An interview with
TIMOTHY PETERS and JEFF HENSLEY
KERRY
THARP: We're going to roll into our
post race victory press
conference. Tonight's race winner,
winning on the last lap, is Timothy
Peters, he drives the No. 17 K&N
Toyota. He's joined by his crew chief,
Jeff Hensley. This is Timothy's second
career win. The last one came back last
fall at Martinsville. He's our points
leader going into Atlanta.
So
congratulations on the win here tonight,
Timothy. Talk about how exciting it was
to win here at Daytona.
TIMOTHY
PETERS: I guess it's everybody's
dream to win at Daytona. It just feels
different. But I'm glad 'cause, I mean,
it doesn't get any better than
winning. I could get used to this.
You know,
Jeff Hensley and all the crew on the 17,
Red Horse Racing, Toyota Tundra, did an
awesome job all week long in preparing
this truck over the winter.
In the draft,
we were awesome. In practice on
Wednesday and Thursday morning, we gave
up a little bit by ourself knowing we
could draft really well.
So, you know,
we got in situations where it probably
was a little too close for comfort, but
the good Lord looked out for us and kept
us straight and out of the wall.
I knew Todd
Bodine was the man here and I wasn't
gonna leave him until it was time to try
to make a move. The 23 had a good run
off of two coming down the middle of the
backstretch. I went high to go with
him. It worked out to where I could go
back low. Here we are.
I just can't
get over the feeling of being in Victory
Lane at Daytona. K&N Filters being
onboard with us, Crescent, everybody
that's associated with Red Horse Racing,
Tom DeLoach, bringing me over, believing
in me.
Jeff, I can't
say enough about Jeff, not because he's
sitting here, but his track record
speaks for itself. You know, we went to
New Smyrna in the middle of January and
had a test with our truck we won
Martinsville with. Right out of the box,
it felt like we'd been working together
all our life.
Had good
power from Joey Arrington. It's kind of
cool. The people that's involved with
our deal, me and Jeff probably don't
live 20 minutes from each other. He
lives in Martinsville, I live in
Danville, we have Joey Arrington
engines. Pretty cool combination. I
won't forget this for a long time.
KERRY
THARP: Jeff, terrific job out there
tonight crewing that truck. Talk about
the view atop the pit box.
JEFF
HENSLEY: I'd like to take credit for
the super strategy we had. But it really
wasn't that big of a deal 'cause the
cautions fell good right where we
needed. We had a game plan of pitting at
lap 20 if a caution come out. A caution
come on lap 21. That got us to 54. The
caution came on lap 47. Everything kind
of played into our deal.
You know,
sometimes I'd rather be lucky than
good. But the guys on pit road, the
over-the-wall guys, they are awesome,
kept us up front all night long. We
picked up spots every stop. We tried to
put Timothy in a position to do what he
did. He drove an awesome race all night
long.
The truck was
a little loose to start with. We made a
couple air pressure adjustments, track
bar deal there, got him just a little
bit snug. But I knew it was gonna get
kind of crazy there at the end, so I
rather for him to be able to tug on the
wheel than sit there and be holding his
breath.
You know, it
was just a lot of fun to watch it
unfold. I just feel so fortunate to be a
part of it.
KERRY
THARP: We'll take questions for
Timothy or Jeff.
Q. Timothy, Todd was in here saying you
made a great, smart move at the
end. Give any thought to how much
confidence this gives you?
TIMOTHY
PETERS: You know, this is only my
fourth plate race, Superspeedway
race. I'm still learning. It doesn't
matter if we were at Daytona, Atlanta,
Martinsville. To race with these guys is
just an awesome feeling.
You know,
call a spade a spade, Todd Bodine is the
best Speedway racer. His results prove
it. I wasn't gonna leave him until it
was time to. My spotter, Kevin Ray, did
an awesome job, keeping me calm, keeping
me in line, telling me, Let's try to
make the move down the pack
straightaway. The 23 had an awesome
run. When Todd went high, I went high,
and we prevailed to the inside.
