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Kroger 200
| Martinsville Speedway
Race No. 22 | October 23, 2004
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TrackSideLive! from Martinsville Speedway!
10-20-2004 12:57 am
TrackSideLive! coverage of the Kroger 200 from Martinsville Speedway begins Friday morning, October 22, 2004.
Rookie Brandon Whitt on SPEED Channel's Trackside
10-19-2004 3:06 pm
Brandon Whitt, driver of the #38 Werner Ladder/Cure Autism Now Ford F-150 on the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, will appear on Trackside this Friday night, Oct. 22. The show is televised live nationally by SPEED, 7-8 p.m. Eastern. Friday is the day before the Martinsville, Va. event.
Good morning from a damp and soggy Martinsville
10-22-2004 7:54 am
Good morning from a very wet and soggy Martinsville Speedway. The clouds have been locked in the mountains of southern Virginia and northern North Carolina overnight, and while no heavy rain has been falling, there is a heavy mist in the air that has completely soaked the racetrack and will likely put us well off schedule this morning and afternoon. Even with the rain, we'll keep you abreast of all the action from trackside as the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series prepares to go green in round 22 of the 2004 season.
Martinsville track facts
10-22-2004 8:05 am
Martinsville Speedway has been a staple of the NASCAR calendar since 1949, making it the longest continuously sanctioned NASCAR track. The 0.526-mile layout has been compared to two dragstrips with hairpin curves at each end. When look at from above, it very much resembles a paperclip. With just 12 degrees of banking in the corners, the flat turns make handling and solid brakes a premium.
Here are the pole and race winners of the previous 11 NCTS races at Martinsville:
1995-Pole, N/A(rain); Race, Joe Ruttman
1996-Pole, Bobby Hamilton; Race, Mike Skinner
1997-Pole, Rich Bickle; Race, Rich Bickle
1998-Pole, Greg Biffle; Race, Jay Sauter
1999-Pole, Mike Bliss; Race, Jimmy Hensley
2000-Pole, Mike Wallace; Race, Bobby Hamilton
2001-Pole, Joe Ruttman; Race, Scott Riggs
2002-Pole, Ted Musgrave; Race, Dennis Setzer
2003 (1)-Pole, Ted Musgave; Race, Dennis Setzer
2003 (2)-Pole, Carl Edwards; Race, Jon Wood
2004 (1)-Pole, Jack Sprague; Race, Rick Crawford
Rain, rain, go away
10-22-2004 8:12 am
Martinville's NCTS race has been snakebitten by rain before. The inaugural NCTS race here in 1995 was plagued by rain, with inclement weather cancelling qualifying (and derailing the comback attempt of NNCS star Ernie Irvan, who was forced to wait a week to return to the cockpit at North Wilkesboro for the first time since his injuries at Michigan in 1994) and postponing the race from Saturday to Monday.
In 2000, the race was again delayed from Saturday to Monday by wet weather, making Martinsville the only track on the schedule with more than one rainout.
For what it's worth, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series has not been totally rained out since May 2001 at Dover, a span of 84 races.
Jet dryers on track
10-22-2004 8:21 am
NCTS practice is scheduled to begin in just over 30 minutes and the track is still soaked, so it looks like we will be at least a couple of hours behind on our schedule today. Track officials say the track will take about 2 hours to come completely dry, and that is if the weather cooperates 100 percent.
Track drying update
10-22-2004 9:52 am
The track dryers have been on the track for about an hour and have made some progress, although there is again a light mist falling here at Martinsville Speedway. Many drivers had changed into the uniforms as it seemed we were close to getting on the track, but with the mist now moving back in, it seems the delay will stretch a little longer. We'll keep you updated on weather and track conditions as they change throughout the morning and afternoon.
Schedule update
10-22-2004 9:59 am
If and when we get on the racetrack today, the schedule for the NCTS has already been altered. After qualifying, NASCAR will take the Trucks straight to impound and we will not have a final "Happy Hour" practice. Still no word on when we will get on the track or when the "drop dead" time is to call it a day.
Andy Houston to the No. 13 this week
10-22-2004 10:01 am
Andy Houston will take the controls of the No. 13 ThorSport Racing Chevrolet this weekend. Jason Small was originally scheduled to drive the truck again this weekend, but Small was involved in a couple of crashes at Texas and Bakersfield last weekend that kept him out of the seat. Houston now jumps in his fourth different ride this season in an effort to stay in the top-20 in the NCTS points.
Rain update
10-22-2004 10:04 am
The jet dryers have made some significant progress in the past 50 minutes and we are fairly close to getting trucks on track for a shortened practice session. NASCAR has been discussing a noon ET start for a one-hour NCTS practice, followed by 90 minutes for the Cup Series, and then NCTS and NNCS qualifying. If the weather holds and the jet dryers keep making progress, that may be a realistic goal.
On standby...
10-22-2004 11:26 am
Just in case they are needed, both drivers involved in last week's hard crash have drivers standing by. Bill Lester will have Bill Davis Racing teammate Scott Wimmer standing by, while David Reutimann will have longtime Darrell Waltrip Motorsports driver Rich Bickle standing by as well. Bickle won the 1997 NCTS race here at Martinsville driving Waltrip's truck.
TruckShots!
10-22-2004 11:55 am
The first group of exclusive TruckShots! are posted...
click here to log on
!
Pre Race Audio
10-22-2004 11:50 am
While we're waiting to take to the track, TrackSideLive! headed to the garage to talk with some of the drivers. Check out the comments from
Darrell Waltrip,
Dennis Setzer,
David Starr,
David Reutimann
and
Travis Kvapil.
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Schedule update
10-22-2004 12:04 pm
NASCAR has announced the schedule for the remainder of the day:
12:30-2 pm ET: NNCS Practice
2-3:00 pm ET: NCTS Practice
3:40 pm ET: NNCS Qualfying
Time permitting: NCTS Practice
With no NCTS qualifying the lineup will be set by the NASCAR rulebook. The top 30 in current NCTS owner points are eligible to start based upon their standing in the points, followed by previous race winners within the calendar year, previous champion owners and drivers, and then it reverts back to teams with the most qualifying attempts in the current season. We will have a starting lineup posted as soon as it is available.
Raybestos Rookie Feature: David Reutimann, No. 17 Toyota
10-22-2004 12:20 pm
David Reutimann, No. 17 Toyota:
HOW ARE YOU FEELING?
"Just really sore. I think if I had a couple more days I would be in really good shape. I got up Monday morning and I was thinking that I was in good shape and it wasn't going to be any big deal and as the week went on it progressively got worse and worse. Now it's starting to go back to the better side of it. It's part of the deal. We're here at Martinsville and we'll see how we do this weekend."
WHERE ARE YOU MOST SORE?
"I'm sore all over, but primarily in my chest and my shoulders. I didn't have much chest to begin with so I didn't have a whole lot to hold anything back . When I get in the truck and pull the belts down it's pretty difficult but once you get in there and start making some laps maybe it will be different. We've got Rich Bickle here this weekend in case I can't perform like I need to then we'll put him in. We'll probably put him in at one point during practice just to let him make some laps in case I've got to bail out we'll now what to do. That's plan B. Obviously Rich can get the job done. That's why he's here this weekend but that's my seat. I don't want to go giving it up to anybody."
HOW PHYSICAL IS THIS RACETRACK?
"It's a racetrack that you're on the brakes so it's throwing you forward and you're on the gas and it's throwing you back plus you've got to drive it every lap pretty hard. It's definitely one of the more physical racetracks that we go to all year. I was kind of hoping that maybe we would get to go to someplace like Michigan or someplace where it was kind of spread out, long sweeping turns but we're here. It is what it is. We just had a bad day at the office last week but I'm trying not to miss a day at work. That's how it works."
