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Toyota Tundra 200
| Nashville Superspeedway
Race No. 15 | August 13-14, 2004
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Today's schedule
08-13-2004 11:38 am
12:00-200 pm ET: NCTS Practice
5:00 pm ET: NCTS Bud Pole Qualifying (
Live! Bud Pole Qualifying exclusively on TruckSeries.com
)
Nashville Superspeedway hosts the largest NCTS hospitality event ever
08-14-2004 12:50 pm
The Nashville Superspeedway is preparing to host 10,000 guests from Toyota in what is being billed as the largest single client hospitality event in NCTS history. Most hospitality events range in numbers from 100 guests to 1000 guests, but Toyota has invited thousands of employees, customers, and their guests to partake in the festivities surrounding their first ever event sponsorship in the NCTS.
Driver's Meeting Notes
08-14-2004 1:46 pm
Notes from the driver's meeting held just moments ago...
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Director Wayne Auton introduced the president of Toyota Racing Development Jim Aust, as well as the winners of Darrell Waltrip's Toyota Doublecab, Rick and Wendy Slusarski, who bid $42,321 for it on eBay. Darrell Waltrip will serve as today's Grand Marshall.
Driver Intros will begin at 3:45 (all times local)
Generators removed at 4:10
Invocation at 4:14
National Anthem at 4:15
Drivers Start Your Engines at 4:22
Pit road speed will be 45 mph; pace truck speed will be 55 mph
Drivers can enter pit road directly off turn four. Pit road speed starts 200 feet before the first occupied pit stall and ends 150 feet past the last occupied pit stall. Drivers must exit pit road using the exit lane through turn one and two.
At 12:40, teams were allowed two crew members to remove the truck covers , and at 12:45 the trucks were gridded in the staging area in the garage. At that time, they were allowed to make their final adjustments, which were limited to the following:
Connecting generators
Checking water level in the radiator
Adding fuel
Prime the oil
Add or remove tape
Add or remove one round of wedge from the rear jack bolts only
Change the ignition chip
Teams may crank the engine once
No pit equipment can be set up on pit road until the conclusion of the ARCA race.
Miles/Laps led
08-14-2004 2:36 pm
Bobby Hamilton enters the Toyota Tundra 200 with 555.91 miles led so far in 2004. He has led 25 times in 10 races for a total of 386 laps. However, Jack Sprague has led the most laps so far in 2004, coming across the line first 405 times. He has led 15 times in 8 races, but showing his dominance on short tracks has only put him in the lead for 270.38 miles.
Hamilton has only left 8.84 miles of competition on the table this year, completing 2,756.38 out of 2,755.62 miles. Chad Chaffin has only missed 34 total miles of competition this year, and Dennis Setzer has missed 47.5 miles.
Nashville race preview
08-14-2004 2:48 pm
It's time for the weekly look at the stats and our weekly predicitons based on statistical analysis and the hypothesis of the theories of...well, who are we kidding! Let's looks at the stats of the previous races here at Nashville Superspeedway to see if we can't predict what will happen in the Toyota Tundra 200 later this afternoon.
In the three previous NCTS races here, the winner has come from an average starting position of 2.67, although the pole sitter has won here twice. With the track record of pole sitters winning as frequently as they have, it's hard to chose against Bobby Hamilton, Jr. However, David Reutimann (2nd) and Dennis Setzer (3rd) fall into that "2.67" category, so the numbers point to one of those three drivers to win before the green flag falls.
In 2001, there were 3 drivers on the lead lap at the finish, in 2002 there were 5, and in 2003, there were 11 for an average of 6.3 lead lap finishers. There were 9 lead changes in 01, 13 in 02, and 9 in 03 for a 10.3 average. In all three races, 7 drivers took the point to lead laps. In 2001, there were just 2 cautions, and in the following two races there were just three cautions. There were 10 caution laps in 2001, 13 in 2002, and 17 laps under yellow in 2003. The average speed for the three races is 130.488 miles per hour.
So, by doing all of the mathematic calculations, here is what we expect to see...a race that has 2-4 cautions, 12-18 laps under caution, 7 leaders, 9-13 lead changes, and anywhere from 4-10 drivers on the lead lap. The Magic 8-Ball says that Bobby Hamilton, Jr. will win the race at an average speed of just over 131 miles per hour.
Best finishes at Nashville Superspeedway
08-14-2004 3:07 pm
Here are the best finishes for drivers entered in today's race with at least one career start at Nashville Superspeedway:
Carl Edwards, 1st, 2003
Rick Crawford, 2nd, 2002
Ted Musgrave, 2nd, 2001 & 2002
David Starr, 4th, 2003
Travis Kvapil, 5th, 2001
Dennis Setzer, 5th, 2003
Terry Cook, 6th, 2001
Chad Chaffin, 6th, 2003
Jon Wood, 7th, 2003
Matt Crafton, 10th, 2003
Bobby Hamilton, 11th, 2003
Bill Lester, 16th, 2002 & 2003
Jack Sprague, 21st, 2001
Chase Montgomery, 22nd, 2003
Loni Richardson, 27th, 2002
Nashville ARCA race still going...pre-race in hurry-up mode
08-14-2004 3:19 pm
With the ARCA race still underway, the NASCAR officials are going to move into hurry-up mode as soon as the event is over. There are still approximately 40 laps remaining and just 15 minutes to the scheduled start of pre-race ceremonies.
Pit road map
08-14-2004 3:39 pm
Here is the pit road map for today's Toyota Tundra 200, starting with the first occupied stall at pit exit and ending with the last occupied stall in turn four; Ray Dunlap will cover the drivers listed in purple, Wendy Norris will cover the drivers listed in green:
Hamilton Jr.
Park
Kvapil
Weaver
Sprague
Sutton
Huffman
Break in pit wall
Setzer
Wood
Sieg
Parker, Jr.
Montgomery
Wimmer
Chaffin
Ragan
Hines
Renshaw
Musgrave
Lester
Break in pit wall/Start-Finish Line
Reutimann
Hamilton
Richardson
Skinner
Houston
Cook
McFarland
Edwards
White
Crawford
Bradberry
Starr
Break in pit wall
Crafton
Sauter
Whitt
Benson
Hmiel
Bobby Hamilton Jr.'s pit crew
08-14-2004 4:03 pm
Rear tire changer: Ken Boettger
Rear tire carrier: Tim Enderle
Jackman: Doug Biggs
Front changer: Don Tarantino
Front carrier: Kyle Kelley
Crew Chief: Harold Holly
Spotter: Sammy Sanders
Gasman: Art Harris
Catchcan: Rick Garrels
Getting ready to go green
08-14-2004 4:17 pm
The ARCA race has concluded, and the teams now move into hurry-up mode. They are quickly moving their pit equipment to pit road, and the trucks will be moved to the grid on pit road in a matter of minutes. The green flag is scheduled for right around 5:30 pm ET. We'll keep you abreast of things as they happen leading up to the green flag...
Ready? We are!
08-14-2004 4:58 pm
The drivers have been introduced, the trucks are gridded, and the teams are pumped up and ready to go for 150 laps around the 1.33-mile Nashville Superspeedway. As Ted Musgrave cautioned Tracy Hines before they walked across the stage, it is a long race, and there is a lot of Hoosier rubber laid down from the ARCA race just completed so look for the drivers to be cautious the first 15 laps or so while the rubber is worn off the racing surface and replaced with the Goodyear compound. With caution flags often a rarity here, green flag pit stops could come into play, so the teams that get on and off pit road the quickest could have a distinct advantage. We'll keep track of all the action, and as usual, will be the first with unofficial results and a race recap as soon as the race is over. We'll also have comprehensive post-race coverage, including quotes from all of the major players in the Toyota Tundra 200. Enjoy the race on Speed, grab your favorite snack and beverage and we'll see you right after the checkered flag waves!
