph
29) #88 Tracy Hines, 34.113, 158.297 mph
30) #74 Eric Jones, 34.364, 157.141 mph
31) #63 Chris Wimmer, 34.366, 157.132 mph
32) #29 Deborah Renshaw, 34.394, 157.004 mph
33) #66 JR Patton, 34.404, 156.958 mph
34) #07 Shane Sieg, 34.711, 155.570 mph
35) #67 David Ragan, 34.915, 154.661 mph
36) #13 Ricky Bogart, 34.965, 154.440 mph
37) #08 Ken Weaver, 36.133, 149.448 mph
38) #0 Loni Richardson, 36.732, 147.011 mph
- Completed -
Chevrolet Practice Quotes
09-25-2004 5:20 pm
DENNIS SETZER, NO. 46 CHEVROLET SILVERADO (6th IN PRACTICE):
“Our Chevrolet Silverado is pretty good out there today but we are going to sit down and look at a few things and see if we can’t make it a little better. We are hoping for a top-ten qualifying effort but it is kind of hard to say because the track is really slick this time of day and it is hard to tell who had new tires on and who didn’t but we are shooting for a top-ten. Starting position is always important especially for picking a pit stall. It is critical to get good pit stall choice to give your crew every opportunity to have great stops. A good starting position always helps so you don’t have to race someone too hard early in the race.
JACK SPRAGUE, NO. 16 CHEVY TRUCKS SILVERADO ( 12thIN PRACTICE):
“Our Chevy Trucks Silverado is good. We started out very neutral and I was really comfortable in the truck so it gave us a chance to experiment with different things during practice so see how the truck reacted. I don’t think we have a pole sitting time in us for tonight be we should have a solid run in the top-ten. The track is really slick right now but it will tighten up as the race starts, the sun goes down and the track cools off. I feel like we have a very solid truck that we can build adjustability in for tonight’s race.”
DAVID STARR, NO. 75 SPEARS MANUFACTURING SILVERADO (5th IN PRACTICE):
“We are struggling with our Spears Silverado in race trim right now. We don’t have enough grip so I am going in the corners trying to hold it down on the line and it won’t stay, it drifts up at least a lane. For some reason, we are just really losing the nose in the center of the corners at both ends. I have never had it this bad here, everything we are trying isn’t helping the problem but Dave (McCarty, crew chief) and the guys will come up with something to help us come race time. We are hoping for a top-10 qualifying effort to get us closer to the front so we don’t get caught up in something early while we make the adjustments we need to get us to the front. But we don’t have any more practice until the race so it really isn’t going to matter where we qualify if we can’t get our Silverado to turn just a little bit better.”
MATT CRAFTON, NO. 6 GM GOODWRENCH SILVERADO (3rd IN PRACTICE):
“Kevin Harvick (team owner) told me that this place really wears the tires our and it definitely does. We would fall off close to two seconds from the beginning of a run to the end of a run. Qualifying trim was pretty good, but I think we can pick up a little more. Race trim we were pretty good also. Hopefully we have it free enough for tonight when the track will tighten up a bit. We are happy with practice but not totally satisfied until you are at the top of the charts by two or three tenths.”
KELLY SUTTON, NO. 02 TEAM COPAXONE SILVERADO (21st IN PRACTICE):
“"The track felt a little slick in places, but the truck felt really good, especially in one and two. We had some fast runs out there and are looking forward to a couple fast laps during qualifying this afternoon."
DENNY HAMLIN, NO. 03 JOE GIBBS PERFORMANCE/DECOMA SILVERADO (11thIN PRACTICE):
“Out Silverado isn’t too bad. We are a little bit free but I think the later it gets, the tighter the track is going to get and it will play in to our hands. We cut a pretty good lap on our qualifying run but I kind of lost it a little down there is three and four. This is my first time here, it seems a little slippery right now but the track seems wide enough for good racing. There are a few bumps in three and four but it is really a nice track. We should be have a legitimate shot at a top-ten finish.”