Unofficial starting grid
10-22-2004 12:25 pm
1. Hamilton (Owner Points)
2. Setzer
3. Musgrave
4. Edwards
5. Crafton
6. Chaffin
7. Starr
8. Kvapil
9. Park
10. Sprague
11. Skinner
12. Crawford
13. Hmiel
14. Reutimann
15. Wood
16. Parker, Jr.
17. Cook
18. McMurray
19. Murphy
20. Hines
21. Whitt
22. Benson
23. Montgomery
24. Lester
25. Huffman
26. Hamilton, Jr.
27. Patton
28. Renshaw
29. Manfull
30. Houston
31. Bodine (Previous winner)
32. Sutton (Current season attempts)
33. Tucker
34. Schrader
35. Labonte
36. Bradberry
Unofficial DNQs
10-22-2004 12:32 pm
Here are the drivers that unofficially will be going home:
Eric King, Darrell Waltrip, Davin Scites, Tony Raines, Tam Topham, Craig Wood, Jim Walker, Jimmy Mullins, Rob Ferguson
NCTS Schedule for the day
10-22-2004 12:37 pm
As of 12:15 pm ET, here is the Truck Series schedule for Friday:
2:10-3:40 pm ET: NCTS Practice
4:45-5:30 pm ET: NCTS Practice
7:00 pm ET: NCTS Garage closes
More Pre Race Audio
10-22-2004 12:23 pm
As the raindrops fall, TrackSideLive! goes back to the garage for more pre-race comments from
Hank Parker Jr.,
Terry Cook,
Andy Houston,
Davin Scites,
Eric King
and his truck owner
Jeff Vaughn
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More Pre Race Audio
10-22-2004 1:36 pm
Now that qualifying has been cancelled, TrackSideLive! checks with
Ted Musgrave
and
Dennis Setzer
for strategy.
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Team Silverado Post-Qualifying Quotes
10-22-2004 1:40 pm
Dennis Setzer, No. 46 Chevrolet: “Martinsville is one of my favorite tracks on the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. I feel like it is a home track for me. I think our Chevrolet Silverado will be pretty good. We need to get a little practice in just to get a feel for the track and get a good neutral starting spot. I haven’t had any laps on the new surface but it looks very smooth. I came up here a couple of weeks ago when some of the Cup teams were up here practicing and they seemed to really get around here so much better. I think we will have a good race tomorrow. I heard that during the late model event last weekend they had some three-wide racing which doesn’t surprise me about those guys. I think it is a good omen for how competitive our race will be. It is great that the No. 47 truck with Bobby (Labonte) made it into the field. We had some great races in the late ‘80s at Caraway Speedway so it will be fun to race with him as a teammate this weekend.”
David Starr, No. 75 Chevrolet: “As long as we have a chance to get some practice in so we all get a feel for the new surface, it isn’t a big deal that we didn’t get to qualify. We qualified 11th and finished ninth here in the spring so I feel pretty confident that our Spears Silverado will be pretty good but with the change in the track surface, we need some laps to get everyone familiar with the differences since we last raced on it.”
Jack Sprague, No. 16 Chevrolet: “Since we haven’t had any laps on the new surface, I don’t know whether we could have had a shot at another pole here but I feel confident we will have a good starting point on our race setup. I am hoping we are going to get some laps in this afternoon so the crew and I can be where we need to be to have a run like we did here in the spring.”
Bobby Labonte, No. 47 Chevrolet: “I would have liked the chance to qualify, but at least we’re in the race. We were going to run a Busch race in Michigan in August and qualifying got rained out, and we didn’t get in the race, so this is a little bit better than that. We’ve got a lot of work to do starting in the last row, but we’ll do our best, try to have some fun and see if we can win from the back.”
Matt Crafton, No. 6 Chevrolet: “I have been either decent or horrible here at qualifying so the rain canceling qualifying sure has taken a load off my back. I think we will have a really good truck. We raced very well and learned a lot at the spring race so I am really looking forward to Saturday’s race. Hopefully starting fifth will allow me to stay up front so we can get this big gorilla off our back.”
Kvapil Quick in Cup Car
10-22-2004 1:46 pm
Travis Kvapil is acquitting himself very well in his first official effort in the Cup Series. With about 40 minutes left in the pre-qualifying practice session, Kvapil is 5th on the scoring monitor. With no provisional to rely upon, Kvapil needs to race his way into the field, and with the times he is turning in practice, he looks to have a good shot at doing just that.
Cook looking
10-22-2004 1:50 pm
Jerry Cook, former crew chief for the No. 88 ThorSport Racing Chevrolet, is here this weekend working with the No. 08 Green Light Racing team. Continuing with the No. 08 is one of several opportunities Cook is looking at for 2005. "There are several irons in the fire and I'm just trying to look for the best possible fit," Cook said.
Trucks are on track!
10-22-2004 2:07 pm
The first trucks just rolled on the track moments ago...practice is now underway! We'll keep you abreast of all the action as it happens, exclusively here at TrackSideLive!
They Said It, No. 1
10-22-2004 2:09 pm
Jon Wood, No. 50 Ford: "Whatever you think will help it rotate in the middle better. It's just not turning in the center at all."
Chad Chaffin, No. 18 "Let's not do what we did last week guys."
Mike Skinner, No. 5 Toyota: "It was loose in the corner. It just depends on how you get in the corner. I am not very versatile on how I get in."
They Said It, No. 2
10-22-2004 2:14 pm
Dennis Conner, crew chief, No. 88 Chevrolet: "Let's take some of that split off the track bar, and I am going to take some compression out of that shock once I can get to it."
Jamie McMurray, No. 2 Dodge: "My forward bite is not too bad at all. I just need to get it to rotate a little more on late exit."
Ken Schrader, No. 52 Chevrolet: "We need to make a couple changes at once. It is just dead assed tight, everywhere."
They Said It, No, 3
10-22-2004 2:17 pm
Ted Musgrave, No. 1 Dodge: "It is tight in the center, and I had a little chatter getting in the corner. But it's loose off."
Shane Hmiel, No. 15 Chevrolet: "I had to get the brake bias fixed. We had a little too much to the rear. I need to be a little better off the corner. This thing drives pretty damn good."
Practice 1 Rundown 1
10-22-2004 2:25 pm
1. Chaffin, 20. 197
2. Kvapil, 20.231
3. Musgrave, 20.238
4. Cook, 20.313
5. Crafton, 20.353
6. Hines, 20.358
7. Setzer, 20.365
8. Crawford, 20.369
9. Park, 20.405
10. Hmiel, 20.416
11. Hamilton, 20.419
12. Sprague, 20.457
13. Huffman, 20.464
14. Skinner, 20.476
15. Parker, Jr., 20.494
16. Wood, 20.516
17. Labonte, 20.527
18. Whitt, 20.559
19. Starr, 20.578
20. McMurray, 20.581
21. Hamilton, Jr., 20.605
22. Lester, 20.611
23. Houston, 20.643
24. Schrader, 20.682
25. Reutimann, 20.699
26. Bodine, 20.732
27. Bradberry, 20.812
28. Renshaw, 20.911
29. Benson, 20.926
30. Murphy, 21.053
31. Sutton, 21.074
32. Manfull, 21.299
33. Patton, 22.203
34. Tucker, 22.788
They Said It No. 3
10-22-2004 2:34 pm
Bobby Labonte, No. 47 Chevrolet: "When I come off the corners, it feels like it's wanting to pick the left front wheel right off the track."
