NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Hardee's 200 Pre-race and Post-race Coverage: May 16, 2003

To:       Dennis Setzer, #46

Waste Management Picking Up Places Award

To:       Jason Leffler, #2

Lance Hooper is busy under the hood of the #01 Lucas Oil Products Ford changing the engine, which will force him to drop to the back of the pack for the start this evening.  "We lost the oil pump belt last night in qualifying," he said as he was busy preparing to install the headers on the new powerplant.  (3:41 pm ET)

Terry Cook, #29 Power Stroke Diesel/Oil Mate Ford:    "We ended up with a 14th starting spot.  The truck will be strong on long runs tonight.  We are pretty optimistic about our chances tonight.  The K-Autmotive team is looking for some momentum going into this stretch of races.  We were a little tight in practice yesterday, but we will be good for the race." (3:39 pm ET)

While the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series ran all day yesterday without as much as a debris caution, today's practice for The Winston Open and The Winston has already seen a couple of red flags.  John Andretti totaled his #43 Cheerios Dodge at the end of practice for The Winston Open, and a debris caution has stopped practice for The Winston.  (2:47 pm ET)

Qualifying for the Hardee's 200 marked the debut of NASCAR's new provisional rules for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.  The new rule states that a team must be in the top-25 in current NCTS owner points to be eligible for a provisional start.  Three teams that missed qualifying within the top-32 were in the top-25 in points and eligible for a provisional.  When the field is not filled with teams that take a provisional starting position, the remainder of the field is filled by reverting to qualifying times.  (2:44 pm ET)

The purse for the Hardee's 200 is $473,250. (2:38 pm ET)

Here is today's schedule:

2:00 pm ET:    NCTS Garage opens

5:50 pm ET:    NCTS Driver's Meeting

8:00 pm ET:    NCTS Driver Introductions, including special awards

8:20 pm ET:    Presentation of Colors and Invocation

8:21 pm ET:    National Anthem

8:23 pm ET:    Command to Start Engines

8:30 pm ET:    Green Flag for the Hardee's 200 (134 laps, 201 miles)

Don't forget, Trackside Live! will canvass the garage area to bring you comprehensive post-race coverage from all the drivers and teams that make news tonight.  Keep it locked on to Trackside Live! presented by The Orleans for all the pre-race and post-race coverage you need to get over the five-weeks-without-the-Trucks Blues!

Today's Grand Marshall is Noah Griggs, Executive VP for CKE Restaurants. The Honorary Starter is Jeff Wells, Regional VP of Operations for CKE Restaurants.  (2:24 pm ET)

The Hardee's 200 marks the third consecutive race that LW Miller has qualified 27th. (2:11 pm ET)

LW Miller, #28 FDNY/Service Directions Inc. Chevrolet:    "We wanted to qualify further up, but it's still pretty good.  The thing I'm happy about is the progress we're making with this truck. Last week in the test, our best lap was barely under 33 seconds. Today in practice, we were at 32.2 and happy with that. We broke under 32 with our qualifying lap and that's better yet. We're going in the right direction." (2:07 pm ET)

Ray Dunlap will be covering the turn one section of pit road, starting with Bill Lester and working his way back to Brian Sockwell.  Phil Parsons will be roaming the remainder of the pit road, from Kevin Harvick on back to Morgan Shepherd.  Parsons will likely be covering the infield medical center if there are any on track incidents that require a driver to receive medical attention. 

The pit assignments for the Hardee's 200, starting with pit exit in turn one working back towards pit entrance in turn four:

Lester
Leffler
Hamilton
Vhaffin
Crawford
Mayfield
Cook
Kvapil
Pressley
Crafton
Lavender
Schrader
Sockwell
Harvick 

Break in pit wall

Wood
Burr
Jones
Edwards

Scoring camera & Start/Finish line

Starr
Musgrave
Break in pit wall
Gaughan
Setzer
Briggs
Houston
Bickle
Hornaday III
MacDonald
Hooper
Horn
T. Gordon
Aube
White
Neuenberger
Miller 

Break in pit wall

Hill
Shepherd (2:04 pm ET)

Let's open the day with a few post-qualifying notes...