Dodge Ram Qualifying Notes
09-25-2004 9:06 pm
BRANDON MILLER (No. 2 Team ASE/Carquest Dodge Ram) – “Actually, Jimmy
(Smith, Ultra Motorsports Team Owner) just asked me if I wanted to come test the
truck down at Homestead two weeks ago. I just went down there and the test went
really well, so he gave me a shot at running here. Our practice went really well
in the beginning. I’m still kind of new to all of this. I’m trying to learn as
much as I can as quickly as I can. But, it went okay. We had a pretty good truck
in practice, and I think we’ll be even better in the race. I raced a truck here
last year, and we did pretty well. I finished 14th last year, so I’m just
looking for another good finish here.”
TED MUSGRAVE (No. 1 Mopar Dodge Ram) – “I don’t mind the deal as far as
qualifying and impounding the trucks. It comes into effect when some racetracks
change a lot. Just like right here, this Las Vegas track will change
tremendously. Qualifying is just kind of a formality. Our truck is just super
loose right now – not running very fast at all. But in race practice it was
good, and when the nighttime comes around it’ll probably get tightened up and be
allright. So, when you look at it, I’m hoping that the guys who are qualifying
well got their trucks snugged up, and come tonight they’re going to be in
trouble.
“It puts a lot of headache and a lot of guessing into it. You have a condition
on this racetrack that changes so dramatically from nighttime to daytime. You do
all of your practice and qualifying in one condition, and then you’ve got a
completely opposite condition to race in.”
STEVE PARK (No. 62 Orleans Racing Dodge Ram) – “It just throws a curveball at
you. There’s a guy that’s going to be able tune for the best qualifying
conditions and is also good for the race because they impound the trucks. I’m
thinking you won’t see the guy that wins qualifying also win the race. It’s
going to be very difficult to be able do that. There’s going to be a guy who’s
going to adjust really well for the track tonight during the pit stops, and
he’ll have the biggest advantage.
“I said last week when I was trying to get the pole that I was going to take my
guys to Las Vegas next week, and I’m like, ‘Oh, well, I guess they already live
there.’ But, it’s cool. We all like racing out here. It’s a great racetrack.
It’s a home track advantage for the guys, and it’s close to home. They’ve made
comments like, ‘It’s nice to sleep in our own beds for once.’ So, that’s pretty
cool.”
CHAD CHAFFIN (No. 18 Dickies Racing Dodge Ram) – “The setup is really
important. It’s going to take a little bit of guesswork. But, fast is fast, and
slow is slow. So, I’ll take a fast truck any day over what I’ve got right now.
But, that’s the way it is.”
Chevrolet Silverado Qualifying Notes
09-25-2004 9:09 pm
DENNIS SETZER, NO. 46 CHEVROLET SILVERADO (QUALIFIED 2nd): “This is exactly what our Chevrolet Silverado team needed to do. Danny (Gill, crew chief) and the guys made some adjustments after practice that made the truck even better. We thought we might have had a good shot at the pole but Mike (Skinner) just picked up quite a bit on his lap. I feel like we have a really solid truck for the race and a pretty good shot for the win.”
JACK SPRAGUE, NO. 16 CHEVY TRUCKS SILVERADO (QUALIFIED 4th): “Qualifying fourth is actually better than I thought we would do based on practice. It is a good run for our Chevy Trucks Silverado. We loosed the truck up from where we were at the end of practice so we would have plenty of adjustability during the race. It will cool down once the sun goes behind the front grandstands and I think Dave (Fuge, team manager) and the guys have given me a good truck for tonight’s race.”
DAVID STARR, NO. 75 SPEARS MANUFACTURING SILVERADO (QUALIFIED 13th): “ We were hoping for a top-10 starting spot for our Spears Silverado but this isn’t too bad. We were so tight in practice this morning and Dave (McCarty, crew chief) loosened up the truck so we have adjustability during the race. In qualifying I think a lot of the guys were a little free in qualifying because that is what we will need for the race. I drove down deep in one and got out of the gas a little but couldn’t get back in it because it was just too loose. But we have a good place to start and we have pit strops to make our truck better as the race goes on.”
