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Sylvania 200
| New Hampshire Int'l
Speedway
Race No. 18 | September 17-18, 2004
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Good morning from NHIS
09-17-2004 8:27 am
It is a gray, overcast day at New Hampshire International Speedway, but the teams are busy making final preparations for the morning practice, and everything is on schedule for an on-time start to on-track action at 9 am ET. The weatherman promises rain today, but it should be dry through early evening, long after the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series garage has closed for the day. It is supposed to reach the mid 70s for a high temp today, and the air is definitely thick enough to cut with a knife. We'll keep you abreast of everything developing here at the track, including exclusive Live! Bud Pole Qualifying and TruckShots photo galleries, throughout the morning and afternoon, so keep it locked to TruckSeries.com for all the news and notes leading up to the Sylvania 200 presented by Lowe's.
NHIS facts and figures
09-17-2004 8:31 am
The New Hampshire International Speedway was opened in 1990 and hailed as the first superspeedway built in the USA since the early 1970s. It has been hosting NCTS races since 1996, and has produced some of the most exciting racing in series history. The inaugural event saw three drivers battle for the lead in the closing laps, with at least four lead changes taking place on the last lap alone!
The track is 1.058 miles in length, with 12 degree banking in the corners and 2 degrees of banking on the straightaways. The straightaways are both 1,500 feet in length, and the 200 lap race distance translates to 211.6 miles.
Here is the history of race and pole winners at NHIS:
1996: Pole, Mike Skinner; Race, Ron Hornaday
1997: Pole, Jack Sprague; Race, Jay Sauter
1998: Pole, Mike Wallace; Race, Andy Houston
1999: Pole, Stacy Compton; Race, Dennis Setzer
2000: Pole, Joe Ruttman; Race, Kurt Busch
2001: Pole, Jack Sprague; Race, Jack Sprague
2002: Pole, Jason Leffler; Race, Terry Cook
2003: Pole, Jimmy Spencer; Race, Jimmy Spencer
Two races have been won from the pole, one from outside the front row, one from fifth, one from seventh, one from eighth, one from 10th, and one from 26th.
The qualifying record is 29.658 seconds/128.424 miles per hour set by Jason Leffler in July 2002. The race record is one hour, 56 minutes, 13 seconds/109.244 miles per hour, set by Jack Sprague in July 2001.
Chevrolet has four wins at NHIS, and Ford and Dodge both have two wins. This is Toyota's first attempt at NHIS.
Practice up next
09-17-2004 8:53 am
There are trucks rolling through the garage, staging for the start of the one and only practice session for tomorrow's Sylvania 200. With the trucks impounded after qualifying, and no Happy Hour practice, most teams will spend the majority of their practice time working on race setups. We'll have continual rundowns from practice, and complete coverage after the session is over, right here on TrackSideLive!
Trucks on track
09-17-2004 8:59 am
The green flag is waving, and the first trucks are on the speedway. Mike Skinner, with a new paint job on his truck, was the first out, with Jack Sprague, Bill Lester, Rick Crawford, Dennis Setzer and Chad Chaffin right on his tail.
They said it, No. 1
09-17-2004 9:00 am
Bob Keselowski, crew chief, No. 29 Ford: "Deborah, just do out and seed the brakes in real good, and then run 10 or 12 laps to get yourself acclimated and then come on in."
Johnny Benson, No. 23 Toyota: "We're too tight from the center off."
Tracy Hines, No. 88 Chevrolet: "Let's free it up from the center out, and if the RPM is an issue, we can change the rev chip to fix it."
Carl Edwards, No. 99 Ford: "It's a little tight getting in the corner, and then it drops the left front real hard when I get into the corner. That's not a problem. I think we have a pretty good truck."
Jon Wood, No. 50 Ford: "It's a little snug when I get on the gas."
They said it, No. 2
09-17-2004 9:09 am
Jamie McMurray, No. 2 Dodge: "Let's put some more sway bar to it. If it makes it too tight, we can take it out."
David Ragan, No. 67 Ford: "It is pretty neutral. I feel like I can drive it in pretty deep. I am hitting the chip pretty hard down the straightaways, I was on 9200 going down the backstretch. I can put a lot of wheel to it and it will turn. I have never had anything that will turn that well when I put wheel to it. I can work harder on giving it more gas through the center of the turn."
They said it No. 3
09-17-2004 9:16 am
Jimmy Spencer, No. 13 Chevrolet: "It's a little too free thru the center. I couldn't really bust off a lap there because I had to wait so long going thru the corner. But it rotates real well."
Carl Edwards, No. 99 Ford: "It goes in real good. It gets down to the bottom really well, it's loose of two which is good, and it's real good off turn four."
Jack Sprague, No. 16 Chevrolet: "It's snug off the corner, and I am going to need some gear. I was only at 9050. The brakes are vibrating really bad and I have some clutch issues too."
Rundown No. 1
09-17-2004 9:22 am
Here is the first practice rundown...we apologize for the lack of times, but that information is not currently available:
1. Schrader (127.585 mph)
2. Park
3. Edwards
4. Bodine
5. McMurray
6. Skinner
7. Huffman
8. Hamilton
9. Starr
10. Crafton
11. Reutimann
12. Sprague
13. Kvapil
14. Spencer
15. Craven
16. Hines
17. Houston
18. Setzer
19. Chaffin
20. Crawford
21. Wood
22. Cook
23. Montgomery
24. Hamlin
25. Hmiel
26. Parker, Jr.
27. Musgrave
28. Lester
29. Renshaw
30. Benson
31. Sutton
32. Ragan
33. Dotter
34. Sieg
35. Whitt
They said it, No. 4
09-17-2004 9:26 am
Ted Musgrave, No. 1 Dodge: "We don't have any grip. It feels like I am in a four wheel drift."
Matt Crafton, No. 6 Chevrolet: "It's loose in the middle for the first two or three laps, and then it just keeps coming to me."
Jimmy Spencer, No. 13 Chevrolet: "It's fine, it's just not as good as it needs to be. I am sliding up a little in the center, using up more track than I would like to be."
Denny Hamlin, No. 03 Chevrolet: "I figured that out those last two laps, I didn't need to be using so much brake getting in the corner."
Top 10
09-17-2004 9:34 am
Here are the top-10 with times:
1. Schrader, 29. 853
2. Park, 29.900
3. Edwards, 29.934
4. Reutimann, 30.004
5. Bodine, 30.066
6. McMurray, 30.084
7. Skinner, 30.084
8. Crafton, 30.089
9. Huffman, 30.152
10. Hamilton, 30.159
Smoke out of the 0
09-17-2004 9:39 am
The No. 0 Chevrolet made a couple of quick laps before smoke brought Loni Richardson back to the garage. NASCAR spotters have no reported any fluid on the speedway, and the track remains under green flag conditions.
They said it, No. 5
09-17-2004 9:41 am
Terry Cook, No. 10 Ford: "It's a little too tight through the center. I wash up just a little more than I would like to in the middle. It is really good getting in and getting off, but I need to be able to cut a little better through the center."
Rundown No, 2
09-17-2004 9:46 am
1. Schrader, 29.853
2. Kvapil
3. Park
4. Edwards
5. Reutimann
6. Bodine, 31.124
7. Crafton
8. McMurray
9. Skinner
10. Starr
11. Huffman, 30.152
12. Hamilton
13. Spencer
14. Cook
15. Sprague
16. Hamlin, 30.300
17. Craven
18. Crawford
19. Wood
20. Montgomery
21. Lester, 30.491
22. Hines
23. Musgrave
24. Houston
25. Parker, Jr.
26. Setzer, 30.439
27. Chaffin
28. Dotter
29. Whitt
30. Hmiel
31. Sutton, 30.668
32. Renshaw
33. Benson
34. Ragan
35. Sieg, 31.105
36. Richardson, 37.136
Quick red for debris
09-17-2004 9:53 am
The red flag was out for just a couple of moments for a quick track inspection for debris. The green is back out and the trucks are back on track.
They said it No. 6
09-17-2004 9:54 am
Steve Park, No. 62 Dodge: I'm not thrilled with the left front. I don't feel like I have as much control on the left front as I used to."
Jack Sprague, No. 16 Chevrolet: "If we get it to turn real well and then sun come out like it is right now, it could get real snappy."
Rundown No, 3
09-17-2004 10:02 am
Halfway through practice, here is the rundown;
1. Schrader, 29.853
2. Kvapil
3. Park
4. Edwards
5. McMurray
6. Reutimann, 29.950
7. Starr
8. Bodine
9. Crafton
10. Skinner
11. Craven, 30.097
12. Huffman
13. Hamilton
14. Crawfird
15. Sprague
16. Spencer, 30.191
17. Cook
18. Hines
19. Hmiel
20. Parker, Jr.
21. Houston, 30.278
22. Lester
23. Chaffin
24. Hamlin
25. Wood
26. Montgomery, 30.422
27. Musgrave
28. Setzer
29. Sutton
30. Whitt
31. Dotter
32. Renshaw
33. Benson
34. Ragan
35. Sieg, 30.866
36. Powell
37. Richardson
Race setups, or struggling?
09-17-2004 10:07 am
Looking at the rundown halfway through practice, there are several top teams mired back in the lower 20s and even 30s on the sheet. Are drivers such as Ted Musgrave , Dennis Setzer, and Shane Hmiel all struggling, or are they concentrating on building a setup that will work on long runs during the race?
They said it, No. 6
09-17-2004 10:09 am
Dennis Setzer, No. 46 Chevrolet: "These tires feel like they are giving up, we just didn't have any grip on that run."
Terry Cook, No. 10 Ford: "I don't know if it feels that way because it is under throttle off the corner, but it feels like it needs more right rear spring."
Rundown No, 4
09-17-2004 10:23 am
1. Schrader, 29.853
2. Kvapil, 29.853
3. Park
4. Edwards
5. McMurray
6. Reutimann, 29.950
7. Bodine
8. Starr
9. Sprague
10. Crafton
11. Skinner, 30.084
12. Craven
13. Huffman
14. Hamilton
15. Spencer
16. Crawford, 30.108
17. Chaffin
18. Setzer
19. Cook
20. Hines
21. Musgrave, 30.262
22. Hmiel
23. Parker, Jr.
24. Houston
25. Lester
26. Hamlin, 30.300
27. Wood
28. Montgomery
29. Whitt
30. Renshaw
31. Dotter, 30.472
32. Sutton
33. Ragan
34. Benson
35. Sieg, 30.866
36. Richardson, 32.284
37. Powell, 35.714
Travis on Trackside tonight
09-17-2004 10:31 am
Travis Kvapil will appear on Speed Channel's popular Trackside Live program this evening. The show is scheduled for 7-8 pm ET, and is hosted by Steve Byrnes, Larry McReynolds, and Michael Waltrip. Be sure the check it out!
