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Ram Tough 200
| Line-X 200
Race No. 13 | Michigan |July 30-31, 2004
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Good morning from MIS!
07-29-2004 9:15 am
Good morning from Michigan International Speedway! The skies are overcast and showers are forecast, but hopefully we will stay dry long enough to get some on-track activity going. After some cool afternoons earlier in the week, it is expected to reach the upper 80s this afternoon with relatively high humidity. Stay tuned to TrackSideLive! for exclusive Live! updates from the Line-X Spray-on Bedliners 200 from MIS, exclusively here at TruckSeries.com.
Michigan stats
07-29-2004 9:17 am
Michigan International Speedway is a 2-mile D-shaped oval with 18 degree banking in the corners. The frontstretch is 3,600 feet long and is banked at 12 degrees. The backstretch is 2,242 feet long and banked at 5 degrees. The race is scheduled for 100 laps/200 miles.
The first NCTS race at MIS was in 1999, and with the exception of 2001, the series has been back every year since.
The track qualifying record was set last summer by Jason Leffler at 40.441 seconds/178.037 miles per hour. The race record (and the all-time series record for the fastest race ever) was also set last summer by Brendan Gaughan at 1 hour, 17 minutes, 54 seconds/154.044 miles per hour.
There have been three winners in the four previous runnings of the NCTS event at MIS. Greg Biffle won both events in 1999 and 2000, while Robert Pressley and Gaughan claimed the checkered flag in 2002 and 2003.
In the three Bud Pole qualifying sessions in the four events (qualifying was rained out in 2002), there have been three pole sitters: 1999, Stacy Compton; 2000, Jamie McMurray; 2003, Jason Leffler.
The deepest any previous winner has come to win the race was 11th by Biffle in 1999. In 2000, Biffle started second on his way to the win, in 2002 Pressley came from 8th, and in 2003 Gaughan came from 6th.
Ford swept the first two races here at MIS and Dodge has taken the last two. Chevrolet is still looking for their first win at MIS, and Toyota has no previous starts here.
Friday schedule
07-30-2004 9:16 am
On-track action has begun here at MIS with the first group of Indy cars out on the track. Here is the schedule for the remainder of the day:
10:35-12:30 pm ET: NCTS Practice
12:45-1:15 pm ET: IRL Pro Series Practice
1:30-3:00 pm ET: IRL Indy Car Series Practice
3:10 pm ET: NCTS Bud Pole Qualifying (Live! Qualifying exclusively here at TruckSeries.com)
4:30 pm-5:00 pm ET: IRL Pro Series Practice
5:15-6:15 pm ET: NCTS Final Practice
If you are in the area, admission at MIS today is free, and there is also an NCTS driver autograph session tonight in nearby Jackson, Michigan.
Happy Homecoming
07-29-2004 10:08 am
Terry Cook returns to his hometrack after recently receiving some good news. He and his wife, former ESPN NCTS pit reporter Amy East are expecting their first child together.
"There are so many exciting things going on in my life right now; a new race team, relocating to North Carolina and now the news of having a baby boy to raise in the heart of NASCAR country," said Cook. "You never know, my son just may turn out to be a third generation driver someday."
Cook's father Harold is a former champion late model racer in the Ohio/Michigan area.
Both the Cook and East families are heavily involved in racing, and it is second nature that the new parents will raise their son around the sport.
"After two years of trying to start a family, our wish has come true," said East Cook. "It only seems natural that our little boy will be raised at a race track just like Terry and I were."
Who's here, and who's not...
07-29-2004 10:12 am
There have been a couple of changes to the entry list this week, and we have some part-time competitors here as well...Lance Hooper has stepped back into the seat of the ThorSport No. 13 Chevy for the first time since Memphis; Deborah Renshaw is now scheduled to run the remaining 13 races for the K-Automotive team; Johnny Benson is in the Bill Davis Racing No. 23 Toyota; Phil Bonifield is here in his self-owned No. 25 Chevy; J.J. Yeley is in the "all-star" Chevy out of the Morgan-Dollar shops. Notably absent is Ken Weaver, who is in Pocono running the ARCA race this weekend; Johnny Chapman takes the reins of the No. 08 this weekend.
Weather rolling in?
07-30-2004 10:16 am
Looking at the weather radar, and it doesn't look encouraging. There is a big blob of green slowly closing in on MIS. There have been a few sprinkles felt in the garage, but the Indy car practice session has completed without any interference from Mother Nature. NCTS practice is scheduled to start in 10 minutes, and the track crew is out inspecting the surface to make sure there are no wet patches out on the speedway.
New Spotter for Sprague
07-30-2004 10:19 am
Jack Sprague is here at his home race with a new spotter. His half-brother, Jason Pasch, was released from his duties by the Xpress Motorsports team earlier this week. Pasch was not looking for work very long, he is here this weekend spotting for Dennis Setzer.
Kevin Hamlin the eye in the sky for Hmiel
07-30-2004 10:21 am
Two-time NASCAR Northwest Series champion Kevin Hamlin is here spotting for Shane Hmiel this weekend. Hamlin recently relocated to the Charlotte area and is looking for a ride in the Truck Series. "It's a great way to be here at the racetrack," Hamlin said. "I'd much rather be in the seat, but this is a great team and we have a great shot to win. I am just glad to be a part of it!"
Wet track
07-30-2004 10:30 am
NCTS practice is on hold as the track crew circulates the speedway trying to dry what is a damp surface. It isn't soaking wet at this point, but not safe for high speed competition.
Indy cars back on track
07-30-2004 10:38 am
The IRL Indy cars are back on track to complete their practice session, meaning the NCTS practice, scheduled to start at 10:35 am ET, will obviously get a late start. The sprinkles are still light enough that the track is staying dry with the heat from the racecars, so we are all keeping our fingers crossed for the weather to hold long enough to get some practice and qualifying in today.
NCTS practice underway
07-30-2004 11:04 am
The trucks just pulled on to the speedway to begin their practice runs about 10 minutes ago. The weather is holding off, for now, and with the cool temperatures the speeds are way up.
Here is the rundown just 10 minutes into the first session:
1. Parker, Jr. (40.246 seconds; track record set in 2003, 40.441 seconds)
2. Hmiel
3. Musgrave
4. Huffman
5. Edwards
6. Kvapil
7. Reutimann
8. Chaffin
9. Benson
10. Skinner
11. Crawford
12. Setzer
13. Cook
14. Starr
15. Hamilton
16. Whitt
17. Park
18. Lester
19. Crafton
20. Wood
21. Montgomery
22. Sprague
23. LaJoie
24. Houston
25. Hines
26. Yeley
27. Hooper
28. Ragan
29. Renshaw
30. Sieg
31. Sutton
What's up is coming down
07-30-2004 11:09 am
It's not coming down very hard, but the rain has again started to fall bringing NCTS practice to a halt. The track is damp all the way around, but there isn't any standing water anywhere. Should the rain stop now, the track could be ready for on track action relatively quickly. We'll keep you abreast of the weather as updates are warranted...
