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| Raybestos Rookie Race Review: Michigan
06-17-2006 | TruckSeries.com Report
Erik Darnell in the No. 99 Woolrich Ford was the Raybestos Rookie of the race at Michigan. Darnell finished 12th and took top rookie honors for the fifth time this season. He UNOFFICIALLY leads the Raybestos Rookie standings by 23 points (95-72) over Aric Almirola. Darnell is UNOFFICIALLY 14th in the Craftsman Truck Series championship standings, 155 behind 10th-place Mike Bliss. Darnell: This is another solid run for your team. "This was again one of our finishes close to the top-10 where we just missed it. Our Woolrich Ford was pretty decent all day today but not quite where we needed it to be. We were a little bit tight in qualifying and I thought it would be the same way during the race but the track must have heated up a little bit and got a little bit hotter. I was loose all day, just kind of fighting it, hanging on. The guys in the pits did a great job. John Quinn made some good calls and we got the truck tightened up. We were pretty fast there at the end. There was so much slicing and dicing going on out there that we lost a couple spots. We gained a few, just didn't quite end up where we wanted to." Did the track get slicker and slicker because of the heat? "It seemed to get a little bit slicker, yeah. I was sliding around. We were making adjustments during our pit stops to tighten it up and it really didn't seem to do much. I think it was getting slicker as the day went on." Did you just need another set of adjustments to have a chance to finish in the top-10? "Maybe just another set of adjustments or just another couple of laps. Those guys are running hard out there. I really see why the truck series racing is as exciting as everybody talks about. You were holding your breath out there today but it was fun." You are pretty close to the top-10 in Craftsman Truck Series points. "We were 15th coming in to this and I don't know where that will move us up to. It's our ultimate goal to get back into the top-10 in points and of course win Raybestos Rookie of the Year. I think we're getting our season turned around. We're going to be on the right track." Aric Almirola, No. 75 Spears Manufacturing Chevrolet: Chad McCumbee, No. 08 U.S. Restoration Chevrolet: Is this another building block for the team? "Yeah, we're learning more and more about our trucks. This is just the second time that I've drove one for them. I really think for us being able to jump out there and run this competitive already, I'm pretty happy. Like I say, I wish we could have finished a little better." Boston Reid, No. 25 Woodard Racing Dodge: Did the cautions at the end of the race help you or hurt you? "It actually hurt us because right there at the end we got our truck really good. The Red Rocks truck was awesome. We just can't thank them enough. We got it good there at the end. I'd like to have seen it go green the last 30 but we'll take what we got. We hit the wall there the last lap and we ended up 17th again. We'll take these better than the 30ths. Joey Miller, No. 12 Curb Records Toyota: What did you learn that will help you when you come back here? "Definitely what to look for in the feel of the truck. That's most of what I learned and what to look for the next time we come back." Kraig Kinser, No. 46 U.S. Army Chevrolet: How difficult is it to get a clean restart? "It's hard to get a good enough start where the guy behind you doesn't get a big enough run where he's going to do something with you. You've just got to protect the top because if you keep them below you, more than likely you'll be able to beat them down the back straightaway and keep them out of the draft. There were a couple times where I thought I could make some moves on the bottom and got stuck down there and that was my fault."
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