Lester moves to the top
09-17-2004 10:36 am
Bill Lester laid down a strong lap just moments ago to knock Kenny Schrader off the top of the scoring pylon. Schrader has spend virtually the entire practice on the top of the charts, but with just a few ticks more than 30 minutes remaining in the session, now is the time that teams start changing from their race setups to their qualifying setups. Look for more big changes to the top of the order in the next 30 minutes...
Weather throwing a curve
09-17-2004 10:38 am
The weather has been a huge factor in practice thus far. We started out with overcast skies, but about 30 minutes into the session the sun peeked through and we ran in bright sunshine for almost an hour. With the temperatures warming, the clouds moved back in and now things are again starting to cool off. Many crew chiefs have been overheard talking to their drivers about how to build some adjustability into their setups in case we have more weather similar to this tomorrow.
Sutton in trouble, red out again
09-17-2004 10:41 am
Kelly Sutton has spun through turns three and four and dinged up the nose of the No. 02 Chevrolet. The red flag is out while NASCAR does a quick track inspection. The damage does not appear to be severe to the truck, but it is still too early to determine whether or not she'll revert to a backup truck for qualifying.
Rundown No. 5
09-17-2004 10:58 am
1. Edwards, 29.683
2. Sprague
3. Skinner
4. Lester
5. Crawford
6. Schrader, 29.823
7. Kvapil
8. Starr
9. McMurray
10. Craven
11. Bodine, 29.860
12. Park
13. Chaffin
14. Reutimann
15. Crafton
16. Hamilton, 30.019
17. Spencer
18. Wood
19. Cook
20. Huffman
21. Setzer, 30.191
22. Hamlin
23. Musgrave
24. Hines
25. Hmiel
26. Parker, Jr., 30.271
27. Houston
28. Montgomery
29. Whitt
30. Renshaw
31. Dotter, 30.472
32. Sutton
33. Ragan
34. Benson
35. Sieg
36. Richardson
37. Powell
That elusive Frenchman is back
09-17-2004 11:03 am
Pierre DeBris has again been spotted somewhere around the racetrack, so NASCAR has called for the red flag to make a quick track inspection. There are just a few moments left in practice, and teams are looking to get that last clean lap prior to qualifying once we go back to green flag conditions.
Morning Practice Final Results
09-17-2004 11:16 am
1.Kvapil, 29.454
2. Edwards, 29.549
3. Reutimann, 29.599
4. Bodine, 29.653
5. Sprague, 29.668
6. McMurray, 29.678
7. Skinner, 29.746
8. Starr, 29.752
9. Lester, 29.805
10. Craven, 29.806
11. Crafton, 29.811
12. Crawford, 29.812
13. Schrader, 29.823
14. Hmiel, 29.840
15. Musgrave, 29.846
16. Park, 29.900
17. Chaffin, 29.910
18. Parker, Jr., 29.921
19. Wood, 29.924
20. Hamlin, 29.987
21. Montgomery, 29.991
22. Hamilton, 30.019
23. Spencer, 30.044
24. Houston, 30.060
25. Cook, 30.084
26. Huffman, 30.090
27. Setzer, 30.191
28. Hines, 30.256
29. Ragan, 30.305
30. Whitt, 30.402
31. Renshaw, 30.406
32. Dotter, 30.472
33. Sutton, 30.483
34. Benson, 30.794
35. Sieg, 30.848
36. Richardson, 32.284
37. Powell, 35.714
Engine change on the No. 62
09-17-2004 12:21 pm
The Orleans Racing crew was busy at work changing engines after the practice session ended. They are just now getting the headers put on the fresh engine, and should have the job done in time to get the truck through the inspection line on time before qualifying.
Sutton to a backup
09-17-2004 12:22 pm
Kelly Sutton's Team Copaxone crew is now working on preparing their backup truck after she was involved in a practice accident that damaged the nose of her primary truck. Sutton nosed into the wall, knocking off the lower nose piece and smashing the radiator, causing damage that could not be fixed in time to qualify. The crew is busy at work, but will likely be excused from their assigned qualifying spot and take their run on the clock near the end of the qialifying draw.
Travis tops in morning practice
09-17-2004 12:25 pm
Talk about your overall practice session this morning.
“When I started out, we were just a little bit off. I was fighting a loose in condition in my No. 24 Line-X Tundra. It took us a little bit of time to figure that out, but once we did, Eric and my crew did a great job giving me the adjustments I needed to go fast. We tried a bunch of different changes and really hit on some things. I’m very confident that we came up with a good combination. We were able to make average runs, about seven to 10 laps at a time, and that’s something we haven’t had a chance to do in the last couple of weeks not having a happy hour. So I feel like we’ve got a great qualifying setup, and we’re really strong in race trim as well. Overall during practice today, I was able to run very consistent lap times back-to-back and the truck reacted well to the different changes we made.”
Did you have any concerns during practice this morning?
“I was a little nervous that we wouldn’t be good in qualifying because I was so good in race trim, but when we switched over, the truck drove perfect in qualifying trim, too. We’ve definitely got a shot at the pole, and I think we’ve got a good shot at the win here tomorrow. I feel like we were one of the more consistent trucks on the race track, so we should be ‘OK’ the remainder of the weekend.”
Give me an idea of some of the changes that were made to get you atop the practice board today?
“We were fighting a loose in condition and then I was too tight, so we were just making changes to see how the truck would react to those same changes during the race tomorrow. My team made some track bar and wedge adjustments as well as rear spring changes, and it was a big plus for us. There were some changes we thought would be in the right direction, and it ended up hurting us instead. So everything we did gave the team a great idea for what tomorrow holds if we’re in the same situation.”
TruckShots!
09-17-2004 12:29 pm
Who is wearing new colors here this weekend? Who has a sleek hot rod ready to run in today's Modified Series 100-lapper? There's only one place on the Web you can find images of the action in the Truck Series garage here at Loudon this weekend, and it's right here in our exclusive TruckShots gallery...
click here to log in and check it out
!
Skies are gray, but the forecast is improving
09-17-2004 12:32 pm
The skies are now totally gray at NHIS, all remnants of the sunshine that was spread over the track earlier this morning are long departed. But local weathercasters are giving the NCTS faithful some good news; the rain that is expected will now get here later and leave earlier than previously expected. We should get wet this evening, but the wet weather should be out of here long before the call to fire engines tomorrow afternoon.
Truckers gone Cuppin'
09-17-2004 12:36 pm
Here are how the former/current Truck Series drivers are doing in today's NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series practice session:
Carl Edwards, 5th
Kurt Busch, 7th
Brendan Gaughan, 8th
Jimmy Spencer, 12th
Kenny Schrader, 16th
Scott Riggs, 20th
Ricky Craven, 21st
Jamie McMurray, 22nd
Greg Biffle, 23rd
Todd Bodine, 30th
Kevin Harvick, 32nd
Mike Wallace, 33rd
Ryan McGlynn, 45th
Geoffrey Bodine, 46th
Tony Raines, 48th
Stan Boyd, 49th
TrackSideLive! Audio
09-17-2004 12:41 pm
Practice is over and TrackSideLive! went to the garage for details on the only practice session and the setup for the race tomorrow.
Andy Houston
also comments on his return to the series in a new truck,
Travis Kvapil
on being fastest in practice, and
Chad Chaffin
on the number of grooves available for racing.
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
Sutton talks about practice
09-17-2004 1:02 pm
I've been really pumped up about coming back to this track, and it's a shame we have to go to a back-up truck. Our times were getting better and better, and we had just put a set of stickers on the truck when it spun on me. No notice, no problems, it just spun. The nose got messed up pretty bad, but our back-up is "Sleepy", which ran so well at Gateway and Michigan. Tim and the crew will have it ready for qualifying and race time, and we're going to go out there and have a great race tomorrow."
Cook picks up big time in practice
09-17-2004 1:08 pm
Terry Cook and his ppc Racing team had a loose truck in the early stages of practice, and while they made some significant gains throughout the session, Cook thinks they still have some more left on the table.
"We picked up a lot during that practice," Cook said. "We were free early in the session, and we made some changes and it got a lot better. It feels really good, but the speed hasn't shown yet. It just seems no matter what we do we end up 15th to 18th on the sheets in practice. But this truck races well (its the same truck Cook raced to a third-place finish at Mansfield and a seventh-place finish at Michigan), so we're pretty confident about the race. It's a really good flat track truck."
New record in qualifying?
09-17-2004 1:18 pm
The track qualifying record could be broken in Bud Pole Qualifying here at NHIS this afternoon. The current record, set in 2002 by Jason Leffler, is 29.424 seconds. Travis Kvapil ran the fastest lap in this morning's practice at 29.545 seconds. Most drivers and teams will pick up anywhere from a tenth to three tenths of a second in qualifying, and if that holds true here today, the Bud Pole Award winner will also he the track record holder.
Raybestos Rookie of the Year press conference quotes
09-17-2004 1:28 pm
Raybestos Rookies David Reutimann, Tracy Hines, Shane Sieg, Brandon Whitt, and Robert Huffman visited with members of the media Friday morning at New Hampshire International Speedway.
DAVID REUTIMANN, #17 NTN BEARINGS TOYOTA: "We're fortunate enough to be leading the Raybestos Rookie standings right now. I'd like to be able to stay right where I'm at the rest of the year but it's going to be tough. There's a lot of good guys in the rookie class. Our season started off pretty well, actually, and then it's been a roller coaster. Some places we haven't run as well as I thought we would. Then for some reason I took to wrecking stuff but I managed to get out of that habit real quick. It's been a good season so far. I've got a great team. We're going to try to buckle down here the last half of the season and fight to get back in the top-10 in points. It's big on our list to try to stay on the point in the Raybestos Rookie deal. We've got a lot of races to go and we've got a lot of good guys that I'm running against. We'll have to see how that shakes out."