Back underway...
07-30-2004 11:55 am
The green flag has just come back out and the Trucks are back on track here at MIS. The rains have abated enough and the jet dryers made a couple of quick laps to get the surface back in shape for high speed action. We'll have a full rundown shortly.
Red flag quotes
07-30-2004 11:57 am
Hank Parker, Jr., No. 21 Toyota:
"I am not even sure how that lap relates to what is fast here. I know we caught a little bit of a draft on that lap, but am able to hold it to the floor all the way around here. I never even thought about trying that in a Busch car here. We had a really good test at Nashville last week, and we said come Hades or high water, we weren't going to change it. We might make a few littel tweaks to it here and there, but we won't come off the setup we have underneath it. I am not looking at the radar, but I know there is a loty of rain in the area. We really want to qualify though, because I know we will start a whole lot better than 18th."
Terry Cook, No. 10 Ford:
"We are here with a brand new truck, and it's pretty good at this point. We don't have a lot of laps, but it feels pretty comfortable. We really want to concentrate on getting the seat positioned just right and the belts where I need them, the driver comfort stuff. We went out in race trim, like I am sure most of the field is, because we're concerned about getting qualifying in."
Indy 500 in the house
07-30-2004 12:05 pm
Buddy Rice, the 2004 Indianapolis 500 winner, was seen at the back of the ThorSport Racing transporter looking over the No. 88 Chevy Tracy Hines is driving here this weekend. Rice ran the Ford 200 at Homestead last season with ThorSport before taking over the ride with Rahal-Letterman Racing in the Indy car series. "I'd love to come back over here and take another shot at the trucks, but with all of the obligations we have now, we're just too busy."
Practice 1 Rundown 2
07-30-2004 12:11 pm
1. Parker, Jr. (40.246 seconds) 2. Hmiel 3. Huffman 4. Musgrave 5. Reutimann 6. Hamilton 7. Edwards 8. Kvapil 9. Chaffin 10. Sezter 11. Benson 12. Skinner 13. Crawford 14. Cook 15. Starr 16. Whitt 17. Park 18. Lester 19. Wood 20. Crafton 21. Montgomery 22. Sprague 23. LaJoie 24. Yeley 25. Houston 26. Hines 27. Hooper 28. Sutton 29. Ragan 30. Chapman 31. Renshaw 32. Sieg 33. Bonifield 34. Richardson
TruckShots!
07-30-2004 12:20 pm
Check out images from inside the MIS garage...
click here
for our exclusive TruckShots! Gallery from Michigan.
Schedule revision
07-30-2004 12:24 pm
With the delay earlier, the practice session is now scheduled to end at 12:55 pm ET.
Practice1 Rundown 3
07-30-2004 12:41 pm
With just a few moments left in practice, here is the rundown: 1. Parker, Jr. (40.246 seconds) 2. Hmiel 3. Reutimann 4. Huffman 5. Musgrave 6. Starr 7. Skinner 8. Hamilton 9. Benson 10. Edwards 11. Kvapil 12. Chaffin 13. Whitt 14. Setzer 15. Crawford 16. Cook 17. Montgomery 18. Park 19. Lester 20. Wood 21. Crafton 22. Sprague 23. LaJoie 24. Houston 25. Yeley 26. Hines 27. Hooper 28. Ragan 29. Sutton 30. Renshaw 31. Chapman 32. Sieg 33. Richardson 34. Bonifield
Notable Quotables: Chevrolet
07-30-2004 2:37 pm
Dennis Setzer, No. 46 Chevrolet:
“We are pretty excited about how our Chevrolet Silverado ran in practice. We made some good gains based on things we learned in the Chicago test. We might have got a little bit of help on our bonsai run but I think we can back that up in qualifying. We are pretty good and still have Happy Hour to fine tune it just a little more for the race.”
Shane Hmiel, No. 15 Chevrolet:
“We are pretty happy with how our Silverado practiced. Our qualifying setup is solid and we have Happy Hour to fine-tune the race setup a little more. Our No. 1 goal is to have a Chevrolet Silverado win tomorrow and we just hope it is ours.”
David Starr, No. 75 Chevrolet: “We were pretty good in practice. Our Spears Silverado isn’t the best truck out there yet. The way I look at it is if can qualify in the top-10 and then get our race setup really solid in Happy Hour, we will be good in tomorrow’s race. It doesn’t matter quite as much where you start here a Michigan because with the draft you can be second, go all the way back to 15th and back to the front in a matter of laps. That’s why I will be happy with a top-10 starting spot and a great race setup.”
Matt Crafton, No. 6 Chevrolet:
“Our GM Goodwrench Silverado was just way too tight in three and four and I had to make the track way bigger than I needed to just to get it to turn down in the corner. We spent all of practice working on our race setup and will take what we can get in qualifying. We were better at the end of practice but still have a lot of work to do in Happy Hour to be where we want to be come tomorrow’s race.”
Jack Sprague, No. 16 Chevrolet:
“We made huge gains from where we started in practice to where we are now with our Chevy Trucks Silverado. We started out way loose then went a little too tight but brought it back to a pretty good place to improve some more in Happy Hour. We concentrated completely on race setup and are just going to take what we can get in qualifying. It is important that our Chevy Trucks Silverado races to the front and stays there tomorrow and we feel like we will be set to do that after a little more work in happy hour. At the end of practice I finally felt like I was driving the truck instead of it driving me.”
J.J. Yeley, No. 47 Chevrolet:
“There is a lot of difference between my Busch car and the Acxiom Silverado so I am still working on figuring that out a little. We spent more time working on our race setup than we did on qualifying. We will be flying blind when it comes to qualifying but our teammate Dennis Setzer was really fast so I think we will compare notes with what the other Chevy guys were doing. I will be comfortable with what ever we get in qualifying because we are more concerned with being able to have a good race truck and I think we will be fine there.”
Kelly Sutton, No. 02 Chevrolet:
“This is a fast track, and I had a lot of fun out there. We’re good in turns 3 and 4, and we made a shock adjustment to help me find a lower line in 1 and 2. We’re still a little tight in the middle of 1 and 2, so we’ll work on that before qualifying later this afternoon.”
Notable Quotables, No. 2
07-30-2004 2:42 pm
Chase Montgomery, No. 8 Dodge: "I like this place. We dialed-in our truck real well during the practice session and it is really good right now. We made a sticker run right there at the end of practice and the truck felt very stable in qualifying trim. I think we got a pretty good shot at our first top-10 start this season."
David Reutimann, No. 17 Toyota: "We're trying to get it comformtable. It felt pretty good in race trim, but we're trying to work on it in qualifying trim. It actually felt pretty good right off the trailer. You better be good off the trailer anymore as competitive as this series is anymore. We have a good truck, we're gonna see if we can go and get a good lap in qualifying."
David Ragan, No. 67 Ford: "We had to change the gear three times to try to find a happy medium. I feel like we haven't quite found it yet. I am looking forward to qualifying, because I know we can go and find three or four tenths. We're a rookie team with a rookie driver, so we need to get to happy hour and get all the laps we can get."