Notable quotables, Post-race No. 1
08-14-2004 7:21 pm
Jack Sprague, No. 16 Chevy: "Heck, this is one of my favorite tracks. I won here in the Busch car the last time I was here. I just don't know what we need to do to get the Truck to run better here. We just don't have any luck. But, at least we finished this week."
Ted Musgrave, No. 1 Dodge: "I like these concrete tracks. I treat them like a whole different animal. We've finished second here three times now. We go out to California and we've won there several times, but you have to approach the races tracks in a totally different manner."
Mike Skinner, No. 42 Toyota: "I hear they have a concert going on just on the otherside of the grandstands. I want my guys to go get cleaned up so we can go listen to some music!"
Tracy Hines, No. 88 Chevrolet: "It was just tight all day long. We tried loosening it up, but there wasn't anything we could do."
Deborah Renshaw, No. 29 Ford: "We ran all day and finished on the lead lap, but man, that's no fun. We don't want to be out there just making laps and staying out of the way. We want to go race for positions. I know we're on a learning curve, so it's just a matter of time before we get where we need to be and go race these guys."
TrackSideLive! Audio
08-13-2004 8:10 pm
After qualifying, TrackSideLive! caught up with pole sitter
Bobby Hamilton, Jr.
, top qualifying rookie and Toyota driver
David Reutimann
, and our current points leader
Bobby Hamilton
on their qualifying efforts.
(Click on drivers name for audio)
Notable quotables, Post-race No. 2
08-14-2004 7:29 pm
David Ragan, No. 67 Ford: "Some of that was just me trying a little too hard. It's disappointing because we have had problems three weeks in a row now. But I was racing for position. I would rather have that happen racing for position than just puttering around the back."
Chad Chaffin, No. 18 Dodge: "Look at the numbers of the guys that beat us. It's not like we got beat by the backmarkers or anything. I guess we've been up in the top-5 so much that we're a little spoiled. The competition is so tough here that 12th is a pretty good day. We beat guys like Jon Wood, Carl Edwards, Tracy Hines, and Dennis Setzer, but we're still a little disappointed we're not a little closer to the front."
Rick Crawford, No. 14 Ford: "Rockin' Ray (Stonkus) was here with us today and he waved his magic wand over this thing, but nothing he did wanted to work. We just had no grip. It's hard to go fast when you can't grip the track. You're just out there wasting time."
Steve Park, No. 62 Dodge: “It really was a great day. I want to thank all of the great fans here in Nashville. We were trying to get a guitar, but we fell a little short. It is great to see Bobby Hamilton put a Dodge in victory lane. How about those pit stops? We have been criticized about our pit stops by a lot of race fans. These guys really came to the order today. They have been practicing three times a day five days a week, and it really showed today. They did a great, great job in the pits. I'm really proud of all my guys. The SParkies gave me a trophy at Kentucky for passing the most race trucks this season. We just added to it this week. We are really happy about finishing fifth after starting 23rd.”
Notable Quotables, Post-race No. 3
08-14-2004 7:58 pm
Chase Montgomery, No. 8 Dodge: "It didn't start out looking like it finished, that's for sure. We scuffed her up a little, didn't we? We started off bad and got trapped a lap down, then we got back on the lead lap and the truck started to come around. Then, right at the end it started to go away on us again. Crafton came over after the race and said 'hey, good run man' from when we were running up front with the leaders. I just wish that was racing them for position."
Kelly Sutton, No . 02 Chevrolet: "I battled a wicked loose truck all afternoon, and just couldn't quite get it to run like I wanted. The crew did a great job making adjustments, but we just couldn't get it to stay consistent enough. That's just the way it goes sometimes. We were racing Deborah late in the race, trying to get into position for a free pass if the caution waved, and sure enough, we ended up about eight lengths behind her when the caution came out. It would have been great to pick up another spot and a lead lap finish, but Deborah did a great job keeping just in front of us. After the restart, I felt a bad vibration, and thought I had a back right tire going down when I took the white flag. Considering the day we had, I'm pretty happy to finish 28th, and to bring the truck home in one piece."
Notable Quotables, Chevrolet Post-race No. 1
08-14-2004 8:02 pm
David Starr, No. 75 Chevrolet: “Dave McCarty and the guys gave me a really good truck today. The last two races we struggled, and we needed to have a good race; I wanted to win that one so bad. Bobby Hamilton got a run on the outside into turn three and I ran as deep as I possibly could run. If I would have run any deeper I would have pushed up, I don’t know how he does it, but he’s good. He’s been doing this a long time. I thought we had him beat, but he was a better truck today. We’ll take second, go into the next race. It’s good to get our momentum back; our Chevrolet Silverado was pretty awesome today I just wish I had been able to win the race. It’s a big momentum booster, because we’ve struggled at IRP and Michigan we were so lose. This is great for my team to finish good, just a big momentum booster and we are still in the points. I really learned something today, about how a veteran like Bobby just has just a little more up his sleeve. I said it before, but I don’t know how he took it so deep in three, I thought he would wash up going in that hard and I would be able to slip back under him, He didn’t though and jumped out enough where I knew I couldn’t catch him with so few laps to go.”
Dennis Setzer, No. 46 Chevrolet: ”Not much to say today, we started in the front and just consistently worked our way backwards. My Chevrolet Silverado team tried to make it better all day but our Chevrolet Silverado was tight and we couldn’t seem to get it where we needed to be for most of the race. We got it a little looser there toward the end of the race but couldn’t make up much ground.
ON SPINNING AT LAP 140:
“We had gotten the truck a little looser and I just caught the apron there towards the end. I hate it for our Morgan Dollar team. We lost some to Bobby in the points today but more importantly, we have had a couple of bad races in a row and need to get our selves back on track and back up front.”
Jack Sprague, No. 16 Chevrolet: “Our Chevy Trucks Silverado was so tight all day, at times it didn’t even feel like it had a front end or I was driving it on ice. My guys kept trying and trying all day to free it up but nothing we did made any difference. I don’t know if we had a shock bound up or something broken somewhere. The guys looked underneath on one stop to see if the arm was broken or disconnected. It was just a handful all day. We did the best we could with what we had so we just go on to Bristol and get better there.”
Notable Quotables, Chevrolet Post-race No. 2
08-14-2004 8:06 pm
Matt Crafton, No. 6 Chevrolet: “I am really surprised we finished seventh as bad as we were toward the end of the race. I was so tight center off. My guys in the pits did a great job today picking me up three or four spots during both stops. We just couldn’t get the GM Goodwrench Silverado right today. It is another top-ten and we will just keep plugging away.”
Shane Hmiel, No. 15 Chevrolet: “It wasn’t a good day for us but we finished. We were tight and nothing we did would free it up. I don’t know where we missed it today because the guys usually give us a great Silverado. Today I just rode around and barely finished. It was a decent points day and that’s all you can ask for. We’ll get back to our winning form shortly and get this Silverado to victory lane yet.”
Tracy Hines, No. 88 Chevrolet: “After qualifying so well today, I was looking forward to having a better run but we were so tight I couldn’t turn the truck. I was hoping we were going to have a good run for the Menards Silverado team today but it just didn’t work out that way.”
Paul White, No. 13 Chevrolet: “There is no doubt that we have a problem. I just can't seem to figure out what it is and the team made every change possible to the truck today. Maybe we'll put Lance (Hooper, crew chief) in here for some testing or to practice a few laps to see what we need to do to get better. But today I was just idling around out there watching the race. I know it’s easy to point fingers but that's not what I am doing. I want to know what we have to do to make the Sta-Max Chevy better. We'll go to Bristol and that's a whole different type of track so who knows, maybe we can come out of there with a decent finish and get us going back in the right direction.”
