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Easy Care 200 |
Atlanta
Race No. 2 | March 13, 2004
TrackSideLive! brings you exclusive online coverage of the tough trucks and
even tougher drivers of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
Check out the TrackSideLive! Archives
• Jack Sprague #16 Chevrolet
» 03-13-2004 - 5:55 PM
"I don't know what to say. We struggled all weekend with the our Chevy Trucks Silverado. It just didn't seem like we could get a handle under us. Dave (Fuge, team manager), Chris (Showalter, crew chief) and everyone on the IWX Chevy Trucks crew worked and worked to try to get us better before the race started. They went through our test notes from Charlotte to see if we could find something since we got rained out here at the test. We started out and by the 2nd lap we were just wicked loose. Then we got black flagged for the window net coming down so I brought it in and the guys made major changes to see if we could get any better. Again, nothing seemed to really help us that much. The window net kept coming down, so we came in again under yellow and taped it up made more major changes but by that point we were so far down, it made more sense to take care of the truck and finish the race. I am disappointed for our team, Chevrolet Silverado and all our sponsors. We will be back and win races for them but this just wasn't our weekend."
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• Robert Huffman, #12 Toyota
» 03-13-2004 - 5:41 PM
WHAT HAPPENED WITH STEVE PARK? "I guess it was a rookie mistake [smiles]. I guess I lost the front end. I guess Steve was behind me or underneath me and it hadn't done that all day long but up off four the front end just took off into the wall. I hate it for these guys. They've worked hard and it's probably the most stuff I've tore up in six years in these two races. We had an awesome truck. We were running real good and I could see us finishing in the top-five pretty easy and I was trying hard for it. I just ran out of racetrack. We were sitting there riding all day long, just trying to stay on the lead lap. I learned a lot about the trucks and that's what it's going to take for us to have a shot at winning these races. If I don't learn what it takes to make these trucks go the whole race then we're not going to have a shot at winning. We learned a lot and kept ourself out there to the end and just didn't quite make it to the checkered flag." DID YOU HIT HARD? "Pretty hard. Any of them is hard but it was pretty hard, probably rougher than Daytona."
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• Shane Sieg No. 07 Chevrolet
» 03-13-2004 - 5:40 PM
"We're happy with it. That's the best finish that I've ever had in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and it's great to be here in my hometown, Atlanta. In the wreck I seen a hole and I shot for it and I ran over debris, really big, and it messed up our valence. It was never really right after that. If it wouldn't have got in the debris, I think we would have had something for the leaders. I think we were running pretty much equal times with them but that's the way things go." DID THE YELLOW FLAGS AT THE END OF THE RACE HELP YOU? "No, my truck was better on long runs and as the race went on and on I would catch them. At the starts of the race earlier, man, it was good but at the end the valence was messed up and it pushed really bad. I'm very happy with the run. You always want better if you're not first but I'm happy with it."
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• Kelly Sutton No. 02 Chevrolet
» 03-13-2004 - 5:31 PM
"We think it's the transmission. We had a very bad vibration in practice. We thought we fixed it but it's just vibrating so bad out there I'm worried about wrecking it so we're going to take it back to the shop and see if they can fix it and if they can we'll try to get some more laps out there. It was getting to the point where I couldn't even run it it was vibrating so bad. I hate it for the Team Copaxone Chevy Silverado because we just barely made it in. It's been great to be here in Atlanta. It's a great speedway and we look forward to coming back here next year." DID YOU RUN ENOUGH LAPS TO LEARN ANYTHING TODAY? "I think so, but I think we need to do some more testing, maybe at Texas or something. But like I said the transmission was vibrating so bad or something in the rear so they are going to take it back to the garage and see what it is and maybe we can get back out there for a couple of laps."
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• Ted Musgrave No. 1 Dodge
» 03-13-2004 - 5:27 PM
“It worked out pretty much the way I figured. We learned a lot today. We’re going to be a lot better when we come back. We learned a lot. It’s tough coming to a new track. This isn’t what the Mopar team wants. I was hoping for at least a top five, but at least Dodge won. My hat’s off to Bobby. He was on a rail today. Whatever he had, that’s great. I’m going to see if I can’t follow in his footsteps and get this No. 1 Mopar Dodge back up there again.”