Johnny Benson, No. 23 Toyota: "So far its okay. I haven't driven a truck since 1996, so we're just trying to get comfortable and make some little adjustments. We only made four runs, so we've just had an opportunity to get used to it. We started out trying to get some race runs in because of the weather, but then we saw everyone was working on qualifying runs, and you can't really draft with those guys like that because the differences in the setups. There is some learning we're going to have to do, so it will be interesting to see. Hopefully I can learn a little bit later on in the day. I haven't been able to flatfoot it yet, but I've been close. I started to lift the first time and told myself, hey, maybe I can hold it a little longer! I can't run the groove here that I run in the Cup car because it slows it down, but we'll work on that once we get to race trim."
Travis Kvapil, No. 24 Toyota: Practice was good. We unloaded fast the truck drove really good but a little bit free of the hauler. It was fast though. We tried to do a couple of things to tighten it up, and I think we hurt it with rear spring and track bar adjustments. We were just trying to find a balance and went a little bit too far. But we wanted to make big enough changes so that we knew if that was the direction we needed to go in or if we needed to look at something else. The weather kind of messed with us today and we didn’t get to make any good qualifying runs. So, we don’t really know what we’ve got going into qualifying but I feel like we’re going to be pretty close and definitely in the top-five. We worked on race trim probably more than anything during qualifying because we were concerned that qualifying might get rained out so we didn’t want to spend too much time working on qualifying. We learned a lot about our race trim, but I still feel like we’re going to be pretty good during qualifying. I’ve got a good truck in race trim."
Brandon Whitt, No. 38 Ford: "We're always looking for some more speed. The truck is running really well. This place is very similar to Fontana where I have a lot of experience, and the setups are pretty close. Hopefully we'll go out and have a good qualifying run and end up pretty close to the top-5."
Live! Qualifying up next...
07-30-2004 3:11 pm
Don't forget to log on to Live! Bud Pole Qualifying, which is found exclusively right here on TruckSeries.com
Shuffling personnel at Bang! Racing
07-30-2004 3:13 pm
Alex Meshkin, owner, No. 24 and 42 Toyota: “We had a lot of hopes going into this year and continue to have expectations for performance, and we just haven’t met a lot of those expectations. We decided to make a change and hired John Monsam to take over crew chief responsibilities beginning this weekend at Michigan International Speedway’s Line-X Spray-On Truck Bedliners 200. Rick Ren is still with our organization, and next week, we will decide what his future role will be with our race team.”
Condolences
07-30-2004 3:20 pm
TruckSeries.com passes along our condolences to the family of Wendy Belk, the PR representative for series sponsor Craftsman. Wendy's husband Michael's grandmother passed away late last night and she has returned back to the Charlotte area to be with the family.
Rain delay at MIS
07-30-2004 3:38 pm
Weather has moved back in to the Irish Hills of Michigan, and the track unfortunately is now completely wet. NASCAR officials are still planning on resuming qualifying as soon as the rain stops and we can get the track dried.
Check out our exclusive coverage Live! Bud Pole Qualifying
Lester engine troubles
07-30-2004 3:50 pm
Bill Lester's team was busy working on changing an engine in the moments leading up to qualifying. "It didn't blow, but when the guys took the filter off there was all kinds of metal floating around the fluid, so we definitely needed to change it," said team transporter driver Dave Quay. Lester is sporting a new look here this week promoting the Toyota Tundra 200 coming up in a few weeks at Nashville Superspeedway.
Track drying underway
07-30-2004 4:06 pm
The jet dryers have made their way on to the speedway and the rain has come to almost a complete stop. NASCAR and MIS officials have decided to cancel Bud Pole Qualifying in deference to a final one-hour practice session. This is the fourth time in 2004 that qualifying has been cancelled, and the second time in three years at MIS that NCTS qualifying has been rained out.
Happy Hour is on!
07-30-2004 4:48 pm
The track is dry and the green flag is open...and the trucks are on the track for happy hour leading up to tomorrow's Line-X 200 here at MIS. The teams were in hurry up mode as the track opened because there apparently is some fast-approaching rain heading this way. Happy hour may end up being happy thirty minutes, but we'll have all the news and notes for you here on TrackSideLive!
Slight wall contact
07-30-2004 5:08 pm
Travis Kvapil just made very light contact with the turn two wall. There are some scuff marks reported on the right side of his No. 24 Toyota, but the incident was not serious enough to bring the session to a stop.
Practice 2 Rundown 1
07-30-2004 5:11 pm
1. Hamilton (40.502 seconds)
2. Chaffin
3. Kvapil
4. Edwards
5. Reutimann
6. Crawford
7. Starr
8. Sezter
9. Lester
10. Montgomery
11. Sprague
12. Hines
13. Chapman
14. Renshaw
15. Seig
Steering troubles for Sieg
07-30-2004 5:15 pm
Shane Sieg's team was busy working on changing the power steering box earlier in the afternoon. "It wouldn't happen every time I went into the corner, but every once in a while I would go down and it just literally wouldn't turn. That's not a feeling you want going into these corners at 190 miles per hour."
Sprinkles
07-30-2004 5:18 pm
The report from the spotter's stand is there are a few sprinkles being felt...the teams may be running out of practice time as the weather is apparently closing in.
Practice 2 Rundown 2
07-30-2004 5:20 pm
1. Hamilton (40.502 seconds)
2. Skinner
3. Chaffin
4. Kvapil
5. Edwards
6. Starr
7. Reutimann
8. Crawford
9. Setzer
10. Benson
11. Lester
12. Montgomery
13. Sprague
14. Whitt
15. Crafton
16. Musgrave
17. Houston
18. LaJoie
19. Hines
20. Wood
21. Chapman
22. Yeley
23. Park
24. Hooper
25. Sutton
26. Renshaw
27. Sieg
Notable Quotables No. 3: Ford
07-30-2004 5:23 pm
Carl Edwards, No. 99 Ford:
YOU WERE THE FASTEST TRUCK IN THE MORNING PRACTICE SESSION. HOW DISAPPOINTED ARE YOU THAT QUALIFYING WAS RAINED OUT? "I was really looking forward to qualifying. Cowboy (Kevin Starland, crew chief) and the guys did some stuff after practice that we think was going to make it a little bit faster, so we were looking for a really great lap there. Plus, it's really fun to qualify here because you're running wide open and the thing moves around a lot. We were really looking forward to it, but to start third, who knows, we might not have even
qualified as well as third. It's still a pretty good guaranteed starting spot."
DID YOU ACCOUNT FOR THE CHANCE OF INCLEMENT WEATHER TODAY? "We started practice assuming that it was going to rain, so we spent a lot of time working on some race stuff that we were curious about. The way the
tire situation works in the truck series, you only have one set of tires to practice on. Barring any inclement weather, we were going to save our tires for Happy Hour, but since we saw it was going to rain, we did a lot of practice that first session. We spent most of that practice doing race runs and made only one qualifying attempt, which ended up being the fastest lap turned in all of practice. Still, if it rains out Happy Hour, we feel like we have an advantage, but if it doesn't we'll probably be on a level playing field."
