Of the last two 150-lap races on the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule, lap 145 has dealt equally unkind blows to the No. 30 Ventrilo Tundra team. At Kentucky, rear end failure stopped driver Todd Bodine five laps shy of an eminent runner-up finish with a solid chance at breaking Ron Hornaday Jr.'s winning streak. Saturday night, in the Toyota Tundra 200 at Nashville Superspeedway, lap 145 yanked another top-five finish from the clutches of Bodine as a flat tire slowed the Ventrilo Tundra on the ill-fated lap, forcing a pit stop very late in the race. Bodine rejoined the field in 16th-place after stopping for four tires. He finished 13th.
"The Ventrilo Tundra was a decent truck. We were a fourth place truck. The limiting factor was the truck was too loose getting into the corners. I couldn't drive it in the way I needed to," explained Bodine. "We worked on the Ventrilo Tundra and made it better and I adjusted my line, but when we got behind Timothy (Peters, third place), the truck pushed (too much to make the pass). I hate that another Toyota had problems there at the end, but we needed that caution to change our flat tire. I guess I have to say thanks to Terry (Cook) for his misfortune. We were done if we didn't get the right rear tire changed - it was totally flat and coming apart."
Bodine qualified sixth for the 150-lap race, which was briefly delayed by rain showers. When the racing began, Bodine quickly indicated the Ventrilo Tundra was loose. However, as the green flag laps ticked away, the 2006 Truck Series champion let the Germain Racing crew know that the truck improved throughout the run.
"We made some adjustments on the first round of pit stops based on Todd's feedback. The Ventrilo Tundra didn't respond to the changes the way Todd needed. So, under our second round of pit stops, we went back to our initial setup and worked with an air pressure change and a chassis adjustment. The Ventrilo Tundra was better for Todd earlier in the run. I don't know if we were in a position to challenge for the win, but we had definitely earned a top-five or top-three finish," said crew chief Mike Hillman Jr.
After a late caution stretched the Toyota Tundra 200 to 154 laps, Ron Hornaday won. Bodine's 13th-place finish kept him in fourth-place in the NCWTS championship standings. He races the Ventrilo Tundra next on Wednesday night, August 19th, at Bristol Motor Speedway.