MATT CRAFTON, NO. 6 GM GOODWRENCH SILVERADO (QUALIFIED 11th): “We were just a little too tight. Maybe a bad set of tires. I couldn’t keep the truck on the bottom like it was doing in practice. I had to come out of the gas too much in turns three and four which hurt us. But the GM Goodwrench Silverado will be good in the race. We worked on our race setup all day during practice so we will be fine.”
SHANE HMIEL, NO. 15 ALPHARETTA SELF STORAGE/D&D AVIATION (QUALIFIED 21st): “We'll be better for the race. We qualify in conditions that aren't really what the race will be like. We'd like to have qualified better and are pretty disappointed with our start but we'll be all right for a race. It will be to our advantage when the track conditions change. I think the people in the front few rows may not be as good in the race, except for maybe Bobby Hamilton or Jack (Sprague). We're pretty loose but we know the track will change before and during the race once the sun starts going down. Ritchie and the guys will have it all dialed in. I'd like to bring home a top-10 or even a top-5 finish in the Whitaker Farms Chevrolet Silverado for the Billy Ballew Motorsports Team.
KELLY SUTTON, NO. 02 TEAM COPAXONE SILVERADO (QUALIFIED 14th): “That truck was like a rocket. We picked up a bunch of time from our best lap during practice, and have our best start ever. What a great birthday present! I can't thank my crew enough for giving me an awesome truck today, and Al, my spotter, for helping me find the best line, especially through three and four. We've got a lot of momentum after a strong run at Loudon last week, and I'm looking for to racing tonight!"
DENNY HAMLIN, NO. 03 JOE GIBBS PERFORMANCE/DECOMA SILVERADO (QUALIFIED 10th): “Our Silverado was pretty good for qualifying. We were a little free but that will be a benefit later when the race starts and the sun goes down. I think we have a good race truck and the track will come to us. I can hardly wait for tonight’s race.”
Unofficial Results from Las Vegas
09-26-2004 12:19 am
1) #15 Shane Hmiel
2) #30 Todd Bodine
3) #62 Steve Park
4) #23 Johnny Benson
5) #4 Bobby Hamilton
6) #5 Mike Skinner
7) #46 Dennis Setzer
8) #1 Ted Musgrave
9) #10 Terry Cook
10) #75 David Starr
11) #14 Rick Crawford
12) #50 Jon Wood
13) #38 Brandon Whitt
14) #59 Andy Houston
15) #66 JR Patton
16) #18 Chad Chaffin
17) #17 David Reutimann
18) #88 Tracy Hines
19) #61 Scott Lynch
20) #2 Brandon Miller
21) #21 Hank Parker, Jr.
22) #6 Matt Crafton
23) #03 Denny Hamlin
24) #22 Bill Lester
25) #74 Eric Jones
26) #07 Shane Sieg
27) #8 Chase Montgomery
28) #24 Travis Kvapil
29) #08 Ken Weaver
30) #13 Ricky Bogart
31) #12 Robert Huffman
32) #29 Deborah Renshaw
33) #99 Carl Edwards
34) #67 David Ragan
35) #02 Kelly Sutton
36) #16 Jack Sprague
-complete-
more to follow...
Sieg Wins Big in Vegas, Too!
09-26-2004 12:43 am
Race winner Shane Hmiel mentioned that rookie Shane Sieg wagered $1000 that Hmiel would win tonight's Las Vegas 350K. At 18 to 1 odds, Sieg netted a cool $18,000 - before Uncle Sam gets his share, of course. Sieg finished 26th.