YOU WERE ABLE TO TEST AT CHICAGOLAND LAST WEEK DURING AN OFF WEEKEND. DID THAT TEST HELP YOU TODAY? "The Chicago test was really important to us. We tried some different stuff that we hadn't yet tried
this year. It at least gave us a little bit more of a direction on where some of the other guys are headed. I think the setups are evolving right now and that's why I think you see a guy every once in a while be super-fast
at one race. I think that's due to some interesting aero stuff going on and that Chicago test helped us a lot with that."
THIS RACE MARKS THE MIDPOINT OF THE 25-RACE SEASON. AS A DRIVER, IS THERE ANY SIGNIFICANCE TO THE
MIDPOINT OF A SEASON? "Yeah because it feels like we've been racing for a whole year, yet we've only raced 12 races. To me, I'm really grateful that we have 13 races left. I feel like I've learned a lot as a driver and our
team has learned a lot together the last 12 races. We're kind of fortunate that it's been drawn out so much because it gave us a lot time to work on some things and now we can apply that for the last 13 races."
DRIVERS HAVE COMMENTED THAT THIS TRACK IS MORE FORGIVING THAN SOME OF THE OTHER LARGER VENUES ON THE SCHEDULE. DO YOU AGREE WITH THAT STATEMENT? "It is, but that's a deceiving statement. It's more forgiving so everybody runs their setups a little bit more on the edge, so, to me, you almost have to run closer to the edge to be fast. It's big, but it's still pretty treacherous and it's pretty wild when the truck gets loose here."
LAST YEAR'S RACE HAD JUST ONE CAUTION PERIOD. DO YOU EXPECT THIS YEAR'S RACE TO HAVE SIMILAR
LONG GREEN-FLAG RUNS? "For some reason, the trucks seem more unstable next to each other this year, so I think it will be a treacherous race when guys are racing in a group. It seems like the draft is a really big deal, so I
think there will be groups of trucks running together. I'm really kind of nervous about restarts. After what we saw at Kansas and Kentucky, it's going to be a little bit treacherous on restarts when everybody is bunched up."
Rain over MIS/Practice 2 Rundown 3
07-30-2004 5:32 pm
The red flag is out at MIS for rain...the teams have had just a tick over 30 minutes of practice. Here is the rundown as we stand under the red:
1. Hamilton
2. Skinner
3. Chaffin
4. Kvapil
5. Edwards
6. Starr
7. Reutimann
8. Crawford
9. Setzer
10. Benson
11. Lester
12. Montgomery
13. Sprague
14. Whitt
15. Parker, Jr.
16. Crafton
17. Musgrave
18. Houston
19. Hmiel
20. LaJoie
21. Cook
22. Hines
23. Wood
24. Ragan
25. Chapman
26. Park
27. Yeley
28. Hooper
29. Sutton
30. Renshaw
31. Sieg
32. Huffman
"We are done with track activities!"
07-30-2004 5:38 pm
That was the call just seconds ago from NCTS Series Director...rain has reclaimed the racetrack, and we are done with practice for the evening.
Notable Quotables No. 4: Dodge
07-30-2004 5:41 pm
Bobby Hamilton, No. 4 Dodge:
You usually don’t seem concerned about qualifying runs anyhow…
“We never even made a qualifying run during the first practice. I just don’t care. Actually, at a bunch of racetracks where it’s real hectic with (media), we try not to even qualify in the top-three so we can keep working on the truck. It’s not a big deal at all.
“I think we’re better than we’ve been anywhere all year long, hands down. This thing drives like it’s going 20 miles per hour. You can just do anything you want to with it, so it’s pretty cool. We’re completely satisfied. I’m probably two times better than I’ve been at any race this year. I never even attempted to make a qualifying run, so we’ll be fine.
“This is a big racetrack. There isn’t a lot of side-by-side racing, because it’s so big. If we’re side-by-side then it’s because one of the other guys is too spooked to get up on the racetrack. I don’t want to be side-by-side with anybody in the corners here – you’ve got too much racetrack to use. We try to keep the fenders on first and foremost, and then see what you have at the end. I don’t think you’ll see many green-white-checkered flag runs here, because it’s hard to really wreck here.
“We don’t worry about finishing races. I’m driving on an owner this year. I’m an owner who’s got to sign a sponsorship for next year, and I need TV time to keep that sponsorship. To get TV time we’ve got to win races. We’re not just riding around and being too spooked to do several things because of points. We’re just not going to do it. It’s too easy right now. We’re a few races out. We’re going to wait about six or seven races out, and then we’re going to look at the points.”
Chad Chaffin, No. 18 Dodge:
“Today the Dickies Dodge hasn’t really been as potent as it’s been in recent weeks. So, I’ve been thinking about things I can do differently on the track – different lines, different driving stuff. Apparently, I feel like our truck has been loose all day. We’ve tried to fix it, and we haven’t really fixed it. All we’ve done is slowed it down. We’re going to have to go back that way, and I’m going to have to learn how to drive it the way we unloaded it. That’s kind of got me in deep thought, I guess you could say.
“This second practice is huge for us. We were sixth or seventh fastest right off the trailer. In the end, though, we couldn’t get back up to where we were, and a lot of these other guys went even faster. We’ve got to find something. We’re going to race fine. I’ve got a fast truck. I know it’s got a potent Dodge motor in it. But, I would like to go into tomorrow’s race with a little more confidence that I could run up front. It’s tough to start up front knowing that you’ve got a truck you’re going to struggle with. I really want to get it worked out before the race starts.
“Our season has been really good. This is a really strong organization with Dodge, and we’ve got a great sponsor with Dickies. All the pieces are here, and we’ve just got to keep working hard. We can’t get caught up in how great we’re doing. Every week is a different week. You hear everybody say that, but that’s really the truth. These last six or seven weeks, we’ve been saying, ‘What do we have to do right now to get good for tomorrow.’ We’ve just really got to think about what we’re doing.
“I loved Michigan last year. I got my best finish of the year here last year. But that doesn’t mean anything. Everybody was saying, ‘Oh, you’ll go to Michigan and win. You ran so good there last year, and you’re doing better this year.’ But that really doesn’t have anything to do with it. Every time you go to a racetrack it’s a whole new ballgame.”
TrackSideLive! Audio
07-30-2004 5:51 pm
TrackSideLive! has gone into the garage to get thoughts on another rained out qualifying. Check out the comments from
Dennis Setzer,
David Reutimann,
Bobby Hamilton
and
Carl Edwards
Notable Quotables No. 5: Bang!
07-30-2004 6:24 pm
Travis Kvapil, No. 24 Toyota:
“Practice was good today. We unloaded fast but a little bit on the free side. The team tried to do a couple of things to tighten up the No. 24 Line-X Tundra, and I think we hurt it with our rear spring and track bar adjustments. We were just trying to find a balance and went a little bit too far. But we wanted to make big enough changes so that we knew if that was the direction we needed to go in or if we needed to look at something else on the truck.”
