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Silverado 150 | Phoenix International Raceway
Race No. 23 | November 3-5, 2004
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TrackSideLive! from Phoenix International Raceway
11-03-2004 12:57 pm

TrackSideLive! coverage of the Silverado 150 from Phoenix International Raceway begins Wednesday November 3, 2004.

While you wait... check out the TrackSideLive! Archives!

Good morning from sunny Phoenix
11-03-2004 10:49 am

The sun has just breached Rattlesnake Mountain, the NASCAR Southwest Series cars are making their practice runs, and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series teams are busy preparing for practice and qualifying for Friday's Chevy Silverado 150, round 23 of the 2004 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season. It is a very cool morning, with heavy sweatshirts and jackets the norm this morning, but temperatures are expected to rise into the 80s this afternoon.

Keep it locked on to TruckSeries.com for all continuing updates from the garage area as we lead up to the first practice, scheduled to start at 1 pm ET.

Phoenix Track Stats
11-03-2004 10:53 am

Phoenix International Raceway is a one-mile flat oval with different radius turns at each end, both with varying degree of banking. Turns one and two are much sharper than turns three and four, and there is a dogleg halfway down the backstretch. Turns one and two are banked 11 degress, while the sweeping turns three and four are banked at 9 degrees. The kink on the backstretch is also banked at 9 degrees. The length of the frontstretch is 2,179 feet and the backstretch is 1,551 feet long. The 150-lap race distance means a 150-mile race.

There have been more NCTS races at Phoenix than any other track, including the series inaugural event in 1995. In the previous 13 races, there have been just seven winners:

1995 (1): Pole, Ron Hornaday; Race, Mike Skinner
1995 (2): Pole, Jack Sprague; Race, Mike Skinner
1996 (1): Pole, Mike Skinner; Race, Jack Sprague
1996 (2): Pole, Jack Sprague; Race, Jack Sprague
1997 (1): Pole, Jack Sprague; Race, Jack Sprague
1997 (2): Pole, Mike Bliss; Race, Joe Ruttman
1998 (1): Pole, Stacy Compton; Race, Ron Hornaday
1998 (2): Pole, Mike Bliss; Race, Mike Bliss
1999: Pole, Jack Sprague; Race, Ron Hornaday
2000: Pole, Joe Ruttman; Race, Joe Ruttman
2001: Pole, Stacy Compton; Race, Greg Biffle
2002: Pole, Rick Crawford; Race, Kevin Harvick
2003: Pole, Ted Musgrave; Race, Kevin Harvick

PIR Track Records
11-03-2004 11:02 am

Ted Musgrave holds the qualifying record with a lap of 27.815 seconds/129.427 miles per hour. The 150-mile race record is held by Kevin Harvick at 1 hour, 24 minutes, 26 seconds/108.014 miles per hour.

There have been 4 races won from the pole, two from outside the front row, two from third starting position, and one each from fourth, fifth, seventh, eleventh, and 16th. Jack Sprague is the only driver to win from the pole twice, while Mike Bliss and Joe Ruttman have also turned the trick. Mike Skinner came from deepest in the field to win, 16th, in the first ever NCTS race here at PIR in 1995.

Chevrolet has 9 wins at Phoenix, Ford has 3, and Dodge has won one race. This is Toyota's first attempt.

Entry list updates
11-03-2004 11:08 am

There have been some changes to the entry list in the past couple of days...

Sean Murphy is again listed as the driver of the No. 07 Green Light Racing Chevrolet
Danny Bagwell has been added to the entry list in his No. 41 Ford
Derrike Cope has been named driver of the No. 48 Ideal Racing Dodge
Ron Hornaday is the driver of the week in the No. 47 Chevy Silverado All-Stars Chevrolet
Andy Houston is back in the No. 13 ThorSport Racing Chevrolet
Ken Weaver is back in the seat of the No. 08 Green Light Racing Chevrolet this weekend

Today's track schedule
11-03-2004 11:12 am

Here is the schedule for the NCTS here at PIR today:

1 pm ET-3 pm ET: NCTS Practice
5 pm ET: NCTS Bud Pole Qualifying ( Live! Bud Pole Qualifying powered by the Chevy Silverado All-Stars exclusively here at TruckSeries.com )
7:30 pm ET: NCTS Garage Closes