Steve Park, No. 62 Dodge: "It's losing front grip, and it feels like it gets worse and worse as time goes on."
Dennis Setzer, No. 46 Chevrolet: "I need some more drive and rotation coming out of the corner."
They Said It, No. 4
10-22-2004 2:39 pm
Deborah Renshaw, No. 29 Ford: "I just went down and overdrove it and it pushed out of the groove, that is all that happened right there. It's really good getting down into the corners."
Matt Crafton, No. 6 Chevrolet: "That's it right there."
Jamie McMurray, No. 2 Dodge: "Put on a shock with a little less rebound on the left front. It's pretty good, just a little too tight off."
They Said It, No. 5
10-22-2004 2:47 pm
JR Patton, No. 67 Ford: "It feels pretty good getting in, but it's a tick tight coming off though."
Jon Wood, No. 50 Ford: "It's pretty good, but I am still buzzin' the right rear on exit."
Practice 1 Rundown 2
10-22-2004 2:58 pm
1. Skinner, 20.030
2. McMurray, 20.067
3. Chaffin, 20.141
4. Edwards, 20.161
5. Cook, 20.183
6. Bodine, 20.186
7. Sprague, 20.222
8. Crawford, 20.229
9. Kvapil, 20.231
10. Musgrave, 20.238
11. Starr, 20.253
12. Hamilton, 20.253
13. Wood, 20.255
14. Sezter, 20.265
15. Reutimann, 20.294
16. Hamilton, Jr., 20.305
17. Schrader, 20.314
18. Park, 20.318
19. Labonte, 20.324
20. Crafton, 20.341
21. Parker, Jr., 20.355
22. Hines, 20.358
23. Whitt, 20.374
24. Hmiel, 20.374
25. Huffman, 20.408
26. Lester, 20.418
27. Montgomery, 20.452
28. Houston, 20.506
29. Bradberry, 20.727
30. Murphy, 20.734
31. Renshaw, 20.736
32. Benson, 20.738
33. Sutton, 21.074
34. Patton, 21.080
35. Manfull, 21.299
36. Tucker, 21.643
Bickle in the 17
10-22-2004 3:04 pm
Rich Bickle has hopped in the No. 17 Toyota, spelling David Reutimann. Reutimann is still visibly tender following his accident last weekend, and Bickle is now getting a feel for the truck in case he is needed tomorrow.
They Said It, No. 6
10-22-2004 3:18 pm
Terry Cook, No. 10 Ford: "It just didn't feel as good as the previous run. We were loose getting in, a little snug through the center, and tight off."
David Starr, No. 75 Chevrolet: "I know we need another tenth, but I like what we've got. That's really raceable right there."
Practice 1 Results
10-22-2004 3:24 pm
1. Skinner, 20.030
2. McMurray, 20.067
3. Sprague, 20.097
4. Setzer, 20.105
5. Edwards, 20.126
6. Musgrave, 20.126
7. Chaffin, 20.141
8. Cook, 20.183
9. Bodine, 20.186
10. Crawford, 20.208
11. Starr, 20.212
12. Kvapil, 20.231
13. Hamilton, 20.253
14. Wood, 20.255
15. Park, 20.256
16. Houston, 20.288
17. Reutimann/Bickle, 20.294
18. Hamilton, Jr., 20.305
19. Huffman, 20.306
20. Schrader, 20.308
21. Parker, Jr., 20.313
22. Labonte, 20.324
23. Montgomery, 20.330
24. Crafton, 20.341
25. Hines, 20.358
26. Hmiel, 20.370
27. Whitt, 20.374
28. Lester, 20.386
29. Bradberry, 20.432
30. Benson, 20.536
31. Murphy, 20.734
32. Renshaw, 20.736
33. Patton, 20.886
34. Sutton, 20.953
35. Tucker, 21.255
36. Manfull, 21.299
Roush's Race for the Ride at N. Wilkes
10-22-2004 4:33 pm
Roush Racing will host the latest version of it's "Gong Show" driver tryout over three days at North Wilkesboro Speedway on October 25-27. Approximately 30 drivers ranging in age from 18 to 32 will be invited to run the truck, with 6 being chosen to move on to the next test. With at least one and possibly both Roush Racing truck seats open in 2005 (Carl Edwards is slated to run the Roush No. 99 Cup car next year; Jon Wood is rumored to be moving to a Roush-affiliated Busch program), the competition to make the cut will be intense. Roush Racing selected N. Wilkesboro as the venue because it is a track that none of the drivers will have any exeprience on; the track has sat dormant since it was closed following the fall NCTS/NNCS weekend in 1996.
Practice Session Audio
10-22-2004 4:44 pm
After today's first practice session at Martinsville, TrackSideLive! goes to the garage for comments from
Brandon Whitt,
Tracy Hines
and
Rick Crawford.
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Happy Hour is on!
10-22-2004 5:16 pm
The trucks are on the track and the final practice session leading up to tomorrow's Kroger 200 is underway. We'll keep you abreast of all the developments as they happen...
They Said It, No. 7
10-22-2004 5:18 pm
Mike Skinner, No. 5 Toyota: "I hate this set of front shocks, let's go back to the second set."
Ted Musgrave, No. 1 Dodge: "I am good up to the center, but I lose it all from the center off."
Red Flag at Martinsville
10-22-2004 5:20 pm
The red flag is out after Tracy Hines had an apparent brake problem going into turn one and spun the No. 88 Menards Chevy. The truck slid through turn one and stopped just short of the retaining wall. "It was definitely loose getting in," Hines said. The team is under the truck now checking the brakes.
Wimmer in the 22
10-22-2004 5:25 pm
Scott Wimmer has strapped into the No. 22 Husqvarna Toyota, taking over for Bill Lester in the final practice. Wimmer is expected to make some laps to get comfortable with the truck is case he is needed in relief of Lester tomorrow.
Debris brings out red
10-22-2004 5:29 pm
The Martinsville Speedway track crew just finished a quick cleanup of the surface after debris was spotted in turns three and four. Several pieces of metal were picked up, the track is clean, and we are back under green. UPDATE: The red flag is back out as several drivers have reported still seeing many pieces of debris in the turns three and four area.
Practice 2 Rundown 1
10-22-2004 5:39 pm
1. Sprague, 20.029
2. Musgrave, 20.037
3. Setzer, 20.050
4. McMurray, 20.059
5. Wood, 20.078
6. Hamilton, 20.116
7. Bodine, 20.125
8. Skinner, 20.137
9. Crafton, 20.153
10. Cook, 20.190
11. Kvapil, 20.198
12. Starr, 20.224
13. Labonte, 20.234
14. Crawford, 20.248
15. Schrader, 20.253
16. Montgomery, 20.261
17. Houston, 20.268
18. Chaffin, 20.277
19. Hmiel, 20.280
20. Huffman, 20.304
21. Park, 20.305
22. Reutimann, 20.315
23. Parker, Jr., 20.341
24. Hamilton, Jr., 20.354
25. Wimmer, 20.356
26. Benson, 20.369
27. Edwards, 20.369
28. Bradberry, 20.421
29. Renshaw, 20.587
30. Patton, 20.703
31. Hines, 20.729
32. Whitt, 20.730
33. Murphy, 21.138
34. Sutton, 21.187
35. Manfull, 21.339
36. Tucker, 21.468
Practice Session Audio
10-22-2004 5:45 pm
More post practice session comments from
Bobby Hamilton
and
Chad Chaffin.