“The weather kind of messed with us today and we didn’t get to make any good qualifying runs during the first practice session. So, we didn’t really know what we had going into qualifying but I feel like we’re going to be pretty close in the race and definitely in the top-five. We worked on race trim probably more than anything during the first session because we were concerned that qualifying might get rained out.”
Mike Skinner, No. 42 Toyota:
“It was great. We rolled off the hauler, and the truck was extremely loose. The team continued to work on the No. 42 and everything was working good and seemed to make sense. We just kept getting closer and closer to what we needed. We never really got a chance to do a full blown qualifying run and just threw tape on the truck and pumped gas out of it and made a few changes. From this point, everything has been extremely positive. My crew has been making changes really quickly today. Communication is key in this business. For never having worked with John Monsam before, I thought the communication was pretty darn good today.”
Friday notes
07-30-2004 6:34 pm
Qualifications were cancelled for the fourth time in 13 races this season today...the top-30 were set bu current NCTS owner points, while the final four spots were locked in by the number of attempts made in 2004...Setzer will start from the Number One position this week, but is not credited with the Bud Pole and is not eligible for the Craftsman Win from the Pole Bonus...Setzer has not fared well in other races when he started from the top spot via the NCTS rule book; he was 25th at Kansas and 11th at Kentucky...Jack Sprague won from the pole when the lineup was set by the rulebook at Mansfield in May...J.J. Yeley makes his series debut from the 34th position on the grid...Bill Lester will start from the tail after experiencing engine problems in the first practice; the team changed engines and per NASCAR rules he will take the green from the back of the pack...
TrackSideLive! Audio
07-30-2004 9:02 pm
A shortened happy hour final practice still gave time for most of the teams to get a few good practice laps in... TrackSideLive goes to the garage for post practice comments from
Matt Crafton,
Bill Lester,
Kelly Sutton
and
Deborah Renshaw.
TruckShots! Gallery
07-30-2004 11:31 pm
Want to see the new paint jobs before the race goes green on television? How about seeing Shane Hmiel do some play-by-play at a Toledo Mud Hens baseball game? Which team was 2004 Indy 500 winner Buddy Rice checking out in the NCTS garage? Who fought the wall and the wall won? Okay, so that was a corny joke...but you can find all of that and more in our exclusive TruckShots! gallery.
Click here for our exclusive TruckShots Gallery
from practice and qualifying from the Line-X Spray-On Bedliners 200 from Michigan International Speedway.
Good morning from MIS
07-31-2004 8:19 am
Good morning from a very damp and soggy Michigan International Speedway! It rained all night in the Irish Hills of Michigan, but the forecasters have promised the rain has moved out and the sun should be shining brightly by early afternoon. The rain has moved out of the area, the jet dryers are on the track getting the speedway ready for IRL qualifications, and we'll have all the scoop from the garage leading up to the Line-X Spray-On Bedliners 200. Keep it locked on TruckSeries.com, the toughest site on the Web!
The sun is out at MIS!
07-31-2004 9:29 am
We're seeing something we haven't seen at MIS in almost 48 hours: bright sunshine! The forecasted clearing moved in a few hours before schedule, meaning temperatures are rising and track conditions are going to be drastically different from yesterday. Originally, the forecast called for cool temps and overcast skies through the early afternoon, so many teams were not planning on making drastic setup changes for today. That plan is now out the window...most teams are busy working on changing shocks and springs, and many are underneath the rear end changing the gear ratios.
Today's Special Awards
07-31-2004 9:35 am
Today's recipients of NCTS Special Awards, to be presented during driver introductions, are as follows:
Bud Pole Award: Not Awarded
Featherlite Most Improved Driver Award: Randy LaJoie
International Truck Crew Chief Award: Danny Gill
Mobil 1 Command Performance Driver of the Race Award: David Starr
Raybestos Rookie of the Race Award: David Reutimann
Waste Management Picking Up Places Award: Shane Sieg
WIX Filters Lap Leader Award: Shane Hmiel
To the back...
07-31-2004 9:41 am
Only one driver to this point will have to fall to the back for the start of today's Line-X 200. Bill Lester's team changed engines yesterday and will move from 22nd on the grid to 34th for the green flag.
What to expect in today's race
07-31-2004 9:43 am
Analyzing and breaking down the NCTS stats here at MIS...
The average starting position of the winner at MIS is 6.75. (Ted Musgrave starts sixth, Rick Crawford is scheduled for seventh)
The average number of lead lap finishers at MIS is 16, with a high of 20 in 1999 and a low of 12 in 2000. There are an average of 11.3 lead changes per race here, with a high of 14 in 2000 and a low of 9 in 2002. The average number of leaders is 7.25, with a high of 8 in 1999 and 2003, and a low of 6 in 2000.
The average number of cautions is 3.25, with a high of 6 in 1999 and a low of 1 in 2003. The average number of caution laps is 14, with a high of 23 in 1999 and a low of 6 in 2003.
The average speed for all four races here at MIS is 139.137 miles per hour. The slowest average speed was 121.889 mph, and the fastest was 154.044 (which is also the NCTS record for the fastest race ever).
So what to expect in the race today? Look for a winner from the top-10 starting positions (the lowest starting position of a winner was 11th). We should have long green flag runs, with anywhere between 2 and four cautions interspersed throughout the afternoon. Green flag pit stops are a frequent occurence at MIS and that tends to pin some drivers a lap down, so we could see between 12 and 24 drivers on the lead lap depending on the timing of the cautions flags.
With the wide, sweeping corners at MIS, cautions are infrequent, so the average speed should be in excess of 130 miles per hour (only one race here was slower than 138 mph).
The draft can also play a major role in how the race plays out. If the drivers run in big packs, as they did in Happy Hour last night, the slingshot pass might be resurrected and be a common sight this afternoon.
TrackSideLive! Audio
07-31-2004 10:38 am
TrackSideLive! has taken the microphone into the garage area this morning for some pre-race thoughts before this afternoons Line-X 200. Want to find out what last week's winner is thinking about today's race? What about what it's like to race at Michigan with a local legend's name emblazoned on your quarter panels? Check out what
David Starr,
Andy Houston,
Robert Huffman
and
Randy LaJoie
have planned for todays race at Michigan International Speedway.
2003 versus 2004 season to date
07-31-2004 11:01 am
In 2003, the difference from 1st to 5th after the 12th race of the season was 86 points. In 2004, the difference is 187.
In 2003, the difference from 1st to 10th after the 12th race of the season was 322 points. In 2004, the difference was 310.
In 2003, Chevrolet had two wins to this point while it has won 4 races in 2004. Last year, Ford had won 3 races after the 12th race, and they have also won 3 in 2004. Dodge had won 7 of the 12 races in 2003, while they have picked up 5 checkered flags year to date in 2004.
We have had 8 race winners in 2004, matching the total from 2003. The average starting position of the winner is 5.58, down from last year's 7.5. We have had 6 pole winners in 2003 (although four qualifying sessions have been rained out to this point in the 2004 season), again matching the total from 2004.