Ideal Racing hoping to make improvement here at PIR
11-03-2004 11:16 am

Ideal Racing hopes the team's No. 48 James Western Star/Sterling Dodge is competitive here this week. The team had its best ever finish in the last NCTS race at Martinsville when 19-year-old Nick Tucker drove to a 20th-place finish. This week, the team is here with a truck they have recently purchased from Ultra Motorsports and an Arrington engine under the hood. Former Daytona 500 winner Derrike Cope is the driver this week, returning to a track where he has tasted much success: he clinched his NASCAR West Series championship here in the mid-1980s and drove to a second-place finish in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race here in 1996 driving for Bobby Allison. With Cope at the controls this weekend, team owner Ron Rhodes hopes to impress Western Star into playing a larger role with the team in 2005. He also becomes the only team owner in the NCTS to have two former Daytona 500 champions drive for him this season; Geoffrey Bodine drove the team's entry at Kentucky earlier this season.

Lynch in the HT Motorsports No. 59 this weekend
11-03-2004 11:35 am

Scott Lynch will take over Jim Harris' No. 59 Dodge this weekend, and is coming off a very successful run here in the NASCAR West Series race here last month. In fact, he ended the day in victory lane. He is hoping some of that success carries over to the Truck as well. Harris' team is no stranger to success here; in 2001 the team sat on the pole and ran within the top-5 all afternoon with Stacy Compton at the wheel.

TruckShots are up!
11-03-2004 11:42 am

The first batch of TruckShots is up and posted... click here to log on and check it out ! Don't forget, you can leave comments on your favorite pictures and vote for the best images in the gallery, and we will continue to add images throughout the course of the weekend.

Crafton hopes to continue the streak
11-03-2004 11:47 am

Matt Crafton hopes to keep the winning streak in tact here this week in Phoenix. His team owner, Kevin Harvick, has driven the No. 6 KHI Chevrolet to victory here in each of the last two NCTS races at Phoenix. With just three races remaining in the season, Crafton would like to put his name in the record books at an NCTS winner before moving out of the KHI truck at the end of the season. He has a strong record at PIR in both the Trucks and the NASCAR Southeast Series, and would like nothing more than to pick up his first career win here this weekend.

Crew chief silly season has begun
11-03-2004 12:02 pm

With Jamie Jones moving over to the No. 38 Ford to serve as Brandon Whitt's crew chief for the rest of the 2004 season, that left an opening on the No. 100 ppc Racing Ford and driver Terry Cook. That vacancy has been filled by Wes Ward, who was interim crew chief with the team earlier this season at Mansfield and Charlotte. Under Ward's direction, Cook recorded his best finish of the season at Mansfield when he finished third.

NCTS practice up next!
11-03-2004 12:51 pm

The Southwest Tour cars are pulling into the garage, and the Trucks are now lining up on pit road ready to begin practice in a couple of minutes. Keep it locked on to TrackSideLive! for continuing updates...

They Said It, No. 1
11-03-2004 12:57 pm

Mike Skinner, No. 5 Toyota: "Unless this thing is total junk, I am going to stay out and run eight or ten laps to see what we have here." Wes Ward, crew chief, No. 10 Ford: "It's been a mixed back down in turns one and two. Some guys are going up high and some are staying down low." Jack Sprague, No. 16 Chevrolet: "It's getting better. When we first went our there I though I was rolling around on four flat tires. I touched the gas and it turned sideways. Right now it's throttle tight."

They Said It, No. 2
11-03-2004 1:05 pm

Jon Wood, No. 50 Ford: "It's going to be hard to say how the track is until we get some more rubber laid down."

Mike Skinner, No. 5 Toyota: "The truck is pretty tight, as soon as you touch the gas it wants to spin out. I think it might be a shock thing. When I get back there let's look at our travel and see what we have."

Ted Musgrave, No. 1 Dodge: "Yeah, I like those shocks, don't change 'em. It is driving so much easier."

They Said It, No. 3
11-03-2004 1:09 pm

Terry Cook, No. 10 Ford: "It's driving pretty good. We just need to free it up a little in the center. When I was rolling through the flat of three and four, I felt it hit something pretty hard, probably the valence, but we're pretty sporty."