Click on name for audio. You must have the Windows Media Player installed, or a program capable of handling Windows Media .wma files.
Click here
for free player
Practice 2 Rundown 2: Top 10 ONLY
10-22-2004 5:50 pm
Practice is over...there were some moves among the top-10 in the closing moments..a full rundown will be posted shortly...
1. Musgrave, 19.918
2. Cook, 19.973
3. Crafton, 19.991
4. Sprague, 20.000
5. Kvapil, 20.036
6. Setzer, 20.049
7. Skinner, 20.052
8. McMurray, 20.059
9. Wood, 20.078
10. Starr, 20.115
Practice 2 Results
10-22-2004 6:09 pm
1. Musgrave, 19.818
2. Cook, 19.973
3. Crafton, 19.991
4. Sprague, 20.000
5. Hamilton, 20.026
6. Kvapil, 20.036
7. Setzer, 20.050
8. Skinner 20.052
9. McMurray, 20.058
10. Wood, 20.078
11. Starr, 20.097
12. Bodine, 20.125
13. Edwards, 20.128
14. Montgomery, 20.138
15. Schrader, 20.156
16. Labonte, 20.184
17. Crawford, 20.206
18. Houston, 20.209
19. Hines, 20.211
20. Parker, Jr., 20.248
21. Reutimann, 20.264
22. Chaffin, 20.277
23. Hmiel, 20.280
24. Huffman, 20.304
25. Park, 20.305
26. Hamilton, Jr., 20.319
27. Bradberry, 20.346
28. Lester, 20.356
29. Benson, 20.361
30. Whitt, 20.374
31. Renshaw, 20.587
32. Patton, 20.622
33. Murphy, 20.693
34. Sutton, 20.975
35. Manfull, 21.049
36. Tucker, 21.327
They're kickin' us out folks...we'll see ya tomorrow!
10-22-2004 6:24 pm
With the rain causing nearly a three and a half hour delay in getting started this afternoon, NASCAR allowed the teams to stay a little later tonight to move their pit equipment into place, but the call has been made: the garage is closing and we all need to clear out. We've had it covered like a cheap suit from Martinsville today, with over 50 pictures posted in our exclusive TruckShots! gallery and almost 45 minutes of exclusive audio from the garage area posted throughout the day. The best part is, we aren't done! We'll pick up pre-race coverage tomorrow morning after the gates swing open and carry you through all the post-race activities once the checkered flag falls on the Kroger 200. For now, good night everybody!
Countdown to the Kroger 200 is on!
10-23-2004 8:52 am
Good morning from a cool and cloudy Martinsville Speedway! The good news is no rain is expected until the teams are loaded and heading for home, and with the cool temperatures the track should be in perfect condition for some good, hard short track racing. Many of the teams are busy underneath their trucks making gear changes, and all of them are hard at work tightening the bolts and going through their checklists. We'll wander the garage and get all the scoop from Martinsville exclusively here at TrackSideLive!
Oldest and youngest?
10-23-2004 8:55 am
There is a unique pairing in the field here this weekend at Martinsville Speedway. The oldest crew chief in the series, James Hylton, is teamed with the youngest driver in the field, Nick Tucker. Hylton, who once finished second to Richard Petty in the NASCAR premier division championship in the 1970s, is a young and spry 70 while Tucker just had his 19th birthday.
Skinner's crew looking to change their luck
10-23-2004 8:58 am
After sitting on the front row for the past three NCTS races, and having to start at the back in the last two of them, Mike Skinner's Bill Davis Racing crew is looking for anything they can possibly do to turn their luck around. "Usually you don't want to wear your driver's T-shirt, but we all have 'em on today," said BDR crewman Ryan Langley. "We just want to do anything to change our luck." In a further effort to make sure Lady Luck smiles on the team, they have strapped a $50 bill to the dashboard, with a happy birthday for crewman Chris Berger's father. They have also placed a small circular decal on the side of the truck next to the "5" to make it a symbolic "50".
Overdue for overtime in Martinsville?
10-23-2004 9:29 am
It has been since 1997 since the NCTS has gone into overtime at Martinsville Speedway. In fact, only two races here have had to go extra distance, both coming in back to back years, 1996 and 1997. Both of those races were held in conjunction with the fall NASCAR Nextel Cup Series event as well. Are we overdue for overtime?
Hamilton back where it all started
10-23-2004 9:39 am
It has been 70 starts since Bobby Hamilton made his NCTS debut way back in 1996. For many years, he ran only selected events in addition to a hectic NASCAR Cup Series schedule. Last year, he made the move to the Truck Series full time and has been a championship contender both in 2003 and 2004. But Martinsville is where it all started for Hamilton in the NCTS; he ran his first NCTS race here in the No. 48 STP Chevrolet back in 1996. Hamilton started that race from the pole, but had a short day and ended up 31st that afternoon. His record here would improve greatly in the following years: Hamilton won here in the spring of 2000.
Best finish at Martinsville
10-23-2004 9:44 am
Here is the best finish for each driver in today's starting field here at Martinsville:
Johnny Benson, 3rd, 1995
Todd Bodine, 6th, 1995
Charlie Bradberry, 30th, 2003
Chad Chaffin, 10th, 2004
Terry Cook, 3rd, 2001
Matt Crafton, 6th, 2001
Rick Crawford, 1st, 2004
Carl Edwards, 2nd, 2003
Bobby Hamilton, 1st, 2000
Tracy Hines, 13th, 2003
Shane Hmiel, 35th, 2004
Andy Houston, 11th, three times
Robert Huffman, 34th, 2004
Travis Kvapil, 2nd, 2001
Bill Lester, 17th, 204
Chase Montgomery, 16th, 2004
Ted Musgrave, 2nd, 2003
Steve Park, 26th, 2004
Hank Parker, Jr., 12th, 2004
David Reutimann, 8th, 2004
Ken Schrader, 8th, 2003
Dennis Setzer, 1st, twice
Mike Skinner, 1st, 1996
Jack Sprague, 3rd, four times
David Starr, 8th, 2002
Brandon Whitt, 14th, 2004
Jon Wood, 1st, 2003
Drivers making their first NCTS start at Martinsville Speedway: Bobby Hamilton, Jr., Bobby Labonte, Bill Manfull, Jamie McMurray, Sean Murphy, JR Patton, Deborah Renshaw, Kelly Sutton, and Nick Tucker
Pit road assignments
10-23-2004 9:56 am
The following is the pit road map for the Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway:
Hamilton
Manfull
Hmiel
Montgomery
Bradberry
Sprague
Sutton
Musgrave
Break in pit wall
Setzer
Huffman
Starr
Renshaw
Skinner
Crawford
Reutimann
Wood
Crafton
Scoring camera/Start-Finish Line
Open Stall
Edwards
McMurray
Cook
Parker, Jr.
Murphy
Hines
Whitt
Lester
Patton
Benson
Chaffin
Break in pit wall
Park
Hamilton, Jr.