Ted Musgrave, #1 Mopar Performance Dodge:    "I held it wide open through one and two this time, so maybe I don't need to do that since we slowed up a little from practice.  I am a little confused.  We changed the gear, but every time out we've been getting a little slower.  We'll have to look to see what is wrong, but every time out we have been getting a little slower.  The trucks are cool here at Charlotte.  It's hard to tell what we are going to be doing in race trim.  Handling will be the big key as usual.  We haven't had a race here, so it will be hard to tell what to expect.  There ought to be five or six trucks up there battling for the lead."  (2:00 pm ET)

Bobby Hamilton, #4 Square D Dodge:    "I only ran three laps in the first practice and I didn't run at all in the second practice.  That lap won't hold up for the pole, but it should get us in the top-10.  We pent a lot of time on race trim here in the test and we elected not to be tampering with it.  We get four sets of tires for everything.  That's enough for me because I have three new sets sitting here and everybody else has already used up three sets.  The trucks drive just like a Winston Cup car here for me.  They're fun to drive.  It'll be interesting to see what we do in the race.  Guys like myself and Musgrave should have an advantage because of all the laps we have run here, but guys like Gaughan will catch on pretty quick.  He caught on pretty quick at Texas last year."  (1:57 pm ET)

Brendan Gaughan, #62 American Racing Wheels/The Orleans Dodge:    "We gained a tenth from practice, and that is always the goal, to gain time.  This black Dodge we have is the fastest truck here today.  I know we are not on the pole, but we tested well here.  We really want to do well here.  This track is a tick slower than Texas, but Orleans Racing specializes in mile and a half tracks.  To be here (in Charlotte) is a big deal, and we want to be the one's to bring home the win for Dodge." (1:52 pm ET)

Good afternoon from the media center at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.  The skies are cloudy and overcast, but weather radar does not show any precipitation in the area.  Local weathercasters say we have a 70% chance of making it through the day without rain, so odds are the Hardee's 200 will go off as scheduled just after 8:30 pm ET this evening.  Keep it locked on to Trackside Live! presented by The Orleans right here on TruckSeries.com for all the news, notes, and quotes from the track as we prepare for the Tough Trucks' first race in North Carolina since 1996.

Hardee's 200 Practice and Qualifying Coverage: May 15, 2003

This concludes Trackside Live! presented by The Orleans from Lowes Motor Speedway and practice and qualifying for the Hardee's 200. Coverage will resume tomorrow when the garage opens at 2 pm ET.

Matt Crafton, #88 Menards/Enzyme Magic Chevrolet:    "What a great deal for Bill Lester. I'm happy for him and all the guys on that team.  Bill's been close to the pole a couple of times.  I'm glad to see he got one tonight.  The Menards/Enzyme Magic Chevrolet Silverado handled really well in qualifying.  We had some problems bottoming out on the bumps in turn three in practice.  We made some changes for qualifying and the truck reacted well.  I think we have found something that will make us be pretty good in the race tomorrow night." (11:17 pm ET)

David Starr, #75 Spears Mfg. Chevrolet:    "We had a great day today. I'm really proud of the Spears Motorsports Team.  We had two practice sessions today and we were fourth quickest in both of them.  We didn't know if we were going to get qualifying in or not because the skies looked kind of threatening.  My PR girl had chosen our number this morning for the qualifying order and we ended up having to go out 12th, near the front of the field.  Sometimes you can have an advantage if you go out later because the track cools down and the trucks go faster.   I think that was what happened today, it was just the luck of the draw.  We had a good lap but as qualifying continued, I think we saw a lot of people who we had done better than in practice pick up some speed.  I think I was a little greedy too. My first lap was really good and then the second lap, I went down into one and tried not to lift.  I knew better than that but I was just trying to get a little bit more and it ended up hurting us. We still had a decent qualifying run and I'm looking forward to the race." (11:12 pm ET)

Jeremy Mayfield, #07 American Tire Distributors Dodge:    "We held it wide open and that's about all you can do.  I am a little disappointed really because we ran this fast in practice any time we wanted to.  I've never been here in a truck, so we don't know what the race is going to be like.  We'll see what we've got pretty quickly tomorrow night." (8:58 pm ET)

Robert Pressley, #59 Harris Trucking Dodge:   "We were the last ones to go, and it got kinda wet in turns three and four, but we were 17th in practice and we didn't make a qualifying run.  Some of them picked it up there.  I was just glad to see Bill get that pole.  That was pretty nice.  That's why I wanted to make sure to go ahead and get my lap to make sure he got the pole." (8:55 pm ET)

Happy Hour has been cancelled due to rain.  (7:57 pm ET)

Jody Lavender, #08 Lavender's Discount Carpets Chevrolet:    "It's not bad compared to where we practiced.  We picked up almost a half-second from practice.  I finally found the speed I was looking for in one and two.  I kinda messed myself up for three and four though.  I know we are going to be a lot better in the race, so I am looking forward to some good things." (7:56 pm ET)

