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UAW/GM 250
| Mansfield OH
Race No. 4 | May 16, 2004
TrackSideLive! brings you exclusive online coverage of the tough trucks and
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• The UAW/GM 250
» Coverage Starts Friday from Mansfield Ohio
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• Good afternoon from Ohio!
» 05-14-2004 - 2:14 pm ET
Good afternoon from Mansfield, Ohio. Weather has been in the mid-70's, partly cloudy with bright sunshine sharing sky time with a spritz or two of rain.
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• It's SHOWTIME for the #24 Team
» 05-14-2004
Showtime Networks on Board Showtime Networks Inc. will be the primary sponsor on Bang Racing’s No. 24 Tundra in Mansfield and will partner for another race event with the No. 24 team later in the season. Line-X Spray on Truck Bedliners is the associate sponsor and will be back on as primary sponsor in Charlotte.
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• Chaffin Spins with a Grin
» 05-14-2004 - 3:33 pm ET
Chad Chaffin said after spinning during the AM test session; "See I told you guys I was pretty good at new tracks. Just when I thought I had it figured out I spun around. It was ok though, we didn't hit anything, just bruised our egos a little. We ended up second on the time sheet, so it didn't hold us up that much."
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• Shane Sieg, No. 07 Chevrolet
» 05-14-2004 - 3:38 pm ET
"Nice track, nicely laid out, it will be a little tight during the race but you'll see some good handling and trucks passing on the bottom. Definitely looking forward to racing in front of a full house. I think it's big for them and hopefully we can come up here and put on a good show for the fans."
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• All in Good Wine
» 05-14-2004 - 3:43 pm ET
Mike Skinner is getting in the spirit naming his Toyota Tundra chassis after different wines this season. A long-time aficionado, Skinner and his No. 42 Toyota team will be taking Frank, formerly BR 01, to the Mansfield race. The chassis was named after his favorite wine owner, Frank Altamura, of the Altamura Winery and Vineyards in Napa Valley. “Frank’s wines go with just about everything,” Skinner says. And Frank has been just about everywhere this season having been on several different tracks like Atlanta and Martinsville as well as logged testing laps at Homestead, Lakeland, Texas and Caraway. Frank is also a TV star and can be seen in Toyota commercials airing nationwide. Wisconsin teammate Travis Kvapil will pay homage to his home state by naming his chassis after different cheeses this season.
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• David Starr, No. 75 Chevrolet
» 05-14-2004 - 3:47 pm ET
"They did a tremendous job with it. I've been to a lot of short tracks during my career. Just the way they laid it with the stands and all you can tell they really tell they love their racing here. The owners and the fans have been incredible here. It's good to see because I love racing. I love the roots of it. The roots are short tracks and to see what they have done here is just incredible."
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• Bobby Hamilton, No. 4 Dodge
» 05-14-2004 - 3:54 pm ET
Bobby Hamilton said during PM test sessions... "We are really getting around this place considering we've only changed tires once. We have a ton of laps on the tires and are trying about every shock there is on our hauler. We just want to double check ourselves with this being a new venue and all. It's a good race track, but then again I'm happy to race anywhere right now. It's been too long since Martinsville."
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• Brad Kezelowski, No. 29 Ford
» 05-14-2004 - 4:00 pm ET
“This track has really changed a lot since I tested here last October,” said Keselowski, who ended the test day at Mansfield with the third fastest time of the afternoon. “The backstretch wall seems a lot tighter which has made me drive the truck differently. We started out this morning with a really strange problem of being loose on entry and tight up off. There are a lot of bumps in turn three that have been disturbing the truck too. At the lunch break we started making more shock and spring changes as well as a gear change which all made us a lot faster and the truck more comfortable. At first we went from really tight to really loose and spun the truck once, but overall I think we had a pretty successful test session. I’m glad we’ve had the entire day to work on getting faster because we are only about a tenth off of the leader and I think we will be able to make that up and contend for a top five qualifying position tomorrow.”