Houston
Tucker
Schrader
Labonte
Bodine
Kvapil
Special awards
10-23-2004 10:52 am
Here are today's special awards, to be presented during driver intorductions:
Clevite Engine Builder of the Race: Toyota Racing Development
Featherlite Most Improved Driver: Shane Hmiel
International Crew Chief: Mike Hillman
McDonald's/Powerade Pit Championship: Johnny Benson
Mobil 1 Command Performance: Bobby Hamilton
Raybestos Rookie of the Race: Brandon Whitt
Waste Management Picking Up Places: Bobby Hamilton
Wix Lap Leader: Todd Bodine
Driver's Meeting Notes
10-23-2004 10:55 am
Here are some notes from the NCTS driver and crew chief meeting, which was dismissed just a few short moments ago:
The pit road speed today is 30 miles per hour...the pace truck speed is 35 mph...pit road speed is enforced 150 before the first pit box and 75 feet after the last...the restart point is the two double lines just past the crossover gate out of turn four...the minimum speed is 22.78 seconds...drivers must cross over the commitment line to enter the pits; there will be no cone as has been the practice at all other races...teams are allotted three cans of fuel for this afternoon's race...any truck brought in on a hook will be taken to the NNCS garage area for repairs; teams will have one chance to make repairs and get back on the track at the minimum speed.
Pre Race Audio
10-23-2004 10:59 am
As we get ready for today's Kroger 200, TrackSideLive! talks with the winner of the past two truck races,
Todd Bodine.
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Martinsville Averages
10-23-2004 11:00 am
Here is the traditional breakdown of the averages of all previous NCTS races here at Martinsville...
Average start position of the winner: 7.73 (David Starr starts seventh, Travis Kvapil starts eighth)
The pole starter has won the race here once (1997, Rich Bickle)
The lowest a driver has started to win here is 33rd (2002, Dennis Setzer)
There are an average of 15 lead lap finishers at Martinsville
The fewest lead lap finishers was 10 (1997 and 2001)
The most lead lap finishers was 24 this spring
There are an average of 5.18 lead changes
The fewest lead changes was 2 (1995, 1996, 1997, 2001)
The most lead changes was 8 (1998, 1999, 2000, 2003 #1)
There are an average of 4.09 leaders
The fewest lead drivers was 2 (1997)
The most leaders was 8 (1998)
There are an average of 9.82 cautions per race at Martinsville
The fewest cautions was 6 (2003 #2)
The most cautions was 15 (1996)
There are an average of 54 caution laps at Martinsville
The fewest caution laps was 32 (2003 #2)
The most caution laps was 80 (2002)
YTD comparisons
10-23-2004 11:12 am
Here is the YTD statitistical comparison:
Average Start of Winner: 2003-7.76; 2004-7.48
Cumulative Lead Changes: 2003-184; 2004-200
Average Lead Changes per Race: 2003-8.76; 2004-9.52
Average Leaders per Race: 2003-5.95; 2004-5.67
Total Laps Under Caution: 2003-612; 2004-884
Average Caution Flags Per Race: 2003-5.81; 2004-7.71
Mfr. Stats
10-23-2004 11:16 am
Here are some manufacture stats leading up to the Kroger 200...
Chevy has 109 all-time NCTS wins
Ford has 68 wins
Dodge has 57 wins
Toyota has 4 wins
2004 Performance:
Chevy has 5 wins, 7 poles, 36 top-5 finishes, 74 top-10 finishes, has led 1123 laps and makes up 37.0% of the field.
Dodge has 8 wins, 4 poles, 31 top-5 finishes, 52 top-10 finishes, has led 1284 laps and makes up 21.1 % of the field.
Ford has 4 wins, 2 poles, 15 top-5 finishes, 37 top-10 finishes, has led 392 laps, and makes up 21.7 % of the field.
Toyota has 4 wins, 4 poles, 23 top-5 finishes, 47 top-10 finishes, has led 797 laps and makes up 20.0 % of the field
Short track performance summary
10-23-2004 11:23 am
Who is good on tracks less than a mile in length in the NCTS? Here are the top-10 points earners in the 2004 NCTS season on short tracks:
1. Edwards, 912, 6.5 avg. fin.
2. Setzer, 871, 8.2 avg. fin.
3. Sprague, 851, 10.8 avg. fin.
4. Crafton, 841, 9.0 avg. fin.
5. Hamilton, 802, 12.8 avg. fin.
6. Crawford, 782, 12.7 avg. fin.
7. Musgrave, 782, 14.0 avg. fin.
8. Starr, 765, 12.3 avg. fin.
9. Hmiel, 762, 14.5 avg. fin.
10. Wood, 756, 13.2 avg. fin.
We're closing in on the start!
10-23-2004 12:31 am
We are about 20 minutes away from the start of driver introductions for the Kroger 200 here at Martinsville Speedway. The final trucks have made their way through the inspection line and the trucks are now being gridded on the fronstretch in the traditonal Martinsville style, backed towards the outside wall where all the fans can see them up close.
With just four races left in the 2004 NCTS season, it is crunch time for the drivers in the running for the championship. But in order for them to make that step to the top of the podium at the final race of the season, they will need to avoid the crunch here today. Trouble at Martinsville could spell doom for any of the top-5, and put the championship standings into the spin cycle, both figuratively and literally.
We'll be here for complete post-race coverage as soon as the checkered flag waves...so kick back with a cold (or warm, depending on where you are) beverage, a nice snack, put the surround sound on and enjoy the broadcast on Speed Channel. We'll be back as soon as the trucks come to a stop!
Pre Race Audio
10-23-2004 12:33 am
Driver introductions moments away, TrackSideLive! heads to the garage for some final thoughts before the race from
Matt Crafton,
Bill Lester,
Johnny Benson,
David Reutimann
and
Deborah Renshaw.
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Unofficial Results: Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway
10-23-2004 1:14 pm
1. McMurray
2. Sezter
3. Labonte
4. Wood
5. Musgrave
6. Crafton
7. Bodine
8. Edwards
9. Hamilton, Jr.
10. Huffman
11. Benson
12. Whitt
13. Cook
14. Lester
15. Renshaw
16. Crawford
17. Schrader
18. Patton
19. Montgomery
20. Tucker
21. Kvapil
22. Murphy
23. Park
24. Hmiel
25. Houston
26.Hamilton
27.Reutimann
28.Sprage
29.Starr
30. Chaffin
31. Parker
32. Bradberry
33. Skinner
34. Sutton
35. Hines
36. Manfull
Notable Quotables, Post-race No. 1
10-23-2004 4:51 pm
Steve Park, No. 62 Dodge: “The Orleans Dodge was pretty decent at the start of the race. I guess it turned out to be an OK day for us in the points. It was an ugly day on the track, but it looks like the guys we were racing in points had a bad day too.”
Tracy Hines, No. 88 Chevrolet: "We got into the back of (David) Reutimann early on and we must have poked a hole in the radiator. The temperature went up and then it leveled off. We thought we were going to be okay, but then it gave up. The truck was pretty good. I think we had a shot at a top-10, but that's how short track racing goes. You have to stay out of trouble. We didn't do that today."
Andy Houston, No. 13 Chevrolet: "I feel so bad for the guys on this 13 team. They gave me a good truck, one that could have gotten a top 10. A couple of trucks got together in front of me off two. I thought the 10 was going to spin low, so I stayed in the middle and ended up running into him."
Terry Cook, No. 10 Ford: TALK ABOUT THE INCIDENT LATE IN THE RACE “We’ve got a lot of drivers here you can bump and bang with a little bit and you can give a guy a position. You can typically only move a guy when he isn’t giving you the lane. Today, unfortunately, we just flat out got dumped on the backstretch with less than 15 laps to go and had to come in and change right-side tires and didn’t get a chance to change lefts because we’re now so far back in the field. We just couldn’t come back through the field to be where we wanted to be. Had we not got wrecked there, we would have had another top-10 finish.