Tina Gordon, #31 Post-it Notes/Microtel Dodge:    "I don't even know what the lap speed was.  I got kind of blown away there at the beginning when I get sent out and Leffler was still on the track." (7:52 pm ET)

Randy Briggs, #53 RaceShopForRent.com Ford:    "That feels good.  We have a new crew chief, Ken Glenn.  We have a whole new team.  I have four guys from my original crew, and everyone has jelled really quickly.  They started working on the trucks two weeks ago.  I think the cooler air helped the engine, but the track stayed the same.  We didn't make a mock qualifying run, but the truck was a little free and it felt really good.  (7:48 pm ET)

Carl Edwards, #99 Roush Racing Ford:    "That was fun.  We'd be on top of the board now if I hadn't lifted just a little.  I just lifted a little because I was used to doing it.  We wanted to put the spoiler up a little to get some additional downforce, but we had a little miscommunication and we ended up laying it back instead of standing it up.  We figured it out there on pit road just before qualifying and that was it.  That was the difference.  It was fast." (7:45 pm ET)

Bill Lester is the first African-American driver to win a pole in a national NASCAR touring series since Wendell Scott was the top-qualifier in a Grand National (now Winston Cup) Series race at the New Savannah Speedway in Savannah, Georgia on July 20, 1962.  (7:43 pm ET)

Kevin Harvick, #6 Sonic Drive-in Chevrolet:    "I am a little surprised.  I thought we could have run a 30.90.  I haven't ever had a pole in the Truck Series, so I would like to thank Bill for stealing this one from me.  He did a great job.  This is a place where you need to stand on the gas, and he sure did that." (7:41 pm ET)

Bill Lester, #8 Dodge Motorsports Dodge:    "I am on top of the world right now.  This is fantastic.  I am really pleased, but we are focused on the race now.  I predicted a top-10 run on my show on Fox, now I have to live up to that.  We saw some guys laying down really big numbers in qualifying, and we knew it was going to be hard to keep up with it.  I was on the pole for a while at Phoenix last season, but got knocked off by Crawford by one one-thousandths of a second.  We have no experience here, but we had a great test here last week and it should be fun to race here.  It isn't like Texas where you need to be on the white line all the way around, you have different choices in the groove here.  I don't think about the history of what we are doing, although people want to remind me about it all the time.  I am just living a dream.  I gave up a really good job with a lot of security to chase a dream.  Bobby and Chad know I am pretty much fearless when it comes to a two-lap qualifying run, but I am an open book.  I am going to sit with them and go through some race scenarios and see what we can do to win the race.  But it will be nice to roll off towards that green flag and be the first one in line." (7:40 pm ET)

Jason Leffler, #2 Team ASE/CarQuest Dodge:    "We had a smooth day.  We spent the first practice in race trim, and went out and made some qualifying runs in the second session.  We ran wide open in qualifying, but we must have drilled a hole in the header which didn't help us.  We spent two days down here in the test in race trim, so we are all set if we don't get a happy hour tonight.  I think the veterans will be good in the race here.  They know how to get over the bumps there in turn three and four.  My owner Jim Smith reminded me that the last time he ran a silver truck, Bliss led all but four laps at California.  Action is making some die casts of the truck, so go stop in a CarQuest store and pick one up!." (7:35 pm ET)

Bill Lester is on the pole for the Hardee's 200...stay locked on for in-depth post-qualifying coverage here at TruckSeries.com!

RED FLAG DURING QUALIFYING...the track officials and NASCAR have sent out the jet dryers out to dry the track. The track is damp, but not totally soaked.  If it stops raining totally, the track drying process should not take long. (6:36 pm ET)

Jon Wood, #50 Roush Racing Ford:    "I have never had any laps around this place until the test.  Not even in a rental car.  But the fastest lap I had here during the test was on our third lap.  It didn't take long to get comfortable here.  We just didn't get out on the track when it was cool and fast, we went out when it was hot and slow, so we never got a quick lap in during practice." (6:30 pm ET)

Tuesday was Rich Bickle's 42nd birthday.  Bickle drives Billy Ballew's Vokal Clothing Ford, and has won a pole here in a Busch Series car back in 1995.  He also has 10 starts here in a Winston Cup car.  (5:50 pm ET)