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• Chad Chaffin No. 18 Dodge
» 03-13-2004 - 5:17 PM
“Our truck was killer fast in Happy Hour. I was just going to follow Bobby to the front, but he jumped on the high side and I followed him up to about seventh or eighth. He kept on going and I got loose. We pitted and the caution came out while we were in the pits. That stinks, and there’s nothing you can do about that. We were good, but we weren’t good enough to get our lap back. Bobby was so strong, and there was no way I was going to pass the leaders, but finally we got a Lucky Dog out of it. Even then it was so late in the run, and it was a single-file start and I had to start at the very back. It was almost like having nothing. We passed three trucks in one lap on the green-white-checkered, and that just showed how strong our truck was. The boss can flat out drive. He’s not back in the truck series because he can’t drive. He’s back because he wants to be. He gave me a great truck. One guy finished first and one guy finished ninth, but if we had been just a little bit better we would have got the Lucky Dog earlier, and I promise we would have finished third or fourth with this truck.”
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• Johnny Allen Crew chief No. 62 Dodge
» 03-13-2004 - 5:15 PM
“It was a legitimate penalty. The jackman slipped and was over the wall too early. It was a deal that cost us pretty big. There at the end the 12 truck got out of shape and hit the wall. Then he came down and collected us. It is just hard racing. You hate to see it happen. If we hadn’t had the penalty, we probably wouldn’t have been in that position. We would probably have been further up to the front. We had a good run. We’ve got potential. We just need to get it all together in one place. We ran strong in both of the races we’ve been in; we just haven’t been able to get the package together. We need a little bit of luck. Time is important when you have a new driver and crew chief, but we had a head start because Orleans Racing had a good core base. We built on that. Steve is an easy driver to work with. He gives good input. Once we get into the races, we have moved in the direction he wants to go, and it hasn’t backfired. He knows the feel he wants, and so far we’ve been lucky enough to hit it right.”
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• Steve Park No. 62 Dodge
» 03-13-2004 - 5:12 PM
“We worked from 27th to a top five and then had to go to the back again when we got the penalty for a crew member being over the wall too early. That was a shame. I think we must have passed the most trucks all day. The Orleans Dodge was handling well. We had a great truck all day. We got run into by the 12 truck there at the end. I guess we put ourselves in a position to get wrecked. I saw Skinner get sideways on the backstretch toward the end. These guys race hard. It was a green-white-checkered finish. These guys are racing for the win, and that is what makes NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series racing so entertaining for the fans. They stand on their feet in the stands the last five laps just like we do in the trucks.”
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• Terry Cook #10 Ford
» 03-13-2004 - 4:57 pm ET
“This is an extremely fast track and I’m not sure why NASCAR made the call not to have a test day here. They definitely should have, but I don’t know as though that contributed to any of the wrecks out there, but it was a situation that I think it would have helped everybody.” WAS IT A CASE OF BAD LUCK TODAY WHERE YOU GOT A LAP DOWN PITTING EARLY BEFORE THE FIRST CAUTION? “The truck was extremely loose at the beginning of the race, and I just had to pedal backwards. We just couldn’t go forward, and, unfortunately, I got way behind. We got a lap down, but the truck was fast enough to stay right behind Bobby Hamilton. This is my first time ever at Atlanta and he passed me and I actually learned a lot from him following him around the top. About halfway through the run as the fuel load burned off, we got some nose weight back in the truck and it really seemed to help it. We kept ourselves in position for the Lucky Dog award, and Hamilton pitted early and we cycled through on the next lap, and I’ll be darned if we didn’t get caught in the pits. I think we had a solid top-10 finish today if we hadn’t been caught a lap down in the pits. We definitely didn’t have a truck to win today, but we feel like we learned a lot today, and a lot of what we learned today will help us in the future.” WITH A MONTH BEFORE THE NEXT RACE, DOES NASCAR NEED TO TAKE A CLOSER LOOKS AT THE MANUFACTURERS? “I’m sure they’ll take a long, hard look at it. Our truck goes into the wind tunnel next week, so I’m excited about that to see where we’re at. The chassis dyno is here and they’ll run some trucks and see where the horsepower is at. But give credit to any manufacturer that goes back and does their homework. The Fords didn’t have the awesome showing here that we did at Daytona, but we’re going to do our homework.”
