What a difference a year makes. When the dust settled in last year's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series clash at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Brian Scott had just recorded his career best finish in 8th place. In the year since that race Scott has been on fire, posting 15 additional top 10's, 9 top-five finishes (including second place finishes at Homestead, Memphis and Nashville) and a win at Dover. It seems as if the challenging flat one-mile oval in Concord, NH served as a catalyst for success.
"Our year improved dramatically last year starting with the race at Loudon," Scott said as he and his Xpress Motorsports team prepared for this Saturday's Helluva Good 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. "It proved to be a springboard for success that has carried on up to this point. Making the switch to Toyota, having Jeff Hensley come on board and all the things we did at this point last year are paying huge dividends for us now. It showed at the end of last year with several top 10 runs and two top five finishes, and that has translated into a really good 2009 season with a win an d a chance to make some noise in the truck series points race. It really kicked the momentum into gear for us and we have been able to keep it rolling in a positive fashion."
New Hampshire has always signified good things for Scott. He made his initial NCWTS start there on September 15, 2007, claiming a respectable 21st place finish as a newcomer. He has friends and teammates from the New England area and to say the least, it helped him find his on-track mojo in 2008.
"New Hampshire will always be a special place to me," Scott added. "I love the race fans in that area, I love how much they come out and support the competitors and the racetrack. They are truly dedicated fans and it shows. It is a good strong hardcore grass roots fan base. The New England states are beautiful to visit and I always have a great time in New England. It is a fun track. It is flat with long sweeping corners which also allows you to carry speed. It is a very racy track, you can run a variety of grooves. You can run two wide there pretty easily. It is a rhythm racetrack. You have two corners which are similar. You get a rhythm in a green flag run at Loudon and you can make up some positions. Track position will be important and pit strategy will be important. New Hampshire is special to me because I got my first truck series start there. It is a special place for my crew chief Jeff Hensley so he is pumped up and our wh ole team is pumped up. It makes it a lot of fun when the entire Xpress Motorsports team is really excited about going up there and going for the win at Loudon."
For crew chief Jeff Hensley New Hampshire is important in its own way. In addition to having success on the track it holds a special pace for him in regards to his family life.
"My wife, Debbie, is from Hooksett, NH which is about 10 miles south of the racetrack," Hensley says. "I met her at the track in New Hampshire in 1990. If there is any place that I would like to win it would be there. It is home, I really love it up there. We go up for every Christmas and Thanksgiving. I really enjoy it every time we go up there. Heck, I would like to retire up there one day. My wife has supported me in everything I have done in my career. For those reasons I would really like to win at Loudon."
Hensley knows that the Loudon layout can provide more than a few challenges for any crew chief or driver. With the current set of gear rules and carburetor restrictions you have to place a premium on momentum.
"You have to be able to get into the corner secure enough to drive it in hard" Hensley says. "You also have to be able to turn in the middle. It is a momentum racetrack. We should see a little more passing at Loudon than you did at Gateway because the gear rule is a little20more favorable for us there. Brian Scott does a really god job at these flat tracks. We have a second and two thirds at these flat one mile or just over one mile racetracks. Maybe we can pick it up a notch or two and pick us up a win this weekend."
The Helluva Good 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway is slated for Saturday September 19th and will be telecast live on SPEED at 3:00pm ET. It will also be broadcast live via radio worldwide on the Motor Racing Network (MRN) and on SIRIUS Satellite Radio NASCAR channel 128.
Chassis for New Hampshire Motor Speedway: Xpress Motorsports will bring chassis number 128 to the Helluva Good 200 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. This new Triad Racing Technologies chassis will see its second race with Brian Scott and his Xpress Motorsports Toyota team. It previously placed 8th at Iowa Speedway.
