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Power Stroke Diesel 200 | Indianapolis Raceway Park
Race No. 14 | August 6, 2004
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TrackSideLive! from Indianapolis Raceway Park
08-03-2004 11:51 pm
TrackSideLive! coverage of the Power Stroke Diesel 200 from Indianapolis Raceway Park starts Friday morning!
Good morning from Indianapolis
08-06-2004 9:53 am
The teams have unloaded, trucks are rolling through inspection, there are no clouds as far as the eye can see and there is a buzz of excitement in the air as the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series prepares for tonight's running of the Power Stroke Diesel 200. The weather in unseasonably cool, with temperatures expected to peak in the low to mid 70s and dip into the low 60s for tonight's race. There are upwards of 50 trucks here on the grounds, and we will bring all of the action from IRP to you, including TruckShots galleries, audio clips, stats, timing and scoring updates, Live! Bud Pole Qualifying, and exclusive pre- and post-race coverage and analysis, only here at TruckSeries.com, your one-stop source for NCTS information.
Indy entry list update
08-06-2004 9:59 am
There are 51 trucks on the grounds here at IRP...two entries have withdrawn. The No. 72 MacDonald Motorsports Chevrolet has withdrawn, as has the No. 93 Troxell Motorsports Chevrolet.
Getting to know IRP
08-06-2004 10:07 am
Indianapolis Raceway Park is one of the most unique tracks on the NCTS circuit. It measures 0.686-mile, with 7.7 degrees of banking in the corners and 2 degrees of banking on the straightaways. The groove in the corners is right up next to the retaining wall, meaning if you are going to make a pass, you need to be able to turn it left through the center of the corner and drive it underneath the driver in front of you. The two straightaways are equal distance at 699 feet. The 200-lap race distance measures out to 137.2 miles which will translate into at least one pit stop for fuel tonight.
There have been nine previous NCTS races at IRP, one per year every season since the series inception in 1995.
Mike Skinner won the first two NCTS races here at IRP by leading each lap in both races (350 total laps). Other winners include Ron Hornaday (1997), Jack Sprague (1998 and 2001), Greg Biffle (1999), Joe Ruttman (2000), Terry Cook (2002) and Carl Edwards (2003). Biffle holds the record for the fastest race speed at 88.704 miles per hour, completing the 200 laps in one hour, 33 minutes, and 16 seconds.
Skinner won the first two poles at IRP, with Jimmy Hensley (1997), Randy Tolsma (1998), Dennis Setzer (1999), Joe Ruttman (2000 and 2001), and Terry Cook (2002 and 2003) also setting quick time in qualifications. Ruttman holds the track record at 22.081 seconds/111.843 miles per hour.
Chevrolet has been the dominant truck at IRP with five wins, while Ford has won 3 and Dodge has picked up a single checkered flag.
Four races at IRP have been won from the pole, two from the second position, two from the third position, and one from the fifth position.
NCTS USAC Update
08-06-2004 10:20 am
Three NCTS regulars were entered in last night's USAC Silver Crown Series race here at IRP. Paul White qualified fifth last night and was running with the leaders early before a flat tire sent him to pit road on an early caution, relegating him to the back of the pack. Tracy Hines started deep in the field after coming through the last chance race and was making his way up towards the top-10 when another car made contact with him entering turn three and sent him hard in the outside wall. Carl Edwards qualified deep in the 43-car field and was forced to run the last chance race as well. He made wheel to wheel contact in turn two of lap one and was tossed into the outside wall and done for the night. Neither Hines nor Edwards was injured in the two separate accidents. White was the best finisher of the group, finishing 19th.
Today's schedule
08-06-2004 10:25 am
12:45-2:45 pm ET: NCTS Practice
4:45 pm ET: NCTS Bud Pole Qualifying (positions 1-32 plus four provisionals, two laps; trucks impounded after qualifying)
Live! Bud Pole Qualifying exclusively here at TruckSeries.com
8:00 pm ET: NCTS Power Stroke 200 (Live on Speed Channel and MRN Radio)
Teams looking to make more frequent appearances...
08-06-2004 11:48 am
Two teams are back at the track for the first time in several weeks looking for a good run to pick up momentum and become more frequent entrants in NCTS competition.
"We are working on some things that would let us come run Vegas, Fontana, Phoenix, and Homestead," said Brevak Racing team owner Shelly Brevak. "If we put something together that lets us come before that it is all the better."
The second team is Team EJP Racing, who is here this weekend with Joe Gibbs Racing development driver Denny Hamlin. "The kid gets up on the wheel and hustles," said crew chief Steve May. "He was really strong at the test in Chicago a couple of weeks ago, and if he comes out of here doing everything he needs to do, it will go a long way towards putting this thing together on a more long term basis."
Two trucks entered by MB Motorsports
08-06-2004 11:53 am
Mike Mittler and the MB Motorsports team are here with two trucks this weekend. The No. 63 with Chris Wimmer is here, as is a second truck carrying the late Tony Roper's number, No. 26. The second truck is scheduled to be piloted by rookie Patrick Lawson. Roper was fatally injured in 2000 at Texas and since then the team has carried a decal that says "In Memory of Our Friend Tony Roper - 26" on the truck.
Practice just minutes away...
08-06-2004 12:21 pm
The scheduled start of NCTS practice is just 15 minutes away, and many teams are still in the tech line waiting to get that invaluable sticker that will let them out on the racetrack. There are 10 trucks in line right now, and many others that have yet to be presented. Looks like the second hour of practice should be very busy out on the track as teams work their way through the line and fight for track time.
First in line...
08-06-2004 12:30 pm
Is it ironic the first truck in line to practice for the Power Stroke 200 is Terry Cook's No. 10 Power Stroke Ford? Also in line ready to fly when the green waves is Tracy Hines, Dennis Setzer, and Carl Edwards.
Green green green!