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• Brandon Whitt #38 Ford
» 03-13-2004 - 4:55 pm ET
“I’m hoping we used up all of our bad luck over this weekend because it seems like we had a year’s worth at Atlanta. We had a pretty good Truck. The guys worked hard and it was handling well, especially on the long runs. I felt like we had a good enough Truck to finish pretty well (at Atlanta). At Daytona we had a good Truck, got caught up in somebody else’s accident and we lost a probable top-15 and a good shot at a top-10 finish,” he added. “More bad luck this week, and the lost chance of a really good finish. The good thing is we have good stuff on the race track and we’re running really well. A little bit of racing luck and this Cure Autism Now Ford could really have some great days. And I feel we have some great days ahead of us.”
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• Mike Skinner #42 Toyota
» 03-13-2004 - 4:53 pm ET
"I hated to see that last caution flag. It it had stayed green I thought we had a great chance to win. Bobby had a great truck, but I think we might have been a little bit better on the long runs. He made a veteran move, got up along side me and pulled the air off just enough to spin the tires. Bobby did what he was supposed to do. I had a lot of fun today. It was a good run today for Bang Racing, and for Toyota - with three trucks in the Top-5"
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• Dennis Setzer #46 Chevrolet
» 03-13-2004 - 4:52 pm ET
(Finished 11th) “We worked a lot on it during the race. It seemed that we were going back and forth with it. We changed tires and this Chevrolet Silverado changed drastically each time with a little bit of adjustment. Every we time we’d come across, it would change. We’d be real loose, then go back to the other set of tires and we’d be real tight, then it’d go back to being loose. We had a test here earlier and brought some of the tires from the earlier time. We probably should have just used the tires here. We changed tires there and tried to free it up on that last stop. It was spinning out there at the end. We were not in the class, we needed to be today.”
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• Jon Wood #50 Ford
» 03-13-2004 - 5:00 pm ET
“I got on the radio early in the race and I said, ‘There’s all these wrecks and I can’t even see them.’ I was so far back that I couldn’t see the wrecks; the trucks were already coming to clean them up. We were that bad today. I have to believe something broke on the truck. This is the worst that we’ve run in a year. Last year my worst finish was 22nd and that was because we wrecked. We didn’t have any problems today, and I don’t know how to describe it, but we were that bad. You can be a little off on your setup and run 15th. We couldn’t even do that today.”
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• Crafton Fact
» 03-13-2004 - 4:50 pm ET
Matt Crafton's fifth place finish marks his career best. He had finished sixth three times before.
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• Toyota Facts
» 03-13-2004 - 4:47pm ET
Skinner's second place finish is his best since 1998. Toyota finishes second for two races in a row. David Reutimann will retain the Raybestos Rookie of the Year point lead. Unofficially, Travis Kvapil is the new NCTS championship point leader by four points over Carl Edwards.
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• Dodge Fact
» 03-13-2004 - 4:40 pm ET
Today's victory marks the 50th win in the series for Dodge.
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• Hamilton Facts
» 03-13-2004 - 4:35pm ET
This is Bobby Hamilton's fifth career NCTS victory and second in three races. His last win came November 14, 2003 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
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• Mike Skinner #42 Toyota
» 03-13-2004 - 3:45 pm ET
"What a phenomenal deal!"
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• Hamilton wins...
» 03-13-2004 - 3:40 pm ET
Bobby Hamilton takes the win, as Skinner spins across the line in second.