ROBERT HUFFMAN, #12 TOYOTA TUNDRA TOYOTA: "First off it's an honor for me to be here, to be associated with Toyota and the Tundra brand. I was running the Goody's Dash Series and when Toyota moved the truck series, they were gracious enough to bring me along. We've had our ups and downs and I think all the Raybestos Rookies have. We got off to a slow start. We had some good qualifying runs and here in the last several weeks it seems like our finishes have been coming around. To have a shot at winning Raybestos Rookie of the Year and getting ourselves up in the points, we're going to have to have good, consistent finishes for these last eight races. It's tough when you're behind. I'd much rather be where David's at but when you are behind you have to keep plugging along and try to have top-10 finishes from here on out."
TRACY HINES, #88 MENARDS CHEVROLET: "Right now we're second [in rookie points] and have never really had anything for David all year. For us, an under funded team that we have, it would be great for us to finish second in the Raybestos Rookie points but we're going to try to win it. We're just coming to some tracks that we're going to struggle a little bit. We struggle a little bit with the mile-and-a-half stuff. We're going to try to learn some stuff with a teammate this weekend. I built Jimmy Spencer a brand new truck and he's trying to help us a little bit. I've got the old stuff but hopefully he'll teach me something and bring it over to our truck. We want to finish races and like Robert said, just try to gain in the regular points, too. We're 18th so we'd like to get in the top-15 and try to keep performing as good as we can."
BRANDON WHITT, #38 CURE AUTISM NOW/WERNER LADDER FORD: "Our year has been pretty much like everyone else, real up and down. We've gone through some changes recently at the team. The tracks that we've been to early in the year, I've never seen before. This last part of the year we're going out to the west coast for a couple of races and I've been to those tracks. The only one that I haven't been to that's coming up is Darlington so I feel that our strongest part of the year is coming up right now. We're just hoping to finish all the races consistently and hopefully get a couple top-10s out of it."
SHANE SIEG, #07 AUTO-AIR COLORS CHEVROLET: "Our season started off pretty good. We went through the first half of the season and we were real strong at every race. We're under funded but we still hung in there. We've never really had anything for Reutimann, like Tracy said. We're coming to some tracks where we really struggled at, the mile-and-a-halfs and California is really going to be a struggle. Hopefully we can get some new trucks prepared and get more consistent than we've been running in the last six races. We haven't really run good at all and it's due to some wrecked trucks and we haven't had some new stuff to bring to the track. We're getting some new stuff together right now for these last couple of races and hopefully we can finish the season good."
HINES: WHAT HAS DENNIS CONNER BROUGHT TO THE PROGRAM? "He actually came in as consultant for now. This weekend with Spencer is the first time that he's solely been crew chief. I started the year out and we were teammates with Tina . Jerry Cook was over there, the experienced one, and I had Tim Kohuth coming in just on weekends just to help us. That didn't pan out. We needed somebody at the shop. We actually put Jerry with my team. We kind of been going in that direction with Lance Hooper on the 13. When Dennis came in, he kind of came in as a consultant. He's been on the radio with both crew chiefs trying to help and then this weekend is the first time that he's done a full deal and it's not on mine. I'm back with my regular one and then after this week I'll have Dennis. I guess I'll be able to answer that more next week. He's brought a lot of knowledge in. We're basically trying to catch-up. We got behind in the beginning of the year trying to do a two-truck team from one and came in very late in the season to do it. It's just been a catch-up process and I don't think Dennis can pull us through yet until we can get some trucks built."
REUTIMANN: WHAT ARE THE DIFFICULTIES OF A RAYBESTOS ROOKIE COMING TO A NEW TRACK? "I think what a whole lot of us are facing is the fact that a lot of us are coming to racetracks for the first time that we've never seen. With the testing policy, you basically can't test, really. I think that's probably the main thing, really. A lot of those guys out there have notes to go off of and now they're going to the format where they're qualifying on race setup so you don't have that final hour of practice. They say it's the same for everybody but it's not. If you've got a yellow stripe on your bumper it's not the same. Those guys have notes and experience and stuff to go off of and that's just the way it is. It's the same for all of us but I think that's one of the toughest things because a lot of these guys have a lot of experience around these places. It's hard to beat experience."
HUFFMAN: WHAT ARE THE DIFFICULTIES OF A RAYBESTOS ROOKIE COMING TO A NEW TRACK? "The toughest things for me have been the radial tire and the aero stuff. And when you have experience doing that in the Cup or the Busch or even the trucks. I think the truck series has one of the greatest contingent of drivers there is. It's hard to run in the top-15 on a good night. It's hard to beat that experience. Jamie McMurray came in last week and ran second and Jimmy Spencer was running good. Those guys can jump in and seem to get their trucks dialed in pretty quick and run well."
HINES: WHAT ARE THE DIFFICULTIES OF A RAYBESTOS ROOKIE COMING TO A NEW TRACK? "I think the big thing is that we're going to no happy hour. I think the object was to keep the cost down but for a Raybestos Rookie, it's extremely hard. Now we go out there and the first half-hour we're trying to figure out the track, the second half-hour we're figuring out race conditions, and then the third half, we're trying to get maybe qualifying speed. Some of us back in the points, I think we're all now in the top-25 in points, but prior to that we had to get qualified in to because some of us had new teams with no points. It's definitely a hard learning experience. With no testing, and they try to keep the costs down, and that's a good, good thing, but for a rookie it's hard. I think in the Busch Series a rookies gets five extra tests so they could go 12 times instead of seven. We go less."
WHITT: WHAT ARE THE DIFFICULTIES OF A RAYBESTOS ROOKIE COMING TO A NEW TRACK? "It's hard to beat experience. It seems that without the happy hour thing, about halfway through the race, you're just finally figuring out where your truck is finally working good and how to get around there and the next thing you know the race is over and it's time to go on to another new track. That's definitely been the biggest obstacle for me to overcome."
SIEG: WHAT ARE THE DIFFICULTIES OF A RAYBESTOS ROOKIE COMING TO A NEW TRACK? "I feel about the same. The happy hour was a big part of just getting to know the tracks that I haven't been to yet. It helped me out a lot plus the tires and the limit on tires. All the veterans pretty much know the track. On our first set we're just trying to get out there and figure out the track and we've already burned up a set and we're already behind in qualifying. It just kind of puts us behind all weekend."
HUFFMAN: YOU WERE WITH TOYOTA IN THE DASH SERIES. HOW WOULD YOU SUM UP THEIR FIRST SEAOSN IN THE TRUCK SERIES? "It's been right where I thought it would be. I don't think Toyota themselves had any higher expectations where it would be. I've said all along that they were a little bit behind the eight-ball getting started with getting some pieces approved not until the first of December on the engine. It's just now catching up. All the Toyotas are starting to run better, and perform better throughout the whole race. I think from here on out they'll get another win or two before the end of the year."
TrackSideLive! Audio
09-17-2004 2:07 pm
More driver comments after practice at New Hampshire. Check out
Robert Huffman,
and
Hank Parker, Jr.
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NHIS Sylvania 200 qualifying notes
09-17-2004 3:19 pm
Jack Sprague won his third Bud Pole here at NHIS; his previous poles came in 1997 and 2001...in 2001, Sprague led a track record 183 of the 200 laps...Sprague extends his series record for most career poles; with his fifth Bud Pole Award of 2004, Sprague has now collected 25 pole position starts...Steve Park's second-place effort is his best of 2004, and the best for the Orleans Racing team; Park has one career pole, coming at Watkins Glen in 1997...Travis Kvapil matches his best start of the season, duplicating No. 3 qualifying efforts at Daytona International Speedway and Indianapolis Raceway Park...David Reutiman is the highest-qualifying Raybestos Rookie of the Year contender. Reutimann has qualified fourth or better on four occasions including the Bud Pole at Atlanta Motor Speedway...The only non-qualifier was Travis Powell who didn't make a qualifying attempt; his team drew the number one pill in qualifying and did not clear tech in time to clear the five-minute clock during qualifications.
Notable Quotables, Post-qualifying No. 1
09-17-2004 3:28 pm
Kelly Sutton, No. 02 Chevrolet: "I'm thrilled with how we qualified. Because we had to get the backup truck set up, we didn't have time to run qualify runs during practice, so we were very excited to pick up more than four tenths on our lap times. I love this track, and this truck (Sleepy - 007) too. I finished 21st at Gateway with it, and I think we can go out there tomorrow and bring home a best finish of the season."
NOTE: Sutton's 20th-place qualifying run ties the NCTS record for best qualifying run by a female driver at Loudon, also held by Tammy Jo Kirk, set in 1997.
Tracy Hines, No. 88 Chevrolet: ""We qualified a tenth (of a second) quicker than we practiced. A lot of them didn't do that. We were a little free on entry. If we could have snugged it up a little bit, we would have been a lot better. But based on practice this morning, I think we'll be okay on long runs in the race. I like what I see here. Hope the wet weather stays away and we get it in tomorrow."
Jimmy Spencer, No. 13 Chevrolet: "It's a little diappointing to be in the back, but with the way they are impounding these trucks now, you have to qualify on a race set up. Our truck wasn't very good in two laps, but I think it will be good on a long run in the race. Told the guys this morning that I didn't expect we'd qualify up front. We didn't. Told them we could race to win. We'll go do that tomorrow."
Notable Quotables No. 2: Raybestos Rookie Post-Qualifying
09-17-2004 3:49 pm
ROBERT HUFFMAN, #12 TOYOTA TUNDRA TOYOTA: "We were a little bit tight. At Richmond last week we didn't pick up as much as we needed to and kind of started further back. I think we'll be all right here today. We've got an awful good truck for the race. It just got a little tight there off of four." HOW DIFFICULT IS PASSING GOING TO BE IN THE RACE? "I feel sure it will be. It's awful hard to pass in the Craftsman Truck Series, no matter where we go. It was tough last week at Richmond. I'll just have to depend on my guys in the pits to maybe pick up more spots than I can. There easier to gain that way ."
TRACY HINES, #88 MENARDS CHEVROLET: "We picked up a tenth from practice and a couple tenths from our qualifying run. We were actually better in practice in race trim than we were in qualifying , so we picked up. We did there what we needed to. We just didn't pick up enough. We'll be OK. It's part of being a Raybestos Rookie, learning things. I feel like on long runs we may not be as far off as we were on qualifying runs. We'll just wait and see what happens tomorrow."
