High Sierra Photo

In a finish that could only be produced by Atlanta Motor Speedway, Terry Cook piloted his No. 10 Ford Power Stroke Diesel by International in a last lap dash to the finish. Even though he came up just a few feet short of the win, Cook finished second and scored the team's third top-five finish of the year. Mike Bliss took the checkered flag after coming on strong in last 50 laps of the race.

Terry Cook and the No. 10 Ford Power Stroke Diesel by International race team brought home an impressive second place finish in Saturday's EasyCare Vehicle Service Contracts 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (NCTS) race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The No.10 team looked forward to practice on Friday hoping to make a few small adjustments to their winning truck from Kansas.

Unfortunately for the team, Mother Nature had other plans and rained out Friday's two practice sessions. With just one hour of practice Saturday morning, the team had to work hard to get the truck ready for qualifying. Terry Cook ran two qualifying laps and put the No. 10 in the 18th starting position.

When the green flag fell in Atlanta just after 2:00p.m., cooler temperatures made for a track with lots of grip. Cook settled in and started working towards the front immediately.

When the caution came out on lap three, Cook had already gained four positions, running 14th. Passing trucks posed a small problem for the driver. He radioed to the crew on lap 7 that the truck was loose when other trucks were right behind him.

Despite the loose condition in traffic, Cook knew he had a fast race truck and intended to show the field just how good he was. He drove up to the 5th position by lap 33. His spotter, Tony Hirschman gave his driver some additional confidence. "You keep that rhythm up. We're about the best truck out there right now."

"I'm just too loose by myself and I'm really really loose when someone is near me," Cook radioed the team.

When the caution came out on lap 40, it was just the break the team needed to get the truck just right. Crew Chief Dennis Connor called Cook to pit road for four fresh Goodyear tires, fuel, and a small air pressure adjustment to help the loose condition.

Picking up a position on pit road, Cook restarted 4th. Still fighting a loose condition, Cook ran in the top-five for the next 30 laps. Reporting a "loose center-off" condition, Connor called the driver to pit road again on lap 77 to make one final adjustment. Taking four fresh tires, fuel, and a track bar adjustment, Cook was down and away in less than 17 seconds.

Feeling the truck start to come to him as the sun was setting behind the grandstands; Cook knew the last 30 laps would be his time to strike. Working his way to the third position by lap 111, Cook could see the win in his sights. Reeling in rookie Erik Darnell, Cook took over the second position on lap 124. Running the fastest lap times of any truck on the track, it was just a matter of time before Cook would catch the leader, Mike Bliss. Faster on the longer runs, the No.10 team was dishearten to see the caution flag come out with less than 15 laps to go.

On the restart, with just 10 laps to go, Cook set his sights on the red No. 16 in front of him. Lap after lap, Cook made up ground on the leader. Less than a second back, Cook drove the No.10 Ford Power Stroke Diesel by International F-150 hard into turn one. Coming out of turn four, the win was still in his grasp. In a drag race to the finish, Cook came up just a hair short and crossed the finish line second.

"Almost but not quite," Cook said as he climbed from the truck. "Man, I think we just needed one more lap. Mike was strong all race long and our truck took a little bit to get running. On the last stop we made some great adjustments and it wouldn't go on the short runs. We kept having caution after caution and I was getting worried about it. I just can't say enough about the Ford Power Stroke Diesel by International Truck. The guys made some awesome calls all race long and prepared a great truck. We rolled off the trailer fast. This is the same truck that won in Kansas. We weren't originally planning on taking it back to Texas, but it's going to Texas for sure now! This thing is a fast race truck and we're very proud of the effort here today. I can't be any happier right now."

Terry Cook and the team head to Texas Motor Speedway this week for the Silverado 350. The 23rd race of the 2006 season begins at 5:00 p.m. EST. Friday, November 3rd.