After the second practice session, Tina Gordon went to the top of her transporter with fellow Dodge driver Brendan Gaughan.  Gaughan was seen showing her the line through the corners and offering advice on how to best get around the tricky 1.5-mile quad-oval.  (5:43 pm ET)

Former NCTS and Busch Series driver Randy Tolsma was seen walking the garage earlier this afternoon.  (5:41 pm ET)

Eric Jones, #03 EJP Chevrolet:    "We ran about seven laps in practice, and we got blocked a little on both of our qualifying laps. Otherwise, we think we could have been even better than we were.  I am just excited to be a part of this whole thing.  If everything goes right, we should be at 12-15 more races the rest of this season." (5:39 pm ET)

Robert Pressley, #59 Harris Trucking Dodge:    "We have three trucks ready back at the shop.  We are going to run here and run Dover and sort of take a look at where we are.  After we evaluate the situation, we'll make the decision if we keep on going.  That is when the season really starts, and there are a lot of things getting ready to happen." (5:38 pm ET)

Brendan Gaughan, #62 American Racing Wheels/The Orleans Dodge:    "One minute we are first, the next we are worst.  And it is all up there (the sun).  When it is overcast, we are really good, but then the sun pops out and we lose the handle a little bit.  The good thing is when we run the race, the track will be very consistent because it's at night."  (5:35 pm ET)

Chris Horn and Tina Gordon ran the most laps in this second practice, both turning in 34 laps.  Jerry Hill was the only other driver to run more than 30 laps, with 31.  Conrad Burr (25), Randy Briggs (25), Travis Kvapil (24), and LW Miller (24) were the other leaders in laps completed.  (4:10 pm ET)

With the sands quickly sliding out of the 90-minute hourglass, here is the rundown:

    Musgrave, Lester, Leffler, Starr, Edwards   

    Mayfield, Kvapil, Crawford, Harvick, Setzer

    Wood, Gaughan, Cook, Chaffin, Houston

    Pressley, Jones, Schrader, Bickle, Crafton

    Sockwell, Lavender, Hooper, Briggs, Horn

    MacDonald, Miller, Shepherd, Hornaday III, Burr

    T. Gordon, Aube, Dokken, Neuenberger, Hill

    Bonifield, White (3:58 pm ET)

The rundown with less than 15 minutes remaining in practice:

    Musgrave, Lester, Leffler, Starr, Edwards

    Mayfield, Crawford, Kvapil, Harvick, Setzer

    Gaughan, Wood, Chaffin, Cook, Houston

    Jones, Schrader, Bickle, Pressley, Crafton

    Sockwell, Hooper, Lavender, Briggs, Horn

    MacDonald, Miller, Shepherd, Burr, T. Gordon

    Edwards, Hornaday III, Aube, Bonifield, Hill

    Neuenberger, White

The first one hour practice session and the first hour of the 90 minutes second session have been run free of incident on the track.  (3:34 pm ET)

The rundown as of 3:30 pm ET:

    Musgrave, Lester, Leffler, Starr, Edwards

    Mayfield, Crawford, Harvick, Setzer, Gaughan

    Wood, Chaffin, Cook, Houston, Kvapil

    Jones, Schrader, Bickle, Pressley, Crafton

    Sockwell, Lavender, Briggs, Hooper, MacDonald

    Miller, Shepherd, Burr, Horn, T. Gordon

    Dokken, Hornaday III, Bonifield, Hill, Aube

Kevin Harvick is the only driver to have competed in all three national NASCAR touring series and scored top-5 finishes in all three.  (3:10 pm ET)

Matt Crafton, #88 Menards/Enzyme Magic Chevrolet:    "We had a tire rub in the first session.  I think the track bar or something was a little too long and it pushed the wheel out on the fender.  We have that fixed up and everything should be better here in this next session." (3:09 pm ET)

The rundown as of 3:05 pm ET:

    Musgrave, Starr, Edwards, Leffler, Lester

    Mayfield, Crawford, Harvick, Setzer, Gaughan

    Wood, Chaffin, Cook, Houston, Kvapil

    Schrader, Bickle, Pressley, Crafton, Sockwell

    Lavender, Briggs, MacDonald, Hooper, Shepherd

    Burr, Horn, Miller, T. Gordon, Hornaday III

    Dokken, Bonifield, Hill

Carl Edwards, #99 Roush Racing Ford:    "We learned a lot here in the test last week.  I must like the front end geometry a lot different than most other drivers.  I can't go down in the turn and let the truck take me.  I need it to take me where I point it.  We had that figured out last week, so right now we are just where we need to be." (3:01 pm ET)