08-06-2004 12:38 pm
That was the call by the spotter for the No. 10 truck just seconds ago as practice officially began...trucks are now on the speedway. For timing updates, be sure to leave it locked on to TrackSideLive! as we keep track of who looks to be safe and who looks to be on the bubble for what should be one of the most competitive qualifying sessions of the season.
They said it...
08-06-2004 12:46 pm
David Reutimann, No. 17 Toyota: "It rotates good, but as soon as you get on the gas it starts to shove the nose."
Dave McCarty, crew chief, No. 75 Chevrolet: "You went down a little too low then went up a little too high. Try not to diamond the corner so much."
Mike Skinner, No. 42 Toyota: "It's good a snug everywhere."
Tracy Hines, No. 88 Chevrolet: "We can get the rotation a little better. It is carrying the left front corner a little bit. I wonder if we can add a little more swya bar to help the rotation in the center?"
TruckShots!
08-06-2004 12:56 am
Click here
The first big batch of TruckShots are posted from IRP!
Sutton locks it down in turn one
08-06-2004 1:01 pm
Kelly Sutton just overcooked it going into turn one and locked the brakes up to keep the No. 02 Chevrolet off the wall. She did manage to keep it off the concrete and has driven it to the pits.
DW and Sauter have a little side trip on their way to the track...
08-06-2004 1:03 pm
Both Darrell Waltrip and Johnny Sauter were buckled in and ready to take to the track, but were waved off to an access road and told to get out of their trucks. Both looked visibly irritated as they walked to the back to the NASCAR office trailer. Neither driver had signed in with NASCAR and were not allowed to make a practice run until the proper paperwork was signed.
Practice Rundown #1
08-06-2004 1:07 pm
Those listed in green look to be safe at the moment, while those listed in blue are on the bubble. Those listed in red need to work on finding some speed for qualifying.
1. Hamilton (22.894 secs)
2. Sprague
3. Kvapil
4. Crawford
5. Hmiel
6. Reutimann
7. Crafton
8. Sauter
9. Park
10. Schrader
11. McFarland
12. M. Waltrip
13. Edwards
14. Musgrave
15. Hines
16. Skinner
17. Hamlin
18. Whitt
19. Chaffin
20. Houston
21. Wood
22. Cook
23. Setzer
24. White
25. Busch
26. Sieg
27. Lester
28. D. Waltrip
29. Starr
30. Wimmer
31. Love
32. Huffman (23.781 secs)
33. Parker, Jr.
34. Weaver
35. Renshaw
36. Montgomery
37. Schendel
38. Sutton
39. Bradberry
40. Sands
41. Davis
42. Benson
Red flag for incident in turn three
08-06-2004 1:19 pm
The first red flag of the session just waved for a two-truck tangle in turn three. The No. 97 of Scotty Sands got loose and spun going into the corner. The No. 03 of Denny Hamlin was close behind and was pinched into the concrete just as both trucks came to a stop. Both trucks drove away from the scene with minimal damage, with a scuff mark on the right side and a small dent to the right front fender the only visible damage to Hamlin's ride.
They said it...No. 2
08-06-2004 1:23 pm
Darrell Waltrip, No. 11 Toyota: "We are going to have to change these rear springs, this thing is just way too loose."
Denny Hamlin, No. 03 Chevrolet: "I don't think it's too bad. I tried to crank it to get under him when he spun, I just couldn't get it turned quick enough."
Mike Skinner, No. 42 Toyota: "It's tight in the middle. Not going to say we're worse, but it's not better. Truck is real good on the initial get in, it's just right there in the middle."
Kip McCord, crew chief, No. 18 Dodge: "That was a pretty good lap right there, but let's go down one bar size and see what we can do with it."
Matt Crafton, No. 6 Chevrolet: "It feels real good coming off, it just has that little itch right in the center."
Red flag for crash in turn 2/Rundown No. 2
08-06-2004 1:31 pm
The No. 28 Chevy of Buddy Davis has just backed into the turn two wall. There is some moderate damage to the left rear quarter panel and he is driving the truck back to the pits now.
Here is the rundown as of 1:31 pm ET:
1. Hamilton (22.894 secs)
2. Sprague
3. Kvapil
4. Crawford
5. M. Waltrip
6. Hmiel
7. Reutimann
8. Crafton
9. Sauter
10. Edwards
11. Chaffin
12. Musgrave
13. Park
14. Schrader
15. McFarland
16. Setzer
17. Busch
18. Hines
19. Skinner
20. White
21. Hamlin
22. Huffman
23. Wood
24. White
25. Whitt
26. D. Waltrip
27. Houston
28. Cook
29. Starr
30. Lester
31. Sieg
32. Renshaw(23.608 seconds)
33. Love
34. Parker, Jr.
35. Weaver
36. Schendel
37. Montgomery
38. Bradberry
39. Monroe
40. Sutton
41. Davis
42. Sands
43. Tucker
44. McClure
45. Pope
46. Benson
47. Walker
48. Miller
49.Lawson
Double duty...
08-06-2004 1:51 pm
Both Ken Schrader and Michael Waltrip are scheduled to run tonight's Power Stroke 200, but they are also due to practice their NEXTEL Cup Series cars at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway betweem 3 and 5 pm ET. With qualifications for the NCTS event scheduled for 4:45 pm ET, it's going to be close on time for both drivers, although there have been inquiries on where to land a helicopter made with IRP staff...
Rundown No. 3
08-06-2004 2:01 pm
1. Sprague (22.867 secs)
2. Hamilton
3. Schrader
4. M. Waltrip
5. Kvapil
6. Crawford
7. Hmiel
8. McFarland
9. Reutimann
10. Crafton
11. Hines
12. Chaffin
13. Musgrave
14. Sauter
15. Edwards
16. Park
17. Hamlin
18. Setzer
19. Busch
20. Skinner
21. Wood
22. Houston
23. Cook
24. Miller
25. Huffman
26. Schendel
27. D. Waltrip
28. White
29. Whitt
30. Starr
31. Sieg
32. Wimmer (23.495 secs)
33. Lester
34. Parker, Jr.
35. Renshaw
36. Love
37. Weaver
38. Montgomery
39. Bradberry
40. Sutton
41. Monroe
42. McClure
43. Sands
44. Davis
45. Tucker
46. Pope
47. Lawton
48. Walker
49. Benson
50. Hannel
Red flag out again
08-06-2004 2:14 pm
Greg Pope in the No. 89 Chevrolet has just made contact with the turn three wall to bring out the red flag for the third time during this session. It looks like there will be some significant damage to the right side of his machine, seriously hurting his chances of making a qualifying attempt.
