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Kroger 200
| Richmond International Raceway
Race No. 17 | September 9, 2004
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TrackSideLive! from Richmond International Raceway
09-01-2004 9:29 pm
TrackSideLive! coverage of the Kroger 200 from Richmond International Raceway begins Thursday morning, September 9, 2004. For a race preview, TrackSideLive! Editor Charles Krall talks with Ted Musgrave, Jack Sprague and Jon Wood.
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Good morning from a wet and rainy Richmond
09-09-2004 9:28 am
Good morning from a very wet and rainy Richmond International Raceway. The remnants of Hurricane Frances have been wreaking havoc on the best laid plans of NASCAR and the speedway...with a very busy day on tap, there is very little leeway built in the schedule for weather-related delays. The forecast shows a significant clearning just south of Richmond, but it is still a couple of hours away. As we sit now, there is a steady rain falling at the track, but weather radar shows once this band of showers moves to the north, we should be in the clear the remainder of the day. Keep it locked on to TruckSeries.com for all the latest news, including weather updates, right here on TrackSideLive!
Entry list oddities
09-09-2004 9:30 am
Some differences in the entry list stick out at us here this week. The Bang! Racing team is here with the No. 24 truck for Travis Kvapil, however, the No. 42 has not been spotted. The truck carrying Mike Skinner's name over the door was numbered 01 first thing this morning, but apparently there is still some discussion as to which number that truck will carry today and the number decals have been taken off as the truck is being prepared in the garage. The No. 08, normally assigned to Ken Weaver, is being handled by NCTS veteran Butch Miller here this week while Weaver is running the ARCA event in Joliet, Ill. Rob Ferguson, originally scheduled for the No. 93, has been taken off the entry list and Wayne Edwards will replace him, while Lance Hooper will take over driving chores in the No. 13 here at Richmond. As previously announced, Jamie McMurray will take the seat of the No. 2 truck for Ultra Motorsports, and Jimmy Spencer is at the wheel of the No. 09 for owner James Finch. Most notably, two-time defending race winner Tony Stewart is in attendance today in the No. 47 for the Morgan-Dollar team. A revised entry list, with all these changes, will be released from NASCAR shortly and will be posted on the main page as soon as it is available.
Weather update
09-09-2004 9:38 am
The rain has stopped, and as soon as the last drop fell from the sky, it immediately turned sunny and very, very humid. It is going to be a steamy morning and afternoon at the track! We'll update the schedule as soon as we hear an update from NASCAR...no word to this point on how the rains will affect the NCTS practice and qualifying.
Jet dryers on track
09-09-2004 10:15 am
There is a fleet of four jet dryers on the track surface and they are making significant progress on drying the track from the morning's rains. We are obviously going to be somewhat delayed, but still no official word on how the day's schedule will be affected.
We're getting close
09-09-2004 10:41 am
The track is 90% dry and the drivers are in their uniforms. The spotters are on their way to the stand, and we are apparently just moments away from the first on-track activity of the day. We'll keep you abreast of the action as soon as it breaks here on TrackSideLive!
Trucks are on pit road
09-09-2004 10:52 am
The first group of trucks ready to make their way on to the track are lined up on pit road. The first to head out are Dennis Setzer, Jack Sprague, and Jamie McMurray. We''ll let you know as soon as that first truck rolls onto the speedway, and we'll keep you abreast of everything from the garage as soon as it breaks, right here on TrackSideLive!
Engines are fired...we are ready!
09-09-2004 11:06 am
The track dryers are done, and the first trucks have rolled on to the speedway! It is time to get after it! We'll keep you updated throughout the entire practice leading up to Live! Bud Pole Qualifying, coming your way at 2 pm ET...
They said it, No, 1
09-09-2004 11:11 am
Johnny Benson, No. 23 Toyota: "I am just trying to get a hold of it, it feels like ice out here."
Wally Rogers, crew chief, No. 6 Chevy: "We don't want to make a lot of changes just yet, we need to see how the truck feels once the track has some rubber on it."
Travis Kvapil, No. 24 Toyota: "It feels like the front wants to start to chatter, but it feels good going down on in."
Red Flag No, 1
09-09-2004 11:14 am
A quick spin by the No. 02 Kelly Sutton has brought out the first red flag of the day. She got loose coming out of turn four and spun down the front stretch. No damage is reported, but she did flat spot the tires in the long slide down the track.
Bang! and Toyota reconcile; will remain together throughout 2004
09-09-2004 11:23 am
A press release just issued in the media center states that Bang! Racing and Toyota Racing Development will remain together throughout the 2004 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season. Defending series champion Travis Kvapil will stay with Bang!, while 1995 series champion Mike Skinner's team will join the Bill Davis Racing operation. More details will be available on the main page of TruckSeries.com shortly.
Practice Rundown No. 1
09-09-2004 11:25 am
1. Hamilton 22.119 seconds
2. Sprague
3. Musgrave
4. Park
5. Hmiel
6. Schrader
7. Chaffin
8. McMurray
9. Stewart
10. Montgomery
11. Huffman
12. Cook
13. McFarland
14. Wood
15. Spencer
16. Starr
17. Edwards
18. Kvapil
19. Reutimann
20. Setzer
21. Jay Sauter
22. T. Bodine
23. D. Hamlin
24. Crafton
25. Raines
26. Ragan
27. Bradberry
28. Skinner
29. Lester
30. Whitt
31. Benson
32. Sieg
33. Renshaw
34. Hines
35. Hooper
36. Sutton
37. Miller
38. Crawford
39. C. Wood
40. Stout
41. Beattie
They said it, No. 2
09-09-2004 11:30 am
Mike Skinner, No. 42 Toyota: "It's tight in the center, but it feels pretty good so far."