Bobby Hamilton was seen walking through the garage as practice was starting wearing his street clothes.  "I ain't practicing," he said with a wink as he walked by.  (2:59 pm ET)

Andy Houston, #9 Spondivits Ford:    "This deal doesn't have that many points, so we need to get a good qualifying run.  We only had a few laps in that first session, just enough to make sure there are no leaks or anything.  We will go out and make a few qualifying runs here in this session, and if we are good, we will go out and make a few race runs too.  We just can't count on the weather holding out for Happy Hour later." (2:58 pm ET)

Bill Lester, #8 Dodge Motorsports Dodge:    "We have a serious and legitimate shot at the pole here.  I love these fast tracks.  The faster the better.  Danny Rollins came back with a voodoo doll, and we have it strapped to the upright bar in the truck.  That is the real reason we are going so fast.  We had 6 laps in the first session, and the last one I had to lift out of it totally, so I think if we could have completed that lap cleanly we should have been at the top of the charts in that first session." (2:55 pm ET)

Team ASE has a special paint job on the Ultra Motorsports Dodge driven by Jason Leffler commemorating their ninth consecutive year as a primary sponsor in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, the longest running sponsorship in series history.  They have been represented in each NCTS race since the series inception in 1995 with drivers TJ Clark (1995), Mike Bliss (1995-1998), Bill Elliott (1996), Mike Wallace (1999-2000), Scott Riggs (2001) Jason Leffler (2000, 2002-present).  Joe Ruttman also started the 1998 Homestead race with Team ASE on the quarter panels, but he parked the truck just after the green flag.  (2:53 pm ET)

Travis Kvapil was relying hard on some of those veterans after the first practice concluded.  He was spotted swapping notes with Bobby Hamilton and Kevin Harvick, both of whom have many laps around Charlotte in Busch and Cup cars. (2:48 pm ET)

Chris Showalter, Crew Chief, #16 IWX Motor Freight Chevrolet:    We are good right where we are.  We want to let those veterans that have been here before go out and set fast times in practice.  We are working hard on being good when it counts." (2:46 pm ET) 

The second practice has been green for just about 15 minutes.  The rundown at 2:45 pm ET:   

    Musgrave, Edwards, Leffler, Lester, Setzer

    Crawford, Wood, Mayfield, Chaffin, Cook

    Houston, Kvapil, Schrader, Gaughan, Pressley

    Crafton, Sockwell, Lavander, Bickle, Shepherd

    Hornaday III, Burr, T. Gordon

The first practice is over...here is the rundown.  Full results with times and speeds will be posted off the main page shortly.

    Musgrave, Lester, Hamilton, Starr, Harvick

    Gaughan, Cook, Wood, Chaffin, Crawford

    Edwards, Setzer, Kvapil, Leffler, Schrader

    Jones, Mayfield, Houston, Crafton, Pressley

    Sockwell, Briggs, Miller, Shepherd, Hooper

    Lavender, Horn, White (1:39 pm ET)

The number of trucks on the track has been kept very low because many trucks have been slow getting though the inspection line.  Several more drivers have made it out on the track in the past couple of minutes, including Morgan Shepherd, Randy Briggs, Chris Horn, Jon Wood, and Bill Lester. (1:06 pm ET)

The track has been green for nearly 30 minutes, yet only nine teams have been out on the track so far.  The rundown:

    Musgrave, Hamilton, Starr, Crawford, Cook

     Leffler, Setzer, Kvapil, Jones (1:02 pm ET)

Geoff Smith, President, Roush Racing:    "We had our game plan for 2003 all set, and the business plan was developed to allow Carl Edwards to run the #99 truck, and any money we found for him this year was a bonus.  That was where our R&D money was going.  As it is now, we have been forced to revamp our business plan for 2003 and 2004.  We are now going to offer two young drivers with two great teams behind them in one sponsorship buy for 2004 and anyone we can develop for that program, we will see what we can work out for 2003.  That is going to be one hell of a bonus for someone.  I have been the loser in these negotiations before, but I have never been out and out robbed like this.  That being said, I don't foresee any circumstance that will come up and force us to shut down Roush Racing's Truck Series operation.  We have never had a sponsorship program in place that covers the costs of what it takes us to do this right, and Jack Roush has invested millions of his own dollars to get this program to where it is now.  We aren't going to give up on it now."  (1:00 pm ET)

Trucks are on the track!  The #1 Mopar Dodge with Ted Musgrave at the controls was first out, followed by the #16 IWX Motor Freight Chevrolet of Travis Kvapil. (12:38 pm ET)

The Hardee's 200 will be the first event for Rick Ren in his role as crew chief with K-Automotive's Power Stroke Diesel Ford and driver Terry Cook.  The race will also mark the first event for Dave Fuge, Jr. is his role as consultant to Jerry Cook with the newly-named ThorSport #88 Menards/Enzyme Magic Chevrolet and driver Matt Crafton.