Rundown No. 4
08-06-2004 2:22 pm
1. Sprague (22.687)
2. Park
3. Crafton
4. Hamilton
5. Schrader
6. M. Waltrip
7. Kvapil
8. Whitt
9. Hines
10. Crawford
11. Hmiel
12. McFarland
13. Reutimann
14. Chaffin
15. Musgrave
16. Sauter
17. Edwards
18. Hamlin
19. Setzer
20. Houston
21. Busch
22. Skinner
23. Wood
24. Montgomery
25. Cook
26. Miller
27. Huffman
28. Schendel
29. D. Waltrip
30. Renshaw
31. White
32. Wimmer (23.495)
33. Starr
34. Sieg
35. Lester
36. Parker, Jr.
37. Weaver
38. Love
39. Bradberry
40. McClure
41. Sutton
42. Monroe
43. Benson
44. Sands
45. Davis
46. Tucker
47. Pope
48. Walker
49. Lawton
Official Practice Times
08-06-2004 2:53 pm
Official practice times have been posted -
Click Here
Post-practice Notable Quotables
08-06-2004 3:50 pm
Paul White, No. 13 Chevrolet: "I was headed off into the turn and all of a sudden it got really loose and just about went around on me. This is a tough track to make a save like that but we kept it out of the wall and didn’t wad it up. I got right up there against it but I held on. I think we are looking pretty good for tonight. With the heat in the track today we know that it will cool off some tonight and we made adjustments there at the end to help us. I like this track and have a lot of experience here in the Silver Crown cars so we should be fine. Last night the track was a little tighter and we think it will be about the same tonight."
Shane Hmiel, No. 15 Chevrolet: "We’ve fought a loose condition all during practice. We made some adjustments to try to get it tightened up in the areas it needs it. Once we fixed the problem we were able to get into our groove. I hated that we had to make so many adjustments but hey that’s what they have practice. Our Chevrolet Silverado is ready to go. I like this track; I sat on the pole here in the Busch race last year. IRP is a sweeping track with two racing lanes. Having those two grooves it makes it easier to pass. It will be a fun race tonight with all these Cup and Busch drivers in it. We are hoping to have a good qualifying run in the Earl Small’s Harley-Davidson Chevrolet Silverado and a great finish in the race for the team."
Terry Cook, No. 10 Ford: "We are just too tight right now. Whatever condition you are feeling in the heat of the day will only be worse once the sun goes down here. We need to loosen it up quite a bit. I don't know if we can get it fixed, but we'll do our best and try to put the Power Stroke Diesel Ford on the pole here for the third year in a row."
Gear changes...
08-06-2004 3:55 pm
Many teams are underneath the rear ends of their trucks making significant driveline changes, including changing the rear end gear. The 16, 46, 99, 1, 24, 14, 42, 2, 21, 38, and 22 trucks are all in the final stages of changing their final drive ratios in the rear end.
Notable Quotables: Chevrolet
08-06-2004 4:21 pm
Jack Sprague, No. 16 Chevrolet: “Our Chevy Trucks Silverado is pretty good. I really like it when we start out like this because we have the luxury of trying things for the race. When you have to chase the truck in practice, especially on a one day deal like it here at IRP, you are at a huge disadvantage for the qualifying and then the race. Our bonsai runs were good, we are pretty happy with how we will qualify. We are far enough down in the qualifying order to maybe have a little cooler track to go out. If our luck holds tonight, we should have a pretty good run in our Chevy Trucks Silverado.”
Shane Hmiel, No. 15 Chevrolet: “We've fought a loose condition all during practice. We made some adjustments to try to get it tightened up in the areas it needs it. Once we fixed the problem we were able to get into our groove. I hated that we had to make so many adjustments but hey that's what they have practice. Our Chevrolet Silverado is ready to go. I like this track; I sat on the pole here in the Busch race last year. IRP is a sweeping track with two racing lanes. Having those two grooves it makes it easier to pass. It will be a fun race tonight with all these Cup and Busch drivers in it. We are hoping to have a good qualifying run in the Earl Small's Harley-Davidson Chevrolet Silverado and a great finish in the race for the team.
Matt Crafton, No. 6 Chevrolet: “We are pretty satisfied with our GM Goodwrench Silverado but it could still be a little bit better. We just never got the truck to turn as well as we would have like it. We are pretty good entry to center but we will keep working on it. We are very close to where we want to be so I am really looking forward to the race tonight.Going out to qualify 12th in the order definitely concerns me. But you have to deal with the hand you are dealt today. When this track cools off it definitely gets faster. I have seen it happen the last three years. Hopefully we will qualify in the top-10 or 15 and then focus on the race.I think we will race very well and hopefully my guys in the pits can give me some great pit stops to gain some positions in the pits like they did last weekend.”
Dennis Setzer, No. 46 Chevrolet: “We made a lot of good gains on our Chevrolet Silverado during practice. We have a ways to go to be where we want to be. We have a pretty good race truck and I think we will qualify well. We just need to have the setup we can work with during the race when the track is much cooler than it is right now.”
Kyle Busch, No. 47 Chevrolet: “Our Acxiom Silverado is pretty good. We worked mainly on our race setup. That is what is really important here. We are a little loose right now but that will be good come race time. We worked a lot to get our Silverado to rotate better through the middle. I feel pretty comfortable making the race in qualifying. Where we qualify isn’t that big of a issue here, but having a truck that can race good is. I feel like our race trim is good and when it cools off tonight at race time, we will be able to run really well and pass some trucks if we have to.”