Good afternoon...it's raceday in Nashville
08-14-2004 12:42 pm
Good afternoon from the Nashville Superspeedway! The teams are waiting just outside the garage area for NASCAR officials to swing the gates open so they can begin their preparations for the Toyota Tundra 200. Remember, the trucks have been impounded overnight through the start of today's race, so the teams will onlybe able to make very minor adjustments before rolling them to the grid. The weather is a carbon copy of yesterday with unseasonably cool (make that comfortable!) temperatures, some puffy white clouds floating overhead, and a nice gentle breeze blowing, making it a perfect day for a Truck race. We'll scour the garage for all the news and notes as we lead up to the start of today's 150-lap clash in the concrete canyon here in Nashville.
Notable Quotables, Toyota Post-race
08-14-2004 8:09 pm
Johnny Benson, No. 23 Toyota" “The truck was good, but we just started off a little too ‘slippery.’ It took 10 to 15 laps to really get going. Then it felt like we were just as good as anybody here. But, it just took me a little bit to get going. We just have to work on that little aspect. We could have used this thing to go green the whole way. It would have been great. I really wanted to get a top-5 today for all the Toyota folks here. You want to get a win. That’s always the goal. But, I could see that that wasn’t going to happen, so I really just wanted to get a top 5 -- and we just missed with a 6th. I want to thank everyone at Bill Davis Racing, Toyota and Greg (Ely, crew chief).
Robert Huffman, No. 12 Toyota: “We had a great day today. During the early part of the season we struggled, but in the past few races we have made big strides. Early in the year, we had a lot of good runs, we just didn’t get the finishes. Now, we’re starting to get some results. One of the things that helped us today was pitting early and getting fuel. It’s really good to be competitive and to be in the top-10.”
David Reutimann, No. 17 Toyota: “We started off great today. My Tundra felt pretty good. Then we ran over something and cut a tire and hit the wall. I thought we were done, but the guys in the pits just kept working and working and making the truck better. Hats off to those guys in the pits.”
Mike Skinner, No. 42 Toyota: "It was pretty frustrating today. We had a pretty good truck in practice yesterday. We started the day off extremely tight – which was 180 degrees from qualifying, obviously. It was a phenomenal day on pit road. The guys on pit road just did a great job. John (Monsom, crew chief) and I – we didn’t do a good job getting the truck adjusted on the first stop. We probably should have gone three times as much as we did and we struggled all day with a super tight truck. The Toyota motor ran awfully good. I hate that we didn’t get one of the Toyotas to ‘Victory Lane’ today for all the people here from Toyota, but we will soon.”
Notable Quotables, Ford Post-race
08-14-2004 8:12 pm
Terry Cook, No. 10 Ford: "It was a very perplexing weekend. It felt like at different points in the weekend, we maximized what the truck had and we were still light years off where the Toyotas, Dodges and Chevrolets are. Obviously, we are not going to beat ourselves up too hard on the overall situation. We're going to goback to the shop and work hard, but I honestly believe the Ford aero package at these bigger, faster tracks is at a deficit. We saw it at Michigan. We could get up there and run with them, but we just couldn't run consistently up there with them all day long. Any time we've gone to a speedway from about midpoint on - the first half of the season we were all even - and it seems like from midseason on, the aero package on the Fords is at a deficit and I think if this doesn't wake up NASCAR's eyes I don't know what is. We were the highest finishing Ford and we finished 16th."
WHAT HAS CHANGED FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASON WHEN A FORD WON AT DAYTONA?
"Daytona issuch a different race. I always say you always take Daytona out of the equation. That's such a separate race because everybody works very hard on different problems. The problem is when you work very hard at Daytona trying to take the drag out that's what you get, but when come to these tracks you take drag out but you also have to have downforce in them. I think we're at an aero deficit and I can't tell you where it is or what we
need to do to make it better, but the trucks that were submitted to NASCAR were pretty even, but I can guarantee you their other makes have found a leg up and we're going to go work and we're going to see what we can do to find
a leg up, but at the same token I think we might need some help from NASCAR in the near future."
Carl Edwards, No. 99 Ford: "It just wouldn't do anything I wanted it to do. It was loose into the corner, which was tough to deal with and we got that to where it was OK, and then it was so tight in the center and then loose again off. It doesn't feel like the same truck we won Kansas with, even though it is. That's a little bit frustrating, but
I'm sure they'll figure it out. It must just be a tire pressure issue or the wrong shocks for the tires; we're really off somewhere, but it's not the truck. That truck was perfect at Kansas."
ARE YOU SURPRISED YOU WEREN'T ABLE TO MAKE HEADWAY OVER THE COURSE OF 150 LAPS?
"Yeah, I figured we'd pit and get a different set of tires on it and we'll be back. The only good thing is that it's all in one piece. It's good to see other people struggling like Travis and Dennis, but we really didn't think that was going
to be the way it was going to go. Maybe it track, but I think everybody would have had trouble then. I don't think it was the track. The track was good and consistent, but the truck didn't do what I wanted it to do."
John Wood, No. 50 Ford: "It was a bad day for Ford Racing. I don't know if we're behind on engineering or what, but I know it's not a horsepower issue. We just weren't any good and there was nothing we could do about. We didn't crash, and I just look forward to Bristol."
WITH THE LACK OF PRACTICE AFTER QUALIFYING YESTERDAY, DID YOU FEEL LIKE TODAY WAS GOING TO BE CRAP SHOOT?
"Yeah, the limited amount of practice didn't help, but we can't blame it on that. Every manufacturer was
good except for us."
Bobby Hamilton, winner, Toyota Tundra 200
08-14-2004 8:33 pm
"I have had everything in the world happen to me to keep me from winning one of these guitars. I was watching Bobby Junior out there today and he just makes me so proud. He set a new record in qualifying and was the fastest truck out there all race long. It bums me out that they got a set of tires that didn't match on that last stop. If I were a smart man, I probably wouldn't be in this business. But that is why I drive for myself. I only have to answer to myself and I talk to myself about it quite a lot. I don't want to talk about the points. When we are leading with five races to go, then it's a big deal and you can come and find me then."
Nashville Superspeedway notes...
08-14-2004 8:36 pm
Hamilton's win is his fourth in 2004, the most of any driver this season; with his win he stretches his points lead to 84 points over second-place Setzer...Hamilton has won both races run to this point in the state of Tennessee; he can win the unofficial "Tennessee Triple Crown" with an Aug. 25 victory in Bristol...Dodge dominated today, withy four top-5 finishers (Hamilton, Musgave, Hamilton Jr., Park); only Chevy mounted David Starr broke up the Dodge dominance...Starr recorded his best career finish at Nashville Superspeedway with his runner-up effort; his previous best was fourth in 2003...Musgrave has now finished in the top-3 in all four NCTS races at Nashville Superspeedway; he has also led all four series races here...Hamilton Jr. led a race-high 89 laps this afternoon...Toyota driver Robert Huffman was the top Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate this afternoon with an eighth-place finish; it also marks his best career NCTS finish.