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• Pit Road
» 03-13-2004 - 12:50 pm ET
Trucks are lining up and it's just about time to go....find a good spot on the couch, floor, or otherwise...flip over to SPEED and get your fill, it's race time...
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• Final Preparations
» 03-13-2004 - 9:44 am ET
The finishing touches are being put on the machines in the garage. Teams are tightening down those bolts, giving the race vehicle the "once over" and getting them ready to line-up for pre-race activities....
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• PITROAD DIAGRAM
» 03-13-2004 - 9:35 am ET
^TURN FOUR^
6
93
50
23
29
12
BREAK
22
14
03
62
13
88
8
2
40
1
START/FINISH
15
17
BREAK
99
72
2
14
18
59
75
02
38
08
07
16
67
OPEN
24
10
52
46
\/ TURN ONE \/
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• Toyota sets CTS Record....
» 03-13-2004 - 8:45 am ET
With two Raybestos rookies occupying the front row for the start of the EasyCare 200, this marks the first time that an all rookie front row has started a NASCAR Craftsman Truck event. Toyota claims the prize with drivers Reutimann and Huffman.
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• Shane Hmiel #15 Chevrolet
» 03-13-2004 - 8:25 am ET
On racing trucks at Atlanta...."it's a totally different feel with the front rear down force these trucks have. It's been about the most fun racing that I've ever had. The engine under the hood has more power than God." The Earl Small's Harley Davidson Chevrolet Silverado uses DEI engines.
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• RaceDay Dawns...
» 03-13-2004 - 7:30 am ET
A cool chill meets your face as the sun peeks over the high rise suites at Atlanta Motor Speedway. With temperatures barely in the 40s, the skies are clear and the track is ready. It's the EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 200.
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• Ted Musgrave #1 Dodge
» 03-12-2004 - 6:53 pm ET
"I haven't calmed down one bit. I can't afford any more fines, so I've
got to watch what I say. We've got to win some races. You've got to
stand your ground, and you can't let people push you around and you
don't give anybody a break. Right now, that's the way my attitude is. If
a guy needs to get in, and I need to check up and let him in, it's not
going to happen any more. I found my way to the garage in happy hour. We pulled in and out so much, I think they were teaching me how to get around in here. It was a test session for us, working on little things, trying other things. We've got to get out and test some more, but we're going to have it ready for the race."
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• Tina Gordon #13 Chevrolet
» 03-12-2004 - 6:50 pm ET
- “We kind of struggled a lot in practice, then got it better for qualifying. The truck was more stable, but it wasn’t fast enough. We’ll be O.K. for the race. I was slipping and sliding for a while, we had a lot of laps on that set of tires. We put some fresh tires on and the truck started to get tight, but only lasted for a few laps and I was able to get it settled down and hold it on the bottom. I’ve been trying to keep it on the bottom all day. It got better there at the end. The last two times we went out, it was the best it had been all day. That’s what we need for the race.”
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• Andy Houston #2 Dodge
» 03-12-2004 - 6:47 pm ET
"I'm satisfied we picked up from practice, but I'm definitely not
satisfied where we're at. We've been struggling. The whole time we've
been here we haven't been able to get the speed we need. We've been
working on qualifying stuff and it'll be better when we start working on
race stuff. Hopefully we're fighting a drag issue. When we get in race
trim in should handle good, and when the tires get old we'll be able to
go pretty good. That's what we're hoping, but we don't know that'll be
the case. So far, it's been a struggle. I think you'll see an excellent
race. The trucks draft good and seem to run good side by side. I think
you'll see a good show tomorrow."
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• Dodging in Happy Hour
» 03-12-2004 - 6:45 pm ET
Bobby Hamilton posted the top time with teammate Chad Chaffin just behind. Hamilton pulled a lap of 179.278mph with Chaffin posting 177.136.
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• Shocks, Springs, n' Things...
» 03-12-2004 - 5:45 pm ET
Handling track? That's more than a consensus with the tool men. The #16 is changing shocks, the #99 is working on the front suspension, and the #15 is working on their running gear. Ted Musgrave's #1 has darted in and out several times for numerous tweakings...is tweakings a word?