YOU WERE COMPETITIVE ALL WEEKEND LONG “It’s a situation where you’re digging hard all race long but we got spun early on in the race and had to play track position the rest of the race. The first spin didn’t hurt us really because we had fresh tires. We were going to put ourselves in the top 10 but to get wrecked there at the end is very disappointing. If there is any bright spot that came out of this weekend, we were competitive all weekend long with the two practice sessions. It’s ashamed we didn’t get to qualify because we didn’t get to show how well we really were.”
Notable Quotables, Post-Race No. 2: Raybestos Rookies
10-23-2004 4:55 pm
Tracy Hines, No. 88 Chevrolet: "There was a crash in front of us and everybody was checking up and I guess we got front end damage. It bent the radiator and it ended up overheating. We had to keep pitting to fix our cooling problem so we were losing track position but I think speed-wise, we were pretty good at the end."
Kelly Sutton, No. 02 Chevrolet: "I just couldn't get a handle on the truck. The crew was doing an awesome job trying to get it better for me. On that last restart I missed a shift and it really bottled up from there. It's nobody's fault but my own. I hate it for the Team Copaxone Chevy and for everybody that was involved in it."
Charlie Bradberry, No. 78 Chevrolet: "After that restart we were all lined up and took off. There was a bunch of lap trucks on the inside and Kelly Sutton pulled right up in front of the leaders. She was in front of me and coming off four I was getting hit from behind and she just stopped. She just stopped right in front of us."
YOU HAD A GOOD TRUCK TODAY, RAN INSIDE THE TOP-15. "We had a very good truck. In fact, we were getting better and better. We changed some stuff after the first stop and it was going to run right there with 'em."
Robert Huffman, No. 12 Toyota: NOTES: Huffman finished 10th, his fifth top-10 in 23-career starts in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Huffman took Raybestos Rookie of the Race honors for the sixth time in 2004. A Raybestos Rookie has now finished in the top-10 in each of the two fall races here at Martinsville (2003 Raybestos Rookie of the Year Carl Edwards finished second last October).
"That's not too bad. We just tried to stay out of trouble all day. We had a tight truck in the middle of the corner and we just tried to have good track position all day and missed all the wrecks. These guys really work hard and they deserve to have a top-10 finish. We can run like this every week. We just keep having little things bite us."
YOU DIDN'T START NEAR FRONT BUT YOU FINISHED WELL ON A TRACK WHERE IT'S TO PASS. "We started by points and that's really tough at a place like this. It's hard to pass here anyway and track position means so much. Toyota and TRD and a lot of people have a lot of faith in what I do and it's just an honor to be involved with people like that."
YOU HAD A GOOD RUN AT ANOTHER SHORT TRACK. "I tell ya, you wouldn't have known it at the first of the year the way our year was going on the short tracks. We've got our stuff turned around on the short tracks and it seemed to hurt our speedway program a little bit so we're going to go next week and practice on that a little bit and see if we can make that better."
HAS THIS SEASON BEEN TOUGHER THAN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO BE? "It really has. I usually set goals for myself going in to the year and knowing that we were going to be a Raybestos Rookie, I knew this division was tough, but it's unbelievable. I think it's one of the toughest series out there right now. I didn't realistically know what the plan was for our season so I didn't have any high expectations."
WAS THIS RACE MORE PHYSICAL THAN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO BE? WAS IT MORE PHYSICAL THAN THE SPRING RACE? "It seems like it was tougher to pass here than it was in the spring because they had the track ground but I don't think it was any more physical. Any time you come to Martinsville, it's going to be physical no matter what."
Brandon Whitt, No. 38 Ford: Note: Whitt finished 12th, his best finish in 29-career races. His previous best finish was a 13th place effort at Las Vegas on September 25.
"It wasn't bad. It's our best finish of the season right here. It wasn't exactly easy. We started off and we were not good at the beginning of the race. We probably took five turns of wedge out of this thing. We just needed some extreme adjustments and we made it the first couple of times. After that, we were able to fine-tune it there when we got the lucky dog and we were close enough and hung on. We brought it home in 12th so it was a good day."
HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO YOU TO RUN WELL AT SUCH A DIFFICULT TRACK? "It's an awesome run for us. All year our short track program has been our strongest program. We keep excelling on all the tracks that we go to and we're getting better and better. We still building up momentum up for the end of the year."
YOU HAVE A CLEAN LOOKING TRUCK. "I can't believe it . I thought they'd be a little bit more than that on there. You know, that's good, because it gives the guys at the shop a little break. We head off the west coast next week. They could use a little break at the shop, give 'em time to recover, and head out there."
DID YOU HAVE ANY CLOSE CALLS? "Oh yeah . Just about every lap there was a close call ."
WAS THERE A LOT OF BEATING AND BANGING? "We were all leaning on each other as much as the next person. It seemed to be all right, though. If you left someone alone, they'd leave you alone, but if you bumped them, they'd bump you. It was pretty much a deal where you'd receive what you'd give. It was all right."
THIS WAS YOUR SECOND RACE HERE THIS SEASON. DID YOU FEEL MORE COMPETITIVE THAN YOU DID HERE IN THE SPRING? "I don't know that's hard to say because we weren't very good at the beginning of the race. We just caught a lot of good cautions. I think this race was a lot more wilder than the spring race. I think there was a lot more action but I think there at the end we were a lot more competitive than we were last year."
David Reutimann, No. 17 Toyota: "We pitted and then we came back out and they stacked a bunch up on the front straightaway. Everybody is nose to tail at that point and we got shoved in it and it ended up knocking a hole in the radiator. That's pretty much it. It's a shame that it went down like that. This is Martinsville and that's the way it goes. Everybody is nose to tail and heck, I don't think we were going but 15 miles per hour but whoever was behind me kept pushing and I kept pushing the guy in front of me. It's just part of the deal, it's unfortunate. We'll get a week off here and get to feeling better and go to Phoenix."
YOU RAN WELL TODAY, INSIDE THE TOP-10 FOR MUCH OF THE RACE. "I would say that we missed it a little bit at the start there and they adjusted on it and made it a lot better. At one point during the race the truck was probably better than I was. I struggled a little bit there, struggled to be consistent, just because I was starting to feel it a little bit. It's a shame that it ended up like this but it was important for me to finish a race and run the laps that we did. It proved to everybody that there were no problems. We'll go to Phoenix and hopefully have a much better run. I hate it that we tore the truck up. This is the truck that I would like to have taken to Phoenix but I'm not sure that we're going to make it with this one. But it was a good effort for all the guys. I'm really proud of them and they
kept me pumped up on the radio and that probably was a big part of me finishing. Sometimes the mental stuff goes a long way."
Chase Montgomery, No. 8 Dodge: "I really feel like we had a top-five truck. Carl and I were talking and he saw that we had a good truck. Unfortunately I got in his way a little bit and I apologized for that but it's frustrating. It's short track racing. You come here and you've got a good truck. We got back there after the first spots and the 16 and I were racing and I guess he was more ready to go that I was and cut my left rear down. I think everybody knows what kind of day it is. It's been this kind of year and results like this are frustrating. It's just bad luck."
Notable Quotables, Post-race No. 3: Dodge
10-23-2004 5:02 pm
Jamie McMurray, No. 2 Dodge: Winner
“I’ve been real fortunate to get in really good equipment. We had a really good truck here. We’ve been good every time we’ve been in it. We just haven’t been able to put that win together. It’s real cool to get it here at Martinsville. This is probably one of my favorite racetracks. I love to come here. It’s different than the typically mile and a halves we go to every week. They did a great job repaving the track. It’s really special to get the win here. It’s harder to pass here than in the past. Every time they repave a racetrack it seems to take awhile. I could see I could catch those guys, but I really didn’t know if I was going to be able to pass ‘em. They tangled up, and track position was real important. We’ve tried to take the setup from the truck and put it in the car in the past and every time we do it it’s so loose I couldn’t drive it. It’s definitely a momentum builder going into tomorrow. They’ve got really good equipment and the crew chief does a great job. He makes good calls. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. It worked today.
