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02-14-2003
Dodge Ram Race Notes
TruckSeries.com Report
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ROBERT PRESSLEY (No. 59
Kingsford/Harris Trucking Dodge Ram)
Pressley finished third after winning last year's race.
"I just got overpowered on that last lap. Everyone's been
talking about the Dodges sandbagging all week, but I think we
saw who was really sandbagging. Bobby (Hamilton), he helped me
get up there, and I thought we were going to bring Dodge
through for a win. Going into turn three Bobby lost a little
bit of push on me there, and then it was every man for himself.
I was trying to protect it, and when we loaded up with the No.
14 truck he was gone.
"The NASCAR Craftsman Trucks put on a good show here in
Daytona. They've got them bunched up a whole lot, so heck, we
go out there and just have a little fun."
"They moved the start-finish line too far down I guess. We were
in pretty good shape. I looked back there and had another Dodge
pushing me. I thought all we had to do was keep everything
straight and we'd be all right. Then the Fords and Chevrolets
teamed up and got three wide. They gave me a big old gap.
That's good if you're on a short track and got a little room
going into turn three. Whenever they singled up there coming
off turn four I was a sitting duck.
"Most of it was back in the back. The trucks moved around a
whole lot today. The track was very slick with the new
carburetor deal, new air horn deal. It closed the field up very
tight, a lot tighter than it was last year. If you were in the
back of the pack you could really pull up on anybody at will,
but when you were in the front you were having to lift to keep
from running over the guys or running four wide. I think that's
what it was, just a little bit of inexperience, guys getting in
a hurry thinking they could somewhere and causing a few
accidents.
"It actually started on the back straightaway. I guess the 46
truck lined up up there and made it three wide on Bobby. When
it got three wide, it was busting a real big hole behind them.
I was out there in clean air. That's where everything started.
What happened off four was just the aftermath of it.
"It wasn't really the carburetor. What we used to do was run a
three-inch ram air duct into the carburetor. This year they cut
it down to a two-inch. It's really starved the motor a whole
lot instead of putting restrictor plates on it slowed 'em down
a little bit like that. We were actually a little faster in the
draft if you could get four or five trucks together. Then it
made everybody bust a bigger hole and let the other trucks stay
in tow a whole lot more.
"We came off four and saw Rick. He was really digging. I was
wanting that extra push right there, but what happened I jumped
out and got the rear tires off the ground and the rear end
started spinning a little bit. By the time the truck landed
back on the ground, I mean it does that every lap, this lap
here I was just a couple of inches off the ground more than I
had been the whole day. That was a little bit of momentum Rick
needed to get to the quarterpanel. Once you get to the
quarterpanel you can stop anybody.
"I never thought I won a race until four or five minutes after
the race because you never know what's going to happen. I knew
that whenever we went into turn one and Terry couldn't pull
around Crawford and they killed the momentum, it just really
helped me a lot. Bobby was behind me. If Bobby could have
stayed behind me or anybody could have stayed back there it
would have went on and it would have been a two or three-truck
breakaway. I guess when the 46 truck went to the outside and
made it three wide it just screwed everything up for me.
"NASCAR is doing everything they can. I think they've already
tried similarities. The thing about the trucks, what works
great with them with no restrictor plate is because the cab on
them, we're 11 inches higher at the roof than any car. We're a
lot like the 1980 model Winston Cup cars used to be before they
put the restrictor plate. The aerodynamics is not there with
these trucks. You can bust open some big holes.
"Turn one is where everything started when myself, Bobby and
the 46 and another truck we caught during the caution. We were
all sitting there and the worst we could do was run fourth or
fifth if we were all lined up and took off. Whenever Terry Cook
and Crawford got side by side going into turn one, it just
opened things up for me and gave me the opportunity to win the
race. Going down the back straightaway when they got three wide
behind me, nobody was helping me at all. I was just sitting
there.
"We've had a couple (finishes) at Talladega. We were only three
wide here. I've been seven wide and sideways there. This is
great. Truck races are always pretty good here. You've really
got two groups of trucks out there sometimes. Today if we
hadn't had all the crashes it would have been a little more
exciting than it was today.
"I know I was behind Ted Musgrave when he blew his tire going
into turn one. Some debris was on the track. As aerodynamic as
these trucks are not, you're spinning the tires a whole lot. We
were racing Daytona like you normally race Martinsville, so
there was a lot of debris on the track."