CHASE MONTGOMERY, #8 BHR2 DODGE: "We slowed down a little bit in qualifying. We were real, real loose in practice and it was finally tight for once. We were disappointed with that. We were a couple tenths slower than what we practiced and felt like we had a pretty decent truck and still feel like we have a good truck. It very well could have been me overdriving it. We'll come in tomorrow and see what happens."
DAVID REUTIMANN, #17 NTN BEARINGS TOYOTA: "I would have liked to have backed up what we ran in practice. I tried to knock the wall down in practice and the guys did a really good job getting truck back driving good. If we do get a good qualifying effort, it's because they worked hard and got it where we needed to be. That's what it boils down to. I'm pretty happy with it and we'll see what happens in the race." AFTER YOU HAD THE PROBLEM IN PRACTICE, WERE YOU ANXIOUS TO QUALIFY? "Not with the way the guys fix the things. I don't worry about that.
Mentally as a driver you don't want to go out there and do it again. There's no excuse for doing it once much less doing it a second time."
KELLY SUTTON, #02 TEAM COPAXONE CHEVROLET: "It would be great but something went wrong with the motor. We might have to change motors and if we do that we have to start in the rear. That's disappointing but we'll see what happens. I raced here last year and a lot of the tracks we've been to I've never run at before so when I come to a track that I've already raced at I kind of know the track a little bit better." DID THE ENGINE SOUND FLAT? "The motor starting vibrating real bad. I don't know if it's something inside getting ready to break."
BRANDON WHITT, #38 CURE AUTISM NOW/WERNER LADDER FORD: "We picked up from practice so that's a good thing. We slid the front tires a little bit. There wasn't as much grip as there was earlier but we'll see where we end up. I feel like we have a better race truck than we do a qualifying truck. We're dealing with what we've got. We're fine with it." HOW DIFFICULT IS THE RACE GOING TO BE? "I think it's going to be difficult to pass. It seems like a one-groove racetrack. The turns are wide, though, so we'll have to go out there and see. You'll definitely have to use a lot of patience."
REUTIMANN PRESS CONFERENCE: "It actually started off good right up until the point where I tried to knock the wall down about halfway through practice and it really wasn't as good as it probably could have been at that point. The guys did a good job. I guess you could say that I just kind of kissed the wall. I kind of messed up the side and cost us a little practice but they did a good job and got it back and we had a fairly solid qualifying effort. I was pretty pleased with that. I wish we could have backed up what we ran in practice. We were a little bit off of that but it wasn't bad."
Sprague Takes Third Bud Pole at NHIS
09-17-2004 3:55 pm
Jack Sprague hit a milestone 25th NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Bud Pole in outqualifying the SYLVANIA 200 BY LOWE'S field on Friday at New Hampshire International Speedway. Sprague, driving the Chevy Trucks Chevrolet, set a one-lap record with an average speed of 128.515 mph. The old mark, 128.424, was set in 2002 by Jason Leffler. The pole was Sprague's fifth of the year - best on the series.
Sprague now has three Bud Poles at NHIS, the last in 2001 when he led 188 of 200 laps for his only victory at the 1.058-mile flat speedway. The 200-lap race is Saturday.
Steve Park qualified second in the Orleans Racing Dodge, his best for the team this season. Park, whose speed was 128.307, will have to fall to the rear of the field because of a post-practice engine change.
Travis Kvapil will start third in a Toyota, followed by David Starr's Chevrolet and the Toyota of Raybestos Rookie of the Year leader David Reutimann.
Richmond Bud Pole winner Jamie McMurray, Hank Parker Jr., Shane Hmiel, Ricky Craven and Carl Edwards completed the top-10 qualifiers. Bobby Hamilton and Dennis Setzer, one-two in current points standings, will start 23rd and 30th, respectively.
Notable Quotables No. 3; Toyota Post-Qualifying
09-17-2004 4:02 pm
Johnny Benson, No. 23 Toyota: “Qualifying was a lot better than the rest of our day. We struggled a bit in practice this morning, and we’re just trying to catch up a little bit. We made some major changes before qualifying, just trying to catch up to the track. Greg (Ely, crew chief) and the guys are trying to get the truck the way I like it -- to feel the way I like it to feel. If we were the way we were in practice during the race, it would be a long, long race. And, we would definitely be in trouble. But, I’m a little more optimistic after all the changes, and we’ll just have to make the adjustments we need tomorrow during the race.”
Mike Skinner, No. 42 Toyota: “We kind of messed ourselves up a little bit in qualifying. I think our Tundra was good enough to start fourth or fifth. We took off during qualifying and the truck drove really, really good. I overdrove the corner a little bit on the second lap, but the thing’s just been driving good all day. Practice went really well. Everything went smooth. Our truck is responding to all the changes we are making, and when a truck responds to all the changes -- that usually means it’s pretty close.”
Robert Huffman, No. 12 Toyota: “We had a pretty good qualifying run. We picked it up from where we were in practice by about 3/10ths -- and anytime you can do that, it’s a good thing. We should have a pretty good truck for the race. This is the same truck we had a Richmond and Milwaukee. We used our practice this morning as ‘Happy Hour,’ which may be one reason we struggled in qualifying. But, I’d rather have a good truck for the end result -- the race -- rather than for qualifying. We tested at Milwaukee (Sept. 1-2) and figured out to get the truck to turn in the middle to suit me, and drive good up off the corner to suit me.”
Hank Parker, Jr., No. 21 Toyota: “It went pretty well out there today. We made some pretty big changes. I feel like I’ve got a pretty good truck. All in all, I’m very pleased with our qualifying run. Thought I might have been able to squeeze a little bit more out of it. Even though my second lap felt better – the first lap was faster for some reason.
Travis Kvapil, No. 24 Toyota: “When I started out in practice this morning, we were just a little bit off -- I was fighting a loose-in condition. It took us a little bit of time to figure that out, but once we did my crew did a great job giving me the adjustments I needed to go fast. We tried a bunch of different changes and really hit on some things. I’m confident that we came up with a good combination. We were able to make average runs, about seven to 10 laps at a time, and that’s something we haven’t had a chance to do in the last couple of weeks -- not having a ‘Happy Hour.’
“I thought we’d go a little bit faster in qualifying, but at least we’re in the top three. I knew I had a good lap going and didn’t want to screw it up so I played it a little safe in Turns three and four – and probably left a little time on the table. I’m happy with everything and hopefully we can run tomorrow all day in the top-five.”
David Reutimann, No. 17 Toyota: “I would have really liked to back up what we ran in practice. But, we were off that a little bit. It was a definitely a team effort getting us back to where we needed to be -- after I tried to knock the wall down in practice. I’m still working on being comfortable and being consistent. in the truck. Sometimes I try too hard -- and make things worse.”
Notable Quotables No. 4, Post-Qualifying
09-17-2004 4:14 pm
Travis Kvapil, No. 24 ToyotaL “Everyone on the Line-X team did a great job today. We weren’t great in practice right away, but my team did an excellent job dialing the truck in, making some adjustments where I felt comfortable and getting the No. 24 to where we were really fast in practice. I thought I’d go a little faster than I did in qualifying. I knew I had a good lap going and didn’t want to mess it up, so I played it a little too safe down into three and four and left a little time on the table. But, overall, it wasn’t too bad, and I’m happy with my third-place run. It’s one of my better qualifying efforts in a while. I’m not known to be a good qualifier, so when we qualify well, I know I’ve got a good truck to race. We needed a good start here. “My expectations for tomorrow are to go out and win or at least be in contention for the win. I feel like I’ve definitely got a truck that can do that. Our practice speed was consistent, so I feel like we can definitely run in the top-five all day long and be there contending for the win at the end.”
Notable Quotables No. 5; Dodge Post-Qualifying
09-17-2004 4:24 pm
Steve Park, No. 62 Dodge: “It wasn’t a perfect lap. We’ve been through a lot today. We had a fast truck and ended up hurting the engine. We changed engines, and the first time out with the new engine was on the first qualifying lap. I got up on the wheel and went after it. I knew I had a good truck and knew they made the right changes for qualifying. I thought I might have tried a little too hard. I got in the corner real good and I waited a second to get off the corner and used all that good Dodge horsepower. We stuck to our game plan and fell a little bit short. Jack is the king of qualifying. They were holding their breath, and that’s all you can do. We’ve got to go to the back because we changed engines, but we were qualifying for pride. We’ll get a good pit stall out of it.”
Jamie McMurray, No. 2 Dodge: “I was really hard to get out of the Cup car and qualify the truck. The speed is so much different. The truck was good. I just really didn’t drive it hard enough. We had practiced a lot faster, but I think we’ll be good for the race.”
Bobby Hamilton, No. 4 Dodge: “We knew we weren’t going to qualify good. We’ve been off in qualifying, but the truck really drives good in race trim. I think we’ll be OK if we don’t get in trouble starting back there in the back like we did at Richmond.”
Chad Chaffin, No. 18 Dodge: I’m never happy with sixth or seventh, but the truck felt good. The guys did a good job, and I drove it as hard as I could. We’ll take it. I think we’ve got a good truck. I was looking for my number to be up there at the top of the board. That should be a top 10 spot. We’ll be all right. We made a few little changes after practice, and I just held my breath a little longer that time.”
Ted Musgrave, No. 1 Dodge: “We made big changes at the end of practice. We went a different direction, and the truck seemed to get better. We thought it might be a little snug, but we’ll make more adjustments before the race starts, and I think we’ll be in good shape. I’m not going to say we’re going to set the world on fire, but I don’t think we’re going to be bad, either. We’ve got eight more races, so we’ve got time to make a move. Any race that you have a bad race will really throw us for a loop. We’ve got to play catchup. The guys up front have just got to stay consistent. It’ll be a long race here, and you’ve got to have track position. You could be 10th or 12th and have track position at the end and get a top five out of it.”