“I’ve said this five times today, but I’ve been really fortunate to get to drive for people that have equipment capable of winning, whether it’s Jim’s truck or James Finch’s Busch car or Chip and Felix’s Cup car. You can’t do it without good equipment.
“This place is so tight. When guys get spun out, and everyone does it, you just mash the gas and try to spin all the way around. You try to figure out which way to go and sometimes you make the wrong decision. It’s so close. You get run into from behind and you run into the guy in front of you.
“I could see that I was catching those guys (24 and 16) but not fast enough. When I saw the 16 trying to pass the 24, I knew the leader wasn’t going to let him go. I was on the inside of Rick Crawford coming off of two, and I heard my spotter say, ‘you’re the leader.’ He said stay low and you’re the leader.
“That was my fault (at New Hampshire), so I wasn’t mad at anybody. All of these racetracks, it doesn’t seem like it matters where you go, but track position is so key. It was that way at Loudon, Richmond and it was that way here. I wanted to pit as soon as I could and wait for a lot of cautions. I thought if I could get out front they couldn’t pass me. It was very disappointing at Loudon to run out of gas, but we had a fourth or fifth-place truck. Today, I thought we had a second or third-place truck.”
Ted Musgrave, No.1 Dodge: “Could anybody actually say that Martinsville turned into an aero track? I got tight when I got behind everybody. It’s such a one-groove racetrack right now you’ve got to follow the guy and try to get him up off the corner. A little aero push all the time. When I was out front or in clean air, I could really run fast. I’m really happy for Ultra. The 1 truck ran in the top five and the 2 truck got a win. Points get close now. You can’t knock what’s going on in the truck series. Every year it seems like it comes down to the last race for the championship. We’re getting close and hopefully we can pull this off. Whatever makes it exciting for the fans.”
Bobby Hamilton, No. 4 Dodge: “I knew it coming in here. They did a great job resurfacing this place, but the speeds are almost too fast to race. It was a heck of a race for the fans, but I’ve always said it’s easier to be chased. Now I’ve got to chase and they’ve got to worry about it. We’re going to win this thing. They’re talking about firing their crew chief, and I’m trying to hire him. They’ve all kinds of turmoil going on over there. Me or Ted one is going to win it. They haven’t got a chance. I’ll guarantee you they’re worried about Darlington and Homestead.
“We’ll get a top five at Phoenix. I don’t care. I’m trying to win it for Dodge. I promise you they don’t pay enough money for me to get up on stage and sit there for two hours. I’m just trying to win it for Dodge. I passed some guys on the outside today. It’s a great racetrack. It’s going to be a heck of a Cup race. I thought it was a great race today. It’s still Martinsville. We had a lot of crashes today, but fans like to see crashes. We can’t crash on mile and a half tracks any more because we hurt people real bad. We’ll just come here and do it all and give fans their money’s worth. It’s a great racetrack. It’s a great place to come to. There will be two grooves tomorrow. There will be faster cars out there and they’ll be running two wide and keep the marbles blown off.
“I’m the same every week. The minute you worry about that stuff…. look at Dennis. They’ve been worried about it, spying on me and stuff. They’ve been falling back every week. We have to wreck to give it to ‘em. I’m not worrying about it. We started points racing the last race. We came in here points racing. Now all we’ve got to do is go win the last three, which we’ve won Homestead last year. We’ve won every Darlington we’ve ever been to and we finished fifth at Phoenix. What do we have to worry about?”
Chad Chaffin, No. 18 Dodge: “That’s the way racing is. Everybody can’t win and run in the top 10. I got in that wreck on the front straightaway. I don’t know who caused it or what happened, but I came off turn four and the track was blocked. I went to the inside and there was a hole for an instance, but I ran into it and busted the radiator. We could have gained some points today, but it didn’t kill us too bad. The guys around us had trouble to. It would have been great to have picked up some.”
Notable Quotables, Post-race No, 4: Chevrolet
10-23-2004 5:08 pm
Dennis Setzer, No. 46 Chevrolet: ON SECOND PLACE FINISH TODAY: “Martinsville has always been good to me whether it was in a late model, a Busch car or a NASCAR Craftsman Truck and has always been a fun place to come to. Congratulations to Jamie McMurray and those guys on the No. 2 team, they had a great truck all day. My teammate Bobby Labonte ran really good today. These Silverados just keep going forward. Danny Gill (crew chief) and all the guys on the crew made some great calls in the pits for us today. They made some good adjustments on it and we were able to drive our way back to the front. There was a lot of beating and banging there behind me but we were able to stay out of it and keep our Chevrolet Silverado in one piece.
ON TEAMING WITH BOBBY LABONTE: “ Bobby and I had a great time shaking down the trucks at Caraway the other day. It seems like we are both just old time type racers and seem to have a little better feel for getting through the corners here. The new surface has a little bit different feel to it and there was no real way to move up to pass someone you were really racing with but it is still Martinsville
ON RETAKING POINTS LEAD: “This is going to be tight race all the way to Homestead. We just have to focus on our program and do what we need to do.”
Bobby Labonte, No. 47 Chevrolet: ON THIRD PLACE FINISH: “We didn’t get to qualify so we had to start 35th but we had a good Silverado all weekend. Randy (Goss, crew chief) made a great call to pit early and we gained track position. We weren’t as fast as a few guys but we were fast enough to pass people one we were in the clear. Chevrolet put this All Star program together and asked some of us last winter if we wanted to participate. It was great fun to race this No. 47 Acxiom truck. The crew did a great job all day long. This was all Randy’s call and why this was such successful effort. It was great to get a Chevrolet two and three. Wish we could have gotten by Jamie (McMurray) there at the end but he had a fast truck. I had a great time out there today.”
ON TEAMING WITH DENNIS SETZER: It was fun to race with my old buddy Dennis Setzer as a teammate. We went to Caraway and tested last week and if some of the old fans from the ‘80s saw us climbing in and out of each others trucks, they wouldn’t have believed it cause in those old days everyone thought we hated each other, we didn’t but that is what the fans thought. I would jump at the chance to get back in this truck if they do the program again.”
ON LEARNING ANYTHING FOR TOMORROW’S NEXTEL CUP RACE: “Our Cup cars handle a little bit differently than these trucks with the different power to weight ration because of the torque. I think for 200 laps we are going to be ok but our setup isn’t going to be the same. I think it will be a different race than we have seen here in the past. I t was good for me to get to race two races back to back. I think that part will help with where we seem to be missing something on the Cup side.. The track time always helps me no matter where we are. It was a little difficult to pass out there.”
Jack Sprague, No. 16 Chevrolet: “It’s just Martinsville. The Chevy Trucks Silverado was good today, we were a little too tight but we had worked our way back up to second. Travis went into one and smoked his front tires and gave me a shot to get under him. I started under him and I am absolutely sure Travis didn’t know I was there. We got hooked together and I tried to let up and let us both get straightened up but we couldn’t get the trucks apart. Just not a good deal. Earlier in the race I got hit by the 62 (Steve Park). The lap earlier the 07 (Sean Murphy) got into the 62 when I was behind them and I think Steve thought I hit him so he was a little upset over it I guess. Just not a good day for us.”