David Starr, No. 75 Chevrolet: “We aren’t too good in our Spears Silverado right now. We were either good in the center and tight off or not as good in the center and strong off. We are going to have to try and get that better before race time. We struggled a little in practice. We are going try and find a happy medium, but right now we sure aren’t where we want to be.”
Kelly Sutton, No. 02 Chevrolet: "When I first got on the track, the front brakes were locking up when I got into one, but after dialing in some rear brake it felt a lot better. We broke the track down in sections and worked on finding the best line for entering one, ways to carry more speed from the middle to the exit, and finally on moving the line on exit down just a bit. Al, my spotter, did a great job walking me through each section. I only had two hours to learn the track, and breaking it down like that really helped!
This is a flat track, and it takes a little finessing to get the truck to respond, but I think we're on the right track. The crew changed the spring in the right rear and made put a half pound of pressure in the left front, and took a half pound out of the right front. That seemed to make a big difference on that final practice run, especially getting into the turns. Two hours until qualifying. There are a lot of great drivers here today, and it ought to be pretty interesting to see how the field lines up for tonight's race. I'm looking forward to the opportunity to race tonight under the lights at IRP!!"
TrackSideLive! Audio
08-06-2004 4:23 pm
Coming in 27th in practice has No. 11 Toyota Tundra driver Darryl Waltrip trying to get more speed
Listen
Denny Hamlin in the No. 03 Joe Gibbs Performance Chevrolet had some contact with the wall in practice. His outlook on getting in the race
Listen
Notable Quotables, Dodge post-qualifying
08-06-2004 6:50 pm
Ted Musgrave, No. 1 Dodge: “It’s a different situation here at I.R.P where you’ve got to qualify in your race condition. But, our Dodge is better than we thought it was going to be. We were pretty decent in our race conditions but super-loose in our qualifying effort. We could have changed our truck and run good in qualifying, but it might hurt us tonight. I’m not to worry about being on the pole, but at least it gives us some track position where we don’t have to beat the thing to death to try and stay up front. I’m pretty happy with the boys and what they did for me today. I just tried to wheel it the best I could to try and get a good starting spot.
“Track position is pretty important here. There’s other places this size like Richmond, or maybe Loudon, but it’s pretty important here at I.R.P. to be up towards the front. But, in the beginning of the race you’ve got to remember to be patient, be calm so you can be there at the end. Even if we’re starting up front I’m not going to run this thing terribly hard into the ground just to stay there. If I can lead a lap or whatever, then I can just settle in where we need to be.”
Steve Park, No. 62 Dodge: “The Orleans Dodge actually isn’t too bad. We were just really loose in qualifying. We put a lot of laps on the truck in practice for race trim. It’s very hard to find a truck that can run good in 40-50 laps and then run good for two. The track’s starting to change, and the sun’s coming down. We have more of a race setup than we do a qualifying setup, since they impound the trucks after qualifying. I like this racetrack. It’s a flat half-mile. It’s like one of those tracks that we’ve all raced upon on younger parts of our career. It’s great to get back to grassroots racing and try to put our Orleans Dodge up in the front where it needs to be.”
Bobby Hamilton, No. 4 Dodge: “I don’t even try to qualify. I don’t know where the hell that came from, but we’ll take it. There are some good trucks here. We’ve got a good 50 or so trucks here, and the No. 03 looks like it will qualify fifth or sixth, so you just never know. Qualifying is pretty big here. It’s hard to pass at this place, but it’s a great racetrack.
Chad Chaffin, No. 18 Dodge: “The Dickies Dodge is running really good. We unloaded today kind of struggling a little bit. The guys worked really hard to get us to this point, but we’ve got a lot of work yet to go. Tonight is a long race. I’m really happy with that lap time, but I really thought I could run a little quicker than that before I went out. The thing was really, really loose, so I was surprised at how good we actually ran. I wouldn’t have thought it was that good. All in all I’m really satisfied. Every racetrack is a good track to start up front, but that’s especially true here. It’s hard to pass. It’s really hard to pass here. I would much rather start in the top five than I would start 20th. So, I think it is an advantage to start up front.”
Andy Houston, No. 2 Dodge: “We watched all of those guys qualify early, and my teammate, Ted Musgrave, was pretty loose in his run. I think we just over adjusted. We were just too tight from the center and off the corner. We know what adjustments we need to make before the race, so I think we’re going to be okay. We’re going to have to come from way back in the field, but qualifying is two laps, and the race is 200. There are a lot of guys that are up front that will probably be pretty decent for a lap or two, but once the pace takes off and the track gets slick it’s a whole different ballgame.
Notable Quotables, Chevrolet Post-qualifying
08-06-2004 6:53 pm
Jack Sprague, No. 16 Chevy: “Dave (Fuge, team manager), Chris (Showalter, crew chief) and the guys gave me an incredible truck. We have been good all day today. I love this track and I really think we are going to have a good run tonight. Just need a little luck to go our way.”
Dennis Setzer, No. 46 Chevy: “We are starting 13th, I would like to feel a little better about it, but our Chevy Silverado should be pretty good tonight.”
Shane Hmiel, No. 15 Chevy: “Man we went from one extreme to another. We were wicked loose during practice and way tight in qualifying. I’m really disappointed in our run but I’m sure we will be good in the race when it gets cooler, the track will change quite a bit. Any race under the lights is fun and I don’t doubt this one will be any different. I just want to make sure that our truck is upfront when it’s all said and done.”
Matt Crafton, No. 6 Chevy: “I had a really good first lap and really went for too much on the second lap. I got into turn 1 & 2 good on the second lap and then I just tried for too much in turn 3 & 4 that ended up hurting us a bit. The Goodwrench pit crew has been really good lately, and our truck seems to race really well, so I think we will have a pretty good night.”
