The final few laps of Saturday night's O'Reilly 200 turned into a test session for Joey Clanton and the No. 09 Zaxby's Ford.

The Wood Brothers/JTG Racing team didn't need any extra work. They were looking for salvation after a broken suspension part dropped them back to a 30th-place finish at the Memphis Motorsports Park. It would have been easy, if not understandable, if Clanton parked his Ford F-150, but he wanted to satisfy his own curiosity. He may have been out of contention, but he wanted to prove his race truck was as fast as the leaders.

While there are no moral victories in racing, Clanton said Saturday's race proves it takes more than a fast truck, well-prepared team and a solid effort on the track to succeed. It also takes a little luck.

Clanton, who is sharing the driving duties in the No. 09 Zaxby's Ford, will return to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for the Built Ford Tough 225 at the Kentucky Speedway on July 14.

Joey Clanton, No. 09 Zaxby's Ford F-150: "I don't know if we blew a tire out or broke a tie rod," he said. "I think we broke a tie rod. We didn't get in it with anybody, just something failed. We just rode the rest of the race because I wanted to see if we could run laps as fast as the leaders. Our Zaxby's Ford F-150 was running with the leaders, so it was as fast as I thought it was. The truck was awesome; it was a third place truck, we just wanted to see if I could run speeds with the leaders and I could. It's frustrating, but we knew we had a good truck and that's the main thing.

"I was looking so forward to racing at Memphis in a Craftsman Truck. I've won twice at Memphis in an ASA car, so I had to good idea what it takes to get around that track. But the entire team's fate is in the hands of parts and pieces. Sometimes those parts break, no matter how prepared you are. It's all part of racing."

Race News

• Clanton earned $8,975 and now has earned $87,050 in seven starts this year. He has $106,205 in nine career starts in the Craftsman Truck Series.
• Clanton's next race with Wood Brothers/JTG Racing is at the Kentucky Speedway on July 14 in the Built Ford Tough 225. Stacy Compton will drive the No. 09 Zaxby's Ford July 27 at the O'Reilly Raceway Park.
• Travis Kvapil won the O'Reilly 200. The rest of the Top Five were: Jack Sprague, Ron Hornaday Jr., Mike Skinner and Aaron Fike.