Jimmy Spencer, No. 09 Dodge: "The front was chattering at both ends. Other than that it feels good."
Johnny Benson, No. 23 Toyota: "I just about backed it into the fence. It feels like the rear end is out of it by a half an inch."
They said it, No. 3
09-09-2004 11:33 am
Ted Musgrave, No. 1 Dodge: "I didn't hit the chip on that run, but I was letting off a little early getting into the turns."
Tracy Hines, No. 88 Chevrolet: "I can turn it now, but when I put some wheel to it, it wants to spin out through the center."
Mike Skinner, No. 42 Toyota: "There is something way whacked in the front end. Every good racecar I have ever had here will get down in the turns, and it's not doing that now."
On the bubble...
09-09-2004 11:37 am
Here is a rundown, with times, of the drivers "on the bubble" so far in practice. Ted Musgrave is currently fastest with a 21.824 second lap:
25. McFarland, 22. 352
26. Cook, 22.372
27. Johnny Sauter, 22.380
28. Hooper, 22.390
29. Hamlin, 22.391
30. Skinner, 22.404
31. Jay Sauter, 22.484
32. Sieg, 22.542
33. Renshaw, 22.593
34. Raines, 22.726
35. Benson, 811
36. Sutton, 22.901
37. Hines, 22.972
38. Miller, 23.047
39. Beattie, 23.942
40. Craig Wood, 24.090
41. Crawford, 24.409
42. Stout, 25.320
Red flag No. 2
09-09-2004 11:42 am
The red flag is out for the second time in the session, this time to reposition the cones at the end of pit lane. The green flag is back out after just a very short delay.
TrackSideLive! Audio
09-09-2004 11:46 am
TrackSideLive! went into the garage before todays practice session and talked with
Dennis Setzer
and
Todd Bodine
about the possibility of rain... and getting ready for qualifying and the race tonight.
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Practice Rundown No, 2
09-09-2004 11:49 am
The top of the order looks a lot different 45 minutes into this session...here is the latest rundown:
1. Musgrave, 21.824
2. T. Bodine
3. Hamilton
4. Cook
5. McMurray
6. Sprague
7. Schrader
8. Chaffin
9. Crafton
10. Whitt
11. Stewart
12. Park
13. Lester
14. Hmiel
15. Wood
16. Kvapil
17. Setzer
18. Parker, Jr.
19. Reutimann
20. Spencer
21. Edwards
22. Starr
23. Montgomery
24. Ragan
25. Huffman
26. McFarland
27. Johnny Sauter
28. Hooper, 22.357
29. Hamlin
30. Skinner
31. Jay Sauter
32. Hines, 22.434
33.Benson
34. Renshaw
35. Sieg
36. Raines
37. Wimmer
38. Bradberry
39. Miller
40. Sutton
41. Craig Wood
42. Beattie
43. Crawford
44. Stout
45. Hylton
They said it, No. 4
09-09-2004 12:03 pm
Carl Edwards, No. 99: "It is too tight. It presses into the banking in turn three, and then it frees up when I am coming off. I think we need to stiffen up the left rear. Maybe we need to put in a spring rubber. It feels good and it drives great, it's just too tight."
Chad Chaffin, No. 18 Dodge: "I think we need to take some bite out of this thing."
Trip Bruce, crew chief, No. 2 Dodge: "We need to go back to the first set of tires Jamie. They have cooled off, and it will let us know what to expect when we get ready to qualify."
TruckShots posted
09-09-2004 12:08 pm
Who's at Richmond with a new paint job? What do some of these trucks new to the series look like? Well, here's your chance for your first look!
Click here
to log on to our exclusive TruckShots gallery and find out...
Rundown No, 3
09-09-2004 12:15 pm
1. McMurray 21.810
2. Mugrave
3. T. Bodine
4. Hamilton
5. Stewart
6. Parker, Jr., 21.971
7. Cook
8. Sprague
9. Schrader
10. Chaffin
11. Crafton, 22.018
12. Edwards
13. Kvapil
14. Wood
15. Whitt
16. Setzer, 22.079
17. Park
18. Starr
19. Huffman
20. Lester
21. Hmiel, 22. 136
22. Montgomery
23. Miller
24. Reutimann
25. Skinner
26. Crawford, 22.242
27. Spencer
28. Ragan
29. Hamlin
30. McFarland
31. Raines, 22.342
32. Sieg, 22.357
33. Johnny Sauter, 22.369
34. Hooper, 22.381
35. Jay Sauter, 22.411
36. Renshaw, 22.419
37. Hines, 22.434
38. Bradberry, 22.450
39. Benson, 22.479
40. Wimmer, 33.582
41. Sutton, 22.785
42. Stout, 23.144
43. Beattie, 23.372
44. Craig Wood, 23.792
45. Hylton, 24.887
Rundown No, 3
09-09-2004 12:15 pm
1. McMurray 21.810
2. Mugrave
3. T. Bodine
4. Hamilton
5. Stewart
6. Parker, Jr., 21.971
7. Cook
8. Sprague
9. Schrader
10. Chaffin
11. Crafton, 22.018
12. Edwards
13. Kvapil
14. Wood
15. Whitt
16. Setzer, 22.079
17. Park
18. Starr
19. Huffman
20. Lester
21. Hmiel, 22. 136
22. Montgomery
23. Miller
24. Reutimann
25. Skinner
26. Crawford, 22.242
27. Spencer
28. Ragan
29. Hamlin
30. McFarland
31. Raines, 22.342
32. Sieg, 22.357
33. Johnny Sauter, 22.369
34. Hooper, 22.381
35. Jay Sauter, 22.411
36. Renshaw, 22.419
37. Hines, 22.434
38. Bradberry, 22.450
39. Benson, 22.479
40. Wimmer, 33.582
41. Sutton, 22.785
42. Stout, 23.144
43. Beattie, 23.372
44. Craig Wood, 23.792
45. Hylton, 24.887
Top-10 with 10 minutes to go
09-09-2004 12:26 pm
1. Sprague
2. Lester
3. Edwards
4. Musgrave
5. McMurray
6. Bodine
7. Hamilton
8. Hooper
9. Wood
10. Huffman
Revised schedule
09-09-2004 12:28 am
With the rain early this morning, we are now working on a revised schedule for the remainder of the day (all times Eastern):
11:15 AM-12:50 PM: NCTS Practice
3:00 PM: NCTS Bud Pole Qualifying (Live! Bud Pole Qualifying exclusively on TruckSeries.com)
5:00 PM: NCTS Driver's Meeting
8:30 PM: NCTS Driver Introductions
8:45 PM: NCTS Kroger 200
Top-10 in Practice
09-09-2004 12:43 pm
Here is the top-10:
1. Sprague, 21.634
2. Lester, 21.647
3. Kvapil, 21.647
4. Edwards, 21.651
5. Reutimann, 21.680
6. McMurray, 21.736
7. Musgrave, 21. 738
8. Crafton, 21.753
9. Bodine, 21.754
10. Wood, 21.763
Live! Bud Pole Qualifying up next!