Qualifying notes
08-13-2004 7:34 pm
With his pole, Bobby Hamilton Jr. joins his father to become the first father-son duo to win a pole in the NCTS...Hamilton Jr has five NASCAR Busch Series top-5 starts at Nashville Superspeedway with a best finish of third, most recently this spring...the Craftsman Win from the Pole Bonus is at $12,000...the first 18 qualifiers broke the previous track record...David Reutimann starts from the front row for the second time in 2003; he also started up front when he won the pole at Atlanta in March...Dennis Setzer will start from the top-three for the fifth time in 2004, but it's the first time he has earned a top-three spot via qualifying time; each previous time the season the field was lined up according to the rule book after a rainout...Matt Crafton and Shane Hmiel matched their career best qualifying stars this weekend; Crafton lines up fourth and Hmiel lines up fifth, Crafton also started fourth aftere qualifying was rained out at Michigan while Hmiel started fifth at Milwaukee.
Nashville wrap-up
08-14-2004 8:43 pm
Bobby Hamilton executed a dramatic, high-groove pass on leader David Starr with eight laps remaining to win Saturday's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Toyota Tundra 200 race at Nashville Superspeedway.
Hamilton, driving a Dodge, ran a conservative pace through much of the 150-lap, 200-mile event, refusing to show his truck's full potential to his rivals.
But Hamilton, who started 15th and was fifth or higher from lap 40, had Starr's Chevrolet in his sights when the race restarted from the fifth and final caution. He pulled outside Starr entering the 1.333-mile concrete speedway's first turn and the pair ran side-by-side down the backstretch.
Hamilton was able to brake later than Starr entering the third turn then pulled away to his fourth victory of the season. His final margin was .795 second - about three truck lengths.
The Nashville native, who'd never won a major race in his hometown, averaged 124.068 mph. Hamilton won $49,485.
Hamilton's winning pass was the ninth lead change of a race slowed five times by caution for 20 laps. Five different drivers took turns heading the field.
Ted Musgrave, pole starter Bobby Hamilton Jr. - the winner' s son - and Steve Park completed the top five, all driving Dodge trucks. Hamilton Jr. led the most laps - 89 - but faded from contention for his first series victory after a tire change on his final pit stop at lap 119.
Johnny Benson, Matt Crafton, rookies Robert Huffman and David Reutimann and Mike Skinner finished sixth through 10th. Twenty-seven of the race's 30 finishers completed all 150 laps.
Hamilton, who'd entered the race with a five point lead, upped his advantage to 84 over Dennis Setzer with 15 of the season's 25 races completed. Setzer finished 19th.
That's gonna do it folks...
08-14-2004 8:49 pm
With that, we're going to call it a day from Nashville Superspeedway. Bobby Hamilton laid his claim to his first Gibson guitar by winning, and in doing so, further put the NCTS field on notice that this is his championship to lose. WHat will likely go unnoticed is a career run by Bill Lester, which was unfortunately cut short by a cut tire and trip into the concrete wall. It was a beautiful day, with a beautiful crowd, and a hometown favorite in victory lane...now it's on to Bristol for a 200-lap clash on the highest banks in all of motorsports. We'll keep you on top of everything related to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series between now and then, so keep it locked to the only website devoted to exclusive coverage of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, TruckSeries.com.
Good morning from Nashville Superspeedway
08-13-2004 9:54 am
Good morning from sunny Nashville Superspeedway! The garage is bustling with activity as we close in on the start of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series' only practice session, shceduled to start at noon ET. Temperatures are unseasonably cool with today's high expected to only reach 72 degrees (the average is 90!). TrackSideLive will cover today's action from top to bottom as the team's practice and qualify for tomorrow's Toyota Tundra 200. Keep it locked on to TruckSeries.com, your one-stop shop for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Nashville track stats
08-13-2004 9:58 am
Tomorrow's Toyota Tundra 200 will mark the ninth NCTS event run in the greater Nashville area, and the fourth conducted on the 1.33-mile Nashville Superspeedway. From 1996-2000, the NCTS raced at the Nashville Fairgrounds Raceway before the event was moved to the new track located just outside of Nashville.
Nashville Superspeedway has turns banked at 14 degrees, with the front stretch banked at 9 degrees and the backstretch banked at 6 degrees. The front stretch is 2,494 feet long and the backstretch is 2,203 feet. The race distance of 150 laps translates to 199.95 miles.
In the three previous races held at Nashville Superspeedway, two races have been won from the pole and one race has been won from sixth starting position. In 2001, pole sitter Scott Riggs raced to the win, while in 2002, Mike Bliss started from the pole and took the checkered flag first. Last year, Chad Chaffin won the pole but couldn't keep the streak intact, allowing Carl Edwards to sprint from sixth on the grid to the win.
Bliss holds the track qualifying record at 30.503 seconds/157.322 miles per hour, and Riggs is the record holder for the race with a quick time over 200 miles of 1 hour, 30 minutes, and 34 seconds/132.466 miles per hour.
The three previous races here at Nashville have been won by the three manufacturers that had participated in the series to that point (Toyota makes their first attempt at Nashville Superspeedway this year). Dodge won the inaugural race in 01, Chevy in 02, and Dodge in 03.
Edwards excited at new opportunity
08-13-2004 10:52 am
Carl Edwards is looking forward to his next opportunity in NASCAR racing, taking over the No. 99 car in the Nextel Cup Series. "I am really excited about it, but I am nervous about it at the same time," he said. "But that's okay, I work pretty well under pressure. I am really looking forward to it."
Chaffin confident coming in to hometown
08-13-2004 10:57 am
Chad Chaffin comes to Nashville Superspeedway fresh off his second career NCTS win, and ready to race in front of the hometown crowd. "I live just a few miles up the road," he said. "When they are out here testing, I can hear them from my house. All of the BHR guys live really close to the track here. We're all about 10 minutes away, so this is a pretty big deal to race here. It's nice to come to a place and know you have the fans in your corner."
Chaffin laughed about taking some heat for his post-race celebration last week at IRP.
"I had squealed the tires a lot as a kid, but that was my first ever attempt at doing a burnout in my life," he said. "The guys have a pit stop truck to practice their stops on, so maybe they'll let me convert that into a burnout truck so I can practice my donuts. My guys have been giving me a little hard time about getting into the wall, so my wife told me I should just tell them that's what I meant to do! But I remember Ron Hornaday catching the wall after he won somewhere once. Heck, after we nicked the wall there the engine died and I couldn't get it cranked again, so we just moved victory lane over 50 feet or so. It was pretty wild."
With the recent performances on the track, his standings in the points has improved as well.
"The parking spots in the garage get better and better ever week," he said with a chuckle.
Female drivers in each race so far...
08-13-2004 11:06 am
While no female driver has ever run every race in any nationally touring NASCAR series before, there is an interesting streak underway in the NCTS as we pass the halfway point in the season. Four females have qualified for NCTS races so far in 2004 (Tina Gordon, Kelly Sutton, Teri MacDonald, and Deborah Renshaw), and while no female has qualified for every race, there has been at least one female in each NCTS event to this point. Should that streak continue, it will mark the first time in NASCAR history that every race during the season had at least one female participant.
Wholesale changes on the No. 2 truck
08-14-2004 12:46 am
While NASCAR did impound the trucks after qualifying last night, several teams were seen working on them trying to correct problems before the start of today's race. One team working hard last night was Ultra Motorsports, trying to diagnose the problem on the No. 2 Dodge that cost them nearly 0.6-seconds on their qualifying lap. The team didn't end up changing the engine, but they did change the carburetor, ignition, and alternator hoping to find some additional speed. They will fall from 29th on the grid to the back for the start.
Hometown advantage
08-13-2004 11:15 am
The BHR organization is definitely bringing the homefield advantage to Nashville Superspeedway this weekend. The team is based in nearby Mt. Juliet, and with four trucks out of the BHR/BHR2 stables here this weekend, they look to dominate the field. Bobby Hamilton, Bobby Hamilton, Jr., Chad Chaffin, and Chase Montgomery all live within miles of the track, and have considerable racing racing experience in and around the Nashville area.