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• Ohio Natives Are Everywhere
» 05-14-2004 - 4:26 pm ET
Tom Czoka, hauler driver and at-track runner for the No. 42 Toyota Tundra team, hails from Youngstown, Ohio. Czoka currently resides in Concord, NC, with his wife Kay and spends his free time racing IMCA Modifieds. Czoka recalls his first Late Model win at Ona Speedway in West Virginia as his best racing memory.
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• Cheese Champion
» 05-14-2004 - 4:31 pm ET
The Big Cheese, Velveeta on track at Mansfield for the No. 24 Toyota piloted by 2003 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion Travis Kvapil. It’s hard to find a Wisconsin native that isn’t fond of their cheese and Kvapil is no exception. The No. 24 team is taking Velveeta (formerly chassis BR 04) to the Mansfield race. It was aptly named for its ability to serve many purposes after seeing laps at several different tracks such as Atlanta, Martinsville, Texas and Caraway.
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• Andy Houston, No. 2 Dodge
» 05-14-2004 - 4:48 pm ET
"We were actually pretty good first thing this morning but everybody else picked up speed and we didn't. The truck was fairly comfortable but it just didn't have the speed we needed. e tried a bunch of different set up combinations but we never found just the feel we were looking for. Hopefully tomorrow we make the changes necessary to make the Team ASE/CARQUEST Dodge as competitive as we need to be to run up front."
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• Good Morning from Mansfield!
» 05-15-2004 - 8:58 am ET
A steady, light rain has descended upon the greater Mansfield, Ohio area with temperatures currently in the Mid-50's. There is a chance the showers may clear out for Live! Bud Pole Qualifying at 4 pm ET; keep it on TruckSeries.com for all the action, as it happens from Mansfield, Ohio
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• NCTDA a Big Hit in Ohio
» 05-15-2004 - 9:14 am ET
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Drivers Association (NCTDA), the non-profit organization that represents the hauler drivers in the NCTS held a parade and food drive in Mansfield, Ohio on Thursday evening. Check out images from the event courtesy of Nate and Michelle Mecha from High Sierra Photo Click Here for Photo Gallery
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• Jack Sprague, No. 16 Chevrolet
» 05-15-2004 - 9:23 am ET
"We started testing two trucks but decided that the new truck we brought would be the best to race here at Mansfield. We keep tweaking on it and trying different things all day until we got it right. I made a little extra work for the #16 Chevy Trucks guys scraping the wall a couple times but they just kept digging all day. We made a bonsai run just before the end of the day and were able to put up a solid time. Now it starts for real tomorrow. We want to qualify well but the key is to have a really good truck for Sunday's race." "This is a great track. The owners have worked hard to give us a great place to race. And the fans here are awesome. It was great fun last night to meet so many excited people at the autograph session. We are looking forward to a great weekend."
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• Dennis Setzer, No. 46 Chevrolet
» 05-15-2004 - 9:26 am ET
"We struggled a good bit with the #46 Silverado but we learned a lot. We worked with two trucks early in the day before deciding on the one to use for the race weekend. We kept working on the truck, trying different combinations making it better as the day went along but we aren't where we need to be. This team has tremendous communication. We will go back to the transporter, go through the notes from the day and make some good decisions about what we need to do to start out strong on Saturday so we qualify well and have a good truck for Sunday's race."
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• Rain Rain Go Away!
» 05-15-2004 - 2:59 PM
A steady rain continues to delay practice sessions and qualifying today at Mansfield. Check back here for updates.
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• Qualifying Scenario Up in the Air
» 05-15-2004 - 4:59 pm ET
NASCAR has indicated that we should see a decision on qualifying by 5 pm ET. A slim chance remains that we could get in qualifying. However, TruckSeries.com expects NASCAR to mandate at least a half hour practice session in order to get rubber down on the track. This would leave a small window to get qualifying underway during daylight, with the possibility of finishing under the lights. Without a qualifying session; we anticipate the sanction to implement their Provisional Points system. The Provisional Points system gets complicated due to only 24 drivers eligible based on last year's standings. Our understanding of the Provisional Points system has Terry Cook in the show and Robert Huffman going home. The No. 31 Brevak Racing entry would get in on a Provisional. UPDATE: The weather doesn't look like it's going to cooperate, so we'll wait for NASCAR's decsion expected soon.