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• Setzer and the CIA?
» 03-12-2004 - 5:40 pm ET
With quick times on the speed chart and secrecy in the shadows, the #46 Silverado team have masked their changes with the phrase, "We could tell you, but then we'd have to kill you". They're keeping close to the cuff on what's happening on their speedy ride.
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• Changing up...
» 03-12-2004 - 5:35pm ET
Wrenches are clanging, ratchets turning, even oil is burning as the fury of "Happy Hour" is upon the garage in "Hotlanta". Who's changing what?
The #2 team is under the hood, #02 looks to be changing a transmission, and the #13 are working on spring rates and several rounds of adjustment in the rear.
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• Who's Fast?
» 03-12-2004 - 5:30 pm ET
Chad Chaffin with a 31.298sec (177.136), followed by Skinner 31.437 (176.353), Hamilton 31.453 (176.263), Setzer 31.509 (175.950), and Kvapil 31.514 (175.922)
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• Who's Last?
» 03-12-2004 - 5:30 pm ET
Bottoming out on the speed chart, but working hard in the garage is Tina Gordon (168.839mph), Wayne Edwards (167.048), Steadman Marlin (166.162), Jerry Hill (165.671), and Kelly Sutton (161.543)
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• Sutton makes it by rule...
» 03-12-2004 - 5:00 pm ET
With several crew members and a truck chief that knows the rulebook, Kelly "Girl" Sutton is elated to be in the show. "We're in!" she shouted with tears of joy in her eyes. After a discussion with the sanctioning officials, Sutton was declared in the race, after first being told that she would not receive a provisional. In fact, her entry was based on "Attempts" made.
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• Happy Hour is open..
» 03-12-2004 - 5:00 pm ET
The packs are forming and they are about six, maybe twelve deep. Happy Hour for the EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 200....Chad Chaffin is fastest thus far....
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• Matt Crafton #6 Chevrolet
» 03-12-2004 - 4:55 pm ET
“The GM Goodwrench Silverado really surprised me pretty good. As bad as we were in practice, that was as legitimately as we were in practice. To pick up what we did from practice, we spent two hours getting that, now we’ve got an hour to figure out what will race, I really happy with that. We hit the nail on the head. We’ve got some momentum going in to Happy Hour.” Matt starts 6th.
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• Steve Park #62 Dodge
» 03-12-2004 - 4:55 pm ET
"We're running wide open. We didn't come here to win qualifying. We came
here to win the race, so our Dodge is a good truck. It's driving good,
and we're probably the only truck that can be held wide open for 30
laps. It just doesn't have the speed for qualifying. We'll go to Happy
Hour next, and once we get a bunch of trucks out there we'll be in good
shape. This truck has won a lot of races. Brendan won four straight at
Texas in it. We'll sacrifice a little in qualifying to have a truck we
can race with on Saturday. I don't have to get used to this track. I
just have to get used to the truck here. We'll get in handling good and
try to run up front Saturday."
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• Jon Wood #50 Ford
» 03-12-2004 - 4:50 pm ET
"I just think we brought the wrong truck here. That was wide open and that's all we've got. I really don't know what more we can do" Wood starts 15th.
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• David Reutimann #17 Toyota
» 03-12-2004 - 4:47pm ET
On Toyota's first pole...."Yeah, that's cool. You don't stop ans look at things like that. You're just trying to run as fast as you can and then when you finally do get to that point you're like 'Wow, there's a bunch of added bonuses!"
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• David Starr #75 Chevrolet
» 03-12-2004 - 4:45 pm ET
Starting 16th... “I thought it was actually pretty good. I t was probably the best handling all day long. I was a little surprised the lap wasn’t a little faster than what it was. We changed the gear before qualifying and that may have slowed us up a little bit. I thought we had a pretty good lap, we were a little loose. Not a bad qualifying lap, we’d like to have had a few tenths better. Now we’ll get the SPEARS Chevy Silverado ready to race and we’ll go race.”