09-09-2004 2:36 pm
Make sure you click on over to
Live! Bud Pole Qualifying powered by The Chevrolet All-Stars
, coming up next at the top of the hour.
Unofficial qualifying results
09-09-2004 4:30 pm
2, 1, 30, 17, 16, 09, 18, 50, 99, 47, 22, 46, 15, 52, 21, 24, 62, 10, 6, 75, 23, 12, 42, 4, 8, 88, 63, 03, 38, 08, 78, 43, 06, 13, 40, 14, 59, 07, 02, 67, 93, 0, 73, 91, 29, 48
Pit notes...No. 1
09-09-2004 5:24 pm
Jamie McMurray, No. 2 Dodge: "I have been wanting to drive this truck for a long time. I think there is a chance you could see me in it at Loudon and Martinsville. Both of those are stand alone races with Cup and we could use the extra laps to help us with the Cup car."
Jimmy Spencer, No. 09 Dodge: "I really wanted to be on the pole, but I didn't that lap was going to hold up. It was a good lap for my first time in the truck. I freed it up too much for qualifying, but we'll see how it works tonight. I love Richmond. They did an awesome job repaving this place To me it's the ultimate short track. Bristol is a happening, but this is a racetrack."
Matt Crafton, No. 6 Chevy: "Every race is important for that championship. We go about this one the same way we do the other 24 races. We have a good truck. It was relly good in practice. I tried to hustle it a little too much in turns three and four on that first lap and it slipped a little bit. Havick talked to me a little bit before qualifying and I think it helped me out and hopefully we'll have a good race."
Dennis Setzer, No. 46 Chevrolet: "The track had a lot more grip than it had this morning. This race is very important, we're trying to catch Hamilton in the points. We usually run well here and we really need a good finish tonight."
Tony Stewart, No. 47 Chevrolet: "It's hard when you don't run a truck very often to know what to do when you go qualifying. We didn't do any bonzai runs so that was the first qualifying run we have made all day. We just worked on our race stuff. I am really happy with it right now This is a tough race to win. Every year the competition here gets tougher and tougher and this year its no different. We've been lucky to win this race the last two years and I would love it again."
Pit notes....No. 2
09-09-2004 5:41 pm
Denny Hamlin, No. 03 Chevrolet: "We're in. We have the opposite problem we had at IRP. There we were too tight, and here it is way loose. But we have 200 laps to make it work. We'll pit on those early cautions to make some adjustments and hopefully make this thing better."
Tracy Hines, No. 88 Chevrolet: "The team made a lot of adjustments to get this thing better, and it worked for qualifying. I think we can still make it a little better in the race."
Steve Park, No. 62 Dodge: "We were a little delayed getting to the qualifying line because we were working on the truck trying to make it a little better. We tried a new steering system and it didn't work out the way we thought it would. Then we worried about trying to get the truck back to where we had it once we took that part out. The guys did a great job getting it back. I only took one lap because I screwed up on the second lap. The first lap felt decent. I just got the truck out of shape on the first lap and knew it would be better than the first."
Pit notes, No. 3
09-09-2004 5:55 pm
Jack Sprague, No. 16 Chevrolet: "It was a good lap. Not quite as fast as we were in practice but I think we have a really solid truck for the race. I feel pretty comfortable with the setup we have for racetime."
David Starr, No. 75 Chevrolet: "That was about as good as we were in practice. I was hoping we could pick up a little and the guys made some changes for the race, so we didn't pick up as much as I thought we would have. We were just a little loose in turns three and four."
Shane Hmiel, No. 15 Chevrolet: "We didn't make a mock qualifying run. We were loose in practice and that carried over to qualifying. I am not that concerned because we will tighten up during the race. It doesn't bother me to be starting 13th since we've seemed to have picked that number for a lot of our qualifying sessiongs and ended up doing well in the race. It'll be fun with all these Cup drivers in the race tonight, exciting for us as well as the fans."
To the back
09-09-2004 5:59 pm
Several teams will fall to the back of the grid prior to the start this evening. Deborah Renshaw is in a backup truck and will relinquish her assigned starting position and go to the back, as will Chris Wimmer after his team changed engines in the No. 63 Ford. David Ragan will fall to the back as well after his team made unapproved adjustments following qualifying.