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• Any Moment Now....
» 05-15-2004 - 5:54 pm ET
The rain seems to have nearly stopped here in Mansfield, Ohio and we expect a decision from NASCAR very shortly... when we know, you'll know... thanks for visiting TruckSeries.com
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• Qualifying Has Been Cancelled
» 05-15-2004 - 6:03 pm ET
NASCAR has officially cancelled Bud Pole Qualifying due to rain. The complete starting lineup is being compiled by NASCAR and will be posted as soon as it's available.
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• Engine Change for the No. 99 Ford
» 05-15-2004 - 6:39 pm ET
Carl Edwards and his No. 99 Superchips Ford will fall to the rear of the field due to an engine change.
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• Matt Crafton, No. 6 Chevrolet
» 05-15-2004 - 7:07 pm ET
"It’s really too bad because we thought we had the truck legitimate and we were shooting for the pole. We have to go back and work on race setup now. At Martinsville we didn’t work as much on our qualifying set up and it showed and we qualified badly but we raced real well. Yesterday we worked on our qualifying and we were going to work on our race stuff today. It turned out just the opposite. We have a real good race truck in the GM Goodwrench Chevrolet so I’m not really that worried."
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• Terry Cook, No. 10 Ford
» 05-15-2004 - 7:11 pm ET
“It’s going to be tough here on a short track like Mansfield. We’ll have to be patient but we have to go after it. We only have a morning practice session tomorrow morning to work on any changes to the truck.”
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• Raceday Happy Hour Session
» 05-15-2004 - 6:10 pm ET
NASCAR has revised the competition schedule with a half hour Happy Hour final practice scheduled for 8:00 AM and concluding at 8:30 AM. The event will continue as planned with the Driver/Crew Chief meeting at 12:45 pm ET and Driver Introductions at 1:45 pm ET. All NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races are live on SPEED Channel. The UAW/GM Ohio 250 starts at 2:00 pm ET.
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• Who's going home?
» 05-15-2004 - 6:32 pm ET
The line-up has been set based on the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series rulebook. Positions 1 thru 30 based on 2003 Owner Points. Positions 31 and 32 based on Past Series Champions. Positions 33 thru 36 based on 2004 Owner Points. DID NOT QUALIFY are as follows; #67 Kevin Love, #12 Robert Huffman, #57 David Froehlich, Jr., #19 Richard Hampton, #73 Craig Wood, #91 J.C. Stout, #30 Sean Murphy, #66 David Regan, #05 Chris Winter, #83 Randy VanZant, #74 Jim Walker
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• Good Morning from Mansfield!
» 05-16-2004 - 8:22 am ET
After a brief delay to allow Jet Dryers to clear the racing surface and a little help from Mother Nature, Mansfield Motorsports Speedway is Alive! Trucks are rollling, we'll have a some final practice Happy Hour times here in a few minutes.
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• Top-5 Rundown: HAPPY HOUR
» 05-16-2004 - 8:37 am ET
After about five minutes into our half-hour final practice Happy Hour, here's a quick look at the Top-5:
1) Travis Kvapil, 96.551 mph
2) Mark McFarland, 96.382
3) Matt Crafton, 95.942
4) Rick Crawford, 95.547
5) Dennis Setzer, 95.444
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• Brief Caution
» 05-16-2004 - 8:52 am ET
Joe Aramendia went for a quick spin in Turn 4 - the track was quickly cleaned and final practice Happy Hour is back underway.