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• Terry Cook #10 Ford
» 03-12-2004 - 4:30 pm ET
"We're a little disappointed with the qualifying effort, but we feel like we have a really good race truck. For whatever reason, we don't have a lot of speed, but we're good." Cook launches from 20th in his #10 ppc Racing Ford.
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• Chad Chaffin #18 Dodge
» 03-12-2004 - 4:37 pm ET
"It was a little slower than our banzai run in practice, but it's a
little hotter and you expect this place to slow down some after Cup
practice. We're happy. We should end up in the top 10. Bobby Hamilton
and I have identical trucks. We're two hundredths apart in lap times.
Our setups are the same, and I think it shows our equipment is right
there. We'll see how we race. I think it's going to be a good race for
Dodge and I think we're going to have a good season. I think our package
is hurting us a little in qualifying trim. You have downforce and drag.
If you have downforce, you gotta have drag. We feel like we have so much
horsepower and these Arrington motors are so strong we elected to go
with the downforce, which is good for handling, but it's hurting us a
little bit in straightaway speed. If we didn't have the Arrington
horsepower we might not have this luxury. We really believe it's going
to be good because we're going to have the best of both worlds. This is
the truck that Bobby won with at Homestead last year. Of course, it's an
'04 now, but this is the chassis - Scarface - that Bobby drove to
victory at Homestead. We're basing all of our new trucks off this truck,
so this is the benchmark at BHR that we're trying to copy."
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• Robert Huffman #12 Toyota
» 03-12-2004 - 4:27 pm ET
"Unfortunate things happened to us at Daytona, but we're looking forward to getting a race in here. I like these kind of racetracks, so hopefullly, we'll have a good showing here tomorrow." Huffman starts third.
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• Dennis Setzer #46 Chevrolet
» 03-12-2004 - 4:25 pm ET
On starting 8th... “We improved some from this morning. We unloaded very good, cut a fast lap right off, then lost it a little bit. We did a couple of sticker runs and weren’t quite as fast. So we’ll hook back up here after (Cup) qualifying and we’re pretty happy where were at, we’ve got a direction we want to go to for the race condition and we’re excited about that. We’d like to have qualified the Chevrolet Silverado a little better than that, it’s handling really good and we’re excited about it.”
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• Rick Crawford #14 Ford
» 03-12-2004 - 4:25 pm ET
On qualifying 13th..."The wind picked up a little bit and the track temperature got a little hotter, and we just missed it some."
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• Tina Gordon #13 Chevrolet
» 03-12-2004 - 4:30 pm ET
On Qualifying..."I held my breath the entire time. The guys did a good job analyzing the engine problems and we're going to work on it in happy hour."
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• Bobby Hamilton #4 Dodge
» 03-12-2004 - 4:28 pm ET
"That was a pretty good lap, but we're looking forward to the race. We
knew the truck wouldn't be fast for qualifying, but we know it's going
to race great. This is the same chassis that won Darlington last year,
and I think we can win with it again tomorrow if things go according to
plan. You know that doesn't always happen on the racetrack. In fact,
more often than not it doesn't happen, but we know this Dodge Ram is
going to be good when they drop the green flag on Saturday. Maybe we can
get a little luck on our side and have a good run."
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• Sutton makes it in...
» 03-12-2004 - 4:10 pm ET
After failing to qualify for the event in Daytona. Kelly "Girl" Sutton squeaked into the field for the EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 200.
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• Carl Edwards #99 Ford
» 03-12-2004 - 3:20 pm ET
Edwards, who qualified 3rd commented on Toyota's qualifying performance...."I am sure NASCAR will take a look at it, then we'll see on the Dyno and the wind tunnel. If there were four Fords up there, someone would say something!"
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• Toyota, Oh what a feeling...
» 03-12-2004 - 3:15 pm ET
Posting their first pole and taking four of the Top 5 starting spots....Oh what a feeling!!!
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• Reutimann backs up practice
» 03-12-2004 - 3:10 pm ET
Davis Reutimann scores top starting spot with #17 NTN Bearings Toyota.