Notable Quotables No. 6, Chevrolet Post-Qualifying
09-17-2004 4:27 pm
Jack Sprague, No. 16 Chevrolet: “I wasn’t sure that lap would hold because I lost about 100 RPMs and we didn’t really have the oil temperature up to quite where it should have been but Steve (Park) was good to us and didn’t quite have enough to knock us off the pole. The truck feels really strong for tomorrow’s race. The Chevy Trucks Silverado team worked on mostly race setup during practice but were happy with our bonsai runs. We were fifth in practice this morning so I figured we could pick up a little but Travis (Kvapil) was awfully strong too. Starting position is really important here because this is such a technical track that it is pretty tough to pass. You just don’t want to get too far back in the field so you have to be in a position to pass a lot of trucks to get back to the front.”
David Starr, No. 75 Chevrolet: “Our Spears Silverado was pretty good, we were eighth in practice so I honestly didn’t think we had a shot at the pole. I went out there to make sure I didn’t screw up my lap and got us a good starting spot but I left a little on the table and could have maybe made a run for the pole. But it isn’t where you start, it is where you finish and I think we have an awesome truck for tomorrow’s race. We thought if we qualified in the top-ten, we would be good so it was a nice surprise that we ended up there that close to the front of the order.”
Ricky Craven, No. 47 Chevrolet: “Man that is just a lot of fun out there in that truck. I would have liked to have qualified a little better but for the team because they deserve it. Randy Goss and the crew work so hard and really put together an excellent truck; they are a fun group and do a great job on the #47 Silverado. I have to tell you that my expectations for tomorrow’s race are pretty high. I am really looking forward to it, I feel good about the truck, and I love this track. Probably the most fun I have had in a long, long time in a racecar.”
Matt Crafton, No. 6 Chevrolet: “We just freed the GM Goodwrench Silverado up too much I was chasing the thing on both laps. When I tried to get back in the gas, my truck would snap loose on me. We just have to keep our heads up for tomorrow race and be ready to come to the front at race time.”
Dennis Setzer, No. 46 Chevrolet: “Man, we have just been struggling all day with our Chevrolet Silverado. We were so loose during practice we couldn’t get through the center of the corner at all. We tightened it up way too much. We will just sit down tonight at dinner as a team, get back in the game so we can have a good run tomorrow.”
Shane Hmiel, No. 15 Chevrolet: “I drove in too deep on the second lap and when I let off, I got a little loose and up in the junk. I didn’t want to bang up our Silverado so I just stuck with our first lap. We’ve got a great truck for the race tomorrow and a solid top-ten starting spot. We just have to race smart and keep ourselves out of trouble and up front.”
TrackSideLive! Audio
09-17-2004 3:49 pm
Qualifying over, TrackSideLive! went to the garage for comments from pole sitter
Jack Sprague,
Steve Park
in the No. 62 Orleans Dodge who qualified second and
David Starr
qualifying fourth.
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Good morning from a very wet and rainy NHIS
09-18-2004 9:26 am
Good morning from a very wet and rainy New Hampshire International Speedway. The rains that moved in late yesterday afternoon have persisted all night into the morning, and will likely stick around much of the day today. There is a front just to the west of Loudon, with clear and sunny skies just over the mountains. If the winds shift, and there is some possibility they could, the front should pick up steam and move the weather out over the Atlantic Ocean. If it doesn't, we could be in for a long day of hurry up and wait. We'll keep you abreast of all the news in the garage as the teams dodge raindrops, and we'll let you know how the schedule is affected by the rain.
If it rains us out...what about Vegas?
09-18-2004 9:31 am
One of the biggest concerns several of the teams have already addressed is what happens if we do get postponed due to weather today, and how that will impact the teams' travel plans to Las Vegas for next Saturday night's race. While it is a one-day show with practice, qualifying, and the race all on the same day, the teams need to be in Las Vegas Thursday night to get their rigs parked and then show up at the track on Friday for technical inspection. If we were to be postponed today, and the race is rescheduled for Monday morning, that gives the teams very little time to return home and then turn around and get to Las Vegas. That leaves open the option of racing on Sunday morning, but in the past, NASCAR has shown a reluctance to add preliminary events the morning of a Cup race, so that would seem to be the least likely option. One scenario that could play out if we are postponed is the teams pack up and leave today, and then return after the Las Vegas and Fontana weekends. All three series that would be involved in a potential postponement, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Busch North Series, and Featherlite Modified Series, are all off that weekend and could easily make the trip back to NHIS to get the races in without worrying about cross country travel plans being dramatically altered.
Massachusetts Resident Wins Sears Giveaway
09-18-2004 9:38 am
Bob Goodwin, a 52-year-old resident of Potomac, Mass., was the grand prize winner of th Sears "Good Life, Great Race" promotion. Goodwin won a brand-new 2004 F-150 with a special NCTS graphics package, a truckload of Sears partner merchandise, and a VIP trip to the Ford 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November.
"It just doesn't seem real," Goodwin said. "I am excited about the whole deal - the bigscreen TV, the truck, going to the races in Homestead and New Hampshire. Once Rick Crawford gives me the keys to that truck, i am going to drive past all of my neighbors' houses and toot the horn on that truck. This is all very special to me."
What if...
09-18-2004 11:18 am
If we are indeed delayed by rain today, NASCAR has just announced we will return on Monday. The start time has not been announced yet, but in all likelihood it would be a morning start to allow the teams time to get home and make the trip to Las Vegas. The weather radar still shows a tremendous amount of rain moving very slowly, but there is still an outside chance that the system will move quicker than anticipated and we will get the track dried and the race in. The chance of rain steadily declines as the afternoon proceeds, with the rain forecasted to stop by 5 pm ET. If it were to stop raining by 2 pm ET, that would leave plenty of time to dry the track and run 200 laps.
Raybestos Rookie Rain Quotes
09-18-2004 11:43 am
MARTY GAUNT, GENERAL MANAGER, #38 CURE AUTISM NOW/WERNER LADDER FORD: "We have all kind of concerns. The number one concern we have is the truck because it has the longest drive. The rest of us can get on an airplane and get three in four to five hours. Our team built a new truck for California, which isn't complete, which was leaving the shop Wednesday so that means now more time in the shop for the guys when we get back. Our biggest concern is that we're in New Hampshire and it's 16 hours for the truck driver to drive home, which means he's going to get their Tuesday morning. We figure we can get him out of here at 3 o'clock Monday afternoon and then he'll go home and sleep and then get back in the truck on Tuesday night and start driving to Las Vegas. The biggest thing is getting the truck and trailer out there."
WHEN DO YOU HAVE TO BE IN LAS VEGAS?
"Friday at noon for the truck. The crews go in at 2 o'clock. We've made a deal with another truck team in here that was made before this weekend, that we're taking our California primary race trucks Wednesday and they're going to meet us at Vegas. We'll swap our truck out after the race Vegas and we'll go on to California because I think 90 percent of the teams are staying out there. For the truck teams that have two transporters, I don't know what difference it's going to make. You're still going to have to have your truck driver drive it, unless they've got another truck driver sitting back in Charlotte. We talked about ourselves flying back home [from New Hampshire] but then we're risking getting everyone back up with the weather so obviously the crew would stay here. The main concern is the truck."
IS THE MAIN CONCERN IS TO GET THIS RACE IN AS SOON AS POSSIBLE?
"Because if you did it after California, which is the only off weekend, it would probably be harder because then they would have to drive from California to Charlotte and then up here to New Hampshire and then the following week go to Texas. Now is the best time to do it but if we could do it Monday morning at 10 o'clock that would be ideal."
JASON OVERSTREET, CREW CHIEF, #17 NTN BEARNING TOYOTA: "It puts us two days behind the normal schedule. The plan was to go home on Sunday and turn it around and have the truck leave on Monday. Now it's delaying everything a day. You've got parts and pieces there in New Hampshire that you need in Charlotte that you don't have. The biggest thing is the travel. You've got to rearrange all your travel, all your hotels, cars, and planes. It just puts a hassle on that."
IF YOU WERE FORCED TO STAY UNTIL MONDAY, WOULD YOU FLY BACK TO CHARLOTTE TONIGHT? "
With the way that we have to get ready for Vegas, we're going to go home and then come back on Monday morning is that's the case. It all depends on what NASCAR says and when we're going to race."
ARE YOUR RACE TRUCKS READY FOR LAS VEGAS?
"It's almost ready. Our backup truck is here with us in Loudon so we need to get it home and get is swapped over for Vegas setup. Our Vegas primary is sitting there. We've got a few finishing touches to do."
IF YOU RACE ON MONDAY, WHEN WOULD YOU LIKE FOR THE TRUCK TO LEAVE FOR LAS VEGAS?
"I would say Tuesday morning at the latest. It would come back Monday and get home in the middle of the night Monday night and swap things over then and then have to leave right away. When we go home we might actually leave a couple guys back to work on the stuff while we're up here racing on Monday."
DOUG HOWE, CREW CHIEF, #07 AUTO-AIR COLOR CHEVROLET: "We've left nobody behind on this team getting stuff ready for the next race. Our engine program is such that we don't get our engine until like a day before we leave, usually. If we end up staying here through Monday, we've got to get home and still get our truck put together for Las Vegas and get it on the road in time to get there. Obviously, there is a logistical problem of having stuff ready for the 07 team."
HOW MUCH WORK DO YOU HAVE TO DO ON THE LAS VEGAS TRUCK?
"On our particular team, fortunately, the truck that we have for there is basically sitting there just waiting on the engine and setup. It's 12 hours away from being done so it's not as bad as if we had to get home and finish building it."
Although it looks bleak now...
09-18-2004 11:47 am
While it does look bleak now that we will race today, there is historical precedent for racing on a day when the weather was miserable all day, delaying the start. In one case, rains delayed the start of the 1999 race in Nashville, Tenn., for several hours. Eventually, the system did move out of the area, the track was dried, and the Trucks raced under the lights. There is a predicted end in sight for the rain today, but there are no lights at NHIS. We're racing the rain and the darkness here today.
TrackSideLive! Audio
09-18-2004 12:16 pm
It's raining in Loudon and there are a few drivers waiting to see if the trucks take the track... TrackSideLive! spoke to
Matt Crafton,
Terry Cook
and
David Starr
about how this changes strategy and the hardships to the race teams.