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• Top-5 Rundown: Hamilton on Top
» 05-16-2004 - 8:56 am ET
Top-5 Rundown in final practice Happy Hour:
1) Bobby Hamilton, 97.049 mph
2) Tracy Hines, 97.032
3) Matt Crafton, 96.990
4) Jack Sprague, 96.984
5) Dennis Setzer, 96.890
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• Happy Hour is Over! Chaffin on Top
» 05-16-2004 - 9:07 am ET
Top-10 final practice Happy Hour:
1) Chad Chaffin, 97.262 mph
2) Bobby Hamilton, 97.049
3) Tracy Hines, 97.032
4) Matt Crafton, 96.990
5) Travis Kvapil, 96.973
6) Dennis Setzer, 96.890
7) Rick Crawford, 96.674
8) Brandon Whitt, 96.592
9) Carl Edwards, 96.493
10) Mike Skinner, 96.339
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• Sprague On The Move
» 05-16-2004 - 11:44 am ET
In accordance with the 2004 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series rule book, current polesitter Jack Sprague has elected to start on the outside pole. The move puts Dennis Setzer on the inside pole postion. The outside (middle groove) is the preferred line around the .444 mile Mansfield Motorsports Speedway.
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• Steve Park #62 Dodge
» 05-16-2004 - 5:42 pm ET
“The Orleans Dodge was a great truck. We played our cards right and pitted early. We were coming back through there and just saving our tires. We knew guys would run out of tires and have to pit. I can’t get a break. The guys work really hard to give us good race trucks, and we keep getting involved in stuff on the racetrack. I’m just glad to be in Ohio. We have a lot of great race fans. You can tell by the crowd that Ohio needs a place to race. The Craftsman Truck Series is here to stay. We will be back. I think guys were just racing too hard. The lapped cars line up on the inside. This place is tough to pass on the outside. I want to compliment the Orleans Racing team. They did a great job. I have to thank two Ohio-based companies, Wyler Dodge and Roeder Harley-Davidson, for their support all year long. We will be back. We are going to race again in Ohio. We love coming here. It is a great racetrack.”
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• Teri MacDonald, No. 72 Chevrolet
» 05-16-2004 - 6:27 pm ET
Teri MacDonald returned to the NASCAR Craftsman truck series, taking the checkered flag to finish 25th. Teri is usually found on the spotters stand calling the race for her brother Randy. Today she took the wheel of the number 72 MacDonald Motorsports Chevy. "Teri did a great job, she recovered from being spun in the early laps, regained composure and she was battling for position as she crossed the finish line. We are very proud of her." commented Randy after watching the race on SPEED from his home in North Carolina. Teri had many obstacles to overcome. All of the MacDonald Motorsports regular team members were absent this weekend after racing in the Busch Series race at Richmond. "Her whole team was a experiencing NASCAR Craftsman Truck series racing for the first time. They did fantastic. I really hope that today's effort opens up some opportunities for MacDonald to drive in more races." Her crew, headed by Steve Shore, came up from racing at Caraway Speedway. The truck that MacDonald was racing for position was driven by fellow Canadian and past CASCAR Champion Kevin Dowler.
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• Matt Crafton, No. 6 Chevrolet
» 05-16-2004 - 6:35 pm ET
MATT CRAFTON No. 6 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet Silverado (Started 24th – Finished 10th) “We definitely had a really good truck today, possibly a top-five truck. It was a tough couple of days with the weather changes from cold rain to finally some heat and sun shine so set-up was difficult. We pitted too many times and that was my fault as much as happenings on the track. We were really were good on the first run so when we came in we left it alone. Then the sun came out and we got really loose. That’s when we decided to come back in again. With ten laps to go, we were ready for a good finish and not a mark on the truck. Unfortunately, on the restart towards the end of the race, we got into the back of the truck ahead and that kind of killed our chances. It was a typical short track type of deal."
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• Jack Sprague #16 Chevrolet
» 05-16-2004 - 6:55 pm ET
“We just kept digging and saved our stuff and it worked out. The first two cautions I caused. The preferred line is the center here. I came up on the 72 and she went to the top of the track so I went to the bottom and she came down and I hit her. Then the 02 must have gotten spooked and hit the brakes and I hit her in the back and spun her. I thought man I’m not going to get out of here tonight. I didn’t hit one else after that.”
“It was like a rocket when it came off the corners it hit so hard. It was one of those situations that it was not bad to be tight off the center. The #16 Chevy Silverado was just perfect today. We had the power under the hood and are pleased about our finish.”
“I spent a lot of time with these guys before I made the decision to come to this team. I was a little rocky in Atlanta but these guys have worked so hard. I complained about not having enough horse power and they found me more. I pulled less gear then anyone else out there today, I guarantee it.”