Another driver entered with a ton of experience in Nashville is Deborah Renshaw. Renshaw is from nearby Bowling Green, Kentucky, and spent a couple of seasons racing late models at Nashville Fairgrounds Raceway. In fact, she was the first female to ever lead the late model points at the Fairgrounds.
Entry list updates
08-13-2004 11:23 am
All of the regular contenders are here this weekend...and here are the additions and changes for the weekend:
Paul White is back in the No. 13 ThorSport Chevy this weekend...Johnny Benson returns to the cockpit of the No. 23 BDR Toyota...Mark McFarland is in the seat of the No. 59 HT Motorsports Dodge...the MB Motorsports No. 63 Ford is entered this weekend with Chris Wimmer at the wheel...David Ragan returns to the seat of the Fiddleback Racing No. 67 Ford...James Hylton looks to become the oldest driver to compete in the series at age 69 at the wheel of the No. 77 Welz Racing Dodge...Charlie Bradberry is here this weekend in his family's No. 78 Chevrolet...Bobby Hamilton attempts to make his second series start at Nashville in No. 04 Dodge out of the BHR stables...Jay Sauter continues his partial schedule as he hops back in the No. 06 MRD Motorsports Chevrolet...the No. 72 AXE Equipment Chevy scheduled to be piloted by Eric McClure has been withdrawn.
Notable Quotables: Innovative Motorsports
08-13-2004 11:45 am
Robert Huffman, No. 12 Toyota: "I am looking forward to getting back on the track. We had a disappointing race last Friday, and we certainly hope to redeem ourselves.” He continued, “This is going to be a big weekend for Toyota and the more than 10,000 associates who will be on hand to watch the race. We are going to try our best to give them something to cheer about.”
Hank Parker, Jr., No. 21 Toyota: "We really learned a lot. We had two solid days of trying different setups and seeing what adjustments would work together. We mainly focused on race setups and, as it turns out, we made the right decision since the trucks will be impounded after qualifying. We have zMAX back on board with us for this race, and we are looking to have a strong run for them, as well as Toyota, in the Toyota Tundra 200.”
Practice underway
08-13-2004 11:52 am
Trucks are on the track...the first to hit the speedway was the No. 75 of David Starr, the No. 46 of Dennis Setzer, and the No. 16 of Jack Sprague. We'll keep you abreast of everything during this two-hour practice, so keep it locked on to TrackSideLive presented by Team ASE/CARQUEST right here on TruckSeries.com.
They said it No. 1
08-13-2004 12:00 pm
Johnny Benson, No. 23 Toyota: "Take some right front spring out of it and put some left front spring into it."
Mike Skinner, No. 42 Toyota: "Something is wrong with it. It goes straight when I turn the wheel. Could be bottoming the nose. I think we have too much valence on it."
Jon Wood, No. 50 Ford: " As soon as I put some wheel to it, it goes way tight."
Dennis Setzer, No. 46 Chevy: "Danny, it's really big tight in the center of the corner, then it gets loose when I throttle it up coming off."
They said it No. 2
08-13-2004 12:12 pm
Carl Edwards, No. 99 Ford: "I gotta get it slowed way down to make the corner, but if we can get this thing to roll through the center, I think we're really gonna haul the mail boys."
Tracy Hines, No. 88 Chevrolet: "Free it up in the center. Don't do anything to free it up on exit yet - just work on the center. It is tighter in turns one and two."
Practice 1 Rundown 1
08-13-2004 12:15 pm
1. Hamilton (30.348 seconds)
2. Setzer
3. Skinner
4. Park
5. Reutimann
6. Starr
7. Edwards
8. Kvapil
9. Benson
10. Hmiel
11. Huffman
12. Musgrave
13. Crafton
14. Sprague
15. Chaffin
16. Hines
17. Houston
18. Wood
19. Crawford
20. Renshaw
21. Sutton
22. White
23. Lester
Spotted in the garage...
08-13-2004 12:19 pm
Perennial NCTS favorite Joe Ruttman was seen walking through the garage this morning; Ruttman has spent a lot of time this season as a test driver for the Toyota Racing Development program...also seen walking the garage was new NASCAR Busch Series Director Joe Balash; Balash is taking advantage of an off-weekend on the Busch schedule to work with NCTS Series Director Wayne Auton this weekend.
Practice 1 Rundown 2
08-13-2004 12:30 pm
1. Reutimann (30.187 seconds)
2. Hamilton
3. Park
4. Setzer
5. Skinner
6. Hmiel
7. Kvapil
8. Starr
9. Sprague
10. Huffman
11. Musgrave
12. Edwards
13. Chaffin
14. Cook
15. Benson
16. Crafton
17. Whitt
18. Hines
19. Parker, Jr.
20. Lester
21. Crawford
22. Montgomery
23. Houston
24. Wood
25. White
26. Renshaw
27. Sutton
28. McFarland
29. Ragan
30. Weaver
They said it No. 3
08-13-2004 12:39 pm
Travis Kvapil, No. 24 Toyota: "I can't get into the corner hard at all. We need to keep working on getting it free."
Chad Chaffin, No. 18 Dodge: "It has what I call a "bunny hop" to it. We need to pin the nose so I can get it turned."
Sprague to the garage
08-13-2004 1:00 pm
Jack Sprague was in line waiting to go out for practice when the engine started to run rough. The team met him and pushed him back to the garage, where they are in the fuel cell area looking for what is causing the problem.
Practice 1 Rundown 3
08-13-2004 1:04 pm
1. Reutimann (30.187 secs)
2. Hamilton
3. Starr
4. Setzer
5. Kvapil
6. Park
7. Sprague
8. Skinner
9. Hmiel
10. Huffman
11. Edwards
12. Whitt
13. Crafton
14. Musgrave
15. Cook
16.Wood
17. Benson
18. Chaffin
19. Parker, Jr.
20. Lester
21. Hines
22. Crawford
23. Hamilton, Jr.
24. Montgomery
25. Houston
26. Renshaw
27. Sauter
28. Sutton
29. Ragan
30. White
31. Wimmer
32. McFarland
33. Weaver
34. Sieg
35. Bradberry
36. Richardson
They said it No. 4
08-13-2004 1:18 pm
Brandon Whitt, No. 38 Ford: "On that last run it really felt like it was right on the edge."
Terry Cook, No. 10 Ford: "Whatever we are doing with the rear of the truck, we are not picking up the nose."
Carl Edwards, No. 99 Ford: "It is just way too tight going down into the turns. And we are having a hard time getting over the bumps going down into turn one. I am not complaining, but I want to be honest and tell you what is holding us up."
Chad Chaffin, No. 18 Dodge: "I am tight through the center and I can't get on the throttle coming off because I am too loose. If I had to fix just one I would fix coming off."
Debris inspection/Practice 1 Rundown 4
08-13-2004 1:28 pm
Debris has brought the practice to a temporary halt for the first time today. The track is clear and trucks will be on the track in a matter of minutes.
Here is the current rundown:
1. Park (30.141 seconds)
2. Reutimann
3. Hamilton
4. Starr
5. Setzer
6. Kvapil
7. Sprague (Fuel pickup problems keeping Sprague off track)
8. Skinner
9. Hmiel
10. Hamilton, Jr.
11. Huffman
12. Edwards
13. Crafton
14. Whitt
15. Musgrave
16. Cook
17. Chaffin
18. Wood
19. Lester
20. Parker, Jr.
21. Benson
22. Hines
23. Crawford
24. Montgomery
25. Houston
26. Renshaw
27. Ragan
28. Sauter
29. Sutton
30. White
31. Wimmer
32. McFarland
33. Weaver
34. Sieg
35. Bradberry
36. Richardson
Only the No. 77 of James Hylton has yet to be on the track.