Kyle Busch, No. 47 Chevy: “Halfway decent, not exactly what we wanted for the Acxiom #47, but we got enough out of it to make the show. We just need to make some adjustments during race, and get the Chevrolet Silverado up front. “
David Starr, No. 75 Chevy: “Qualifying wasn’t too good, just loose off the corners, I hit the wall coming off of turn 4. We have to fix it which means we start in the back, but we were already back there anyways. We are just going to try and get what we can get tonight, get the Chevrolet Silverado in a good spot to have a decent finish, even though it doesn't too good. We won’t give up, give all that we can and see what we can get.”
To the back...
08-06-2004 7:00 pm
David Starr will forfeit his 31st-place starting position after the crew was forced to fix some damage to the right side while the truck was impounded after qualifying.
What to expect tonight at IRP
08-06-2004 7:39 pm
It's that time again...time to break down tonights race by the stats. Who should be good? How many lead changes? How many yellows? We'll go through the numbers and tell you!
In the nine previous NCTS races at IRP, there has never been a winner from outside the top-5 startes. The average starting position of the winner is a very low 2.1. There are an average of 14 drivers on the lead lap at the end of the race, with an average of 4.3 lead changes. There are an average of 3.6 lead drivers at IRP, and the caution flag flies an average of 7.8 times per event with an average of 37.2 laps run under the yellow. The average speed of the nine previous races here is 81.125 miles per hour.
Mike Skinner led every lap from the pole in the first two NCTS races here in 1995 and 1996.
The most drivers to finish on the lead lap is 19 in 1998, and the fewest is 9 in 1999. The most lead changes is 11 n 1998 and the fewest was 0 in 1995 and 1995. The most leaders was 8 in 1999. There were 10 cautions in 2000, and the 53 caution laps in 2000 beats 2002's total by one for the most laps run under the yellow. The fastest race here was 88.704 miles per hour in 1999, and the slowest was 74.018 in 2002.
So what does that mean for tonight? It looks like the winner should be Bobby Hamilton (starts 2nd). There should be a handful of lead changes among a handful of drivers, although it's possible one driver will click on the magic setup and dominate. The caution should wave between 6 and 9 times, with 40 or so laps under caution flag conditions. There has only been one green-white-checkered finish in the previous nine races at IRP, so that doesn't seem like a big possibility.
Will we be right? Tune into Speed Channel and find out! We will rejoin you with complete post-race coverage as soon as the checkered flag waves.
TrackSideLive! Audio
08-06-2004 8:09 pm
TrackSideLive! took the microphone to the garage after qualifying for final thoughts before tonights race. Click drivers name for audio.
Jack Sprague
(Pole Sitter)
Travis Kvapil
(Last Weeks Winner)
David Reuitmann
(Highest Qualifying Rookie)
Ken Schrader
Johnny Benson
Chad Chaffin
Tracy Hines
Johnny Sauter
Jon Wood
Unofficial Finish
08-06-2004 10:49 pm
Here's (unofficially) is how the trucks finished: 18, 43, 4, 24, 99, 15, 6, 14, 88, 03, 47, 46, 42, 10, 21, 75, 17, 16, 2, 38, 07, 62, 12, 20, 1, 23, 50, 11, 59, 13, 22, 8, 29, 52, 67, 33
Notable Quotables, Chevy Post-race
08-06-2004 11:13 pm
Jack Sprague, No 16 Chevy: “I don’t know what to say, we lost a cylinder on the eighth lap. Our Chevy Trucks Silverado was as close to perfect as I could ever want. Even on seven cylinders we were faster than most everyone. Then we started to get tighter and tighter and started dropping back. The guys did all they could to free it up but it didn’t help much. Then we lost another cylinder and that was it for the night really. I don’t know what to say, that is three races out of the last four we have had motor problems. I know everyone is working hard to get things right but it sure is disappointing to have these kinds of finishes when we get so much support from Chevrolet.”
Dennis Setzer, No. 46 Chevy: “It was just a disappointing night. Our Silverado was pretty good, we probably didn’t have anything for the 43 (Johnny Sauter) but we were going to have a good second place finish. We just didn’t need that last caution cause the guys that pitted and had better tires caught us and were by us pretty quick. We gave it our best shot, we just came up way too short.”
Shane Hmiel, No. 15 Chevy: "Good job for the guys to have this as a top 6th. We had a terrible truck from the start and we had some good pit strategies and some excellent stops. It was a fun night overall. To finish 6th and not have our truck beat up it was great. I think the guys did a great job on the Chevy Silverado.
Kyle Busch, No. 47 Chevy: “The Acxiom Chevy Silverado was awesome, Randy did an awesome job today, and the guys got me out great in the pits to gain spots. I thought it was a really good day; the truck drove in the center really well. It kind of fought off the corner on long tire runs, but we ran really well. I really would love to do it again. “
At the end: “Basically I was trying to keep the #03 truck behind the #46 and #47 and Dennis maybe ran me down in turn 3. Tough racing, he didn’t want to lose a spot to me. Didn’t have a mark on it till then, but we will fix her up and take her out for another ride.”
David Starr, No. 75 Chevy:“ My Spears Chevy Silverado wasn’t real good at the beginning of the race, just tight in the center, sort of shoved the nose at the start since we were already in the back. Even though we were already in the back, McCarty and the guys kept trying to fix it on pit stops and it kept getting better and better… We were trying to get close to a top ten, and then we got a lap down, and we thought we were going to get the lucky dog, didn’t get it. Then the caution came out and it was less than 10 laps to go and we still didn’t get the lucky dog. We gave it our all, just tight off and tight in the center. I think we finished 15th, for starting almost dead last, not bad. We just need to keep working hard, I have a good team."