It's very
cool. I'm not giving him all the credit,
but it is cool to beat those guys,
too. But Todd and I are pretty good
buddies, too. It's pretty cool to beat
him at the same time.
Q. How hard was it holding onto that
truck coming off four? It looked like
Todd crowded you down to get the side
draft, made contact. How hard was it to
hold onto?
TIMOTHY
PETERS: Well, you know, Thursday
morning we got into a good pack of
trucks in the draft. We were in every
situation you could think of, as far as
being close on trucks, as far as my
perspective, trucks crowding our quarter
panel. You know, again, I have to give
it to Jeff and all the guys. They really
massaged this truck to where every bad
situation could possibly happen
Thursday, it did. Fortunately we didn't
wreck it, thank goodness.
But it was a
stable truck. And that was the
best. That was very cool. And knowing
that Todd is out there and I knew he was
going to try to stall us out by hanging
on the quarter panel and get that side
draft. As far as I'm concerned, I had
the drag racing visor on and I didn't
see him out there, and that yellow line
was my best friend, and I wasn't moving,
so it worked out.
Q. A
few years since we were in the garage in
the cold weather. Could you have dreamed
this back then? Todd had nothing but
great things to say about you as a
person. Obviously you're going to credit
that Danville upbringing.
TIMOTHY
PETERS: You know, what an amazing --
words can't describe what I feel. And as
far as Todd, Todd is a class act. You
know, he kind of seen the road that I've
went down. When the good is good, when
it's bad, it's pretty bad.
You know,
Jeff could probably say the same thing,
because he's been in racing his whole
life with his own team, fighting the
good with the bad as well.
Just very
fortunate for my surroundings, for the
competitors. Much appreciative of the
compliments.
Q. Tim, are you really going to go to
Disneyworld?
TIMOTHY
PETERS: It's going to be in the
plans. Got to be. My wife was wanting me
to say that. Last time I was trying to
tell a story at the Martinsville
deal. It didn't come out the way I was
thinking it. So I figured I'd make up
for us by what she asked me to do.
We're going
to go. It isn't very often that I can
get to sit right here. What better way
to say that you're going to go to
Disneyworld. So we're going to go.
Q. This is two wins in your last six
starts. You seem like you're on a roll
now.
TIMOTHY
PETERS: Well, it feels good. Don't
get me wrong. If I could pick anywhere
on the circuit to win my first race, it
would be at home. But to win here at
Daytona is just unbelievable. Look at
the history that this place has behind
it. To get out of that truck and to get
soaked with Gatorade from the guys,
knowing that you're in Victory Lane at
Daytona, it just sends chills down my
back. It's an awesome feeling. Not to
sound like a broken record, but it's
very cool.
Q. Does this solidify you as a
championship contender?
TIMOTHY
PETERS: I hope so. I feel like it,
that we are. You know, Tom over the
winter made adjustments with the team,
said we were going to do everything that
we could to put our Toyota Tundra in
championship contention. You know, Jeff
has been in that running in many
different scenarios. I'm very privileged
that Tom believes enough in me and my
ability to give me the opportunity and
put the great people behind me.
You know,
life's good.
Q. Jeff, if I remember right, you've
worked with some pretty awesome drivers
throughout your entire career, guys who
have won championships, guys who should
have won championships. Look at this
guy, two wins now in less than six
months. How does he stack up against
some of the others you've worked with?
JEFF
HENSLEY: I mean, he's as good as
anybody I've ever worked with, and I
haven't worked with him that much. I
mean, we're just getting started.
But, you
know, like Timothy said, we kind of come
from the same upbringing. And I
appreciate that. I appreciate that
probably more than a lot of people
do. But his ability as a racecar driver,
you know, I wouldn't be sitting here
right now if it wasn't for him. I
believed in the opportunity when Tom
DeLoach called me and asked me if I'd be
interested in coming over. When he told
me I would be working with Timothy, I
mean, that made my decision really easy,
because I believed in him when he was
doing his own deal out of the his
backyard. When he was at BHR in the
summer of '08, we did a little bit of
stuff together because he was in a Dodge
and we were in a Dodge.