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Weather update
09-18-2004 1:17 pm
Well, it is still wet and rainy at NHIS, but in the past fifteen minutes there has been a buzz of activity around laptops and radar screens all through the garage. The weather system that has been parked over the area for the past 20 hours has started to dissipate and move out of the area. There are clear skies behind the rain, and it's on its way to the NHIS area. The newest predictions have the rain stopping at 2 pm ET, with jet dryers on the speedway shortly after. "We'll be racing at 5:01 tonight," said NCTS Wayne Auton, ever the optimist. We have daylight through 7:00 pm ET, so we do have a chance to get the race in.
Weather update, 2 pm ET
09-18-2004 2:04 pm
Good news! The rain has stopped, and the jet dryers will be moving on to the speedway in just a matter of minutes. NASCAR is highly optimistic that we will have a truck race here today! We'll keep you updated as we inch closer and closer to the updated start time, which is tentatively scheduled for 5 pm ET.
Weather update, 2:45 pm ET
09-18-2004 2:42 pm
The rains have moved out of the immediate area, and the jet dryers have been on the track for almost half an hour. We are on pace for an approximate 5 pm ET start of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Sylvania 200. We'll keep you abreast of all the news as we hear it!
Pit assignments
09-18-2004 2:49 pm
Here is the pit road layout for the Sylvania 200 at NHIS, starting in turn one and ending in turn four:
Sprague
Richardson
Craven
Crafton
Chaffin
Houston
Schrader
Hines
Montgomery
Sieg
Hamilton
Dotter
Hamlin
Bodine
Parker, Jr.
Break in pit wall
Park
Huffman
Renshaw
Skinner
Whitt
Starr
Open Stall; Start/finish camera
Kvapil
Spencer
McMurray
Break in pit wall
Reutimann
Sutton
Benson
Edwards
Ragan
Crawford
Cook
Musgrave
Wood
Lester
Setzer
Hmiel
The Breakdown
09-18-2004 3:00 pm
Let's take the time to have our weekly look at the stats and averages of all previous races at NHIS...
In eight previous races here at NHIS, the average starting position of the winner is 7.5. There have been two winners from the pole, and one winner from a low of 26th on the grid.
The average number of lead lap finishers is 12, with a low of 8 (1996 and 2001), and a high of 16 (2003). There are an average of 9 lead changes, with a low of 3 in 2001 and a high of 15 in 1998. There are an average of 5.6 leaders per race, with 3 being the low in 2001 and 8 being the high (1998 and 2000).
There are an average of 6.5 caution flags per race here, for an average of 30 laps. The most yellows was in 1996, 1997, and 1999 when the caution flag waved 8 times. The fewest was in 2001 with just 4. The most laps run under the caution flag was 39 in 1997, while the fewest was 19 in 2001.
The cumulative average speed of the eight previous races is 101.931 mph.
Let's bust out the Magic 8 Ball and see what it tells us to look out for in today's Sylvania 200...
If you are a believer in numbers at statistics, the winner will come from 6th or 7th spot on the grid, meaning it looks very good for either Jamie McMurray or Hank Parker, Jr., who come from 6th and 7th respectively. There should be a handful of cautions, although it is possible we could have some long stretches of green flag racing.
What the Magic 8 Ball can't tell us is to expect the unexpected. In 1996, there was a three-way battle for the win with the drivers involved swapping the lead a handful of times on the last lap. In 1998, two rookies faced of in a beating and banging match that saw the winning pass executed coming off turn four on the final lap.
Year-to-date stats
09-18-2004 3:16 pm
Let's take a look at the year to date stats from 2003 to 2004...
In 2003, the point spread between first and second was just five points at this point in the season. In 2004, it is 57 points. This year, the point spead between first and fifth was 185 points while in 2003 the difference was 140 points. First to tenth was 394 last year and is 422 this year.
A look at the manufacturer wins sees everyone holding pat from last year with just one exception. Dodge and Chevrolet have the same number of wins to this point, 8 and 4 respectively, while Ford is down one win. That victory is in the Toyota win column, after they picked up their first checkered at Michigan in July.
There were 10 winners to this point in 2003 and 9 so far in 2004. The average start position of the winner was 8.6 in 2003 and is 2004 so far this season. We have had 9 pole winners so far in 2004, three more than to this point last season.
There have been 160 lead changes so far in 2004, six more than we had to this point in 2003. That averages out to 9.4 lead changes per race, up from 9.1 lead changes per race last year. There were 6.1 leaders per race last year compared to 5.5 leaders per race this season. There has been a dramatic increase in laps under caution from last year to this year; 739 laps have been run behind the pace car this year, up from 523 laps under caution last season. The average number of caution flags is slightly higher, 7.88 to 6.06.
Loudon still Live on SPEED Channel
09-18-2004 2:56 pm
With the weather delays, there have been many questions as to whether the race will be televised live as it was originally planned. "The word as of now is that Speed Channel will indeed be broadcasting the race live as planned," said NHIS Director of Public Relations Fred Neergard. "The plan is to go live on the air at 5 and stay on until 7." We will continue to update you as we can regarding schedule changes, if they happen, as needed.
TruckShots!
09-18-2004 4:13 pm
More TruckShots from soggy Loudon, New Hampshire where the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is under a rain delay while track officials dry the racetrack. With a little help from Mother Nature, the Sylvania 200 by Lowe's should get underway at 5 pm ET.
Click here
for TruckShots images...
Drivers, to your trucks!
09-18-2004 4:18 pm
The drivers have been summoned to their trucks...they are staged in the garage, waiting to be rolled to the grid, and the drivers have been told to get in their uniforms, strap in, and get ready to race. The track has dried exceptionally well, so kudos to everyone at NASCAR and NHIS for working as hard as they have to get us in position to race. The grand marshall has been summoned, so it's time to find a nice comfy spot on the couch, grab your favorite beverage and snacs, and buckle down for some NASCAR Camping World Truck Series racing! As usual, TruckSeries.com will be here for all the news and notes from post-race, exclusively here on TrackSideLive!
To the back
09-18-2004 4:30 pm
There are two trucks going to the back before the green flag: the No. 62 Dodge driven by Steve Park and the No. 02 driven by Kelly Sutton will both drop to the tail following unapproved engine changes.
Competition Caution
09-18-2004 4:32 pm
NASCAR will wave the caution flag on or around lap 25 to allow teams, if they wish, to come down pit road and check tire wear and make any changes they wish. It is not mandatory for the drivers to pit under this caution flag, it is optional, but NASCAR will indeed give them the opportunity.
Terry Cook, No. 10 ppc Racing Ford
09-18-2004 6:09 pm
“I think something distributor broke and hurt the engine. This is the Power Stroke Diesel team and I wish we had a Power Stroke Diesel Engine. If it was a diesel, we would have been fine. We’ve had great horsepower from Robert Yates Racing all year long. We’re just starting to get the International Trucks and Engines Ford program turned around. We had a real loose setup in qualifying and didn’t qualify very well. We thought we’d race well and started moving up there and buying our time but something went in the distributor.”
Notable Quotables, Chevrolet Post-race No. 1
09-18-2004 8:21 pm
JACK SPRAGUE, NO. 16 CHEVY TRUCKS SILVERADO (STARTED 1sT, FINISHED 2nd):
ON SECOND PLACE FINISH: “We had a miss around lap 150 but about 10 laps later when we had the next yellow, it went away. The motor ran great, the Chevy Trucks Silverado ran great, We had them big. With three to go, we were really gaining on Travis and I think we could have caught him. We had one bad stop today which really put us back in the field but we worked our way back up and at the end of the race, the truck was pretty awesome. I could see I was mowing em and I really thought I was going to get him. We didn’t need that last caution but I was one of the drivers who said it was too dark to continue knowing we would finish second. You just couldn’t see out there anymore. We would have been ok without the last yellow with just three laps to go but once there was the big wreck, there was no way to get it cleaned up and be safe enough to race. It just doesn’t make any sense to wreck any more trucks or hurt anyone.
ON THE DAMPNESS OF THE TRACK AT THE START: “ It was definitely still pretty damp but it was dry enough to start and everyone was really tip-toeing around the first few laps until we started getting some rubber down and the groves started coming in.”
ON 2004 SEASON: “We are building momentum for next year. We have had some great trucks this year, just had lots of things break and some bad luck. Last week at Richmond we raced at one of my favorite tracks, we just didn’t hit it right. I feel the same way about this place and today went a whole lot better. We will go on the Las Vegas and run for the win. We will be a serious contender for the championship next year. This year we want to get as much as we can.”
DENNIS SETZER, NO. 46 CHEVROLET SILVERADO (STARTED 30TH, FINISHED 6th): “It was an ok run for us finally late in the race. We really chased our Chevrolet Silverado around a lot today but we ended up pretty decent there at the end. Danny (Gill, crew chief) made some great calls in the pits to get us some better track position and we were able to stay in up there as they kept adjusting on the truck. We came down pit road and made some changes before we actually went green so we did really start in a hole but got better as the race went on. I am so proud of these Morgan Dollar guys, we missed the setup just a little bit but they just don’t give up.
“ It was really pretty slippery when we actually went to green flag racing but I will tell you, all the driver’s really used their heads the first few laps without wrecking a bunch of good trucks. A few did spin out while we were still under yellow a few trucks did spin because it was just wet but it went well in the beginning, better than some actually thought it would I think cause it was just like being on roller skates and you couldn’t get anywhere.”
RICKY CRAVEN, NO. 47 ACXIOM ALL STARS SILVERADO (STARTED 9TH, FINISHED 31ST ): Out on lap 82, accident in turn one. “I just slipped going in to one racing with the 6 truck. I’d love to have it over again but you don’t get do overs in this sport. The #47 Silverado was definitely capable of winning. The guys at Morgan Dollar Motorsports gave me an awesome truck. This NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is great. Great group of people, great racers and I was having such a blast out there. I would love to come back as soon as I as I can. I talked to Michael (Waltrip) about his run in this truck with this team in Charlotte and he told me it was much fun as he has had racing all year. It was really good for me, I had more fun today than I have had all year. You know-absolutely no pressure, a great group of guys to work with and just a ton of fun. I want to thank Chevrolet Silverado, Morgan Dollar Motorsports, Randy Goss and the whole crew of the #47 truck for a great afternoon. My intention was to come here today and have fun and I did that. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is a series I really appreciate and a series I am really impressed with. I would love the opportunity to race in the Truck Series again if I can be in equipment like I had today.”