Andy Houston, No. 13 Chevrolet: "Once you mash the accelerator coming out of three and four, it just wants to spin the rear tires."

Tracy Hines, No. 88 Chevrolet: "I can get into three without any brakes."

Practice 1, Rundown 1
11-03-2004 1:15 pm

Fifteen minutes in to the session, here is the full field rundown:

1. Kvapil, 28.219
2. Musgrave, 28.297
3. Crafton, 28.343
4. Benson, 28.369
5. Park, 28.458

6. Cook, 28.478
7. Skinner, 28.511
8. Wood, 28.515
9. Starr, 28.561
10. Reutimann, 28.571

11. Edwards, 28.598
12. Hamilton, 28.617
13. Sprague, 28.660
14. Parker, 28.664
15. Setzer, 28.679

16. Crawford, 28.798
17. Houston, 28.824
18. Whitt, 28.928
19. Wimmer, 28.963
20. Hines, 29.139

21. Sutton, 29.217
22. Hornaday, 29.397
23. PJ Jones, 29.704

They Said It, No. 4
11-03-2004 1:19 pm

Ron Hornaday, No. 47 Chevrolet: "There is a hole on that window net, and it is really bothering me."

Jon Wood, No. 50 Ford: "I am telling you, this thing feels pretty good. I am really surprised we are a half second off, because this thing feels great."

Dennis Setzer, No. 46 Chevrolet: "When I am on the gas coming out of two, the front tires just chatter across the racetrack."

Hank Parker out, Charles Parker in?
11-03-2004 1:22 pm

Hank Parker's Innovative Motorsports crew is having a little fun here this weekend. They have peeled off the "Hank Parker, Jr." stickers over the door of his No. 21 Airvest Toyota and replaced them with a rather formal looking "Charles Parker II" stickers. So who is this "Charles Parker"?

"That's me," Hank said. "My real name is Charles, but since my dad goes by Hank that's just what everyone has called me. They're just having a little fun with me."

Pre Race Audio
11-03-2004 1:27 pm

Before practice started, TrackSideLive! heads to the garage for a comments from David Reutimann, P.J. Jones and Brandon Whitt.

Click on name for audio. You must have the Windows Media Player installed, or a program capable of handling Windows Media .wma files. Click here for free player

Practice 1, Rundown 2
11-03-2004 1:29 pm

Thirty minutes in...

1. Musgrave, 28.039
2. Schrader, 28.170
3. Kvapil, 28.219
4. Starr, 28.286
5. Edwards, 28.338

6. Crafton, 28.343
7. Sprague, 28.347
8. Reutimann, 28.353
9. Benson, 28.369
10. Wood, 28.419

11. Hamilton, 28.451
12. Park, 28.458
13. Cook, 28.478
14. Skinner, 28.511
15. Hornaday, 28.608

16. Jones, 28.638
17. Crawford, 28.642
18. Parker, 28.664
19. Hines, 28.670
20. Setzer, 28.679

21. Lester, 28.772
22. Montgomery, 28.776
23. Houston, 28.824
24. Whitt, 28.928
25. Wimmer, 28.941

26. Chaffin, 29.090
27. Lynch, 29.150
28. Sutton, 29.217
29. Renshaw, 29.550
30. Murphy, 29.764

Another one-off win for Hornaday?
11-03-2004 1:34 pm

With Ron Hornaday taking the wheel in the No. 47 Axciom/Chevrolet All-Stars Chevy this weekend, he hopes to pick up his second NCTS win in as many starts. His last series start came in the 2002 season finale at Homestead when he drove the No. 11 IWX Motor Freight Chevy as a teammate to eventual series champion Mike Bliss. In a great day for the Xpress Motorsports team, Bliss clinched the championship and Hornaday drove the team's second truck to victory. With another one-off looming on Friday, and his record here at Phoenix being as strong as it is, one has to wonder if Hornaday could pick up back-to-back wins, although the starts would be nearly two full seasons apart.