Scott Lynch No. 61 Orleans Dodge
09-26-2004 1:10 am
“I thought we might have had a slow leaking tire because with 20 to go we just got snappy loose, and I almost fenced her several times. We actually broke a rear seal and got oil all over everything. It was a super, super loose race truck, but the Orleans Dodge was great before the problem at the end. We are such a young team. I was really proud of Junebug (crew chief Robert Strmiska). He did a great job for being only 22 years old. We have momentum from our win in the West Series last week and from running in the top 10 much of tonight. Hopefully we can keep it going. We have a lot of friends and family here and the West Series didn’t race in Vegas this year. So this was my only race at home this season.“
Deborah Renshaw, No. 29 Ford
09-26-2004 1:15 am
“We really had high hopes for the race here at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The truck was good during practice and I was working on my line and the feel of the truck throughout the long session we had this morning. Then in qualifying the track was a little greasy on my first lap, but I was able to pick up almost seven tenths on the second lap which was closer to the times we had been practicing. But bad luck struck just as the green flag dropped when the 08 truck and the 13 truck hit me on both sides at the start-finish line. I really don’t know what was going on, everyone in front of us was on the brakes and they just came alongside and I was the one stuck in the middle. Right away the truck developed a severe vibration and we pitted for tires. But the vibration was not any better so the guys had to pull the truck behind the wall to try and find out where the problem was coming from. We never were able to diagnose the problem, but we got back on the race track to gain some additional experience and work on some strategy for California next week. I just hate this for the entire K Automotive team, everyone worked so hard and then to have it ruined by other trucks on the first lap is just awful. But we will focus our energy on California next week and look forward to a better run and hopefully a better finish.”
Shane Hmiel, Race Winner, No 15 Chevrolet
09-26-2004 1:20 am
“This win is for everyone at Billy Ballew Motorsports, my Dad and Mom, my girlfriend and her family and everyone who has supported me through out my career. This is just awesome. It is all my guys, they do such a great job and work really hard to give me such great trucks. To come here on a big track when I have only been really good on short tracks just shows how good this team is. I told the guys that if we qualified good we wouldn’t race good so we didn’t qualify that well, back in 21st and we came through the field and won the race. Everybody that was back there with me ran good. The guys that qualified up front didn’t have such a good night.
“Billy Ballew always said he would give me whatever I wanted when I got my first win but he is awesome and gave me the chance to drive this #15 Silverado when no one else would even talk to me so I am just proud to give him his first win.
“I didn’t know if I could catch him (Todd Bodine, leader) but I knew I could get second. Once I got into second I said to myself I wasn’t leaving here not winning this race. We had come close too many times so I just kept digging and once I got up to him, there wasn’t many laps left so I gave him just a little bump and took the lead and held on to get the win.
“I am with a good team and we are certainly capable on winning some more races. I am in the best shape of my racing career. I need to lose a little weight but I am working on a good cardio vascular program and I feel like the best I have been. I like talking about how I have overcome the problem I had with drugs because I think it makes it better and easier for others to know they can do it too.
“My Dad (Steve Hmiel, Competition Manger for Dale Earnhardt, Inc.) is in Dover so he couldn’t be here with us. He is awesome and so is my Mom. I wish he could be here with us but he has his job to do, we have always raced in different places but he is behind me 100%.
“I promised myself I would buy myself a diamond Rolex when I won my first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race and I am going to do that tomorrow.
“This is the most awesome night of my life right now. I am so happy that a fan has the helmet from my first win and if they will get in touch with me, I will send them a hat or a t-shirt and anything else I can!”
Jack Sprague No. 16 Silverado
09-26-2004 1:21 am
“We aren’t sure what happened at this point but we think we blew a head gasket the final lap qualifying but with the impound rules on a one-day event, we didn’t have an opportunity to cool the engine down and check it over. The water temperature shot up as soon as we were at race speed. We brought it down pit road to try and cool it down to see if we could fix the problem by cooling the motor down but as soon as I was back up to race speed, it overheated immediately. This is such a huge disappointment for our entire Chevy Trucks team. We had a really good truck and were able to qualify well. We were coming off a great finish at New Hampshire and Las Vegas has always been one of my very favorite places to race. The guys on my crew work so hard, and we felt like we had something for them here tonight. It just hasn’t been our year.”
Ricky Bogart No. 13 Chevrolet
09-26-2004 1:23 am
"We survived. Just couldn't get the handle all day. I got pumped up on the start. Saw the 29 crowding the guy inside her. That opened the door and I took it. (Bogart passed eight trucks on the initial start.) A tear off
got on the nose. It covered the whole front end. The motor started laying down. Th gauges we all pegged, so we had to make a pit stop. We lost two laps doing it. But the truck was pretty good. The guys worked hard and they're a lot of fun. I hope we can race this truck again soon."