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• Break for Lunch
» 03-12-2004 - 12:10 pm ET
All is quiet on the asphalt....but the grills are smoking....qualifying should be too....later.
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• Tops by Manufacturer
» 03-12-2004 - 11:55 am ET
Reutimann (1st) Toyota, Crawford (3rd) Ford, Hamilton (4th) Dodge, Schrader (8th) Chevrolet.
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• Toyota takes top two, then....
» 03-12-2004 - 11:50 am ET
Put Kvapil next to Reutimann on the top times list...Kvapil a close second at 30.886sec (179.499mph). Toyota obviously likes Atlanta....in practice, 5 in the Top 10.
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• Reutimann at the buzzer
» 03-12-2004 - 11:45 am ET
David Reutimann put one up at the buzzer for March Madness in Atlanta...posting a lap time of 30.814sec (179.918mph)
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• Caution info...
» 03-12-2004 - 11:11 am ET
The previous caution period was for Wayne Edwards. He brushed the wall and pancaked the side of his machine.....driver is OK, team is working to fix the wounded ride.
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• Practice drawing to close
» 03-12-2004 - 11:10 am ET
Practice is nearly over, with several cars trying to get dialed in before the 1:30 pm qualifying session.
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• So Far, So Fast!!
» 03-12-2004 - 11:02 am ET
Bill Lester #22, 30.961sec 179.064mph, Travis Kvapil #24, 30.977 178.971, Bobby Hamilton #4, 30.988 178.908, Carl Edwards #99, 31.010 178.781, David Reutimann #17, 31.126 178.115
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• Geoffrey Bodine #03 Chevrolet
» 03-12-2004 - 10:10 am ET
"Since you are always turning...handling is real key. If the team can find the setup, we'll be able to break the draft and drive away."
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• Andy Houston #2 Dodge
» 03-12-2004 - 10:05am ET
"I think Atlanta is a driver's track...you can pull out and pass, and you can search around to find different grooves and find one that works for you."
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• Travis Kvapil #24 Toyota
» 03-12-2004 - 10:00 am ET
"I've tested Atlanta twice and was comfortable right away. One of my best tracks is a similar one...Texas. I've4 got confidence in Eric (Phillips) to give me a good truck based on his winning experiences at Atlanta." Phillips has two wins at Atlanta as a crew chief, most recently with Greg Biffle in 2003.
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• Frank Kimmel #29 Ford
» 03-12-2004 - 9:47 am ET
"Atlanta is a driver's race track and I think that is what I like about it....these K Automotive trucks are always so easy to drive, it really makes my job easier."
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• Kvapil on top...
» 03-12-2004 - 9:45 am ET
Travis Kvapil posted a lap of 178.971 mph on his tenth lap to go up top on the leaderboard.
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• TOP 5 SPEEDS
» 03-12-2004 - 9:38 am ET
Carl Edwards 178.781, Dennis Setzer 177.972, Bobby Hamilton 177.806, Bill Lester 177.664, Mike Skinner 177.550.
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• Caution is out...
» 03-12-2004 - 9:35 am ET
Caution is on the speedway....quick clean-up underway and their back to practice..
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• SILVERADO pops with Setzer
» 03-12-2004 - 9:33 am ET
Dennis Setzer topped the chart early on lap three of practice with a 177.829 mph lap.
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• Hamilton knows Atlanta
» 03-12-2004 - 9:30 am ET
Bobby Hamilton uses his experience at ATL to post a fast lap of 177.806 in his Dodge...
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• Toyota quick out of the box
» 03-12-2004 - 9:27 am ET
Mike Skinner pulls a fast lap of 177.550 mph to lead the Toyota contingent...
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• Truck Practice is open
» 03-12-2004 - 9:20 am ET
Trucks have cranked their engines and taken to the racetrack for their first competitive outing at "Hotlanta"!
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• Sunny in Atlanta
» 03-12-2004 - 9:15 am ET
It's a sunny, good morning in Atlanta...temperatures in the upper 50s and expected to climb. Should be a great day!!
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