Point leader Dennis Setzer has gained three positions in the points from this time in 2003, while second-place point man Bobby Hamilton has gained four spots. Tenth, eleventh, and twelfth position in 2003 points are now sitting third, fourth, and fifth respectively as Carl Edwards, Matt Crafton, and Chad Chaffin round out the top-5 in points.
Last season's third place point man after race 12 was Ted Musgrave, who now sits 6th. Rick Crawford is currently 7th, and was fifth after this point last year. Last years point leader, Travis Kvapil, is eighth, while Jon Wood is 10th after sitting seventh last year. Jack Sprague, 8th in points, was not running the NCTS last year.
TruckShots!
07-31-2004 11:25 am
Click here
to check out the exclusive TruckShots Gallery from MIS. (Pics added at 11:30 am ET)
Pit assignments
07-31-2004 12:23 am
Here is the pit road map for today's Line-X 200, starting it pit stall 4 at the turn one end of pit road and ending in pit stall 39 in the pit entrance. Ray Dunlap will be covering the teams listed in blue, while Wendy Norris will cover the teams listed in red:
Ha
milton
Park
Chapman
Sieg
Montgomery
Bonifield
Chaffin
Break in pit wall
Kvapil
Ragan
Yeley
Whitt
LaJoie
Parker, Jr.
Lester
Starr
Break in pit wall
Sprague
Hines
Skinner
Open Stall, Scoring Camera
Open Stall, Scoring Camera/Start-Finish Line
Setzer
Houston
Musgrave
Break in pit wall
Edwards
Sutton
Reutimann
Richardson
Cook
Renshaw
Benson
Crawford
Break in pit wall
Crafton
Hooper
Hmiel
Huffman
Wood
Ready to go green
07-31-2004 1:13 pm
The drivers are buckling in and the excitement is building to a head here at MIS...the green flag for the Line-X 200 is just minutes away.
Three drivers will now report to the rear of the field. Bill Lester, Travis Kvapil, and Loni Richardson will all shoot from the back of the pack once the green flag waves.
Buckle up tight, grab a soda and your favorite snack and tune into the race on Speed Channel. As soon as the checkered flag falls, keep it locked on TruckSeries.com for comprehensive post-race coverage, exclusively on TrackSideLive!
Unofficial Results
07-31-2004 3:53 pm
Unofficial Results from Michigan Interanational Speedway
Click Here
Notable Quotables, Postrace No. 2: Ford
07-31-2004 4:30 pm
Rick Crawford, No. 14 Ford:
"Something in the engine messed up. It just started running weak like something shut off the air to it. Then we made a pit stop there on that last caution. It sounded pretty good when we went out of the pits, but it didn't last much longer. We've run pretty good this year and that's the first engine failure that we've had with Roush engines
this year. They do a super job with our engines. It's unfortunate because we're in Detroit and we wanted to run good for Ford Motor Co., and it's a heck of a way to end the day."
Jon Wood, No. 50 Ford:
"We didn't get a lot of practice time this weekend, and we just missed it. I was out there racing as hard as I could, and, of course, it was an aero thing that wrecked me, but it wasn't an aero thing that made us as bad as we
were. I just got loose, and there's nothing else to it. We were running three wide and you can get loose when that's going on."
Terry Cook, No. 10 Ford:
"It was a good run. We needed a good, solid finish. We've been running really good recently, but just haven't been getting the finishing results. Today we backed up a good, solid finish with a good, solid run. A lot fans
up here in the grandstands today from the Sylvania (Ohio) and Toledo area and I always enjoy them coming up here. They got to watch me race when I first started out at Toledo Speedway and Flat Rock Speedway and get to come up to Michigan and out on a good show for the fans. We picked up some debris on the nose in the middle run, and I'm not sure what it was, but it plugged all the air flow to the radiator and the motor got extremely hot.
When it does that it does two things, it adds a ton of downforce to the front of the truck, which makes it evil handling, too. We got that off and got the right adjustments back on the Power Stroke Diesel Ford, but we just
came up a little bit short there at the end. I thought we had something for the race win, but, again, a solid finish."
THE RACE SEEMED TO HAVE DAYTONA-LIKE FLAIR TO IT TODAY.
"More so than I've ever seen it at Michigan. The whole left side of the truck is bashed in and that didn't happen to the very last lap. I got body checked coming off of turn 2 on the last lap. We were bump drafting out there and pushing people around. It was a situation where the race leader was running up top, and that's where the momentum seemed to be, and it forced you to go underneath to pass and we just got the truck bound up every time we went down there."
Carl Edwards, No. 99 Ford:
"That's about the most fun race that I've ever been in. That was a blast, and I wish we could race like that every week. After our little bit of our adversity there on the initial start, I'm proud to come home sixth. I think that's a good day for us and a good championship run."
TALK ABOUT THE INITIAL START.
"Setzer missed a shift and then turned left kind of all at the same time. I was wide open on the throttle and just caught him on the left rear. I don't know what happened to him. He must have missed a shift or spun the tires
because he got all out of shape. Then after that, I was racing with the 10 truck and he slid right in front of me off of turn two and then it got aero tight and touched the wall, and that's how we got that little bit of damage
at the end. It didn't seem to affect it that much; the truck ran really well."
WERE YOU SURPRISED THAT DRIVERS WERE BUMP DRAFTING OUT THERE TODAY?
"There was just a little bit of that going on and that was pretty wild. It was neat and a lot of fun."
DID YOU EXPECT THAT KIND OF RACING HERE TODAY?
"Not exactly. I didn't think it was going to be quite like that, but that's because we have a new tire compound and new aero package. That's a cross between Daytona and Nashville. That's a pretty fun race track right there."
Deborah Renshaw, No. 29 Ford:
"That's the whole goal. We want to gain experience, learn a lot and finish on the lead lap. We accomplished all of our goals today and we're just ecstatic. I learned so much as far this being my first time at Michigan and
the second time that I've ever been in a truck. Starting 25th and finishing 22nd, I think that's respectable."
IT WAS A PRETTY PHYSICAL RACE TODAY.
"There were some hairy moments out there. Brandon Whitt blew a motor right in front of me and I was right in his tire tracks doing the skating number. We had some lucky things happen to us. It's just a lot of people are out
there being aggressive, but a lot of people work together out there, too."
YOU ANNOUNCED THIS WEEK THAT YOU WILL BE IN THIS TRUCK FOR THE REMAINDER OF
THE SEASON. WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON?
"I just want to consistently get better. Two weeks ago at Kentucky was a 25th-place finish and this week it's 22nd. We just want to slowly but surely get competitive, and I know that I have good stuff with the Keselowskis and Ford
behind me."
