Jon Wood, No. 50 Ford Preview: Milwaukee

06-21-2004 | TruckSeries.com Report

EVENT
Black Cat Fireworks 200
The Milwaukee Mile - West Allis, Wisc.
Friday, June 25, 2004 - 8:00 p.m. (CDT)
Qualifying: Friday, June 25, 2004 - 4:30 p.m. (CDT)
1.0-mile oval, 200 miles/200 laps
2003 Winner:  Brendan Gaughan

2003 EVENT 
Started: 5th         
Finished: 10th

NOTES AND QUOTES
Jon Wood and the No. 50 Roush Racing team tested at The Milwaukee Mile for two days in May and feel confident heading into the race this week. They are taking the same truck they tested (chassis #30), which is the same truck they raced at Atlanta earlier this year.

"We had a really good test at Milwaukee last month that should help us on Friday," Wood said.  "Carl (Edwards) was at the test as well and between the two of us I think we learned quite a bit.  I'd bet we see a new track record from someone this weekend with the new tires, and there will be a lot more side-by-side racing than we've seen there in the past.

"We've had some problems adapting to the new Ford body style this season, but I think it will be better at Milwaukee than the old one. Aerodynamics aren't as important at Milwaukee as they will be the following week at Kansas."

This race will be Wood's fourth start at Milwaukee.  He has two top-10 finishes at the track and nearly had a top-five finish last year.  Wood was eighth and moving up quickly, but alternator problems in the final 60 laps hurt his efforts.  He watched his track position slip away as the voltage dropped with each lap.  He held on for a 10th-place finish.

"It was disappointing last year," Wood said.  "We had a good truck and were on pace for a top-five finish until the alternator gave us problems. The team was prepared to replace the battery, but we never got another caution the rest of the race.  We were lucky to finish as well as we did under the circumstances.  I'm not sure we could have done that well if it had been a 250-lap race."

Wood is currently eighth in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series point standings.  He is only 50 points out of fourth place.

"We need to keep having solid finishes and the points will come," Wood said.  "We were about the same last year, but we had great races throughout the summer and I expect the same to happen this year."