Kudos go to TruckSeries.com publisher Steve Keller, who was the fastest media qualifier at the Victory Lane Karting Center last night.  Keller beat Speed Channel's Rick Allen by over a second in qualifying, and finished fifth in the feature.  (12:10 pm ET)

Here is the qualifying order for the Hardee's 200:

    1.    63-Hornaday III                    20.    72-MacDonald

    2.    25-Aube                              21.    93-Dokken

    3.    9-Houston                           22.    5-Hill

    4.    62-Gaughan                         23.    6-Harvick

    5.    4-Hamilton                           24.    18-Chaffin

    6.    03-Jones                             25.    07-Mayfield

    7.    52-Schrader                         26.    66-Neuenberger

    8.    1-Musgrave                          27.    50-Wood

    9.    28-LW Miller                         28.    46-Setzer

    10.    29-Cook                             29.    54-Sockwell

    11.    75-Starr                             30.    2-Leffler

    12.    15-Bickle                            31.    31-T. Gordon

    13.    99-Edwards                         32.    16-Kvapil

    14.    53-Briggs                            33.    08-Lavender

    15.    21-Shepherd                        34.    01-Hooper

    16.    14-Crawford                        35.    8-Lester

    17.    58-Horn                              36.    87-Burr

    18.    88-Crafton                          37.    23-Bonifield

    19.    86-White                            38.    59-Pressley (12:04 pm ET) 

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series play-by-play voice Rick Allen will be in Nazareth, Pennsylvania for this weekend's NASCAR Busch Series event, calling the race for FX.  The Speed Channel broadcast crew will be busy Friday night as well, sticking around to cover the final practice sessions for the NASCAR Winston Cup Series cars as they prepare for The Winston Open and The Winston.  (11:32 am ET)

The clouds appear to be breaking, the track surface is dry, and practice for the Hardee's 200 is just one hour away.  Keep it locked on TruckSeries.com for all the news from Lowe's Motor Speedway all afternoon as the Tough Trucks take to the track for the very first time here in Charlotte. (11:28 am ET)

Here is the schedule for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series today at Lowe's Motor Speedway

    11:30 AM:    Rookie & Spotters meeting

                          Draw for qualifying order

    12:30 PM:    NCTS Practice (one hour)

    2:30 PM:      NCTS Practice (90 minutes)

    5:45 PM:      NCTS Bud Pole Qualifying (2 laps, all positions)

    8:00 PM:      NCTS Final Practice (one hour, time permitting)

    9:30 PM:      NCTS garage closes (10:20 am ET)

There are several new looks here this weekend...the #50 is sporting a new yellow look, the #59 has some sporty flames on the side, the #72 has a new blue paint job, and the #62 has a new look for this race only for American Racing Wheels, the teams primary sponsor for the week.  We will have images of all the new looks EXLUSIVELY here on Trackside Live! shortly. (10:15 am ET)  UPDATE:  The images were posted, but have now been removed to speed the load time of this page.  Trackside Live! is continuing to develop ideas on how to best present a small gallery of "ambience" images to supplement the High Sierra photo galleries that have been a part of the site for years. 

The rain has stopped here in suburban Charlotte for now.  The track surface was damp earlier, but with just about two and a half hours to go before practice begins, if the weather stays consistent, track drying should not be a problem.  (10:07 am ET)

There are several trucks in the inspection line already this morning.  The #54 Chevy of Brian Sockwell, the #52 Chevy of Kenny Schrader, Tina Gordon's #31 Dodge, and the Randy MacDonald #72 (which is a Dodge this weekend).  Lance Hooper's #01 Ford is in line as well, and it appears to be an ex-Circle Bar Ford, with the now familiar red, white, and blue Circle Bar paint and graphics still on the truck.  (9:50 am ET)

Good morning from the Media Center at Lowe's Motor Speedway.  It is a cool, overcast, and at times, damp morning in the Charlotte area, with a light mist falling over the NCTS garage area.  Trackside Live! presented The Orleans will be on site for the next 14 hours to give you all the news you can use for the CTS at LMS.  (9:15 am ET)