Notable Quotables, Ford Post-race
08-06-2004 11:16 pm
Carl Edwards, No. 99 Ford: "Going even into turn three on the last lap I thought, 'Man, we could still win this thing.' That was as wild as it gets. I never thought I would have so much fun running fifth in my life. That was cool. I wish we could have gotten one for Superchips, but I'm just glad to be a part of a race that good. That's an oddity for Carl Edwards. I'm pretty happy to have a whole truck. We were awesome there towards the end. With fresh tires, we made our final adjustments. We tried a different spring package that we've never run before at a short track. We were being pretty aggressive and it didn't pay off for most of the race, but at the end it was awesome. I knew if there was a yellow and we could work on it just one more time that it would be awesome. We got the yellow and got the tires and that was just an unbelievable finish. We should just have four races ever night that are 20
laps long and invert the field every time. That 20-lap fresh tire stuff is about as fun as it gets. I thought it might go all the way and that we might have to run it out without a yellow, but I'm so glad that we got a caution. We needed it to put tires on and jockey the strategy around a little bit. We got out of sequence and that was awesome. We were really aggressive with springs. We tried some stuff we'd never tried before so it took us two adjustments to fix it up."
Rick Crawford, No. 14 Ford: "The Circle Bar Ford did a good job tonight. I hate where we started and had to play defense all night long. There at the end there weren't but a few trucks on the lead lap and we were one of them. We had to let it run there at the end and it got a little crowded. But, we made it, and a top-10 is what we need as a team. Now we can look at top fives and we'll win one here pretty quick. Carl had wore his stuff out and I had a little
better stuff than he did. I wasn't going to take him out and I don't think he was going to take me out. If you had the faster truck, I think you ought to give the other one some room and that's what we're teammates for. I look
at it that way, and if Carl was faster than me I wouldn't hold him up, just like we did at the end. I didn't hold him up and he was a little quicker than me on new tires, so we finished behind him."
Jon Wood, No. 50 Ford: "We haven't figured it out yet, but there is something definitely wrong. There is no reason we should have run that bad. We were just tight, extremely tight. No matter where I was on the track, the truck wouldn't hook up."
Terry Cook, No. 10 Ford: "I was trying to race the 21 back to the line and we were coming down to the start-finish line dead even, and I just had to stay in the throttle to pass the start-finish line and unfortunately they were wrecking in front of us. We beat the 21 and that was the most important part. The 46, I don't know who he got into, but he hit the wall hard and bounced down off the wall and I got into him as I was trying to pass the 21 to the line. The right side had a bunch of damage already, but I guessed it added just a little bit more. It was
already getting a right side put on it, now we made sure it did. I think struggle a little bit is an understatement. We have just not been good since we unloaded. We went down to Greenville, S.C., and tested all day on Wednesday and we're doing everything it took to capitalize on a good run here today, but we were terrible from the first lap on the track to the checkered flag. I don't understand it and I don't know exactly what happened, but we'll go back to the shop, reanalyze it, we'll go test it somewhere else and we'll get our short-track program back on track. We have
just struggled on the short tracks this year, but it's not from a lack of effort."
Notable Quotables, Chevy 2
08-06-2004 11:22 pm
Matt Crafton, No. 6 Chevrolet: “We just fought all night long with our GM Goodwrench Silverado. On the short runs, our truck would just not go. After about 50 laps, the truck would finally start rolling. It was pretty good on the longer runs but the truck would push the nose so bad center off on the shorter runs, we couldn’t go anywhere. But our guys kept working on it all night. They just didn’t give up, I didn’t give up and we ended up with another top-10. We keep digging and go after more top-fives but we better get our first win before too long cause it is driving us all crazy.”
Tracy Hines, No. 88 Chevrolet: “This was a great run for our Menards Silverado team tonight. We had the best pit stops we have had all year. It all just came together for us tonight. Track position would have helped us. The bad qualifying hurt us, and got us out of the leaders sequence. I think if we could have got in the top five pack, we could have run with them there. I think my being so familiar with IRP really helped us. You know in the NCTS we don’t do a lot of pit stops, so we tend to have long runs and are on our tires forever. You have what you have but with the way my truck was handling and the experience I have here, I was moving around on the track to find where I could help make it turn when it needed to turn. I am just really happy for this whole team that we had a good night at my home track.”
Denny Hamlin, No. 03 Chevrolet: “These guys on this Joe Gibbs Silverado never gave up. We had a really tight truck to begin with but they kept working on it. We got a lap down but got the lucky dog pass and got back on the lead lap and we came back through there. I can’t say enough for everyone with this team, Steve May, Curtis Markum and all the guys from Joe Gibbs Racing and EJP put a lot of effort in this truck. For our first truck race, I couldn’t be happier with our finish. They all put a lot of time and investment in me and I can’t say enough for them.”
Johnny Sauter, No. 43 Chevrolet: “I knew I was pretty much a sitting duck out there in our Curb Records Silverado with a lot of those guys on fresher tires than me when we had there on lap 192. I think we could have held them off if that hadn’t happened but this is still an awesome run for this team, sometimes the best truck or car doesn’t win. I can’t say enough for Joe Shearer and the guys at Brewco and everyone else that helps with this program. Mike Curb helped us out to build the truck, Carl Wagner giving us the motors and pretty much everyone else who volunteers on this program. It was pretty exciting there at the end, Travis (Kvapil) tried to get in to me for the win but I am a little smarter than that. I been there before and I have had to do that to win races and he didn’t hit me near hard enough. I gave him a little tap on the front straight, just enough to slow down my momentum. I tried as hard as I could to fend him off and came home second. This track has always been pretty cool to me. We won our ASA championship here. I really wanted to win this race for a buddy of mine, Scott Frazier who got killed on a snowmobile last winter. He was a pretty cool dude and I wanted to win it for him but we didn’t quite get it done. It was still a good night for our Curb Records Silverado and a lot of fun."