Carl Edwards No. 99 Ford
09-26-2004 1:25 am
WHAT PUT YOU IN THE GARAGE? “Something broke huge. Something went through the oil pan, and it was something important in the motor because it didn’t run very well afterwards. The guys in the Mooresville (N.C.) engine shop do a great job. They’ve given us great power all year and we’ve hardly had any troubles. Tonight was no exception right up until it broke. We had such a great truck. I spun earlier; we wore the right rears down to the cores. We got real fortunate not to tear anything up. We had a set of tires left and this thing was totally awesome on new tires.”
IT LOOKED EARLY IN THE RACE LIKE THIS WAS GOING TO BE A GOOD POINTS NIGHT FOR YOU. “We’re OK. We have a lot of races left. This team has come together; we’re going to be all right. We want to win this championship really badly for Superchips, Jack Roush and everybody who has believed in me and helped me out. We’re going to bounce back, it’s fine. We had a truck and we’ll have a better one next week.”
Terry Cook No. 10 Ford
09-26-2004 1:26 am
“Tires were huge tonight.
This was big on tires.
The International Trucks and Engines Ford was awesome by the end.
We struggled all day long with this truck.
It’s a brand new truck and we were just flat exhausted.
We qualified 27
th
, which was a terrible qualifying effort, and we were just dejected.
The race started and we were OK.
We came in and did a track bar adjustment and an air pressure adjustment and this thing turned into a rocket.
We drove into the top five and then 10 laps later it just started to loosen up really bad again, and it kind of backed us up again.
The key tonight was to be fast, you had to be real loose, and if you were really loose you were going to burn the right-rear tire up.
We did that every run, and 20 laps into a run it was tough to hang on to.
We just fought the balance.
The last run, we had about 40 laps to go, we put tires on it and we thought we were going to be all right and they got bottled up in front of me on a restart and I jumped on the brakes to avoid the 14 and then jumped back in the gas and fouled a plug.
We were down to seven cylinders for about six to eight laps and lost a bunch of track time.
Had we not lost that track time we would have easily run in the top five, but for as bad as our day was going we’ll take a ninth-place finish and take that momentum to Fontana.
We’re trying to get our program back righted and I think we’re on the right track.”
THERE WERE VERY FEW MULTI-TRUCK ACCIDENTS TONIGHT.
IS THAT A CASE OF TEAMS AND DRIVERS WANTING TO STAY OUT OF TROUBLE TO TAKE THESE TRUCKS TO CALIFORNIA NEXT WEEK?
“I don’t really think so.
I hate to say to it, but we’re this far in the season and everybody is starting to use their heads finally.
They’re being pretty cautious to each other.
These tracks are pretty flat and they’re fast, and as loose as everybody was tonight you couldn’t drive it underneath anybody into the corner.
You had to be really mindful of that.
With that in mind, I think a lot of people were using their heads and that people that did spin were extremely loose and they spun out by themselves.
We were fortunate to dodge a couple of bullets tonight when people spun in front of us, but I think that’s the reason.”
Chase Montgomery No. 8 Dodge
09-26-2004 1:28 am
"It was just another one of those rough evenings out there. We had a pretty good truck earlier today and it was good at the start of the race. Then after the first caution, the truck just seemed to go away for us. We then had a bad set of tires and it made the evening that much longer. This was a frustrating night for me and this whole team as we had high hopes for a solid finish. We just need to rebound with a solid performance in California next week and put this race behind us."
Rick Crawford No. 14 Ford
09-26-2004 1:29 am
“We’re making small steps and those small steps are going to turn into big strides, especially coming out of here tonight with a brand new F-150. This truck has never seen a race track. Last week we ran our oldest truck at Loudon and got back to basics. This week we brought a brand new piece that Ray Stonkus set up back at the shop. Ronnie White did a good job in the pits and made some calls and got what we needed at the end and finally got a decent finish. Starting 20th and finish 11th is decent and we ran good and ran competitive and that’s what we need to go on to California with.”