Notable Quotables, Postrace Number 3: Chevy 2
07-31-2004 4:37 pm
Matt Crafton, No. 6 Chevy:
“Our GM Goodwrench Silverado was strong all day long and then it just got tight there at there at the end. I think we over adjusted it a little and we got just a little bit too free. At the beginning we were a little bit too free but I think we should have left the truck alone. We tightened up the GM Goodwrench Silverado a bit and then it just got over tight and we just could never get it back. We had a real good day in the pits but we didn’t have the best day at the end of the race for all of the Chevrolet, GM Racing and GM Goodwrench people who came to support us. We will just go back and regroup and go after it next week.”
Shane Hmiel, No. 15 Chevy:
“We had an awesome truck that was capable of winning. We need to work on our pit stops. We lost a lugnut and had to come back down pit road and lost a lot of ground. We restarted 24th and made it up to eighth within 20 or so laps. How can you beat that? I really wanted it to be our day to take our Silverado to victory lane for Billy Ballew and Earl Small’s Harley Davidson. We will be back at IRP in a brand new Silverado at the Friday night show. IRP is my favorite track so we are planning for a great weekend in our #15 Silverado.”
Kelly Sutton. No. 02 Chevy: "After the day we had, we're happy to bring in another top-25 finish. We moved from 30th up to 24th, and of all things, the window net comes down and starts flapping in my face down the front stretch. We had to come in under green, and went a lap down; that really hurt. My truck was faster than a bunch of the trucks in front of us,and we were praying for a yellow. Then, the left front goes flat, and I'm spinning and trying to hold it out of the wall. The crew did a great job to change tires and pull away some sheet metal, but we just couldn't gain those laps back. We clearly had a top-20 or better truck today, but we'll take the top-25, and move on to IRP next week.”
Notable Quotables No. 1: Chevrolet 1
07-31-2004 4:28 pm
Jack Sprague, No. 16 Chevy:
“I don’t know what to say, we can’t shake our bad luck. Our Chevy Trucks Silverado wasn’t the best truck, but we weren’t bad either. We were headed for a top-10 finish which isn’t how we want to run but considering the bad luck we have had, it would have been something good to build from. The crew kept working on it making improvements each stop so we could stay up there near the front pack. That is two races in a row that we have had a DNF with less than 10 to go. It is just really disappointing. I know it blew up bad cause there was all kinds of fluid coming out the exhaust. Just a really disappointing day, that is about all I can say. I feel bad for all the people from Chevrolet and GM Racing that were here at the track today. We really wanted to get a great finish in our Chevy Trucks Silverado for them.”
Dennis Setzer, No. 46 Chevy:
“We had a pretty good Silverado today and looked like we could get a top-five or maybe even a top-three but we got a little out of position on that last restart with just six or seven to go and got shuffle back to 10th. Just a really bad day for our Silverado team. I feel bad we didn’t get a better finish for Chevrolet and Silverado here at their home track”
David Starr, No. 75 Chevrolet:
“Just really loose all day, I just couldn’t drive all day, I would drive into the corners and it would just snap loose. McCarty and the guys tried to fix it all day; we just couldn’t fix it to where we needed it. At the end I tried to run the high side to get some momentum, but it was just tight off the corners in. Just wasn’t a good day for us, we tried, we just missed it all together. We gave it everything we had and just couldn’t get it today. I was hoping to give the GM Racing and Chevrolet Silverado folks that we here to support us a better finish but we just didn’t get it done.”
J.J. Yeley, No. 47 Chevrolet:
“A long, long day, I made a mistake on the initial start, but the crew kept digging on my Acxiom Chevrolet Silverado really fast through the corners. Just came up a little too short, we didn’t need the caution to last quite so long. Just disappointed, I think we could have finished top-5 if everything would have went our way.”
Notable Quotables, Postrace Number 4: Dodge
07-31-2004 4:38 pm
Ted Musgrave, No. 1 Dodge
“We had some great adjustments from the guys on this crew. We communicated well, and we knew in the beginning that we were going to be a little bit off. My hat’s off to Travis. He’s been working really hard for the win. This Mopar Dodge has really been working hard to get up in the points. We’ve got a great team and a great Dodge Ram here. I was doing my best to hold off all those other ones. Mike Skinner was on his best here today, but Dodge truck here was pretty awesome.
Talking with Bobby Hamilton after the race…
“We were trying to help each other in the beginning. We did a little drafting, running high, helping each other a little bit. It’s a team effort between Dodge, Mopar, Square D and everybody on our teams. We try to do the best we can. This is a season-long battle, and anything he can help me with, or I can help him with, it’s well worth it.
“The draft was huge today. Clean air was huge. The nice part about it is that M.I.S. has a lot of lanes you can run in, high, low, or wherever. Hamilton and I both know through experience that the high groove was kind of the better groove and better way to go.”
Bobby Hamilton, No. 4 Dodge:
“We just had a bad set of tires laid out there at the end. That’s all it was. We had the best truck, the fastest truck. We’ve got the best team, best driver, I don’t care what anybody says.
“I about hit the (outside wall) every time. Well, there was oil all over the place out there. NASCAR didn’t clean the oil up.
“It’s pretty cool. Ted (Musgrave) and I work really well together. Even though we’re from different companies, but for the big picture we’re with the same company with Dodge. So, he’s a pleasure to work with at test session and things like that. That’s pretty cool to have a good day for him and a good day for us. We put a set of tires on there at the end that we knew the spring rate was shut a little tight. We thought the racetrack would get looser as we went, because of the way happy hour went. We put them on and it made us a little too tight, so we’re really happy.
On the amount of lead changes…
“It’s like that every time here. The only time that it hadn’t been that way was when my other truck, the No. 18 Dodge, won here two years ago (with Robert Pressley), and led about every lap. But, the competition is just a shade bit keener since then.
On running the high groove…
“I didn’t favor one. I just put it wherever I needed to go. I didn’t favor either groove.”
Chad Chaffin, No. 18 Dodge:
“The racing was really tough out there today. The Dickies Dodge was pretty fast, but we never did get it handling the way we needed to. There were a lot of good trucks out there today. There was either a lot of good ones or a lot of bad ones. It was about the most competitive race that I have seen in a long time. I was running in 15th place at one time and stayed on the same straightaway with the leaders for 30-40 laps. We struggled a little bit today. This wasn’t the finish that we were looking for. We had a little trouble in the pits, and lost some spots there. I wasn’t doing a whole lot better on the track. But right there at the end of the race we kind of made a little late-race surge that got us back up to 11th. I’m a little disappointed that we didn’t get another top 10 and keep our top 10 streak going. But those things eventually go to and end, so we’ll just start a new streak next week.”
Steve Park, No. 62 Dodge:
“Today was just a long day. It really didn’t matter what adjustments we made. Nothing helped today.”
Chase Montgomery, No. 8 Dodge:
"I had a good truck today and to come home with a 15th place finish is good for me and this team. The truck just needed one more small adjustment and I think I could have taken it into the top-10. I am getting better each week out here as I learn more and more about these trucks. The guys on this team are working real hard and we have had some pretty good trucks here lately. I look to continue with this momentum next week at IRP."