TrackSideLive! Audio
09-09-2004 6:14 pm
Qualifying over, the TrackSideLive! microphones go to the garage and get reactions before the start of tonights Kroger 200 at Richmond. First,
Todd Bodine
on qualifying and
Carl Edwards
on his race strategy after last weeks win at Bristol. Then TSL talked to tonights pole sitter,
Jamie McMurray
and the owner of the No. 2 Team ASE/CARQUEST Dodge,
Jimmy Smith
.
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for free player
Pit road map
09-09-2004 6:42 pm
Here is the layout for the pit road for tonight's Kroger 200, starting in turn one and ending in turn four:
McMurray
Park
Sprague
Skinner
Spencer
Renshaw
Hamilton
Schrader
Wimmer
Cook
Sieg
Stewart
Huffman
Reutimann
Break in pit wall
Bodine
Lester
Starr
Crawford
Parker, Jr.
Montgomery
Miller
Kvapil
Hamlin
Hines
Benson
Chaffin
Break in pit wall
Musgrave
Setzer
Bradberry
Crafton
Whitt
Ragan
Hmiel
Sauter
Wood
Driver's meeting notes
09-09-2004 6:48 pm
Here are the notes from tonight's driver's meeting...
The pit road speed will be 40 miles per hour, the pace truck speed will be 45 miles per hour...pit road speed will start 150 feet before the first pit box...pit road speed ends 92 feet past the last pit box...the restart point will be the double red line outside of turn 4...the minimum lap time to stay in competition is 24.88 seconds...drivers must stay below the white line exiting pit road until they come out of turn two...the National Anthem is scheduled for 8:45 pm ET...the command to start engines is scheduled for 8:52 pm ET...
Special awards
09-09-2004 6:52 pm
Here are tonight's special award winners, to be presented during driver introductions:
Bud Pole Award: Jamie McMurray
Clevite Engine Builder: Ed Lesley
Featherlite Most Improved Driver: Carl Edwards
International Truck Crew Chief: Richie Wauters
McDonalds/POWERade Pit Crew Championship: Carl Edwards
Mobil 1 COmmand Performance: Shane Hmiel
Raybestos Rookie of the Race: David Reutimann
Waste Management Picking Up Places: Hank Parker, Jr.
Wix Lap Leader: Mike Skinner
Pit notes, No. 4
09-09-2004 6:58 pm
Deborah Renshaw, No. 29 Ford: "It's just been a bad afternoon. At least we're in the race. I just hope we used up all of our bad luck in qualifying."
Jimmy Smith's Ultra Motorsports team has earned it's record-breaking 42nd Bud Pole in NCTS competition. He also broke a tie with Jack Roush for the most drivers to win a pole. Pole winners for Ultra include: Mike Bliss, Mike Wallace, Scott Riggs, Jason Leffler, Andy Houston, Ted Musgrave, Jimmy Spencer, and now McMurray.
Doube duty tonight
09-09-2004 7:07 pm
With the IROC race scheduled to roll off at 7:30 pm ET, one driver is scheduled to do double duty tonight. As has been the custom the past several years, the NCTS champion has been invited to participate in IROC, meaning Travis Kvapil will be running 290 laps tonight. The IROC race is scheduled for 90 laps, and as soon as that is completed, he will be booking back to his Truck team transporter and swap uniforms and hop into the truck for 200 more laps around RIR.
Meshkin's shirt
09-09-2004 7:14 pm
Bang! Racing owner Alex Meshkin is wearing a unique shirt here today. Well, it is just a plain white shirt, but it has the number 51 with one of those red circles around it, with a line going through the 51 (sort of like a no smoking sign, if you can visualize it). When asked what the logo signified, Meshkin said "Larry Mac says I am the 51st owner to come in and fail, and this is to say otherwise."
Richmond history
09-09-2004 7:21 pm
Richmond International Speedway is one of the original tracks on the NCTS schedule. It is 0.75 miles, and has14 degree banking in the turns. The frontstretch is banked at 8 degrees and is 1,290 feet long. The backstretch is banked 2 degrees and is 800 feet long.
Previous winners at Richmond include: Terry Labonte, Mike Skinner, Bob Keselowski, Jack Sprague (2), Greg Biffle, Rick Carelli, and Tony Stewart (2). Previous pole winners include Labonte, Kenny Irwin, Ron Hornaday Jr., Joe Ruttman, Bobby Hamilton, Kurt Busch, Dennis Setzer, and Jason Leffler. Qualifying was canceled by rain last year.
The race has been won from the pole just once, in its first year. Other starting positions that have produced winners include 2nd (three times), fourth, tenth (twice), 25th, and 27th. The track record before today was held my Jason Leffler (21.884 seconds/123.378 mph), and the race record is held by Bob Keselowski at one hour, 26 minutes, 24 seconds/104.167 miles per hour.
Chevrolet has won 6 races here, Ford has won two, and Dodge has one lone win here. This marks Toyota's first ever NCTS start at Richmond.
Every race here except the first was scheduled for 200 laps. The first race was a 150-lapper, the 1996 race went 124 laps before being interrupted by a hurricane, and the 1999 race was also cut short by four laps by rain.
It's that time...
09-09-2004 8:23 pm
It's about time to go green for 200 hard-fought laps around the quick three-quarter mile Richmond International Raceway...which means it is time for our weekly statistical analysis and predictions for tonight's race.
In the previous nine races at RIR, the winner has come from an average starting position of 9.22. Carl Edwards rolls off ninth tonight, and Tony Stewart rolls off tenth, so statistically speaking, both drivers have an excellent chance to continue their streak of success in the NCTS (Edwards was last week's winnner; Stewart has won two NCTS races in a row here at RIR).