David Starr, No. 75 Chevrolet: ON ACCIDENT WITH MIKE SKINNER ON LAP 70: The brake pedal just went to the flour. I tried it three times and it did nothing. So I tried to turn down under Skinner and we got together. I t is so disappointing because out Spears Silverado was pretty good. We were just a little tight. We moved up to fourth. McCarty called for four tires and made a track bar adjustment to help the tight condition. We followed Dennis (Setzer) and Mike out of the pits and were working our way back up through the field. It is just part of it but we had a good truck today so I had it for my crew and for Chevrolet.”
Matt Crafton, No. 6 Chevrolet: “We just had an unfortunate pit stop when we missed a lung on the left front. It hurt our shot at winning this race, but my crew has picked me up and carried me here lately with great stops when we haven’t been running that well so I can’t really say a whole lot. I had a great truck today that was very capable of bring home the victory but we managed to overcome our bad stop and get a good sixth place finish. I am disappointed and happy at the same time.”
Shane Hmiel, No. 15 Chevrolet: “We must have done something when we clipped the wall during happy hour yesterday. We had some difficulties right from the start. I was really tight and the adjustments didn’t seem to help. We needed to change sway bar in the front, which caused us to have to come into the garage and fix the problem. Our truck seemed to get better there at the end. We just were not as good as we left it after happy hour yesterday. It’s just short track racing.
Notable Quotables, Post-race No. 5: Toyota
10-23-2004 5:18 pm
Todd Bodine, No. 30 Toyota: “We missed the set-up pretty good. I don’t thing we missed it by a lot -- but we still missed it. I didn’t have any forward ‘bite’ off the corner. We struggled all day with it. We got the best we were at the end of the race. We kept pitting because we’re not in the hunt for the points championship and we needed to keep adjusting the truck. Fortunately, at the end of the race I had a good truck to follow and that made it easier to get in the top-10. And, the cars in front of us kept wrecking. The good thing was we got another top-10 and we were the top finishing Toyota.”
Johnny Benson, No. 23 Toyota: “We struggled all day long. So, to come out here and finish 11th is pretty good. We tried to find out why we were not that great today. It was a struggle today and a long day for us. We just didn’t have any grip. We’ve struggled on the short tracks this year. I think we’re making progress, but we’re not quite where we need to be on the short tracks, although we’re working hard to get there. We made it through the day without any real damage, which is good -- although I’d rather have damage and finish higher.”
Travis Kvapil, No. 24 Toyota: “We had a really good truck and made great strategy. There were a lot of caution laps today. We actually had planned on pitting twice, but as the race played out we knew there would be a lot of cautions towards the end of the race – and we elected to stay out after the first stop and ride it out. Then, a couple of guys in front of us pitted and we inherited the lead. We pulled out for a bit of a lead there. The 16 (Jack Sprague) was probably just as good as we were, but I don’t think he was any better than us. I knew it would be better hard for him to pass me – especially through the lapped traffic. I don’t really know what happened. We drove into Turn 1 and next thing I know I was sideways. It was disappointing because we would have had a 1-2 finish between myself and Jack. Instead we’re in the back of the pack with wrecked race trucks. I wished we could have raced for it – but that’s short track racing. We had a truck capable of winning, and that’s all you can ask for.”
Hank Parker, Jr., No. 21 Toyota: “We were picking them off and trying to be real patient. We wanted to be real smart about things. We were running fourth or fifth – bouncing back and forth there. On the radio, my crew chief was telling me I was a 10th faster than anyone else out there. We pitted, and then we had to work our way back through the crowd. That’s when we had a big problem with lapped trucks. That’s just Martinsville, and that’s just short track racing.”
TruckShots! Lots and lots of TruckShots!
10-23-2004 5:27 pm
Wow...there are over 100 exclusive TruckShots posted, including images of the carnage left in the paddock after the race was over in Martinsville.
Click here to log on!
Waltrip not in the race today, but back in the spring
10-23-2004 5:35 pm
Darrell Waltrip, No. 11 Toyota: “Really, really, really disappointed (about missing the race after qualifying was canceled due to rain). So much work goes into getting something ready, particularly for me because it’s a one- off. The guys have to pull extra duty. This is a special truck, something that I wanted, that they went way over the call of duty to build. We tested it Monday at Caraway and it was the best test I’ve ever had there. That was a good indication that it was going to be really good here. I’m going to pull the coil wire out and take the battery out and take the keys home with me and I don’t want anybody messing with it until we come back here next March. I don’t even want anybody sitting in it. There was some question whether I might race again next year, but now this answers that question. I’m sure I’ll come back and race here next Spring with this truck -- and it will be just as good then as it is now. It’s a sweet ‘piece’ and based upon our test I was looking forward to racing it here.”
Points update
10-23-2004 5:37 pm
New leader!
1. Dennis Setzer, 3189
2. Bobby Hamilton, 3188
3. Ted Musgrave, 3098
4. Carl Edwards, 3067
5. Matt Crafton, 2912
6. Travis Kvapil, 2822
7. Chad Chaffin, 2813
8. David Starr, 2802
9. Steve Park, 2734
10. Jack Sprague, 2716
More Post Race Audio
10-23-2004 5:00 pm
Back to the garage for post race thoughts from
Travis Kvapil
and
Ted Musgrave.
Click on name for audio. You must have the Windows Media Player installed, or a program capable of handling Windows Media .wma files.
Click here
for free player
Post Race Audio
10-23-2004 4:38 pm
TrackSideLive! heads to the garage for post race comments from the new points leader
Dennis Setzer.
Also check out
Matt Crafton,
Robert Huffman,
Bobby Labonte
and
David Starr.
Click on name for audio. You must have the Windows Media Player installed, or a program capable of handling Windows Media .wma files.
Click here
for free player
Martinville Wrap up
10-23-2004 5:45 pm
Jamie McMurray reached a personal milestone Saturday afternoon and Dennis Setzer made a gigantic step toward the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship in the Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway. McMurray, a regular in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, led the final 27 laps of the Kroger 200 to pick up his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory. He became the eighth driver in NASCAR history to post victories in all three national series - NEXTEL Cup, Busch Series and Craftsman Truck. "It's real cool to get it (first truck win) here at Martinsville," said McMurray, who picked up the win in a Dodge. "This is probably one of my favorite racetracks. I love to come here. It's different than the typical mile and a halves we go to every week." McMurray picked up $37,535 for the win. McMurray was never challenged at the end, but that was OK with second-place finisher Setzer. He came into the race trailing Bobby Hamilton by 79 points in the Craftsman Truck Series points race. Hamilton wound up 26th on Saturday and Setzer left Martinsville with a one-point lead in the championship chase. "Martinsville has always been good to me whether it was in a late model, a Busch car or a truck and it's always a fun place to come," said Setzer, who has two Truck Series wins to his credit at Martinsville. "This is going to be a tight race all the way to Homestead (the final race of the year). We just have to focus on our program and do what we need to do." Bobby Labonte, making his first Truck Series start in almost a decade, wound up third in a team truck to Setzer after starting 35th. Last year's Kroger 200 winner Jon Wood was fourth in a Ford. Ted Musgrave rounded out the top five in a Dodge. "We weren't as fast as a few guys, but we were fast enough to pass people when we were in the clear," said Labonte. "The crew did a great job all day long. It was great to get a Chevrolet two and three." Matt Crafton finished sixth while Todd Bodine, who had won the last two truck events, wound up seventh, followed by Carl Edwards, Bobby Hamilton Jr. and rookie Robert Huffman. There were 10 caution periods for 68 laps and three lead changes among four drivers.
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