Paul White, No. 13 Chevrolet: “We were fighting a greasy race track all day and the race truck was loose from the beginning. We kept trying to tighten it up and tighten it up before qualifying, but because we didn’t have a provisional we had to set the truck up to be fast in qualifying. But because the trucks were impounded following qualifying, it left us pretty far off when the sun went down and the race started. We tried to make some adjustments on the truck during the race, but it just didn’t seem to get any better. So we were forced to just ride around and make laps all night. We avoided some wrecks during the night and I had to make some pretty quick decisions on which line to take. At one point I had to avoid the 22 truck and all I could do was grab a gear and go. Overall it was just disappointing to not be able to be more competitive tonight, but next week we head to Nashville and we tested there earlier this season. It seems like a pretty good track and maybe we can get another good run like we had at Gateway.”
Notable Quotables: Raybestos Rookies
08-06-2004 11:39 pm
Tracy Hines, No. 88 Chevrolet: "The Menards guys did such a great job. They gave us a great truck. We were a little worried in qualifying. We qualified 26th and I was a little bit worried. I knew we were good in practice. I didn't know what happened. We just never gave up; we kept digging. We came from 26th to ninth so I'm pretty happy with that kind of improvement." YOU HAVE A LOT OF EXPERIENCE HERE AT RACEWAY PARK. HOW DID THAT HELP YOU TONIGHT? "Quite a bit I think because you can run down in the bottom groove. I knew what my truck was doing and I knew where on the track to go to help it and that's what we did. Our handling was par but we were searching on the track to find the right place to help the handling." YOU HAVE RUN WELL ON THE SHORT TRACKS THIS SEASON SO YOU MUST BE LOOKING FORWARD TO BRISTOL AND RICHMOND. "When we got the second half of the season that we should start to shine. It just hurts us financially when you go to the mile-and-a-half tracks against some of these teams affiliated with Cup teams. It's hard to do. We're doing it out of Sandusky, Ohio and trying our best." IT IS IMPORTANT FOR YOUR LITTLE TEAM TO RUN WELL HERE TONIGHT. "It's good, a good gathering for us. The Menards engine guys have been working on their engine package and have made a lot of improvements. I've been kind of getting on to 'em about bottom-end power and they almost had me too much this time. I was having trouble hooking it up. Other than that, it was a good run for us." WERE YOU SURPRISED AT HOW BLISTERING THE PACE WAS? "I thought I was running a good pace and they said the leader was on and I'm like 'Holy cow.' I raced Carl Edwards as hard as I could there at the end. At least all that was worth something." figured we
Brandon Whitt, No. 38 Ford: "It's always good to bring the truck home in one piece. Tonight the Warner Ladder Ford was running real good at the beginning of the race and then toward the end we came in and made a pit stop and we lost a lot of track position in the pits. Unfortunately we weren't able to make it up but all in all it was an OK night." HOW MUCH DID YOU LEARN HERE THAT YOU COULD APPLY AT OTHER SHORT TRACKS? "We learned a lot. We tried some pretty wild stuff this whole day, from practice. We tried stuff that we haven't tried all year, just seeing how it would work in the race. I think we are going to find a good happy medium after this and take it to Richmond."
Shane Sieg, No. 07 Chevrolet: "We were pretty fast in the middle of the race. We had a tire go down the first run and put us a lap down. Then we got up there beside the leader and stayed with the leaders and could never get a yellow to get back on the lead lap. All in all it was a good run for us." THIS IS THE TYPE TRACK WHERE YOU AND THE TEAM CAN SHOW YOUR TALENTS. "I thought we were going to qualify a little better than that but we didn't. I knew we were going to race good because we practiced well. I knew something was wrong on the first run when we got lapped. People were driving away from me and I was like 'What the heck is going on?' So we came down and we had a flat tire and we put another set on and we were flying but we just ran out of time." DOES GETTING THE TRUCK TO RUN WELL GIVE YOU A CONFIDENCE BOOST? "Definitely. That's definitely a confidence booster just to get back on track from the way we ran at Michigan."
Davis Reutimann, No. 17 Chevrolet: "We just weren't very good. It's not from lack of work or anybody trying. We just didn't have what we needed to have so we ended up running bad. That's kind of how it goes." THIS IS A TOUGH LITTLE RACETRACK. "It is and my lack of experience doesn't help but when you're off, you're off. I'm sick about it. I can't drive it any harder so we just have to back up and do something different. WAS THE TRUCK LOOSE OR TIGHT? "We were just kind of on both ends of the deal. It would be tight in the center and loose off. We were kind of all over the place with it. We really, really felt that it was going to be a whole lot better than what it was but it wasn't to be."
HINES RAYBESTOS ROOKIE POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE
"At the beginning of the year you want to win a race. So for us, if we can't win a race this year, we absolutely want to win the Raybestos Rookie of the Year. This is probably one of the toughest rookie years that I've seen in NASCAR in a long time. I think there's probably 20 contenders, 10 every race, so it's one of the toughest fields. There are a lot of well-backed full time teams and a lot of guys who are running up front. It's tough field and I feel like that we could probably validate our standings as a team, as a driver, if we can win that."
Notable Quotables: Dodge
08-06-2004 11:43 pm
Chad Chaffin, No. 18 Dodge: “Well I did drive hard all night, but that Dickies Dodge was great. What happened on that last lap, I thought that Bobby was going to get me for third, and I thought I was going in fourth. But, I got a good run off of turn four and the No. 43 and No. 24 hit. It opened up the outside groove and I just shot the gap, and it paid off.
“Kip McCord (crew chief) is one of the best strategists around. If you’ve seen all year, we’ve finished a lot better sometimes than our truck was. He’s great at strategy and tonight we had a truck that was worthy of his strategy. It got the job done. I’m just so proud to be driving this Dickies Camo(uflage) Dodge. It’s the last night for the camo. Man, we’ve had some good runs in this camo. If we get in a slump, we’ll have to go back to this.
What did Bobby Hamilton say to you after the race?
“He just told me good job. Bobby Hamilton is the best – he gave me this opportunity. Today in practice, I was faster than Bobby, and I still went to him to find out what he was doing because he’s the master. I’ve got someone to learn from, and he’s a great car owner. I just can’t say enough. We won at Dover, and you have your critics, people said, ‘Well he got off on strategy.’ Well tonight we were just able to win one the old-fashioned way.
