For the second race in a row Camp Courageous driver Sammy Sanders kept his cool and managed to earn another top 25 finish in the O'Reilly Auto Parts 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway.  Sanders qualified his No. 04 Dodge in the 35th starting position, with a lap time of 16.314 seconds and an average speed of 117.617 mph.  Then the cool headed Nashville champion battled back from two laps down to earn a lap back and finish the event in the 22nd spot.

"It was great experience for me," Sanders said.  "We proved that we could run times comparable to the leaders and make a decent showing for Camp Courageous.  We raced so we could gain exposure for what a great cause Camp Courageous is and get me some more seat time.  All in all it was a fun experience."

Sanders drove his No. 04 Camp Courageous Dodge around the world's fastest half mile oval in 16.314 seconds at a speed of 117.617 mph which earned him 35th on the grid to start the 200-lap event.

By the first caution on lap three, Sanders told his Crew that his clutch felt like it was not working.  The team agreed to go ahead and check the clutch as that was extremely important at such an intense short track.  The team quickly popped the hood under caution double checking the connection and sent Sanders back on the track saying that part was properly connected.
By lap 22 Sanders was lapped by the leader Mark Martin but held onto his position trying for the "lucky dog" if the caution came out.

Then under caution for the second time Sanders pitted on lap 30 so the team could bleed the clutch and help their driver.  Once again they noticed the reservoir had plenty of fluid in it.  Sanders would just have to muscle his way through the field.

Before the restart on lap 33 Sanders was notified by NASCAR to start at the tail end of the longest line, one of two times during the event, as he was caught speeding on entering or exiting pit road.

Then on lap 48 Sanders was lapped by then leader Mike Skinner.  In the following laps while trying to stay as close to Skinner as he could Sanders did a great job of holding his own on the quick oval.  At times Sanders was sideways off turn four but managed to save his truck from spinning around.
Then under caution on lap 64, Sanders radioed, "If I tried to stick it in the corner it got free on entry so I tried to back it up off the corner and it did better under acceleration."

Then on lap 76 Marcus Ambrose spun in turn two, right in front of the No. 04 Camp Courageous Dodge.  Sanders used his savvy driving skills to miss the mishap and keep his Dodge in one piece.

Sanders battled his way around the short track.  On lap 148 he got the lucky dog and regained one of his lost laps back.  On the restarts he lined up side by side with the leaders holding his own on the short track.  At times during the race, his laps times were comparable to the top 10 running which happened to be his BHR teammates.

On lap 150 Sanders pitted for the final time.  He came in on lap 151 for right side tires only.  Then he came back in on lap 153 for his left side tires.  He restarted in the 27th spot.

Over the final 50 laps Sanders did a masterful job peeling off the accelerator a little earlier so he could manage his Dodge from the center off the corner.  Sanders managed to finish the event in the 22nd position.

Mark Martin won the O'Reilly 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Todd Bodine, Ted Musgrave, Johnny Benson and David Starr completed the top-five. The next stop for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competitors is at the New Hampshire Raceway on Saturday, September 16th.