Notable Quotables, Post-race No. 2
09-18-2004 8:27 pm
Deborah Renshaw, No. 29 Ford: "Our truck was just awesome all night. We fought a tight condition early in the race, but Bob (Keselowski) really made some great calls on tire pressure and wedge adjustment to free the truck up in the corners. The only thing that seemed to slow me down throughout the event was that the brakes were getting hot as we ran more green flag laps. I was pushing the pedal to the floor and having to pump them up on the straighaways. This was a great confidence-building night for me and I have to say that I really had a lot of fun learning this race track. Overall this was a pretty strange race day with the rain all morning and not thinking we were even going to race and then all of the sudden we had to jump in the trucks and go. There at the end of the race we were really fighting the daylight, but I'm glad we got the race in and I'm really happy with the finish here. This will give us more momentum heading into the west coast swing at Las Vegas and California."
Steve Park, No. 62 Dodge: “Obviously that wasn’t the result I wanted at my home track. I was thrilled with qualifying and was really happy with the Orleans Dodge in practice. It changed completely for the race. I don’t know if it was the weather or what, but the truck wasn’t handling. It is unfortunate because the truck handled so well in practice. We’ll take it to Vegas next week and keep trying to figure it out.”
Kelly Sutton, No. 02 Chevrolet: "This was a crazy weekend. We wreck a truck in practice, get our best qualifying run with a back up truck, and then it rains. Had to change the motor and went to the back, and then picked up like fifteen spots early in the race. We had a right front tire going down, and drifted back a bunch of spots, but the caution came out at just the right time. Back up through the field we went, and were in the top fifteen for a while but I picked up an intermittent vibration in the rear that I couldn't seem to shake, and it cost us a few spots. That late spin in three put us a couple laps down and too far back to gain some more positions, but man that truck was fast for the last fifteen or twenty laps. The race was full of ups and downs for us, but we'll take another top-25 finish. I'm proud of the team for prepping a backup truck to run this great tonight, and I think we moved into the top-25 in points tonight--which was one of goals for the season!"
Notable Quotables No. 3, Chevy Post-race No. 2
09-18-2004 8:32 pm
Shane Hmiel, No. 15 Chevrolet: “Well we just keep going from here and head out to Vegas. It's just been our luck this season having some crazy things happens. I wore my tires out too fast after the last stop so I was really pushing to get up there again. Maybe I didn't conserve enough. Man with the fuel thing we thought we had those calculations down especially with all the caution laps. One more lap. I thought for sure that I'd have my first win here tonight but ONCE again it didn't happen. We led a lot of laps and had the fastest lap on the track so I can't complain. I told Billy (Ballew) we'd have a win before the end of this year. I'm just determined we've come to close to not have one. I have to thank the sponsors for coming back onboard this weekend to keep us racing and a special thanks to Dale Earnhardt, Inc. for supplying the crew tonight. They did an excellent job. But most of all I have to thank Billy and Ritchie (Wauters) and every one of those guys at that shop that keep this Chevrolet Silverado upfront. We'll be working tomorrow to get our new truck ready for California and load up the Vegas one as well.”
David Starr, No. 75 Chevrolet: “Our Spears Chevy Silverado was pretty good at the start of the race but it started getting tighter and tighter as the race went on. We just couldn’t quite get it to turn in the center and it just carried it up off the corner. To get out of here with a top ten finish isn’t too bad, it was a good night for us. It helped us in the points so we will go to Las Vegas and keep digging there.”
Matt Crafton, No. 6 Chevrolet: "We are going to go out there the last seven races determined to win every one of them, especially with the luck we have experienced the last two races. Foget points race. This is so frustrating to run so well and then get hit from behind, but we can't control the other drivers and their actions. My truck was great on long runs. It just kept coming and coming to me, but then at the end I was fighting a very loose condition. Other than getting spun, the night was great. My guys in the pits did awesome and I am glad that we were able to salvage a 13th place finish.”
Denny Hamlin, No. 03 Chevrolet: “We were the first truck with fuel so if had had a little more daylight, we could have come close to winning the race. We came in and got gas and were running as fast as the leaders. I found a groove there on the outside that I really felt comfortable running and was able to get around a lot of really good trucks. Just needed more daylight and a few more green flag laps and we were going to be pretty close to the front. This is a really good finish and I am really proud of my guys. The track was slick at the start but the groove moved up pretty quickly and I found berm up there and was really rolling.”
NHIS Notes
09-18-2004 8:39 pm
Today's 89.482 mph average speed is the slowest in NCTS history at NHIS...Kvapil picks up his second win of the 2004 season following his victory at Michigan in July; Kvapil has now scored both of Toyota's two NCTS wins...Kvapil is the ninth consecutive different series winner at NHIS...Jack Sprague led the most laps en route to his second-place finish; he narrowly missed the $18,000 Craftsman Bonus for winning from the pole...Johnny Benson scored his best finish of the season, third; it betters his fourth-place run at Dover in June...Carl Edwards' fourth-place finish is his second top-5 in three races and eighth overall...David Reutimann was the best finishing Raybestos Rookie, finishing fifth...
Notable Quotables No. 3, Toyota Post-race
09-18-2004 8:52 pm
Travis Kvapil, No. 24 Toyota: “We had a great truck today. Yesterday, after practice, we were really confident about the truck and about the race. I really thought we had a shot at running up front all day. Then, when we started the race, we were running just as good as we were in practice. Things were going really, really well. Then, my Tundra got ‘tight’ and I began to slide back a little.”
“We pitted with 100 laps to go – which was outside our fuel window – but Eric (Phillips, crew chief) was using a little strategy. We could go 85 laps on fuel, so we knew we would need a few cautions to run to the end. That caution at the end ‘sealed the deal.’ We were concerned that we weren’t going to have enough fuel. When I drove around after that last caution I saw lots of fluid, and knew it was going to take awhile to clean everything up. I figured that NASCAR was either going to call race, or it was going to be a green/white/checkered finish.”
“Towards the end of the race, I was having a hard time seeing the track. I really couldn’t see my ‘marks’ or the yellow line at the bottom of the track.”
“I’m glad we got the race in today. NASCAR did a great job not giving up on the track – and they did a great job drying the track and getting the track ready. NASCAR did the right thing when we ran 30 laps under caution to dry the track.”
“There were a lot of distractions all day long. It was tough sitting around. When the race is supposed to start at 1 – and you’re sitting around all day – it’s really tough to get focused.”
“There really weren’t any major problems today. I got together with Matt (Crafton) – and I apologized to him. My truck was a little ‘tight’ when I got behind Jamie (McMurray) once and slid up into the wall. Other than that, it was a pretty uneventful day.”
Notable Quotables No. 4; Dodge Post-race
09-18-2004 8:55 pm
Jamie McMurray, No. 2 Dodge: "We probably needed a caution and we could have made it. We got involved in some pretty hard racing, and it's tought to save fuel when that's going on. I've had two good races with this team. This truck series is really a lot of fun."
Bobby Hamilton, No. 4 Dodge: "We came in the pits and NASCAR told my guys I was supposed to go behind the 22. Everybody pits and they're going green on that lap. I'm just going by people trying to find the 22 and come to fine out the 22 is riding around a half lap down and they penalize me for jumping the restart. I passed my 18 truck. They penalized me for passing him. I was telling him on the radio all day he had a broken axle or broken ratchet. He must have had a rocket ship. He probably could have lapped the field five times if we could have got it fixed. I wasn't jumping anyone. I was looking for the 22. I don't think they gave us enough time to get that sorted out. It's OK. I got on my people. It's our fault. It's not NASCAR's fault. I got 'em in the truck and we had a pretty good tail chewing. I told 'em I wouldn't drive that hard anymore. I'll give up because I own it. I don't have to answer to an owner.
"We decided to stay out and get five bonus points because we were running so fast. We decided we could pit and go back up through there. It's really nobody's fault but ours. It's a people thing. We don't make many mistakes and when I get through with it we won't make none. That's the way you win championships. We'll win this thing, and everybody can take it and stick it."
Ted Musgrave, No. 1 Dodge: “This place can be one way or the other. It’s very difficult to pass and track position means a lot. Pit strategy means a lot, too. It wasn’t the greatest race for the Mopar team, but coming out seventh and not losing any points and gaining a few on the leader, means we didn’t really do our job right but we didn’t have anything go wrong.
“If you look at my truck I raced everybody clean until Jon Wood got inside me. I raced him clean for two laps and he got frustrated because he couldn’t pass me. He decided to go into turn one over his head and run me up into the third groove. You watch everybody up there in the water, and they all wreck. There was no call for that, so he didn’t give me any room and I didn’t give him any room off the corner. When he tried to block high I just didn’t give him any room and that’s the way it ended.”
Notable Quotables No. 6, Raybestos Rookie post-race
09-18-2004 9:07 pm
Robert Huffman, No. 12 Toyota: "I don't know what the deal was there. Jack just ran us into the wall off of four. I was on the outside of him and I don't know if his spotter didn't tell him I was there or what. It's just discouraging. These boys worked awful hard, and to come out here and something like that happen, that's discouraging. It's knocked the front and rear clip off of it. It's torn up pretty bad."
Tracy Hines, No. 88 Chevrolet: "We had an engine problem. Early in the race we were kind of biding our time to see what was going on. Apparently with some of the veterans, that whole thing about you can't pass before start-finish, doesn't apply because I waited to the start-finish line to pull out and pass somebody and there was somebody already there that spun me when we got there. I thought the rule applied to everybody, not just veterans. The motor lost oil pressure so I shut it down. I broke a valve or dropped a cylinder somehow. We were running top-15 and then it got hurt and finally it lost oil pressure."