“I had perfect pit stops today and it all just came together. I had a blast here, these short tracks are great. I was even passing some of these trucks on the bottom. I’m looking forward to coming back here next year.”
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• Carl Edwards #99 Ford
» 05-16-2004 - 7:07 pm ET
YOU PITTED FOR TIRES WITH 50 LAPS TO GO. TALK ABOUT THE DECISION TO PIT. “We were going back pretty fast. We wore out the rear tires and we were running seventh and we only went back to 19th or something, and I thought we’d make it back to 10th and I was worried if we stayed out there we would end up 15th.”
WAS TODAY A CASE OF POINTS RACING AT THE END OF THE RACE? “Yeah, we were just trying to create the best scenario for ourselves and it didn’t work out. I don’t know how they wrecked over there at the end. The guy was on the bottom and I was going to miss him, but he just kept rolling up the race track.
That was very frustrating.” DID YOU THINK THERE WOULD BE AS MANY CAUTIONS AS THERE WERE TODAY? “I thought there would be just because it’s a new track and everything. We just didn’t have things go our way today. It’s just very frustrating.
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• Dennis Setzer #46 Silverado
» 05-16-2004 - 7:05 pm ET
“The Morgan-Dollar Chevrolet was just on it today. It was pretty awesome out there. The RCR Power under hood was fast. It handled on the top and the bottom. It was a great day for the Chevrolet teams and we have a lot of momentum going into Charlotte.”
“I loved the track here at Mansfield. You could hear the fans cheering during the red flag. The sold out crowd got the kind of race they would have expected from the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. This is the kind of track I like to run on and I can’t wait to come back next year.”
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• Tracy Hines #88 Chevy
» 05-16-2004 - 7:10 pm ET
“It just came off the truck great. We were fast testing at practice on Friday and we backed it up with the practice this morning. We went to the back twice and got spun. Then we went to the tail and still got back to the front. We had a lot of laps on the tires and I just want to thank the guys for running us clean. It’s just a great day for the guys at Menard Chevy. The 88 team deserve this.“
“This team is based out of Sandusky Ohio not many people know that our shops for the 13 and the 88 are based there. It was great to get a top 10 finish in front of the hometown crowd. My team really enjoyed having a track close to home for a change. We will definitely take this finish and work toward a strong finish in Charlotte next week.”
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• Bobby Hamilton #4 Dodge
» 05-16-2004 - 7:14 pm ET
“We’re happy. It was a good day for Square D. We had a huge bunch of people in our hospitality tent, and I’m sure it was a good race for them.
It was a good points day for us. We had a brake duct break at Martinsville and finished 33rd, so to come back at a short track and finish fourth, we’re really happy with that.
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• Jon Wood #50 Ford
» 05-16-2004 - 7:15 pm ET
YOU HAD PROBLEMS AT THE START OF THE RACE. WHAT WERE THEY AND DID THEY HAMPER YOU THE ENTIRE AFTERNOON? “We had a little bit of mechanical issues. Once we got that stuff worked out we had such terrible track position that we couldn’t get it going. We had a great truck. We caught every break we needed at Martinsville, but we didn’t catch them today. To come out of here with a top-10 finish, in the whole scheme of things, that’s probably not too bad.”
THERE SEEMED TO BE TWO DISTINCT PIT STRATEGIES TODAY. DID YOU MAKE THE RIGHT CALL? “Yeah, either strategy seemed to work. It looked like pitting when we pitted was the best decision. Had there been a lot more green-flag runs I don’t think Terry Cook would have been as good as he ended up; the short runs saved him.”
DID THE TRACK CONDITIONS CHANGE DRASTICALLY WHEN THE SUN CAME OUT? “It stayed the same. The track itself is good, but it’s so hard to pass here and that’s the biggest issue.”
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• Ted Musgrave #1 Dodge
» 05-16-2004 - 7:17 pm ET
“That’s just it. We never raced here at Mansfield, and right now it looks like it’s very, very hard to make any type of passes. Track position made a lot of difference. We got out there and got track position early when everyone else pitted, and we were able to hold the lead there. But when it came time for us to pit, we just couldn’t get back through the traffic.