BOBBY HAMILTON (No. 4 Square D Dodge Ram)
"These Square D guys really put this Dodge together right
at the last second. We tested and tore it down, tested and tore
it down again. For the first part of the race we were strong,
but then we got a set of tires that threw our weight off. We
lost our track position, and then we got the truck torn up
again. So, to come back where we did we're really happy about
it.
On the fact that no other trucks would run with him...
"The same thing happened here when the No. 4 car won all the
races. They act like you've got the plague, and they don't want
you to win any more. We had won every year, but you can't win
them all. We're looking at the big picture. Now we're sitting
fourth in points, and that's a good start to the season."
"I didn't even know that either of our other trucks were
getting banged up. That's how concerned I was. When I strapped
in this thing I never knew anything about either one of them. I
don't think I even asked about either one of them until I saw
that Bill (Lester) wrecked. Me and my spotter made an agreement
that they get paid to drive, the crew chiefs get paid to crew
it, and when I'm in the truck I get paid to drive. That's what
I was concerned about. I'll be the owner when I get back on
Monday."
"I was definitely trying to push Robert (Pressley) to the win.
Robert's in a Dodge and he worked with me a couple of times. We
were the last ones left, but we just didn't have enough help.
JASON LEFFLER (No. 2 Team ASE/CARQUEST Dodge Ram)
"Well, Ted just lost a tire and there was nothing that he
could do. I stayed up on the high side and then shot to the
bottom. I thought I was going to be clear, but our Team
ASE/CARQUEST Dodge didn't clear him. His Mopar Dodge came right
up in front of me, and I just hit him with my left-front. I
think everybody's alright, so we'll recover from this and get
on with the season.
TED MUSGRAVE (No. 1 Mopar Performance Parts Dodge Ram)
"We were running a little warm in the beginning of the
race, so we fell back and got some air on the nose. The Mopar
Dodge was handling really good, so we were just trying to keep
the motor cooled down. Then all of a sudden the right rear tire
blew, and there's not much you can do when you're running that
fast on three tires. There was only about a two second warning,
but by the time you let up on the gas there's not much you can
do. You try to keep it straight, but you can't. We must have
just run something over, I guess. Behind me, my teammate Jason
Leffler actually saw the tire come apart as I went into the
corner. I tried my best to keep it off the wall and out of
traffic, but at that speed I was kind of helpless. It's just a
bad way to start off the year."
BRENDAN GAUGHAN (No. 62 Orleans Hotel Dodge Ram)
"I said from the beginning that I wanted to be the top
Dodge program. If we do that I think we can win the
championship, because I think the Dodges are the best out
there. We were the best Dodge today. We were awesome. We led
most of this race, and my wingman Rick Crawford was hanging
right there with me. But you know what happened to us? We got
too good of a restart at the end. I wasn't experienced enough
to know to drag the brakes. At that restart we just jumped all
over everybody. The problem is - and I found that out - in
Daytona racing you can't get that big of a lead. Second and
third teamed up on me and just, whoosh, went on by. I didn't
block them. It's just one of those things that I've learned
now. It's okay.
"Towards the end though, we ran out of gas. We came down and
got a push-truck to push us in. I gave everyone a French lesson
on the radio. Sorry guys. We took off like a bat out of hell
and were able to finish 10th. I think we proved that we're one
of the best Dodge teams out here, and I think everybody knows
that we're a team to watch this year.
"I still love the green, white checkered-flag finishes in this
series. I think that's the greatest rule. That's what real men
do - we finish green, white, checkered. That is why the NASCAR
Craftsman Truck Series is the greatest racing. What the No. 52
is doing, I have no clue. You don't have to do that junk when
it's just a yellow flag. Thanks to that, I knew I was in the
lead battle. I was like, 'How the hell did I get here?'
BILL LESTER (No. 8 Dodge Motorsports Dodge Ram)
"I was happy that we missed the whole No. 1 truck incident.
I was fortunate enough to avoid hitting him, but I hit his tire
and tore up my whole nose. We were tight from there on out and
I was like, 'What next?' Then towards the end, with about three
laps to go, I went into turn one I was way loose and a little
later, pow, the right rear tire let go. I had no control over
it.
"You've got to stay positive in this sport if you're going to
be successful. I thought it was our day today, but this is what
makes you stronger.
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