Red Flag 2/Practice 1 Rundown 4
08-13-2004 1:48 pm
There is a stalled truck on the access road, preliminary reports indicate it is the No. 15 Chevy of Shane Hmiel. Here is the rundown with just minutes left in the session:
1. Hmiel (30.136 seconds)
2. Park
3. Reutimann
4. Hamilton
5. Crafton
6. Starr
7. Hamilton, Jr.
8. Setzer
9. Kvapil
10. Sprague
11. Skinner
12. Edwards
13. Whitt
14. Huffman
15. Chaffin
16. Parker, Jr.
17. Cook
18. Musgrave
19. Wood
20. Lester
21. Benson
22. Hines
23. Crawford
24. Renshaw
25. Montgomery
26. Houston
27. Ragan
28. Sauter
29. Sutton
30. White
31. Wimmer
32. Sieg
33. McFarland
34. Weaver
35. Bradberry
36. Richardson
37. Hylton
Edwards has flat
08-13-2004 2:05 pm
Carl Edwards just popped a tire out on the speedway. "That was a really good balance, as good as we have been all day," he said. "It felt like it popped going down the back stretch."
Practice Top-10
08-13-2004 2:16 pm
Here are the top-10 after the only practice for the Toyota Tundra 200 (complete results posted on the main page shortly):
1. Hamilton, Jr. 29.875
2. Setzer 29.924
3. Reutimann 29.950
4. Kvapil 29.999
5. Hmiel 30.136
6. Park 30.141
7. Crafton 30.142
8. Starr 30.185
9. Musgrave 30.190
10. Skinner 30.203
Notable Quotables, Chevrolet
08-13-2004 3:18 pm
Dennis Setzer, No. 46 Chevrolet: “Our Chevrolet Silverado was pretty good today in practice. We were decent throughout, then the track started to turn and got a little loose coming off the corner. On qualifying we were really good, the first lap we were top of the board, but our second lap it just wouldn’t go. I feel confident going into qualifying and the race, hopefully we can take our Silverado to victory lane.”
Jack Sprague, No. 16 Chevrolet: “Our Chevy Trucks Silverado is pretty good. We spent most of practice working on race setup because with the trucks being impounded after qualifying, we have to be ready to race. We aren’t perfect by any means but we have something we can work with come race time tomorrow. We did a couple bonsai runs and were ok, again, not perfect but ok. We are just looking to get a good qualifying run in and then race strong. We had a fuel pickup problem early in practice and I thought we had a miss in the motor but we got it fixed and were able to work on more race setup. I felt comfortable in the truck and I am excited about the race because I really like this track.”
David Starr, No. 75 Chevrolet: “We had a pretty good practice, we were working on our stuff for the race since we won’t have happy hour today, so we had to practice happy hour and practice all in one. For about 45 minutes we just couldn’t get our truck to turn in the center, and we didn’t understand what was wrong and then it wouldn’t turn, it would slide the nose in turn 1& 2. McCarty and the guys made a couple of changes, and put us behind a little bit there in practice, but we were making gains on the direction we wanted to head. We just hit a brick wall there for a while, and then finally find some fixes. With about ten minutes to go we finally were running some qualifying runs and were pretty happy. Our Spears Chevrolet Silverado is pretty good today, we just need to focus on making sure we have a good truck for the race, an I’m happy with it. We just need a good run, we’ve had a couple bad races, we just need to have a good run, if we can’t win the race we need to just get a top-5 finish. We’re excited and hoping we have a good qualifying run.”
Matt Crafton, No. 6 Chevrolet: “My guys have done a great job with this brand new GM Goodwrench Silverado. Wally (Rogers, crew chief) has given me a great setup. We unloaded and were decent from the start. We made some really good adjustments so I think we are pretty good now. We are a little on the free side, but I that is where me need to be to qualify and to race. Our truck should definitely be capable of running in the top-five to contend for the win.”
Kelly Sutton, No. 02 Chevrolet: "We unloaded pretty good, but needed to find a way to get the truck to run closer to the bottom. We made a gear change and switched to a different shock and spring package, which really helped me in one and two. This is my first time to this track, so most of the time was spent breaking down the sections of the track, to find the best line and where the truck ran best. The more we ran, the better we got, and we turned our fastest lap right there at the end of practice. I think the track's coming to me, and we ought to have a good truck for qualifying this afternoon."
Tracy Hines, No. 88 Chevrolet: “We aren’t as good as we should be right now. We unloaded pretty decent but a lot of guys got better and we didn’t. Having the trucks impounded after qualifying is throwing a curve in everything for our Menards Silverado team. We are going to struggle qualifying a little bit but I feel like we are going to race pretty good.”
Notable quotables, No. 2
08-13-2004 3:21 pm
Terry Cook, No. 10 Ford: ""I think we've got a really good truck here. The field is so tight here at Nashville. I don't think I seen the competition so tight in the top 15. You could pick up a ten of a second and be fifth in the practice charts. It seems every run we went out to do a run, we've got faster but as soon as we went faster, the rest of the competition did but that's typical on a concrete track. We're chasing the racetrack as much as we're chasing the race truck. I feel like we're going to have a real good race package and that's what we came here to do and that's to race well. We're fortunate to come here to Nashville and have a cold spell with the weather. Hopefully it will stick around for tomorrow because typically we come here and it's very hot and humid. If that's the case, we'll adjust our race setup accordingly."
Shane Hmiel, No. 15 Chevrolet: "The truck ran great in practice but it was a little tricky when the water hose broke and sprayed me with 280 degree water during my mock qualifying run. We have a great truck and I think we have a chance for the pole."
TruckShots
08-13-2004 3:25 pm
Click here
to see a brand-spankin' new gallery of TruckShots from the garage at Nashville Superspeedway.
Oil down in ARCA practice
08-13-2004 3:32 pm
A car blew an engine very early in ARCA practice oiling down a considerable amount of the 1.33-mile racing surface. ARCA practice was halted for nearly 30 minutes while the track crew cleaned up the fluids. Several drivers have expressed some reservations about qualifying now that the track condition has been dramatically altered.
Jones and Team Chick back at Vegas
08-13-2004 3:44 pm
Eric Jones and the No. 74 Team Chick Motorsports team will return to the NCTS circuit at Las Vegas next month. Based in the Kansas City area, the team will have sponsorship from a local company, Taylor Cable/Vertex.
Live! Qualifying up at 5:00 pm ET
08-13-2004 3:49 pm
Keep it right here at TruckSeries.com for exclusive qualifying coverage.
Click here
to transfer to our Live! Bud Pole Qualifying page.
Parker anxious for addition to the family
08-13-2004 4:38 pm
Hank Parker, Jr. is anxiously awaiting the birth of his second child, which is hopefully going to come just after the NCTS race at Richmond. "We're going to have another little girl," he said. "The due date is the 13th of September, but they are going to let us induce after the Richmond race. If the baby wasn't here yet by the time I left for Loudon, it would be awfully difficult to make it back in time from New Hampshire. The only negative about the whole thing is that will give us two daughters, and that means I lose three to one on every household vote!"
TruckSeries.com wishes the Parker family all the best on the upcoming addition to their family.
TrackSideLive! Audio
08-13-2004 4:36 pm
The TrackSideLive! microphones went to the garage for comments after todays only practice session. Click on drivers name for audio.
Carl Edwards
(comments on practice session and also yesterdays announcement that he will be driving the Roush Racing No. 99 Nextel Cup Car)
Travis Kvapil
Bobby Hamilton, Jr.