I seen the
determination and how hard he worked,
how hard he wanted it. It looked like me
20 years ago. I've been there and done
that. I know how tough it is. To see
what he's sacrificed, wanted to do to be
where he's at right now, just wants to
make me be an even better crew chief and
ask more of our guys.
Everybody
just worked really hard this
winter. We've made a lot of changes in
the shop. Made a lot of changes on the
truck. We had a lot of work to do. We
still got a lot of work to do.
But
everybody's pulled together. You know,
Tom has given us everything we need to
make this happen. Obviously our engine
program is pretty good. I can't say
enough about our over-the-wall
guys. They're awesome. That's a tribute
to pit school. Those guys practice there
and train there every day. It's where
your races are won and lost.
And our fab
shop. I mean, these guys worked really
hard on this truck. All the guys back
there, they've rubbed on it, fluffed on
it as much as we could. I told them I
wanted no drag and all the downforce I
could get, just like everybody
else. They pretty much give us what we
wanted. I can't say enough about Timothy
and everybody I'm associated with right
now. I'm pretty lucky to be a part of
it.
Q. When you won last year at
Martinsville, Tom DeLoach made you a
single promise, saying you would be
racing for him this year. How crazy was
the winter? Were you at any time a
little worried maybe you weren't going
to be here?
TIMOTHY
PETERS: I never worried about
that. Tom DeLoach is the nicest man that
I've ever met. When he says something,
you can take it to the bank. Over the
winter, it wasn't a deal to where I
stayed at the house. I was at the shop,
you know, when the guys walked in, and I
was there when they walked out.
I just loved
being there. For the opportunity that
Tom has given me, I want to be there for
the team, to let the guys know that I'm
behind them. Let Tom know that I'm very
appreciative for the opportunity that
he's given me.
Even though
we have great people, great resources,
great trucks, I'm not gonna change. I
mean, my dad's ever said, Hey, you're
never too good. You put your pants on
the same way I do every morning. I'm
gonna continue to do that as long as I'm
able to race.
So I'm very,
very fortunate for the opportunity and
the people that are around me. I just
hope that things continue to go as well
as they started tonight.
Q. One of the things that Todd said, the
reason we saw such wild racing was the
new shock package. You said your truck
was set up really snug, real
solid. Could you talk about just dealing
with that. Do you agree with him, that
was one of the reasons why it was so
wild? If not, why do you think we saw
such crazy racing out there tonight?
TIMOTHY
PETERS: Well, you know, as far as
the shocks go, it kind of played into
our favor. We ended final practice
Thursday morning where I could just pull
on the wheel comfortable and still run
really well in the pack.
You know,
obviously all that changes once you get
20 deep side-by-side. You know, tonight
we spent half of the race trying to
tighten me back up a little bit because
we were in a very good pack of trucks,
and we were too free.
You know,
Todd taught me a lot there those last 10
laps. A lot of the night -- of tonight,
when I was by myself, I was running
right on the yellow line, and Todd
actually moved up a lane. Inside those
last 15 laps, I moved up with him. I
could physically hear the rpms pick up
in the motor. I could stay right on his
back bumper through the turns better
than what I have all night long.
So I learned
a lot. It was cool. The bump-drafting
deal was kind of crazy. The new bumpers
that we can run now, they line up a
little bit, but not as well as we'd
like. I pushed the 5 down the back
straightaway and kind of got him a
little out of whack. I'll take credit
for that. But, you know, it's
Daytona. Everybody wants to win. I'm
glad that we're sitting here, though.
KERRY
THARP: Timothy and Jeff,
congratulations on a great race
tonight. Good luck in Atlanta.
TIMOTHY
PETERS: Thank you.
JEFF
HENSLEY: Thank you.
An interview with TODD
BODINE and
DENNIS SETZER
KERRY
THARP: We'll roll into tonight's
press conference in the NASCAR Camping
World Truck Series. Our race runner-up
is Todd Bodine, driver of the No. 30
GEICO Toyota.