There are an average of 16 drivers on the lead lap, with 8 lead changes among 4.7 drivers. We have averaged 7 cautions for 37 laps, and the average average speed is 90.016. The most lead lap finishers came in 1998 when there were 24, the fewest in 2001 when there were just 7. The most lead changes was in 1999 when there was 17, the fewest was in 2002 when there were just 3. The most cautions came in the inaugural race in 1995 when there were 10, the fewest yellow flags were in 1997 and 2000 when the caution flag waved five times. The most caution laps were run in 1995 when there were 48 laps under the yellow flag, and the fewest was 19 in 1997.
If you look at the averages for 2004, the average starting position of the winner is 6.3. By 2004 stats, it's looking good for Jimmy Spencer, who is scheduled to roll off 6th.
Here is a quick look at some 2003 stats with year to date 2004 stats:
Average start position of winner: 2003-7.4; 2004-6.25
Cumulative lead changes: 2003-144; 2004-156
Average lead changes per race: 2003-9; 2004-9.75
Average leaders per race: 2003-6.19; 2004-5.63
Total laps under caution: 2003-483; 2004-683
Average caution flagss per race: 2003-6; 2004-7.69
Enjoy the race...see you afterward!
09-09-2004 8:41 pm
Be sure to keep it locked on to TruckSeries.com for comprehensive post-race coverage from Richmond...the broadcast is live on Speed, so kick back with a snack and a cold beverage, and we'll see you in 200 laps!
Unofficial rundown
09-09-2004 11:22 pm
1. Musgrave 209 laps
2. Mc Murray
3. Stewart
4. Bodine
5. Edwards
6. Huffman
7. Sprague
8. Hmiel
9. Cook
10. Skinner
11. Sauter
12. Park
13. Setzer
14. Wood
15. Miller
16. Whitt
17. Hamlin
18. Sieg
19. Hines
20. Parker, Jr.
21. Crafton
22. Chaffin
23. Starr 207 laps
24. Crawford 206laps
25. Benson 204 laps
26. Hamilton 204 laps
27. Montgomery 20 laps
28. Spencer 197 laps
29. Lester 197 laps
30. Kvapil
31. Reutimann
32. Renshaw
33. Schrader
34. Bradberry 139 laps
35. Ragan 15 laps
36. Wimmer 2 lap
Notable quotables, Ford Post-race
09-09-2004 11:58 pm
TERRY COOK-10-International Truck and Engines Ford F-150 (Finished 9th) - "I owe this result to the team. ppc Racing stepped up this week. We went to the Ford testing facility in Romeo, Mich., and learned a great deal about
our program. We really learned what I think what we've been missing for most of the summer. We went back to the shop and made a lot of changes to the truck and it paid off. We ran in the top five all day in practice, the
truck just wouldn't run in qualifying, but we knew we had a good race truck. It showed today with a solid finish. Because of the fact that we kind of have a direction to go with our trucks now, we can build on this and go from
there."
YOU OPTED TO STAY OUT ON THE TRACK AND NOT PIT WHEN MOST OF THE OTHER COMPETITORS CHOSE TO PIT. WAS STRATEGY A KEY FACTOR FOR YOU TONIGHT?
"It did. We had a good truck and we knew that we could take a chance of going to the back and not having to go a lap down and race our way back. We got to lead some laps and our goal is to get back in the top 10 in points
before the year is out. It's not even an option. We will finish in the top 10 before the season is out."
WAS THERE MORE THAN ONE RACING GROOVE TONIGHT?
"There were definitely two grooves, and for a while I was working in a third groove. At the beginning of a run we had to run the bottom, but after we got into the run our truck worked better in the second and even a little bit higher than that. I'm very pleased with the track tonight."
BRANDON WHITT-38-Cure Autism Now/Werner Ladder Ford F-150 (Finished 16th) - "This was just one of those nights that you don't want to have every race. The Werner Ladder Ford was really consistent. We had to make changes on it all night, and sometimes we'd be good and sometimes we'd be bad. Luckily the cautions fell our way and we ended up with a 16th-place finish. That's all we could ask for with something like that."
AS A ROOKIE DRIVER, DID THE CAUTION PERIODS ALLOW YOU TO REGAIN YOUR COMPOSURE?
"It helped me a lot since this was my first time here. This place is fast to get around and you need time to think about what your truck is doing and learn the track, so the cautions really helped me out."
CARL EDWARDS-99-Superchips Ford F-150 (Finished 5th) - "That was great. We were 25th here last year, so I have to thank Jon Wood and all of the guys back at the shop. Our short track stuff hadn't been all that great lately,
and Cowboy (Kevin Starland) took it upon himself to get this right. They went to Memphis and tested for two days while I tested a Cup car here, and Jon Wood went from my truck to his truck to my truck back to his truck.
That made the difference. That really helped us out, so I owe it to those guys."
HOW MUCH DID THE CUP TEST HERE HELP YOU TONIGHT IN THE TRUCK?
"It helped me a lot. We kind of had a little vote on it and Jack (Roush) and Cowboy decided that it would be best if I got laps here because I was so terrible here last year. These guys are smart, and they made the right calls and it seemed to help me a lot. This place is way easy to overdrive."
YOU MADE UP GROUND IN THE POINTS RACE.
"That's as good of a points night as we could have ever hoped to have. This is a good night for us."
YOU HAD A SPIRITED BATTLE WITH JIMMY SPENCER AT ONE POINT TONIGHT.
"I didn't even know Jimmy Spencer was in that truck until real late when I was following him, and then I realized it was Jimmy Spencer. I really like him a lot. We had an awesome battle a year ago at New Hampshire and I ended up coming out on the bad end of that one, but I respect him a lot as a racer, and it's always fun to race with him."
DID THE POINTS RACE ENTER YOUR MIND EARLY IN THE RACE WHEN BOBBY HAMILTON HAD PROBLEMS?
