Danny O'Quinn finished 10th at Bristol on Wednesday night in just his second-career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start. O'Quinn's finish was the highest of the three Roush Fenway trucks, and the third for the No. 50 truck in 2007.
O'Quinn started the race in the 13th position, but began to pick up positions in the early going. When the caution flag flew at lap 33 for a wreck involving the No. 22 truck, O'Quinn came to pit road with most of the leaders for service. Crew chief Matt Puccia made the call to take right side tires and fuel, allowing O'Quinn to gain seven positions on pit road. O'Quinn continued his march towards the front, advancing to the fourth position on lap 65.
As the laps clicked off, O'Quinn reported to his Northern Tool + Equipment team that his F-150 was extremely tight, and he was unable to keep it on the bottom of the racetrack. Not wanting to give up their track position, Puccia elected to leave O'Quinn on the racetrack. O'Quinn did what he could to hold on to the truck, but his handling issues worsened as he continued on. O'Quinn was running in the 19th position at lap 158 when the caution flag flew for debris on the racetrack. Puccia decided he would take his chances by coming to pit road for tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment, a decision that would eventually pay off for the No. 50 team.
O'Quinn restarted in the 20th position, knowing he had a huge challenge ahead of him to get back to the front of the field. Unfortunately for him, a series of late-race cautions cut the number of green flag laps to just a handful, severely limiting his ability to regain his lost positions. O'Quinn passed when he could and took advantage of some of the wrecks to bring the Northern Tool + Equipment Ford home in the 10th position.
"That was awesome," said O'Quinn. "It was my second time in a truck and this 50 team is really a bunch of great guys. The Roush Fenway trucks are so good, it was just a privilege to drive one tonight. We started off and drove up through there five, or six spots and tried a different deal with pit strategy and took only two tires. That really ended up hurting us because we fell way back and I couldn't drive it like I needed to. We decided we needed to stop again and put four on it, but we didn't have a whole lot of green-flag racing to make up positions. Every lap we ran we passed some trucks, so it feels really good to come out of here with a top 10. It's just a privilege to be driving these Roush Fenway Ford Racing F-150s."
The Craftsman Truck Series races next at Gateway International Raceway on Saturday, September 1.