Notable Quotables, Postrace Number 5: Toyota
07-31-2004 4:52 pm
Travis Kvapil, No. 24 Toyota:
“These guys on the Line-X team and everybody at Toyota did a great job. I can’t believe it. We broke a motor yesterday in practice. And, really, to be honest, we looked at my teammate Mike Skinner’s notes the most. We didn’t get any ‘Happy Hour’ time yesterday. I knew I needed to go as hard as I could as fast as I could. I got to about mid-pack and that was all I had. My Tundra just got a little bit too tight. It didn’t have good balance – I just didn’t have a good ‘feel.’ The guys worked on it and gave me some great pit stops and some great adjustments and I was able to drive up to the win.”
“This is huge. What a day! Toyota gave us some great horsepower again today. I screwed up yesterday and drove into the wall. But, the No. 42 bunch helped us out with all their notes. They had a really fast truck so we used their notes. We’ve been trying so hard all year. We went to Daytona and didn’t really think we had a shot at the win – and we finished second.”
“Bang Racing put together a really good group of guys and Toyota has given us all the tools we needed.”
Lee White, Senior Vice President of Toyota Racing Development:
“It’s really hard to put into words what this means. It all started three years ago and to win in the middle of our first season is pretty phenomenal. We’re working with some great people in Travis Kvapil and Mike Skinner and all the people at Bang Racing. Larry McReynolds deserves a lot of credit for putting this team together and making it happen. I hope he was watching.
Mike Skinner, No. 42 Toyota:
“I hate to always whine about the caution flags – but the caution flag caused us our fifth race today. But, at least my teammate Travis Kvapil won the race and Toyota won the race. So, it’s all good. On green flag, long runs, I think nobody had anything for the No. 42. I think we proved that today. My Tundra was awesome! We really started turning things around today. It was a good weekend. I felt like we had an opportunity to get the pole, but Mother Nature had other ideas. We had an opportunity to win the race and I think the caution flag took that away from us. I’m excited though because we’re starting to turn this team around.”
HOW WAS YOUR BATTLE WITH TRAVIS? “It wasn’t much of a battle. I just held it flat on the floor through Turns 1 and 2 and he got a draft on me. I was on the floor. That’s all I had. Our truck was a little tight at the end of the day, after being loose most of the day. Travis’s truck had been loose all day, too. And they made some adjustments at the end of the race, and obviously they made the right adjustments because Travis’s truck out front was really, really good.”
“It was a great day for Toyota and Bang Racing and Line-X. If you own two trucks and you get them both in the top-5 – especially with a crew chief change – it’s a pretty good day.”
Johnny Benson, No. 23 Toyota:
“The Toyota Tundra ran good and the Bill Davis Racing guys did a tremendous job. It was a lot of fun. It felt like at the beginning of the race – I kept running hard and kept running hard – and I couldn’t get past the No. 15. But, we put on the last set of tires and it was a really good match. We just held on to see how long we could run -- and it ran pretty good all day. We held on to fourth. If the race went a little longer, we may have even been able to pass a few more trucks. I’m not complaining though. We held on to fourth – and it was a really good run.”
“The part about Toyota that I’m really impressed with is that they seem to be coming along pretty quickly with the program and the horsepower is really good. They’ve come a long way since Daytona, from talking to some of the other drivers. Everything in the truck is extremely smooth and I attribute that to Toyota and everyone at Bill Davis Racing. This is a really smooth driving vehicle – and really, really fun to race.”
Jim Aust, Vice President of Toyota Motorsports:
“Looks like this was our lucky race number 13. A lot of people have been working hard towards this goal and they deserve a lot of credit – including everyone at TRD and all our race team partners. We’re looking forward to more of these before the season is over.”
Line-X 200 Notes...
07-31-2004 5:10 pm
Travis Kvapil picks up his fourth NCTS career win, and by winning for Bang! Racing has now won with three owners (Mike Addington, Steve Coulter, and Alex Meshkin)...Kvapil is the ninth winner in 13 races in 2004...Toyota scores its first victory after racking up second place finishes at Daytona (Kvapil) and Atlanta (Skinner)...Bang! Racing finished first and third today...Musgrave scores his second runner-up finish of the season here at MIS today...Musgrave now has five top-three finishes in the past seven races, including a win at Milwaukee...Skinner returns to the top-10 for the first time since Dover in June...Johnny Benson returned to the series for the first time since 1996 and scores a fourth-place finish, and gives BDR it's second top-5 effort of the season...Hamilton racks up his ninth top-10 of 2004 today...Setzer now unofficially leads the points by 33 over Hamilton...there were 18 official lead changes, the second highest of the season behind only Daytona, which had 22...
TrackSideLive! Audio
07-31-2004 5:05 pm
Check out the comments and analysis from the garage following the Line-X 200. Click on the driver name for the TrackSideLive! Audio report.
Travis Kvapil
Alex Meshkin
(Owner of winning No. 24 Line-X Truck)
Carl Edwards
Terry Cook
Dennis Setzer
Tracy Hines
Johnny Benson
Shane Sieg
Deborah Renshaw
Mike Skinner
Ted Musgrave
Robert Huffman
Race recap
07-31-2004 5:31 pm
Defending NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion Travis Kvapil made history on Saturday as he gave Toyota its first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory in the Line-X Spray-On Bedliners 200 at Michigan International Speedway. Kvapil, whose eighth-gridded Tundra truck started 30th due to a pre-race engine change, took the lead from Bang Racing teammate Mike Skinner on the 84th of 100 laps to win the 200-mile Line-X Spray-On Truck Bedliners 200. Ted Musgrave's Dodge was second as the race finished under caution due to David Reutimann's Turn 4 accident. Skinner and Johnny Benson, who also drove a Toyota, finished third and fourth with Bobby Hamilton - leader of 50 of the 100 laps - fifth in a Dodge. Kvapil, who won $49,100, averaged 125.479. Toyota's first win - after a pair of early season runnerup finishes by Kvapil and Skinner - came in the truck maker's 13th appearance. Kvapil is the season's ninth different winner. No. 1 starter Dennis Setzer finished 10th and saw his championship lead over Hamilton drop from 64 to 33 points.
Calling it a day from MIS...
07-31-2004 5:40 pm
For the second week in a row, all we can say as we are ready to call it a day is "WOW!!!" You hate to use a term like "instant classic" just hours after the race has ended, but that is what we saw today here in the Irish Hills of Michigan. With 18 official lead changes and at least a dozen more at other points around the track that didn't count, the action at the front was always hot from start to finish. It was a big day for Travis Kvapil and Bang! Racing, not to mention Toyota and Line-X, the sponsor of the winning truck and the race itself.
We hope you have had an opportunity to check out our new TrackSideLive Audio Clips from the garage area, another aspect of Truck Series coverage you will find exclusively here at TruckSeries.com.
We have a busy day next Friday from Indianapolis Raceway Park, with practice, qualifying and the race all on the same day. We'll be there from the time the gates open until they kick us out of the media center long after the checkered flag falls, so make sure to keep it locked on TrackSideLive! for all the news, notes, and scoop from the Power Stroke Diesel 200 at Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Good night everybody!
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