"Oh yeah, for sure. We just had a great points day and that's as good as we could have asked for. We
are going to give this championship pursuit 100 percent effort."
WERE THERETWO RACING GROOVES TONIGHT?
"Absolutely. As the weekend goes on, I think it's going to be like a dirt track where one groove is better then another
one is better and then back to the first one as the rubber builds up. That's what it feels like to me. I love that. I hate one-groove race tracks. I love tracks like this where you can move around. I just we would have gone green for about 125 laps because when our tires were wore out we were so fast. It's going to be a fun Cup race."
JON WOOD-50-Roush Racing Ford F-150 (Finished 14th) - "We just chased the setup all night tonight. We just missed it."
COULD YOU SEARCH FOR A ANOTHER LINE ON THE RACING SURFACE TONIGHT?
"I couldn't really go anywhere. It was a two-groove race track, and I think that's why you saw a lot of side-by-side racing, and early on if you were on the outside groove you were bad, but towards the end of the race the outside groove came in. I don't know where we missed it, but we missed it."
Notable Quotables, Chevrolet Post-race
09-10-2004 12:03 am
DENNIS SETZER, NO. 46 CHEVROLET SILVERADO (QUALIFIED 12th, Finished 13th)(Spun on lap 153 after contact with #16 and #52):
“I don’t know what happened there. My best teammate Jack Sprague crashed us there in turn one. We had a good top-ten truck there and were running with Kenny (Schrader) there for position and the #16 drove under us, made it three wide there in the corner and ended up hitting us. We spun and the crash took Schrader out. We had a real bad night after that.”
TONY STEWART, NO. 47 ACXIOM ALL STARS SILVERADO (QUALIFIED 10th FINISHED 3rd):
ON THIRD PLACE FINISH: “Third isn’t a bad finish, I don’t know what the average it but two wins and a third here in the Truck Series isn’t too bad in the truck series. I want to thank all these guys from Morgan Dollar. To work with a driver they have never worked with before, they just gave me an awesome truck tonight. This Chevy Silverado was awesome. We pitted early because we were just a little too tight in the beginning and gave up track position. I got back up within one position of where we were when we pitted and came down pit road with 120 to go with everyone else and the crew made a lot of changes then it was just a matter of getting through traffic. It got hard to pass there toward the end and when you have those two trucks in front of me who were on like they were tonight, it is hard to pass them even when you get to them. We were hoping for a longer green run but we didn’t get it, there are always a quite a few cautions here but I am happy with our finish.”
ON RACING IN THE NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: “I had a blast out there tonight. This NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is so much fun. The level of competition here just gets better ever year and the talent of the drivers keeps going up each year. There are more and more drivers that make it lots of fun to race with these guys. I look forward to coming back and doing it again next year.”
SHANE HMIEL, NO. 15 D & D AVIATION/ALPHERETTA SELF-STORAGE SILVERADO (QUALIFIED 13th FINISHED 8th): “We are glad that we finished this well tonight. We made a mistake and pitted when we shouldn’t have and it hurt us a little bit. It was either take a chance with new tires and win it or not so we rolled the dice. Our Silverado was great tonight. Matt (Crafton) and I got together there a little bit at the end. These things happen at these short tracks. I am really happy to finish in the top ten and have a good points night for us tonight and head to New Hampshire.”
JACK SPRAGUE, NO. 16 CHEVY TRUCKS SILVERADO (QUALIFIED 5th, FINISHED 8th): “We started out just way too tight in the center. My Chevy Trucks guys made some huge adjustments and we salvaged an ok finish out of it. I just didn’t have enough forward grip coming off and I had to make sure I was gentle on the throttle not to spin the rear tires and let the backend get away from me. We just didn’t have the best night we could have had tonight but my guys never gave up and we will head on to New Hampshire.”
DAVID STARR, NO. 75 SPEARS MANUFACTURING SILVERADO (QUALIFIED 20th FINISHED 23rd): “We got the flat tire early in the race and it just set us way back. I am just really disappointed because we had a good truck. Our Spears Silverado was pretty good tonight. The Lucky Dog is a good thing but not when you are two laps down and there isn’t a truck one lap down. I feel bad for the guys cause we had a good truck and held out own in the front of the field but were so far behind, there was no way to catch up. We will just go on to New Hampshire. We were hoping to gain a little ground in the points but it wasn’t our night.”
MATT CRAFTON, NO. 6 GM GOODWRENCH SILVERADO (QUALIFIED 19th, FINISHED 21st): “The KISS/GM Goodwrench Silverado was too tight all night but all in all we were pretty good. We had to start in the middle of the pack and it was tough to come through traffic. Wally (crew chief) made a gutsy call at lap 80 to take only 2 tires to get track position. We ended up having to stay with those two tires for the rest of the night and the truck got to be a handful right there at the end. I became a victim of the green, white, checkered, which ruined the night and the finish we had going. Not much more to say about that.”
Notable Quotables, Toytota Post-race
09-10-2004 12:10 am
4th, TODD BODINE, Germain/Arnold Racing, No. 30 Tundra – “My Tundra was awesome since we went out to practice this morning. To come out and qualify third, and finish fourth, with a brand new team – we’re all just ecstatic. Basically, we built the truck in four days and then went and tested at Chicagoland (Aug. 30-31). It shows that everyone with the race team, and everyone with Toyota, did a great job. I’m proud to be part of this race team and part of the Toyota family. We’re looking to have a lot more great races like this, and trying to help the Toyota family. We’re really excited about the rest of the season.”
“It feels great to be a part of a ‘real’ team – it means a lot. I’ve struggled this year trying to find a good situation. Don Arnold and I tried to get together earlier in the year and it just didn’t work out. We talked later in the season -- and here we are. I’m running a truck and a Cup car for Don and the Germaine brothers – and I’m really happy for the opportunity.”
