Having racing success at a place you have never even seen might be difficult but Brandon Whitt and the #38 Cure Autism Now/Werner Ladder Ford team feel they can overcome that type of adversity this week at the 1.25-mile Gateway International Raceway near St. Louis, Mo.

Neither Whitt nor his crew chief, Jerry Pitts, have raced at Gateway before. A demanding track which is the only NASCAR Camping World Truck Series speedway that requires shifting, Gateway can be difficult for long-time veterans. Still, the #38 team feels confident going in.

Following in the footsteps of former California phenoms Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick, Whitt has moved to this level of major league stock car racing. He comes to the Trucks from a successful stint in NASCAR’s Winston West Series – where he qualified on the outside pole for the California race last Spring – and the NASCAR Southwest Touring Series, where he was the 2002 Rookie of the Year.

Jerry Pitts is a veteran crew chief who worked in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series with Bill Elliott, then moved to lead Eric Norris to the 2002 NASCAR Winston West championship. Marty Gaunt is general manager, coming to the team after a winning stint with Penske Racing.

The Cure Autism Now Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and funding autism research and accelerating the pace of scientific progress toward effective treatments and a cure. The organization is the largest private funder of biological research in autism, providing more than $12 million in grants since its inception in 1995.

Werner is the world's leading manufacturer of ladders, climbing equipment and ladder accessories.  Backed by over 50 years of product innovation, Werner leads the industry with its commitment to design and manufacture quality products that meet or exceed applicable Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) codes and standards for strength and structural integrity.  Werner is headquartered in Greenville, PA.

Thoughts Of Cure Autism Now/Werner Ladder Ford Driver Brandon Whitt Heading Into Gateway:
“Everybody has to go to each race track for the first time some time. That’s just the way the world works. But simply because it is the first time you have raced some place doesn’t automatically mean it’s going to be a bad weekend. We think we’re going to have a really good weekend, and we’re pretty excited about it.

“I’ve never seen the place before. I flew it over it once but it was a cloudy day and we were at 30,000 feet, so that pretty much limits what you can learn about a track. But I’ve talked to enough people and looked at enough tapes of previous races there to have a pretty good idea of what we will need to do to be ready.

“Watching the tapes of races really helps from a familiarity standpoint. Watching how Trucks got through each of the turns before – where they had problems, where they seemed to pick up some speed – is something I can file away for when practice starts. Some things are very obvious but having done my homework beforehand makes a big difference – and I can avoid those problems instead of learning the hard way.

“I can usually adjust pretty quickly, even to a track that is a little trickier like Gateway is. There is a ‘trick’ to it but you can get around the place quickly. All of the racing I have done before Trucks required me to be able to adjust fast. You unload the car, practice, get a feel and then go qualify. We can do that, and I don’t think it will be that big of a deal.

“I’m not cocky but I am confident. We’ve adjusted well everywhere else, and we’ve gotten fast pretty quickly. A couple of practices and a qualifying session will put us in good shape in regards to what the race track is like and how we’ll approach it, and how we’ll adjust to it. We already have a plan in place. We know what we’re going to do and how we’re going to do it.

“I feel pretty good about what this Cure Autism Now/Werner Ladder Ford team can do at Gateway. We’re excited about a big weekend.”

The Thoughts Of Cure Autism Now/Werner Ladder Crew Chief Jerry Pitts Heading Into Gateway:
“Gateway is one of the few tracks where I’ve never raced – in fact, I’ve never been there at all – but we’ll be just fine there. I’m not concerned at all.

“I’ve used the past several weeks to get with friends of mine who have run Gateway before, in Trucks and Busch, and gotten a pretty good idea from them in regards to setups and what we need to do. Gateway probably matches up closest to Milwaukee, where we had a really good Truck a few weeks ago, so we’re starting with our Milwaukee setup as our base line and going from there.

“I have constantly been impressed with how quickly Brandon adjusts to new race tracks. Nothing seems to phase him at all. We start with talking about what we’re going to do, then he hops in the Truck and does it. Him being able to communicate back to us so well and him being able to get an idea of what he is feeling so quickly enables us to make the adjustments we need to make, and get the Truck ready to race.

“We are kind of starting from scratch at Gateway but not really. I am fortunate to have a lot of good people who have raced Gateway before and who are willing to work with me, and to help start us off with some information. Brandon adjusts quickly but he is coming in after having watched tapes of past races there – Trucks and Busch – and using that information to prepare himself. All of that information and preparation, coupled with Brandon’s ability as a driver, should put us in pretty good shape at Gateway.

“We’ll start off fine and we’ll continually get better throughout the weekend. We won’t win the first practice – but they don’t give out any trophies for practice. By Saturday night’s race, we’ll be just fine. I have no worries along those lines.”