Bill Lester and the No. 22 team captured their first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series top-five finish at Kansas Speedway in 2005 and were looking to improve on that statistic and leave the 1.5-mile speedway with a good points effort.

Lester and his team struggled with both tight and loose handling conditions in Friday's practice sessions. The problems began when Lester complained that his truck was loose from the center of the corner off. The team made a couple of spring changes to settle the Tundra down. The changes helped the truck's loose condition, but Lester was not able to get to the bottom of the racetrack. The team tried a number of different shock combinations, hoping for something that was fast and comfortable. The team's effort was rewarded with the ninth-fastest truck in the final practice session.

When the green flag was displayed to the field Saturday afternoon, Lester was in the 15th spot and determined to get to the front. Lester had moved into the 11th spot only 10 laps into the 167-lap event. He reported that his truck was a little free in the center of corners. Crew chief Doug Wolcott and his crew conferred about the changes they would make to the truck during the first round of pit stops.

When the caution flag waved on lap 29, the No. 22 team readied for a four-tire stop two laps later. The team also made trackbar and wedge adjustments to the truck, hoping to tighten the handling for the long run.

When the race restarted on lap 34, Lester found himself in the 12th spot. He told his crew five laps later that the changes made the truck loose into the corner and tight off. Lester explained that he could not get underneath his competitors in the corners to make the pass. The handling woes did not hinder Lester from breaking into the top 10, which he had accomplished by lap 50. His lap times were also comparable to those of the front-running trucks.

Lester methodically picked off the competition, and the team began anticipating its best finish of the season. But the bad luck bug hit the team again. On lap 85, Mike Bliss spun in front of Lester, and the two trucks made contact coming out of turn four. There was only front-end damage on the No. 22 machine, and Lester had to pit numerous times for the crew to make repairs. The team remained on the lead lap for the rest of the race, but the truck had enough damage to keep Lester from charging through the field. Lester finished 23rd.