David Reutimann, No. 17 Toyota:
Notes: Reutimann finished fifth, his third top-five finish in 18-career Craftsman Truck Series starts. Reutimann has racked up three top-five and eight top-10 finishes this season. A Raybestos® Rookie has finished in the top-five in each of the last FIVE consecutive Craftsman Truck Series races at New Hampshire. In fact, a Raybestos® Rookie has logged a top-five in seven of the previous nine races at the 1.058-mile speedway. Raybestos® Rookies who have scored top-fives at New Hampshire:
1997: Kenny Irwin, fifth
1998: Greg Biffle, second
2000: Kurt Busch, first
2001: Travis Kvapil, second
2002: Brendan Gaughan, fifth
2003: Carl Edwards, second
REUTIMANN: "I had no idea what the strategies were or who had fuel or who didn't art. I was just as surprised as anybody when I saw them dropping out. My hat is off to all these guys at TRD and NTN Bearings. Darrell Waltrip is the real deal and he gave me the opportunity of a lifetime and I can't thank him enough for it. I haven't given the guys a whole lot to talk about the last couple of weeks and they haven't given up on me and that's big for me. Thank the Lord for a good race. It was getting dark out there and I'm glad that it's over with. I told the guys earlier today 'Man, there's no way we're running today' and I was all laid up there in the lounge basically doing nothing, which I'm good at, and before I know it the guys are coming up and changing uniforms saying 'hey, we've got to go.' NASCAR did a good job. They squeezed it in. They didn't give up. We didn't want to come back here Monday because of having to go to Vegas and stuff like that. They did what the had to do and we about squeaked it out with no problems so it was a good deal."
IT WAS PRETTY DARK AT THE END OF THE RACE.
"I told the guys before the yellow came out 'Man, I can hardly see anywhere.' They made the right call in my opinion. It was getting pretty dark. Well go on to the next race and see if we can do a little better."
HOW IMPORTANT IS THIS RUN TO YOU AND THE TEAM?
"It was huge. I can't put a dollar sign on how important it was for me mentally. The guys stay after me and tell me not to get down but sometimes I am my own worst critic. All the guys on this whole deal have been super. I hit the wall in practice and they had to beat the side back out. They guys did an awesome job. This just shows how good of a team we've got. This is the first time that we've ever been here and to come out of here with a top-five finish, that says a lot."
YOU OVERCAME A LOT OF FACTORS TO POST A GOOD FINISH HERE TONIGHT.
"I'm real proud of the effort. We were able to maintain and stay near the top all day so it wasn't like it was a fluke or fell into it. We raced our way into it. I'm glad this day is over with." DO YOU LIKE THIS PLACE? "Yeah, it's on my top-five list of tracks that I like so far. I look forward to coming back here next year and have a little more experience and maybe know what I'm doing when I get here."
WILL YOU RUN THIS TRUCK AGAIN THIS YEAR?
"This truck will probably go to Martinsville. This is basically our short track truck and we try to keep it primarily for short tracks. The next time we run it will be Martinsville."
Brandon Whitt, No. 38 Ford: "it wasn't bad. We started back in the pack and worked our way forward into the top-20. We tried some pit strategy stuff that we thought would work but unfortunately didn't play out to our favor. We should have stopped for tires and we stayed out but hey, that's what we're out here to do is learn. We ended up 19th and we beat some trucks that we needed to beat and I think we gained some valuable points."
DID YOU GAIN SOME CONFIDENCE TODAY?
"Definitely. Going out on a green racetrack like that and running as slick as it was and there were no wrecks just says something for the drivers in this series. I did gain some confidence coming to a track like this that's tricky for the first time and just learning every lap and then finally by the end of the race, you feel like you know where you need to be and boom the race is over. I think we gained a lot of experience today."
Chase Montgomery, No. 8 Dodge: "I can't complain. The truck got a lot better all night. We were fighting real tight in the center and real tight off but the guys just stayed at it. We got the luck dog right at the perfect time, right before the 10 to go. We got to get our lap back and put on some fresh tires. It was not a real bad day. Of course, we want to do better. We were running in the top-10 and Reutimann and I got together. It was my fault as much as anything but we'll take it. We'll go to Vegas next week and had a real good test at Nashville a few weeks ago so we're excited."
Shane Sieg, No. 07 Chevrolet: "We made major changes to the truck before qualifying and didn't know what we had for the race. It was actually pretty decent at the start. We made a lot of adjustments and we got it pretty good. We should have stayed out for track position there at the end but it kind of killed us. The slick racetrack in the beginning didn't bother me it was the dark at the end of the race. I couldn't really see much. I couldn't see the marks on the track that I use to judge when I'm driving.
KELLY SUTTON, #02 TEAM COPAXONE CHEVROLET: "Something broke in the rear. We think the ratchet broke and it was just uncontrollable. We had two tires go down on us, two right fronts, so that hurt us. At the end it was just undriveable so we just tried to hang in there and finish the race. But I hate it. I hit the jackman on the 22 team and I'm heading over now to make sure that he's OK."
REUTIMANN PRESS CONFERENCE:
"I was just sitting in the transporter thinking that there was no possible way that we were going to get to race and then all the guys came in and said 'We've got to go, we've got to go' so I changed and jumped in the truck and away we went. All in all, I think it was a really good day for NTN Bearing and Toyota. On top of Travis winning, we had some Toyotas in the top-five and that's pretty big especially on a shorter racetrack, which we haven't been that strong at, and our team and me as a driver haven't been strong at. The support from NTN Bearing and Toyota, TRD is building some great horsepower with the motors and I've got Darrell Waltrip for an owner and he's been very good to me. He gave me an opportunity of a lifetime here so I'm really enjoying it."
AS A RAYBESTOS ROOKIE, WHAT WAS YOUR IMPRESSION OF YOUR FIRST RACE HERE?
"I'm ready to come back here. We need too come back here two or three times next year. It's a great racetrack, very racy. My first trip here and I come out of here with a top-five and I'm really proud of that and really proud of my guys. Again, maybe it gives us a little bit of momentum going into Vegas. It was a good weekend all together. I tried to knock the wall down in practice and the guys fixed it. If I hadn't cost us about 30 to 45 minutes of practice time, maybe we could have got it a little bit better yet. I was really happy with our result."
HOW WERE THE CONDITIONS AT THE END OF THE RACE?
"Dark . It would have been fine if we could have finished the race under green, it wouldn't have been a big deal. I had just told the guys probably not two laps before the yellow came out 'Man, I can't see anything.' I have primarily a dirt background so I'm used to racing with 22 pairs of tear offs and a dirt racetrack that's covered in dust. It was right to that point where you had to make a decision and NASCAR did the right thing. Everybody here at the speedway did an exception job to get the race in. Hat's off to them. I never would have dreamed that we could have got it in but the people here at the speedway are a class act. Everybody has been great and that's why I want to come back."
DID YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS WITH FUEL AT THE END?
"I didn't until I saw all the guys running out. Bobby Kennedy [team manager] and Jason Overstreet [crew chief] they never told me anything which is generally how they need to keep it with me as a Raybestos Rookie I have so much bouncing around in my head anyway that I don't need one other thing stacked on top of that. Whenever the yellow came out Bobby said 'Save me some fuel now' and I was like 'Oh boy, we're in trouble now.' We still would have been all right. We were five or six laps of green easily so we would have been in good shape but it didn't keep me from making me a little nervous."
DID YOU FEEL THAT WITH YOUR BACKGROUND OF RACING IN THE DARK THAT YOU HAD AN EDGE AT THE END OF THE RACE?
"I don't know if it was an edge. I was driving as hard as I did at the beginning of the race, which I don't know if you call that edge or just lack of sense on my part. It gets to the point where I was running with Carl Edwards there and it got to the point that you really couldn't see that well. It was to the point that I was having a hard time seeing and you don't want to get down there and do anything stupid. I've done enough stupid stuff this year; I need to cut that out. We needed to get a good finish and that's what we ended up doing. They did a great job getting the track dry and it was good. We got some rubber down on it and it was good. I don't think you could come back to any racetrack and have so many emotions. You're going to race, you're not going to race, and then all of a sudden you'd better hurry up and go race and you start under yellow and all of those things. It was a different kind of feel. It was definitely a learning experience but the good thing was that we did get to run a lot of green flag laps and that helped me as a driver to learn a lot about the racetrack so hopefully we'll be better when we come back here."
TrackSideLive! Audio
09-18-2004 8:41 pm
After the race, TrackSideLive! talks to winner
Travis Kvapil
and his team owner
Alex Meshkin,
plus post race comments from
Rick Crawford,
Dennis Setzer
and
Steve Park
Unofficial results, Sylvania 200 presented by Lowe's
09-18-2004 6:06 pm
1. Travis Kvapil
2. Jack Sprague
3. Johnny Benson
4. Carl Edwards
5. David Reutimann
6. Dennis Setzer
7. Ted Musgrave
8. David Starr
9. Hank Parker, Jr.
10. Mike Skinner
11. Denny Hamlin
12. Kenny Schrader
13. Matt Crafton
14. Steve Park
15. Bobby Hamilton
16. Chad Chaffin
17. Chase Montgomery
18. Jimmy Spencer
19. Brandon Whitt
20. Shane Hmiel, 199 laps
21. David Ragan, 199 laps
22. Deborah Renshaw, 199 laps
23. Shane Sieg, 199 laps
24. Kelly Sutton, 197 laps
25. Rick Crawford, 197 laps
26. Bobby Dotter, 196 laps
27. Bill Lester, 196 laps
28. Jamie McMurray, 196 laps
29. Jon Wood
30. Tracy Hines, 150 laps
31. Ricky Craven, 82 laps
32. Robert Huffman, 80 laps
33. Andy Houston, 80 laps
34. Todd Bodine, 57 laps
35. Terry Cook, 43 laps
36. Loni Richardson, 40 laps
Good night from NHIS
09-18-2004 9:24 pm
The soggy shoes have dried out. The race trucks are loaded and probably an hour down the road by now. The fans are hopefully somewhere warm and dry, and TrackSideLive! is going to call it a night from New Hampshire International Speedway.
Travis Kvapil preserved the streak of consecutive different winners at NHIS by becoming the ninth different driver in nine races to win here. He held of a furious charge by Shane Hmiel and played fuel strategy perfectly to pick up his second win of 2004.
The points picture has yet to come into focus, with leader Bobby Hamilton just 30 points ahead of second place Dennis Setzer. Carl Edwards sits just 39 points out of the lead, so we have a three-horse race for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship.
TrackSideLive! coverage will continue from Las Vegas Motor Speedway next Saturday as the tough trucks take on te jewel in the desert. We'll have all the news and notes leading up to the Las Vegas 350, including exclusive Live! Bud Pole Qualifying presented by The Silverado All-Stars and TrackSideLive! presented by Team ASE/CARQUEST.
Keep it locked on to TruckSeries.com, your one-stop shop for NASCAR Camping World Truck Series news, notes, photos, and information.
Good night everybody!
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