6th, ROBERT HUFFMAN, Innovative Motorsports, No. 12 Toyota Tundra -- “Today was a real good day for us. We had a really good truck in practice and we went out in qualifying and I don’t think we scuffed the tires enough. I slipped a little in Turn Four during qualifying and that cost us a tenth – which is really a lot here. In the race I just tried to be patient and work my way to the front. I fought the truck a little because it was tight off the corner, but my guys made some great calls in the pits and we were able to run up front and get a good finish. We went to Milwaukee (Sept. 1-2) and Chicagoland (Aug. 30-31) to test and both of those helped us quite a bit. I think the test at Milwaukee really helped us here. We definitely needed some momentum and hopefully this will give us some the rest of the year. It seems like we’re up and down all season. One week we’re up, and the next week we’re down. This should help us the rest of the year.”
20th, HANK PARKER JR., Innovative Motorsports, No. 21 AirVest Tundra – “At the end I got two flat tires and we had to come into the pits to change them. It put us back. I had an awesome Toyota Tundra tonight. We had a really good run going. I lost a couple positions when the No. 16 truck spun out in front of me. It’s a disappointing finish because we had a great truck, we ran in the top-10 and top-7 most of the night, and we couldn’t get the good finish.”
Notable quotables, Raybestos Rookie post-race
09-10-2004 12:13 am
CHRIS WIMMER, #63 DAVE PORTER TRUCK SALES FORD: WHAT HAPPENED? "We blew a motor up. We had some problems today in practice and blew one up in practice. We had problems today in practice with oil pressure. This one just went up so I don't know what happened to it."
CHARLIE BRADBERRY, #78 BRADBERRY RACING CHEVROLET: "The truck was just doing something crazy. We qualified and we weren't that bad. I thought we were going to have a real good run. I spun out qualifying and I don't know if I bent something on the front end when I kind of scraped the wall a little bit. I feel like I must have bent something on the front end because it was terrible all night."
DAVID REUTIMANN, #17 NTN BEARINGS TOYOTA: "We ran in the top-10 all night. When the race started we were pretty free but we got it better. It was a tough night but that's short track racing. They guys on the NTN Bearings team did a good job all day long. We had good pit stops. We had a great qualifying effort earlier today and that made my job a lot easier when the race started tonight. It's just frustrating to not see the checkered flag."
ROBERT HUFFMAN IN THE #12 TOYOTA TUNDRA TOYOTA WAS THE RAYBESTOS ROOKIE OF THE RACE AT RICHMOND. Notes: Huffman finished sixth, his best career finish in 18 Craftsman Truck Series starts. Huffman scored his fourth top-10 of the 2004 season at Richmond. It's his first career top-10 on a short track. "We had a good truck in practice. We went to Milwaukee last week and tested and it really helped us here. Look out for us at Loudon; we're really going to be good up there. We slipped in qualifying a little bit and just kind of marched our way to the front all night. These guys did an excellent job. It was good to have a run like we had tonight." IT SEEMED LIKE YOUR TRUCK GOT BETTER AND BETTER DURING THE RACE. "We knew we had a good truck in practice. I went out there to qualify and I don't think we scuffed our tires quite enough and I got pretty loose off of four. And the field was so close. A half-tenth cost you 10 or 15 positions. Man, what a race! This was a good race tonight." A LOT OF PHYSICAL RACING TONIGHT? "It was right down to the end. I got a run on Matt on a restart and got under him going into one. It was a good night for us. This truck racing is physical anywhere we go. It's really a lot of fun. You race a lot of guys like I raced tonight and you have a lot of good, clean racing. It's really a lot of fun." AND YOU GAINED GROUND IN THE RAYBESTOS ROOKIE STANDINGS. "We need to gain on that some more."
TRACY HINES, #88 MENARDS CHEVROLET: "It was eventful. We were just never good all day. We started the race and we were tight off. We made a bunch of changes to it and it was still tight off. I actually hit the wall in the backstretch and that actually made it better for a little bit and then it started abusing tires because we bent everything in the front end. We survived and that's about all we can say. We still finished on the lead lap and never gave up."
SHANE SIEG, #07 AUTO-AIR COLORS CHEVROLET: "It was decent. I can't complain from what we've been running like. We've picked up a little bit. This is my first time here and it was kind of tricky. It's kind of slick out there. It was kind of loose at times and at this track, if you get loose, it's real slick if you get up on the high side you can get yourself out of shape like I almost did two or three times out there. I'm just glad that I came home in one piece and have a good run." YOU DON'T HAVE A MAJOR SPONSOR BUT YOU STILL FINISHED ON THE LEAD LAP. "It's a plus. We've been doing it all year without any sponsorship and finishing on the lead lap. It's been hard but we've fought some bad times the past couple of races but hopefully we've got back on track and can finish up there closer to the front now." DOES RUNNING WELL MAKE IT EVEN MORE REWARDING BECAUSE YOU ARE AN UNDERDOG? "It's kind of difficult but you keep it out of your mind and focus on what you are supposed to be doing on the track. Hopefully you come away with a good top-20 finish and maybe we can get a better one next time."
BRANDON WHITT, #38 CURE AUTISM NOW/WERNER LADDER FORD: "It wasn't bad, just real up and down. We missed the setup a little bit. We'd get better and then we'd get worse, better and then worse. But luckily the cautions fell and we were able to get the Lucky Dog a couple of times. We were able to catch back up when we were behind. Everything kind of seemed to go our way toward the end and I think we ended up with a 16th place finish. That wasn't bad with the circumstances that went on throughout the race."