Todd, take us
through those last couple laps there for
us tonight.
TODD
BODINE: Well, you know, out there in
the lead, pretty much a sitting duck. I
knew Timmy had a great truck, the 23 was
behind him. All they had to do is team
up. That's what they tried to do. I
tried to block Timmy. I was gonna come
back down. He got in the quarter panel
which turned me up the track and got me
up in the wall a little bit. That kind
of took all my momentum down. I just
couldn't get back to him.
We had a
great truck. Dodging a lot of
bullets. It was a race of survival. We
had that flat tire. Fortunately we got
that flat tire in three and four, was
able to get to pit road, saved a
lap. Get back up there and race 'em.
Had a fast
truck again. We're disappointed, there's
no doubt about it. But it was a great
points race. Still second is nothing to
sneeze at. We'll take it, go to Atlanta.
KERRY
THARP: Questions for Todd Bodine.
Q. Looking back at tonight, do you look
and say, Is there anything else I could
have done?
TODD
BODINE: Yeah, you always look at it
and say it. That's part of being a
competitor, being a good racer. You try
to watch that stuff, see what you could
have done differently.
I've seen the
replay a couple times now. I don't think
there's anything I could have done
differently. I had to block him up
high. Unfortunately he got my right rear
quarter panel, and that turned me up
into the wall. If he didn't get in the
quarter panel, you're only talking a
couple inches, I would have turned back
down the track, and stayed right in
front of him, beat him to the line.
But, you
know, ifs and buts. That's hard racing
Daytona.
Q. Was it as wild in the truck as it
looked from up here? Why do you think it
was so wild compared to past races?
TODD
BODINE: That's a good question. They
changed the rear shocks. I don't think
the guys really adapted right to
them. You had to do some different
things to your truck to make them
work. That's one thing, kind of why they
were all over the place.
I don't
know. You know, it's a shame to see some
of the things that happened because a
lot of what happened was just, you know,
call it what it was, it was stupid, it
was ignorant. Getting into somebody in
the middle of a straightaway, you know.
You want to
look at the Truck Series and you want to
look at these drivers. It's easy to
blame 'em, say they did the wrong
things. But look at the Cup Series and
the Nationwide Series, the professionals
that they're supposed to be, they're
doing the same things. You put a driver
in a box and he's gonna do what he's got
to do to get out of that box and go
fast. The trucks are no different.
The one thing
I say to everybody is don't just look at
these drivers and say they did wrong,
because your superstars in the Cup
Series are doing the same thing.
KERRY
THARP: Let's also hear from
tonight's third-place finisher Dennis
Setzer.
Dennis, your
thoughts about tonight's place?
DENNIS
SETZER: Just a great race. Danny
Gill called me back about December, said
he's putting a team together, wanted me
to consider driving for him. I said,
Sure, I don't have anything.
We waited
actually till about two weeks ago till
he decided if I could drive. If anybody
could come up with the money. If anybody
come up with money I totally understood
to get the ride.
So didn't
have a sponsor. He brought this thing
here without a sponsor, two trucks,
Johnny Benson and myself. Pretty
impressive start. Danny and I worked
together in the early 2000s with
Morgan-Dollar Motorsports, won quite a
few races together in the Craftsman
Truck Series, now Camping World Truck
Series. Just had a good time.
KERRY
THARP: Questions for Todd or Dennis.
Q. Todd, obviously it's disappointing to
lose on the last lap, but relative to
the competition, you had a really good
points night. How long does it take you
to put the frustration of not winning
behind you and look at it and say that
you had a good points day, this is
something to build on? What's the
difference going to be having one race
out of the schedule starting out?
TODD
BODINE: Well, to get over it, you
know, we're gonna be leaving the track
in the motor coach in a couple hours. I
say by Jacksonville, I'll be over
it. It's disappointing. No doubt about
it. To go for three in a row at Daytona,
that would have been a dream come
true. But it's racing. It's hard racing.