A LOT OF THE CAUTIONS TONIGHT WERE CAUSED BY SINGLE-TRUCK INCIDENTS. WERE YOU SURPRISED BY THE RELATIVELY FEW NUMBER OF MULTI-TRUCK INCIDENTS? “I noticed that on the first lap. We went into turn one and everybody made it through the first lap; they were tiptoeing. It was like they were running 90 mph and they should have been running 150. But, that’s good. I think everybody realizes that they have to run again next week and a lot of them want to runt he same truck they ran here.”
Jon Wood No. 50 Ford
09-26-2004 1:48 am
“Slowly we’ve been showing progress. It was a little frustrating in the pits because we lost our jack man before the start of the race. The 99 team felt that they needed my jack man, and we’re trying to help them win the championship, so we gave them to him. It made it a little chaotic in the pits because we had a new jack man and our pit stops really weren’t all that coordinated. Other than that, we had an OK truck. We raced hard and ended up with a finish that I’ll take given the past couple of weeks. I think we’re capitalizing on our short-track program, but we just need to figure out what I need on these big tracks.”
Steve Park No. 62 Dodge
09-26-2004 1:50 am
Have you talked to Brendan Gaughan yet?
“No, not yet. I’m sure when I get back to the truck my phone will be ringing off the hook. He’ll be really happy about it. Brendan’s a big part of this team. He’s a big cheerleader, too. We love having him around. His enthusiasm rubs off on all of us. That’s why we like having him around. When we get down in the dumps, he comes in just full-fired and fires us all back up. It’s great to have him as part of our team.
On fuel conservation being an issue…
“It was at first until the caution flag came out. The caution was long enough that we were still close on fuel, but we were like a lap shy of making it, hoping for a four or five-lap caution flag to put us on the other side of the window where we’d be safe. At first it was a concern, but later in the race it wasn’t so much of a concern once the caution came out.
On points chase…
“Well, we’re not first. I know that. We might be in the top-10 I think now. That was a kind of goal that we set for ourselves – to solidly put the Orleans Dodge team in the top 10 where it belongs. We started out slow and have been rebuilding the team ever since Brendan left and really just making strides to move forward. I think I told you guys last week, I said, ‘I’d be surprised if we didn’t win a race before the year is up.’ And the goals are the same for us: to finish in the top 10 in points and win a race, because this team has certainly worked hard enough for that.
How important was it for this team to follow up last year’s win…
“You might want to ask them over on the No. 77 Dodge. I’m not sure how many people we still have from last year. We have two left over from the team last year. We have the same trucks, and we’ve re-bodied the trucks with the new Dodge body. We’re just building the team up personnel-wise and people-wise to where it needs to be to get back to winning races again. Probably the brightest spot of the whole entire night was not only to win races, and show that we can lead races and put ourselves in the position to win, but the pit stops were phenomenal. Just a month or two ago, we were struggling hard in the pits. I can remember coming in second in Kentucky and coming out 15th a couple of times. We knew we were never going to win a race like that. So, these guys have stepped up to the program. We did everything we could tonight to try and win the race, and we fell short finishing third. We’re just going to have to suck it up and go to California.
Describe the change in the last set of tires…
“They just lost grip. They were set exactly like we had the first set and the second set. We’ve experienced that problem. Our consistency among sets is sometimes off. Sometimes in the middle of the race you get a bad set, and then you get a good set back on in the middle of the race. We pretty much did the opposite. We had two good sets, and put our worst set off for the end of the race when we really needed it. But, that’s why they call it racing. It’s probably not the easiest thing. You look at tires, and they’re round, and they’re black, and they’ve got the right numbers on them and you assume that they’re just like the other ones, and we’ve learned that they’re not.”
Bobby Hamilton No. 4 Dodge
09-26-2004 1:52 am
“We got some debris on the grille early, and we had to go to the rear. What happened was I got it off after that caution came out, and they didn’t know if it was on there or not. We had to pull the tape off. Then we had to come back in and put tape back on it to get the balance right and go to the back. We just lost track position. They kept working on the chassis, and it was really good at the end. Shane and them made a good call about not having tires. I think we were a second place truck there at the end, but we just didn’t have track position. We were playing catch-up all night, so to get a top-five finish out of it was really good.