Matt Crafton
Shane Hmiel
Hank Parker Jr.
Unofficial qualifying top-10
08-13-2004 4:44 pm
1. Bobby Hamilton Jr.
2. David Reutimann
3. Dennis Setzer
4. Matt Crafton
5. Shane Hmiel
6. Bill Lester
7. Robert Huffman
8. David Starr
9. Hank Parker, Jr
10. Travis Kvapil
BHR2 crew member ill
08-13-2004 6:39 pm
Mark White, a member of Chase Montgomery’s No. 8 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team, fell ill last week at IRP after suffering a stroke. White, 37, is resting comfortable in a Nashville area hospital. He will be transferred to another facility for rehabilitation within the next few days. A decal wishing him well will be displayed on the No. 8 Dodge this weekend at Nashville.
Notable Quotables, Ford Post-Qualifying
08-13-2004 6:41 pm
Carl Edwards, No. 99 Ford: "To be honest with you, I had to call Geoff Smith (president, Roush Racing) back just to make sure he said it was starting next week in Michigan. It hasn't really set in that I'm about to make my Cup debut, and until we go to the shop and until we go testing and actually get to the race track, it's almost surreal; I don't know what to think of it. Geoff Smith called me early in the week to give me the news. He tells me he makes the bad calls, too, but so far all of his phone calls to me have been great calls. Whenever my phone rings and it's Geoff Smith, I always equate him calling me to great things."
WITH THE NEXTEL CUP SEASON ALREADY PAST THE HALFWAY POINT, WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE YEAR?
"My hopes are that I catch on to the nuances of that vehicle and work well with Bob Osborne (crew chief) and the crew and try to catch on to what it is that makes those cars go well, and finish all of the laps and qualify for all of
the races and learn. I think it's going to be very difficult, but that's what makes it so fun. I think I have a lot to learn and I'm pretty excited to learn. As a race car driver, I think I have a lot to learn, period. I have a feeling that inadequacies show up more in situations where you're driving against guys at the Cup level, but I also feel that you have a chance to learn a lot quicker just because the level of competition pushes you. I'm hoping that I can learn fast enough not to look too bad, and eventually catch on quick enough that we go ahead and run real well towards
the end of the season."
THIS IS JUST YOUR SECOND FULL SEASON OF COMPETITION IN THE TRUCK SERIES. DO YOU EXPECT TO BE TREATED ANY DIFFERENTLY ON THE TRACK BY THE NEXTEL CUP VETERANS NEXT WEEKEND AT
MICHIGAN?
"Probably, but that's the way it goes. Don't tell anybody, but I've only been racing a pavement car for three years, so I've got a lot to learn. But, hey, as a driver I've caught on and feel like I've got to where I can drive these
trucks pretty well, and I feel comfortable driving them and hope that I get to feel the same way in a Cup car."
HAVE YOU TALKED TO ANY OF ROUSH RACING'S NEXTEL CUP DRIVERS AFTER THE ANNOUNCEMENT?
"I haven't talked to any of them yet, but I guarantee you that I'll be leaning on them. To me that's one of the good things about the situation. It's not like it's a single-car team that doesn't have any notes. They were running pretty well lately, the 99 team, and having guys that are running so good right now like Mark Martin, Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch and Matt Kenseth, that's going to be the most valuable thing to me."
DO YOU THINK YOU WILL RELY ON ONE TEAMMATE'S INPUT MORE THAN THE OTHERS?
"I don't know. They've all been really nice to me. I don't really look at any one of them more than the others, and don't see my driving style exactly like any one in particular."
IS YOUR PRIORITY STILL WITH THE TRUCK SERIES?
"The priority is still winning the truck series championship. There are some conflicts and the truck comes first, and the biggest thing is winning the championship for Superchips and that's priority number one. I just want to take it step by step and see what happens. I'm going to go with the flow and see what happens. I'm just going to do my very best. Everybody had their first start in a big league event like this at some point, and I'll just try to get some experience and hopefully it won't be too painful."
DO YOU FEEL THIS IS A TRYOUT FOR NEXT YEAR AND A POSSIBLE FULL-TIME RIDE IN THE NO. 99
CUP CAR?
"I think it's a tryout. I need to do as well as I can to secure a sponsor and then hopefully have the option of running a Cup car full time next year. That's the mission right now. Otherwise, we still have our options in truck and Busch series, but I plan on making this work."
Terry Cook, No. 10 Ford: "I didn't think that it would be that difficult. That's not good at all. We thought we could run a 30-flat. We ran a 30.32 earlier and thought we had a little bit left in it after that and made some adjustments. For whatever reason, I can't blame it totally on the track because there are other trucks that are going fast right now. We were just searching for grip. It just didn't have real good grip in the front or the back of the truck. We got into the corner and the nose started to push up the track and the back followed it there shortly after. We just kind of struggled with grip front and back and we're not really sure what the deal is."
IS THIS ONE OF THOSE DAYS WHERE YOU MISS NOT RUNNING A HAPPY HOUR PRACTICE SESSION?
"Honestly, I really do. I'm not sure exactly what we're saving by not having Happy Hour. We're only allocated four sets of tires, so it's not like we're going to save a sticker set and bring them to another race. I can see not having Happy Hour on a one-day show, that makes sense, but to have us here for two days and to not run a Happy Hour, I guess I kind of scratch my head and wonder what the theory is on that one. But nevertheless, here we are and these are the rules and that's what we have to do."
Brandon Whitt, No. 38 Ford: "It seemed to gain a little grip from practice. We ran pretty close to what we ran in practice, so it's only a half of a tenth off where we ran before. We'll see what happens. We practiced in the top 15 and hopefully we end up in the top 15."
THIS IS YOUR FIRST RACE AT NASHVILLE. WITH THE RACING SURFACE BEING CONCRETE, WAS IT EASIER FOR YOU TO GET A HANDLE OF THE TRACK?
"This place is pretty neat. I liked it right when we got here. It wasn't very hard to get a hold of the race track. It kind of reminds me of Dover; once you get a hold of it you're pretty good. It just seemed the more rubber that gets down on the surface the tighter the tracks gets. I think you'll see a lot of adjustments being made during the race to accommodate for that."
BEING A ROOKIE HERE, DOES THE LACK OF A HAPPY HOUR PRACTICE PUT YOU AT A DISADVANTAGE?
"Not really because we got a lot of good practice in today. We followed a lot of good guys out there and we learned a great amount, so I think we're all right for the race."
Carl Edwards, No. 99 Ford: "It was just uncontrollable loose. It was really, really loose, but I think we'll be all
right when we untape it. It's very frustrating. We didn't get a good mock qualifying run in because the chain on the front swaybar broke, but I felt like the time we did get to spend on qualifying trim, I thought it was going
to be very, very good. It's pretty frustrating. We ran two tenths faster on our first qualifying run and I left off the gas off of four and rolled across the stripe. It was a .60, and I don't understand how we are so far off, expect for the track must have changed or something is different."
DOES THE LACK OF HAPPY HOUR COMPOUND THE PROBLEMS GOING INTO THE RACE?
"No, I don't think it really maters. We did all of our race trim stuff and I feel pretty good about race trim; I think we're going to be OK. I think if we untape right now we're going to be fine."
Jon Wood, No. 50 Ford: "It is. I think what's throwing us for a loop is all of the Fords tested at Chicago and we brought our Chicago setup, and this place is so different that they don't work. I was a little surprised with that, but the Toyotas tested here, this is what they're shooting for, this race. We'll just take what we can get."