A kid like
Timothy, he's got such a future in our
sport. He's one of those kids that, with
the right break, would be sitting over
in a Cup garage right now. He's that
good, that good a kid. That's how much I
respect him. To get beat by him, that
takes a little of the edge off.
But it's
tough. It's hard 'cause, you know, all
these guys started this race, all these
guys on pit road worked hard to get
their trucks ready to get out there and
do their jobs.
My team's no
different. We have a great truck. It's
always run fast. Came up one spot short.
Q. If
you would have been in his position,
would you have done the same thing?
TODD
BODINE: Oh, yeah, exactly. Last
year, I was leading on the last lap and
Kyle was behind me. I did the same thing
that Timothy, that I did to Kyle. Kyle
didn't know what to do. Timothy was
smart enough to do the right thing. It
paid off for him, you know.
He had one
shot at it, and he took it, and it
worked. You know, I don't think he
expected to get blocked as bad as he
did. But he made a crossover move and
made it work. You know, hat's off to him
for doing the right thing. Like I say, I
got a tremendous amount of respect for
Timothy.
Q. Obviously great way to start the
season, but you're also in need of
sponsor dollars. How does this
help? What are your prospects for the
rest of the season?
TODD
BODINE: Well, I won't say we've
signed the contracts, but we got a deal
that's probably going to be signed the
beginning of next week for 10
races. That will get us through the next
three and a half or four months, the way
our schedule works. That gives us four
months to come up with another sponsor,
which we've got a couple that we're
talking to there, too.
Hopefully
things will work out and we'll get
everything signed up and we'll be good
to go.
DENNIS
SETZER: I have a couple pretty good
teams looking for sponsorship for me to
drive this year. Maybe this will open
some doors for them to proceed on with
this sponsorship. Right now I do have a
part-time Nationwide deal, a little bit
going there, maybe some truck races also
in the future. Maybe Danny Gill may have
some openings coming up again.
Q. Dennis, tell me how you were able to
rally back from being involved in that
opening lap incident to a podium finish?
DENNIS
SETZER: Had a pretty good truck all
night. That thing was really good for
about eight laps. Started getting loose
in the pack, then got loose by
itself. If it was a eight lap shootout,
I would have been really good. It was
about 15 there at the end. A little
further than I needed to go. Just felt a
loose truck all night. The guys made a
lot of adjustments, raised the back of
the truck, just anything you could
do. They made good calls. But we never
could get that thing to run a long run
and be real drivable.
Q. Dennis, you were in the catbird seat
as everything was happening in front of
you. You made a quick decision which way
to go. Talk us through the decision.
DENNIS
SETZER: Well, I don't see how Todd
saved his truck going into three. Bad
way going into three. Made a spectacular
save. I thought Timothy would probably
go ahead and clear him. Todd, he didn't
lose a beat. He and I was racing like
heck coming down the short shoot over
here.
It was
fun. Man, I'm excited to be able to see
Todd Bodine on the white flag of a
Daytona race. I'm in pretty good shape
if I can see the Todd. If I can see "The
Onion" on the white flag of a Daytona
race, you can bet you're in pretty good
shape if you can see his truck.
Q. Todd, we have a lot of polarizing
figures in our garage nowadays. When I
bring up the name Timothy Peters, the
answer is, I really like the guy. What
has this guy done that has made him so
beloved in the garage area? How has he
gone about things that made him earn the
respect of so many people so quickly?
TODD
BODINE: Well, from my perspective,
it's got absolutely nothing to do with
his racing. If you stand and talk to
that kid for five minutes, you'll
understand. He's a good Virginia boy
that was raised right in the country and
knows his values and treats people with
respect and is polite. I mean, I really
like the kid.
Then you go
out and race with him, and he races
hard. Man, that kid will race hard. But
you know what, he races you with
respect, too. That's a hard combination
to find.
You put all
that together, you got the kid sitting
in Victory Lane.
KERRY
THARP: Guys, thanks for putting on a
great show for us tonight. We'll see you
in Atlanta.