It was pretty much the same way I saw for Hamilton and a few others. They were having a tough time. They couldn’t get back through the pack. I don’t know what kind of show it was. I hate to slash and bash this place, but I hope we don’t come back here. We need to race at places where you can run side-by-side and make passes. It’s kind of a wide racetrack, but it’s just the way it is. For some reason it doesn’t work out. You could see where people would try the bottom and it didn’t work out. There was no passing going on. You just never know until you try.”
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• Rick Crawford #14 Ford
» 05-16-2004 - 7:22 pm ET
THERE SEEMED TO BE TWO DISTINCT PIT STRATEGIES TODAY. “Yeah, and the other one won. We practiced this morning in quick spurt sessions and tried to scuff in some tires. We had a set we were saving because it was a lot better than what we were on. We ran that middle part of the race and I wanted that set of tires, and we were going to pit if the 4 pitted and the 4 pitted, and we shouldn’t have. But, we learned and we got a decent finish. I think it was a decent points day for the Circle Bar team. It’s about finishing races and that’s what we need to do to get back in the points.”
DID YOU EXPECT AS MUCH BEATING AND BANGING TODAY? “No, I really didn’t, but after I saw some of the action out there on lap 60, I tried to kept the fenders on as long as I could and then I had to make some passes. I had to beat mine up as bad as they were beating theirs up.”
WAS IT DIFFICULT TO PASS TRUCKS TODAY? “It was tough when the sun came out. When the sun came out, the groove would move up higher and you couldn’t get that bite off the bottom. As long as it was overcast you had a bottom groove you could work with. I wish it would have stayed cloudy and I wish we hadn’t had pitted, but we finished seventh and we’ll go to Charlotte.”
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• Kelly Sutton #02 Chevy
» 05-16-2004 - 7:24 pm ET
“We’re so excited to bring home a lead lap top 20th finish for the team Copaxone Chevy to come from 2 laps down and have a strong finish was exactly what we needed. I’m living g proof to anyone with MS or any adversity that you can achieve your goals if you put your mind to it."
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• Terry Cook #10 Ford
» 05-16-2004 - 7:30 pm ET
YOU HAD A STRONG RUN, BUT DID YOUR TIRES GIVE OUT AT THE END? “They did. It was a great race call by crew chief Wes Ward there. We pitted on lap 50 and stayed out the rest of the day. We had 200 laps on our tires there at the end and trying to hold those guys off and everyone was using the bumpers to pass, including me. What a great day here at Mansfield. This is an awesome facility and it was a great race today.”
YOU HAD TRANSMISSIONS PROBLEMS AT THE END, BUT YOU WERE ABLE TO HOLD OFF BOBBY HAMILTON ON THE FINAL RESTART. “It was a great race call by Wes Ward to get us in that position. We pitted at lap 53 and we stayed out the rest of the race. On one of the restarts we were vapor locking and with about 20 to go we broke the transmission. We were running in third gear to get the final drive where we needed. We broke that and had to shift back to fourth, and on that last restart we had to go from second to fourth, so we had all kinds of issues going on, bit the Power Stroke Diesel Ford is finally getting back on track. We struggled with it the last two races, but we’re now starting to rebound, and I think Charlotte should be a good race for us, too.”
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• Mark McFarland #59 Dodge
» 05-16-2004 - 7:37 pm ET
“We got behind early when someone got into us on the restart and knocked a piece off of our bumper, and it didn’t come off all the way. So we had to come in and pull that off. This Dodge had been good all weekend, so we knew we had a good truck for the race. We just had to get our track position back. We were able to do that, make some adjustments and it felt pretty good there at the end.
“The track slickened up as we ran, but our truck was tight from the get-go, so it kind of helped us. It was really hard to pass out there today. It’s just like any other short track. It just wears you out to even keep up. It was really hard to pass, but it was a nice racetrack and we’re looking forward to coming back here.”