“We were really good. My crew chief said, ‘You’re the fastest guy on the track.’ But we were just so far behind. Passing is just so hard here. So, we came into the pits, and we made the call to get the tires. My crew chief, Kip McCord, said, ‘Let’s get the tires. We don’t want to be a sitting duck.’ It was a great call. We came into the pits fourth, and everybody behind us pitted once we came in. After the caution I came over the radio and said, ‘Guys, I’m sorry, but this thing ‘aint driving as good as it was.’ He said, ‘Well, the reason is you’re running 22.80s.’ That’s only about three-tenths off of the pole. We were just flying. That’s why we weren’t driving good. What happened there on the last lap was the No. 24 made a move on the No. 43, and the No. 43 moved down to try and block them. They made contact, and it slowed them both up. I had a killer run up off turn four and opened up the outside lane. That’s usually a scary place to go, but I had known it was my only shot. We got all the way up beside him. He rubbed us a little bit, but he really drove me clean. I thought we were going to wreck, but I was prepared to do that. We just brought the Dickies Dodge home in victory lane. It’s just huge for B.H.R., Dodge, Dickies and everyone involved. It was just a circumstantial deal. I couldn’t have passed both of them without them getting together.
“I wouldn’t have a career at this level if it weren’t for Bobby Hamilton. I’ll be quite frank about it. I’ve been around racing a long time and have won a lot of races over the years. But, at this level, I had kind of peaked out and was probably on the downside of it. I couldn’t get the really good rides or what have you. But me and Bobby have known each other for a long time. He gave me the opportunity. He gives me great trucks. He’s an awesome driver. He eats and breathes racing. He’s one of the top three or four racing guys in the United States – I’m talking crew chiefs, owners, everything. He eats and breathes racing. He knows it inside and out. Tonight we were just good enough to beat him, and if I’m good enough to beat him then I’m good enough to win the race. I kind of gauge my success how I’m running against him. It’s not that I’m just trying to beat the boss, but I know he’s good, and if I can get up and run with him I’ve got a shot.
“Racing and life comes fast and easy to a lot of people, but my whole life things have come slow. I started in four-cylinders, and every time I moved up a division, it took me a while to win a race. Once I started winning it seemed like I was able to win all the time. I don’t assume that I’m going to be able to win at this level – let’s be real about it. But, at the same time, once you’ve established that you can win your confidence is up. The guys working on the truck work a little bit harder because they know, ‘Hey Chad can go out here and get the job done. We’re going to work a little bit harder on this truck. When they’re building these trucks they build them a little better. When they paint them they put a little less paint on them so they’ll be a little lighter. It’s just a snowball effect. When they think their driver can get the job done, everything gets better.”
Bobby Hamilton, No. 4 Dodge: That’s two wins this year, and that’s five for Bobby Hamilton Racing. That’s the most wins of any company on the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. I’m really proud of that. The Dickies Corporation and Square D are a great bunch of guys that work together. It’s pretty cool to be out there racing the guys with him, and when he got past the No. 43 I thought that was pretty neat.
“Well we’re trying to look at the big picture. We had a tire that was working up on us, and we took our time on it and we were able to get set. You get to where you can’t win the race, so you sort of points race a little bit. But that was still a lot of fun.”
Andy Houston, No. 2 Dodge: “There at the end we made a little bit of a call and stayed out during the caution. Everybody behind us came out and got tires. We were out of tires at that point in time, and we were just banking on some track position. Those new tires were just too much for us. We gave up about five spots there in just the last two or three laps. That kind of hurt. All in all, everybody’s working hard and from where we started today we moved forward. That’s the biggest part of racing. We were somewhat competitive. We’ve just got to keep working hard, and hopefully we can turn this thing around.”
TrackSideLive! Post-Race Audio
08-06-2004 11:57 pm
TrackSideLive! caught up with race winner Chad Chaffin and a bunch of his rowdy NASCAR Camping World Truck Series co-workers after Friday night's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Indianapolis Raceway Park:
Chad Chaffin, No. 18 Dickies Dodge - Finished 1st
Johnny Sauter, No. 43 Curb Records Chevrolet - Finished 2nd
Bobby Hamilton, No. 4 Square D Dodge - Finished 3rd
Travis Kvapil, No. 24 Nutzz.com Toyota - Finished 4th
Denny Hamlin, No. 03 Joe Gibbs Performance Chevrolet - Finished 10th
Dennis Setzer, No. 46 Team Silverado Chevrolet - Finished 12th
Terry Cook, No. 10 Power Stroke Ford - Finished 14th
Brandon Whitt, No. 38 Werner Ladder Ford - Finished 20th
That's a wrap...
08-06-2004 11:58 pm
The transporters are loaded and heading through the back gate, the cleaning crew is sweeping the stands, and the story has been told. Chad Chaffin found sweet redemption by passing Johnny Sauter and Travis Kvapil on the final lap to pick up his second win of the 2004 season. Just two races ago, Chaffin was on the receiving end of a late race nudge that cost him a win on the last lap at Gateway. Chaffin becomes just the third driver in NCTS history to win a race by leading just the final lap.
There was some great racing on the track tonight, even with Johnny Sauter pulling out to a nearly nine-second lead at one point. Hamilton, Kvapil, Setzer, and Chaffin all put on a short track clinic in the pack, and with a well-timed caution they were in a position to be players at the end.
It was not a good night fot the Cup interlopers. Both Michael Waltrip and Kenny Schrader found the concrete wall in turn one to end their evenings early. Meanwhile, the youngsters impressed with Tracy Hines and Denny Hamlin charging to top-10 finishes.
There were some bent fenders tonight, but lots and lots of hard and clean short track racing. With that, we're going to call it a night from IRP. We appreciate you staying with us all day, and we will pick up coverage from Nashville Superspeedway next Friday as we lead up to the Toyota Tundra 200. Good night everybody!
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