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| FORD PRACTICE NOTES: Toyota Tundra 200 at Nashville Superspeedway
08-11-2007 | TruckSeries.com Report
Joey Clanton, driver of the No. 09 Zaxby's Ford F-150 was the fastest rookie, posting the second fastest overall in Friday's final practice at Nashville Superspeedway. Clanton makes his 11th career start in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. He is ranked fourth in the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings and 26th in overall championship points. Joey Clanton - No. 09 Zaxby's Ford F-150 Thoughts on the track? "I love the track. This my second time here. I ran here in 2002 in the Busch series in the middle of the summer at this time, in this heat. Practice and qualifying were both rained out. I went straight to racing here without having any track time. So far, this weekend is good. I have the laps to get the truck working before we get to race it. And being up there near the top of the board - it feels good." Danny O'Quinn Jr. makes his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut in the No. 50 Northern Tool + Equipment Ford F-150 for Roush Fenway Racing. He has three previous starts at Nashville Superspeedway in the NASCAR Busch Series. O'Quinn and crew chief Matt Puccia talk about this weekend's race. Danny O'Quinn Jr. - No. 50 Northern Tool + Equipment Ford F-150 How are the trucks and cars different to you as a driver? "There's a lot of difference between the truck and the car. It's amazing how much harder you've got to drive the trucks in the corners. Compared to using a decent amount of brakes here in the car. In the trucks, you just carry your momentum more. They are a little slower on the straightaway because they are boxy, but you drive them so much deeper to make-up for that in the corners. That's probably the biggest thing, just getting used to that. It's a different feel. They travel different and behind other trucks, the air is affected different. There are definitely things that I'm going to learn this weekend, in the race and practice. I'm just going to pick-up on every bit that we can - inch-by-inch here." Did you drive your motorcoach to the race? "Yes, I drove here in the motorcoach with my parents. I'm glad they're here to watch my first truck race. Plus, it's great having the motorcoach here, it's someplace where I can take it easy and get out of the heat." Matt Puccia - No. 50 - Crew Chief What is your strategy for tomorrow? "There's no reason why we can't qualify in the top-10 and run in the top-10 all day tomorrow. We're looking for good track position. If you get back in traffic, then you'll get really aero-tight and it's tough to get a clean run. We'll work on getting near the front and in clean air. We are going to try for a top spot and stay there throughout the race."
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