Willie Allen had two goals going into the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Ohio 250. Make a statement and turn the season around for his No. 13 ThorSport Chevy Silverado team. Allen managed to accomplish both of these goals despite a 28th place finish that doesn't even begin to reflect his incredible run. The Rookie of the Year contender ran in the Top 10 the majority of the race, proving that he has what it takes to compete with the top guns of the series.

A rainy day in Mansfield and the uncertainty of completing all 250 laps caused many teams to change pit strategy. After three rain delays, the ThorSport crew revaluated their pit strategy and decided to go the distance on fuel without a stop. Allen took his No. 13 Chevy Silverado all the way up to the third position before running out of gas while the field was under caution with 38 laps remaining.

"Our pit strategy going into the race was to pit early, which I think was also everyone else's strategy," said Allen. "Once the rain began, we had to take a look at the situation and we decided to try to go the distance without a stop. We knew if everything was right on the truck, we could go all the way. We just had a few little problems that caused us to run out. We knew it could be done and we wanted to take the gamble for the win because that's what we went to the race to do. Unfortunately, it didn't work out for us."

"We had a great truck. The longer we ran the better it got. We started off a little tight, but the more air pressure we got in the tires the better it turned. We had one of the best trucks out there towards the end of the race. I think we had a great shot to win before we ran out of gas."

The impressive run gave Allen and his crew a much needed confidence boost. After being plagued with problems all season, the Mansfield performance proved to everyone that Willie Allen and ThorSport Racing are a force to be reckoned with in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

"We had a great game plan when we got to the track and everyone was really prepared. Besides winning, that's one of the best runs we could have had. It got myself and everyone on the team fired up. We know that the No. 13 Chevy Silverado can run up front and is going to run up front. I want to thank all the guys for working hard all week and all season. We've been through some tough situations so far this year, but everyone dug down deep this week and put a great truck together. I can't wait to carry this momentum over to the Dover race this week."