HUFFMAN PRESS CONFERENCE
"We had a great truck. We had a good truck in practice and I slipped up a little bit qualifying off of four. A half-tenth of a second meant 10 spots in this truck series during qualifying. This is our best finish of the year and to get the Raybestos Rookie of the Race again is great for me. Toyota really put a lot into my effort and supported. I'm a nobody from the Goody's Dash Series and nobody has ever taken interest in my racing career but Toyota has. It's an honor for me to be representing those guys." YOU WERE IN A PACK WHERE A LOT OF HARD RACING WAS GOING ON. WAS THAT FUN? "It was a lot of fun. I guess it was a little nerve-wracking but I tell you, this truck series is awful competitive. Just about anywhere you are on the track, you're in a competitive pack of trucks. It's really fun when you can race when like we raced tonight."
Notable quotables, Dodge Post-race
09-10-2004 12:15 am
Ted Musgrave, No. 1 Dodge: "I was concerned because Jamie's truck was a little bit better on the long runs. I kept getting tight in the center of the corner and he could rotate in the center better and make up time. I was glad to see some cautions come out because every time he came up on me, I started getting tight. The tires would cool under caution and I could run off again. Sometimes it goes your way. We had a dominant truck."
Jamie McMurray, No. 2 Dodge: "I got beside Ted two or three times with lapped traffic, and I knew the guy is racing for points and obviously that was a teammate to my truck. More than likely if that was anyone else that I was racing I would have been the winner tonight. I am not going to wreck my teammate. Right at the end I got up on the outside of him, the outside groove really came in and I could make some runs on him.I really throught I could have completed the pass, but the caution came out. In the last restart, I drove into turn one so deep I got loose. It was all I had."
Bobby Hamilton, No. 4 Dodge: "I just busted my tail. Someone told me there was a truck blowing up in front of me but I don't know if that is how it happened or not. Regardless, I just busted my tail. I was trying to pass on the outside and I busted it. The team did a heck of a job. That truck is totaled out. The rear clip is knocked off of it. I don't know how we did what we did. They put a whole bed cover on it. We'll talk about points with five races to go. There's no need to worry about them now."
Steve Park, No. 62 Dodge: "That was pretty good for us considering the night we had. The truck just didn't handle the way we needed it to. We still have a lot of work to do. It was a good points night for us, but I am ready for a win. I am really looking forward to New Hampshire next weekend. It is the closest track to my hometown, so I enjoy going back there."
Notable quotables, Post-race No. 5
09-10-2004 12:25 am
Chase Montgomery, No. 8 Dodge: "What an eventful evening for this Herbalife Dodge. It seemed like we had everything happen to us. We got the free pass three times, received a one lap penalty, broke the center out of a wheel and cut down a tire and hit the wall. All of this in a 200 lap race. It was just one of those rookie nights that you want to forget about. Let's move on to the next race."
Denny Hamlin, No. 03 Chevrolet: "We lost the brakes on the second lap, and it was a real handlful for the rest of the race. We put it back on the trailer without a scratch, just a few tire marks. All in all, we're happy with 16th and we'll head to Loudon and look for a good run up there."
Tracy Hines, No. 88 Chevrolet: "We spun down the backstretch and bent the A-arms in the front suspension when we bounced into the fence. Not a good night for the Menards Chevy, but these guys never gave up. We came out of it with a top-20 finish, which is a real testament too not giving up. We could have just coasted there the last 30 laps and ended up 25th or 26th, but these guys worked really hard and we picked up a few spots."
Richmond post-race notes...
09-10-2004 12:32 am
Ted Musgrave picked up his second win of the season tonight; his last victory came June 28th at the Milwaukee Mile...it was Musgrave's 16th career checkered flag...Jamie McMurray scored his best career NCTS finish, second; his previous best finish was third at IRP in 2000...it was the first one-two finish for Ultra Motorsports since 2002 when Musgrave and Jason leffler turned the trick...Tony Stewart finished in the top-three for the third consecutive NCTS race at Richmond; he was going for a third consecutive win...Todd Bodine finished fourth in the debut for the Arnold-Germain Racing team...Robert Huffman was the highest finishing rookie; his sixth-place finish was his fourth top-10 of 2004...Hamilton's unofficial point lead now stands at 57 points with eight races remaining; Edwards is third, 76 points out of the lead...there were records set for the number of cautions (11) and the number of caution laps (58); tonight's race was the first ever green-white-checkered at Richmond.
Good night everybody
09-10-2004 12:40 am
It has been one heck of a day at Richmond International Raceway! Ted Musgrave pulled off his second win of the 2004 season, and with his teammate Jamie McMurray hot on his heels across the line, it marked the resurgence of Ultra Motorsports as they claimed their first one-two finish since 2002. There were some heated tempers and some hurt feelings as the equipment was being loaded for the trip home before heading to Loudon next weekend.
Keep it locked on TruckSeries.com for all the news and notes from the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series as we head to the Magic Mile, including TrackSideLive! and Live! Bud Pole Qualifying powered by the Chevrolet All-Stars next Friday, and complete pre- and post-race coverage on Saturday.
That's a night everyone, see you in Loudon!
TrackSideLive! Post Race Audio
09-10-2004 2:42 pm
Following Thursdays Kroger 200, TrackSideLive! caught up with race winner
Ted Musgrave
,
Tony Stewart
and
Chad Chaffin
for a recap.
Click on name for audio. You must have the Windows Media Player installed, or a program capable of handling Windows Media .wma files.
Click here
for free player
TrackSideLive! from New Hampshire International Speedway
09-15-2004 7:08 pm
TrackSideLive! coverage of the Sylvania 200 by Lowe's from New Hampshire International Speedway begins Friday morning, September 17, 2004.
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