Brandon Whitt No. 38 Ford
09-26-2004 1:52 am
“It’s always good to come back to a race track that I’ve been to before. All this year we’ve been going to tracks that I haven’t seen before, and finally, Vegas is the first one that I’ve been to in the trucks. The Werner Ladder Ford ran good today. We were loose almost all night long, but I think it worked out for the better. The truck would come to me the longer we ran. We made good calls in the pits today and wound up with a top-15, so that’s pretty good.”
WERE YOU SURPRISED THAT THE TRACK CONDITIONS SEEMED TO LOOSEN UP THE TRUCKS TONIGHT GIVEN THE FACT PRACTICE AND QUALIFYING WERE RUN IN THE HEAT OF THE DAY? “Usually when it’s nighttime the track tends to tighten up, but tonight it seemed to loosen up. We were looser than we were in practice and qualifying. That helped us because we usually tend to be pretty tight.”
Ted Musgrave No. 1 Dodge
09-26-2004 1:53 am
“We were so bad in the beginning. I’ve never had such a bad truck in my life. Wow. I don’t know. We’ve got to rethink this. I think we’re going to need to park this truck or something. It just wouldn’t respond, and it did all the wrong things. I don’t know. We made so many adjustments. We tried so many things in the pits, something should have helped and it never really did. Wow. I’m glad that’s over. I’ve never come to Las Vegas and ran bad until now.
“It was better at the end, but it was still looser than hell. Sammy Swindell would’ve been proud of me. That thing was terrible, just absolutely terrible. Towards the end there, I just drove my heart out trying to keep it underneath me and get some positions. But, we didn’t have anything for the frontrunners. We’ve definitely got to look at what the problem was and rectify. But, I’ll tell you what; those guys worked their butts off tonight. Everybody on the team worked hard to keep us in the race: the spotter, crew chief, the guys on the team putting rubbers in and out, the driver… I’m worn out.”
Dennis Setzer No. 46 Silverado
09-26-2004 1:54 am
“It was just an up and down night for our Chevrolet Silverado team. We were tight, and then we were loose and just couldn’t seem to get it quite right. There at the end our tires were so worn out that we were really loose. It was a top-ten finish and a decent points night for us but we were hoping to get out of here with a finish farther up in the order. The track just didn’t change as much as we had hoped as the race unfolded but we are leaving with the fenders on and will head to California.”
Matt Crafton No 6 SIlverado
09-26-2004 1:55 am
“The motor just laid down on us there at the end. On my first and second set of tires on my GM Goodwrench Silverado were awesome, but when we got the third set on, it just wouldn’t go anymore. It turned out that it was the motor that was giving us problems the entire time. I hate it for my guys on the team. They gave me great stops all night and my truck was awesome before the motor problems. We are taking this same truck to California next weekend and it is going to be right!”
Brandon Miller No. 2 Dodge
09-26-2004 1:56 am
“I think with 30 laps to go or something like that, we were sitting sixth or seventh and then, boy, it just got so loose all of a sudden it was like driving on ice. I don’t know if we had a tire go down, or if it was something like that. But, it was just all of a sudden, we went from running in the top 10 to finishing 19th. Something just happened with the truck. We kept trucking along, but we didn’t just quite end up the way we wanted to. I don’t know. I almost thought there was oil out there. I was screaming on the radio, ‘I think we’ve got oil down, oil down!’ Because it just happened so quick. I don’t know exactly what the deal was. We’ll have to take it back to the shop and find out exactly what happened. At least we knew we had a good top 10 truck that we ran for most of the race. So, that was good for us.”
David Starr No. 75 Silverado
09-26-2004 1:58 am
“It was another top-10 finish for us but I am disappointed. I really wanted to bring our Spears Silverado home to victory lane but we were just too loose all night. It is weird because we were so tight during practice so we loosened it up for the race but the track didn’t tighten up as much as we thought it would. It was another good points run for us but we are still pretty disappointed, we will just have to shake it off and go to California.”
TrackSideLive! from California Speedway
09-29-2004 5:19 pm
TrackSideLive! coverage of the American Racing Wheels 200 from California Speedway begins Friday morning, October 1, 2004.
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