CAN YOU PARK THE TRUCK AFTER QUALIFYING ON A DAY LIKE TODAY AND FEEL CONFIDENT FOR THE
START OF THE RACE?
"I don't know. That's a question I can't answer right now. I'm not confident enough with what we've got with the limited amount of practice time that we had, but I think our truck has enough adjustability in it that we can come up with something for tomorrow."
Notable Quotables, Chevrolet Post-Qualifying
08-13-2004 6:50 pm
Dennis Setzer, No. 46 Chevrolet: “ Well, we aren’t on the pole. The truck is about how it was in practice. We ran a little faster lap in practice and a little slower lap, so we are about in the middle, starting 3rd hopefully we can get our Silverado Truck to the front. Our Chevrolet Silverado is ready to race tomorrow. Danny (Gill, crew chief) and the guys all give 100% to give me great trucks every race. I feel like we have a good race package for tomorrow.”
Matt Crafton, No. 6 Chevrolet: “Qualifying fourth for me here at Nashville is pretty good considering how bad I have been here in the past. I think were could have been a little faster on the second lap but I bottomed out a bit getting into turn one. Hopefully, this starting spot will put me in a position for a top-five run and if we have good pit stops we should be battling for the lead all day.”
David Starr, No. 75 Chevrolet: “Well, we are starting 8th, our goal was to qualify in the top-10. Our Spears Silverado was really good on the first lap, but we slowed down a little on the second lap. We are ready to race.”
Jack Sprague, No. 16 Chevrolet: “I am pretty happy with how our Chevy Trucks Silverado qualified. We knew we weren’t a contender for the pole because we really concentrated on race trim during practice this morning. We wanted to qualify solidly and we did that, actually probably better than we thought we could to be honest. I feel really good about the truck for tomorrow’s race. The guys have put together a package that I was real happy with at the end of practice. We were a little loose but with our race starting at 4:00 pm, we may be just perfect about mid-race.”
Shane Hmiel, No. 15 Chevrolet: “We had a great Chevrolet Silverado today; I wish it was a bit faster so we could have come closer to the pole. Bobby Jr. is a great driver and especially here. He did a nice job putting the 04 on the pole. We have our truck set up for tomorrow and really that's what it's all about where you finish in the race. I like the concrete surface so we're looking forward to a great race with the Billy Ballew Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado. We'll take a top five starting spot anytime.”
Kelly Sutton, No. 02 Chevrolet: "We were a little disappointed with this run. We lost three tenths from our best practice time, so we'll start 30th instead of 25th tomorrow afternoon. It would have been great to start a few rows further up, but I think we have a good truck here, and I have faith the guys will make any changes we need. I feel more comfortable with the truck the longer I’m on the track, and I'm looking forward to some great racing and a great finish!"
Tracy Hines, No. 88 Chevrolet: “This is a great run for the Menards Silverado team. We weren’t that good in practice but the guys made great changes for qualifying and we got a good qualifying effort under our belts. It feels good to be starting closer to the front so maybe I can follow some of these fast guys and stay with them all day.”
Notable Quotables, Toyota Post-Qualifying
08-13-2004 6:55 pm
David Reutimann, No. 17 Toyota: “My Tundra drove really good – we were just a little short. I’m real happy with the way we ran. We pretty much backed up what we ran in practice, or at least are pretty close to it. The two days we spent here in July testing really helped us a lot. Today, we unloaded the truck with the same set-up that we finished off the test here, and we worked on things a little today. It’s been driving well all day. It’s nice to start up front for this deal, that’s for sure. And, I’ve definitely started further back than second.”
HOW MUCH DID TESTING HER IN JULY HELP?
“Any time you run laps at a racetrack it’s beneficial. It all really comes down to laps -- and when you’re a rookie, you need laps. That’s the only way you can get better.”
HOW DOES RUNNING IN FRONT OF A LARGE GROUP OF TOYOTA ASSOCIATES FEEL?
“It makes you just a little extra nervous when you’re strapping in to the truck because you want to qualify good for those people, and race good for those people. They are as much behind the Toyota program as anybody. When you don’t run good, you feel like you let them down, and you don’t want to do that.”
Bill Lester, No. 22 Toyota: “Any time you go faster in qualifying than you did in practice, it’s a good thing The truck handled beautifully. We got my Tundra so it was really comfortable, really driveable and really fast. I’m really optimistic about tomorrow. We were real good in the long runs today. I feel we’ll be real good in the race.”
HOW MUCH DID TESTING HER IN JULY HELP?
“Testing here in July was really helpful because I learned a whole lot in terms of my throttle application. I’m really glad we spent the time, money, energy and effort to be here and test. I think it’s really paying off for all the Toyota teams.”
Hank Parker, Jr., No. 21 Toyota: “The truck really drove good, it was just a little too ‘tight.’ We only made one qualifying run in practice. The rest of the time we focused on race set-up. Being that this is a Toyota race, and we’re one of the Toyota teams, we came here and tested with the rest of the Toyotas in July. During that test, for two solid days we did nothing but race runs. We know that we wanted to come here and race well, and this is a track that I’ve run well at in the Busch Series. I really enjoy Nashville and my guys at Innovative Motorsports have run well here in the past. I’m optimistic for the race and looking for a good run.”
Travis Kvapil, No. 24 Toyota: “It wasn’t as good as we hoped. In practice, we went quite a bit faster. It seemed to be to free. I don’t know if it had anything to do with going out after the ARCA cars, who are out on the track with different tires. I feel like we have a great truck in race trim. That’s more important than our starting position -- being able to get up to the front. And, we feel pretty confident that we’ll be able to do that come race time. Testing here was a big benefit. We came here this weekend with a set-up we knew we’d just have to tune a little bit and make some fine adjustments. The test was a huge plus, especially not having any ‘Happy Hour’ practice. To be able to be here for two days to work on the truck and find a balance was a huge advantage.”
To the back
08-13-2004 7:09 pm
Three trucks will fall to the back of the pack for the start of the Toyota Tundra 200 tomorrow. Jay Sauter and his team violated NASCAR's testing policy and by penalty will start from the back (he also was only given one lap in qualifying for that violation). Mark McFarland will start from the back after his team worked on his truck after qualifying. NASCAR has impounded the trucks after qualifying and closed the garage, but the HT Motorsports team is under the hood changing engines, meaning they will give up their spot and fall to the back on the start as well. Andy Houston's team also looked under the hood to diagnose a carburetor problem after qualifying and they will drop to the back as well.
Unofficial finish
08-14-2004 6:57 pm
1. Hamilton
2. Starr
3. Musgrave
4. Hamilton, Jr.
5. Park
6. Benson
7. Crafton
8. Huffman
9. Reutimann
10. Skinner
11. Hmiel
12. Chaffin
13. Kvapil
14. Sprague
15. Parker, Jr.
16. Cook
17. Whitt
18. Wood
19. Setzer
20. Edwards
21. Sauter
22. Hines
23. Montgomery
24. Crawford
25. Houston
26. Sieg
27. Renshaw
28. Sutton
29. McFarland
30. White
31. Lester
32. Ragan
33. Wimmer
34. Weaver
35. Richardson
36. Bradberry
That's a day
08-13-2004 7:43 pm
With the garage area closed and the teams on their way home for the evening, it's time to call it a night from Nashville Superspeedway. It was a slow day at the track today, with just two cautions slowing practice, both for debris and qualifying coming off without a hitch. Looks like all of the teams managed to avoid bad luck on Friday the 13th, but usually a slow practice and qualifying day means a lot of action on race day. We'll pick up pre-race coverage for the Toyota Tundra 200 at 1 pm ET when the garage opens here at Nashville Superspeedway. Good night everbody, see you tomorrow!
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