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• Brad Kezelowski #29 Ford
» 05-16-2004 - 7:38 pm ET
YOU RAN SECOND IN THE EARLY STAGES OF THE RACE. “We took advantage of some pit stop strategy. I thought it would play out for us, hoping nobody would pit around 150 and we were going to pit around lap 100 and not pit from there. The way the race just played out, the cautions fell against us. We got back there in traffic and I was trying to play it safe because I knew they would wreck big at least once, and they did I was in the right spot and that kept us there at the end. Towards the last lap there I made a mistake in traffic that cost us about three spots, but other than that, it was a good race.”
THIS IS ONLY YOUR SECOND TRUCK SERIES RACE, BUT DO YOU FEEL YOU EARNED THE RESPECT OF THE OTHER COMPETITORS WHEN YOU WERE RUNNING UP FRONT? “I think so because I ran them clean. I showed that we could run, but we could run smart and clean at the same time. I hope I earned a little bit of respect.”
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• Chase Montgomery #8 Dodge
» 05-16-2004 - 7:41 pm ET
“It’s unfortunate. We’ve got about 10 guys out there racing smart, and just another 30-something idiots. This stuff happens – we’re short track racing. But we were three- and four-wide coming off of turn two and that’s just not what you do at a half-mile racetrack. It’s unfortunate. We were in position to move up in the points, but we’ll just go to Charlotte and get them then.”
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• Terry Cook Press Conference
» 05-16-2004 - 7:50 pm ET
TALK ABOUT THE INCIDENT YOU HAD ON THE FRONT STRAIGHTAWAY, AND HOW WERE YOU ABLE TO GATHER THE TRUCK UP? “I thought it was gone. I drove it down the front straightaway almost completely sideways and then kinda gathered it up in turn one. That was my fault completely. I apologized to Bobby Hamilton after the race. The spotter was getting on the radio saying he was there as I was coming off and I was actually trying to pinch him a little bit at the same time and got into him and me into the wall at the same time. That was all my fault, but luckily we were able to hang on to that.”
YOU PITTED EARLY IN THE RACE AND DIDN’T PIT AGAIN. WERE THE TIRES GIVING OUT AT THE END? “Goodyear really brought a good tire here. Forward bite wasn’t an issue all day. We pitted on lap 53 and never pitted again. To do that and to run to the end as good as we did and lead some laps really speaks very highly of the tire. Wes Ward came up here from Richmond. They had a top-five last night with the Busch car there and he came up here and called the race. It was his strategy and it worked perfect. This track right here was all about track position. It was difficult to pass all day long, and if you could work track position in your favor it was big and that’s what we were able to do today.”
HOW MUCH DID THE CAUTIONS HELP YOU AT THE END? “The cautions definitely helped me. I’m not sure if it helped a lot of the other guys, but I felt like it helped me because we didn’t have the truck to win or a super fast truck, so to be able to put away some laps there at the end under caution, where we really didn’t have to race anybody, we were racing the caution flag and that helped us a little bit.”
IS THIS A PLACE YOU WANT TO COME BACK NEXT YEAR? “Definitely. I’ll come to any track that they can sell out. With 22,00 fans, they were chanting and they were loud and that’s cool. That’s what gets us excited is to see a place like this exacted. I’m sure when we come back here they’ll be more seats and more fans.”
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• Chad Chaffin #18 Dickies Dodge
» 05-16-2004 - 8:02 pm ET
“It was really what we expected. It’s a fine little track, but it was just a little hard to pass on. Our Dickies Dodge was pretty fast. It probably wasn’t perfect, but it very fast. But track position was really important. It was really hard to pass. We started 12th and we were able to kind of jump on them early. We got up to seventh within just two or three laps. But I was having trouble getting around the No. 2 truck. He was really loose, but I was just loose enough that I couldn’t pass him. I think if I ever got around him I think I could have went on and run better. But two guys got together – Matt Crafton and Hank Parker Jr. The 21 truck was all over the place. I don’t know what his deal was. Matt got into him a little bit, and he think he hit the wall and he just stopped. I ran into the back of him, and Travis Kvapil ran into the back of me. It put Travis out of the race, and it made me have to come into the pit to change a radiator. We lost about 50 laps on that deal.
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