Kvapil hopes Loudon luck carries over
11-03-2004 1:42 pm

Travis Kvapil comes to Phoenix with the same truck he used to win at Loudon earlier this season. With Lady Luck frowning on the Bang! Racing team in recent weeks, Kvapil hopes a familiar truck with a good record helps change the team's direction to wrap up the season. Kvapil was leading with 30 laps remaining last race at Martinsville and was tangled up in a crash with second-place Jack Sprague.

Practice 1 Rundown 3
11-03-2004 1:47 pm

1. Schrader, 27.874
2. Musgrave, 28. 039
3. Sprague, 28.101
4. Hmiel, 28.216
5. Kvapil, 28.219

6. Hamilton, 28.220
7. Starr, 28.272
8. Reutimann, 28.306
9. Edwards, 28.320
10. Crafton, 28.343

11. Benson, 28.367
12. Skinner, 28.369
13. Bodine, 28.375
14. Park, 28.377
15. Wood, 28.415

16. Jones, 28.463
17. Setzer, 28.466
18. Parker, 28.473
19. Cook, 28.478
20. Crawford, 28.516

21. Houston, 28.566
22. Hornaday, 28.608
23. Hines, 28.624
24. Huffman, 28.646
25. Montgomery, 28.744

26. Lester, 28.772
27. Whitt, 28.928
28. Wimmer, 28.941
29. Renshaw, 28.972
30. Dotter/Weaver, 28.985

31. Lynch, 29.037
32. Chaffin, 29.090
33. Sutton, 29.217
34. Patton, 29.253
35. Murphy, 29.261

36. Cope, 29.741

Pick The Winner!
11-03-2004 2:03 pm

Pick The Winner! Your winning driver selection must be posted here prior to the live television broadcast of the next NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race. In the event that more than one person picks the winner; an officer of Keldan Media Group, Inc. will draw a Prize Package winner at random. Winner can choose from either Prize Pack #1 or Prize Pack #2. You must be 18 years old to enter. No cash value. Void where prohibited. Please allow four weeks for shipping. Click Here to Pick The Winner!

Red flag out for minor wall contact
11-03-2004 2:11 pm

Shane Hmiel scraped the wall out of turn four to bring out the first red flag of the session here at PIR. The track crews are out making a quick track inspection and we should be back to green soon.

Practice 1 Rundown 4
11-03-2004 2:13 pm

With 45 minutes remaining in the session, here is the full field rundown:

1. Schrader, 27.874
2. Musgrave, 28.039
3. Hamilton, 28.090
4. Sprague, 28.101
5. Hmiel, 28.216

6. Kvapil, 28.219
7. Starr, 28.272
8. Bodine, 28.277
9. Reutimann, 28.306
10. Crafton, 28.310

11. Edwards, 28.320
12. Park, 28.358
13. Benson, 28.369
14. Skinner, 28.369
15. Parker, 28.396

16. Wood, 28.415
17. Crawford, 28.432
18. Jones, 28.463
19. Setzer, 28.466
20. Cook, 28.478

21. Houston, 28.566
22. Hornaday, 28.608
23. Hines, 28.624
24. Montgomery, 28.631
25. Huffman, 28.646

26. Lester, 28.692
27. Chaffin, 28.750
28. Lynch, 28.774
29. Wimmer, 28.812
30. Whitt, 28.928

31. Renshaw, 28.972
32. Weaver/Dotter, 28.985
33. Patton, 29.067
34. Cope, 29.216
35. Sutton, 29.217

36. Murphy, 29.261

Practice 1 Rundown 5 TOP 15 ONLY
11-03-2004 2:45 pm

The field is changing too quickly for a full report...here is the top-15 with 10 minutes remaining:

1. Musgrave, 27.395
2. Hamilton, 27.480
3. Sprague, 27.568
4. Edwards, 27.692
5. Schrader, 27.722

6. Starr, 27.803
7. Kvapil, 27.888
8. Reutimann, 27.913
9. Crafton, 27.961
10. Park, 27.963

11. Hornaday, 28.017
12. Skinner, 28.050
13. Cook, 28.122
14. Wood, 28.131
15. Jones, 28.200

Sutton spins to bring out red
11-03-2004 2:53 pm

Kelly Sutton spun the No. 02 Team Copaxone Chevrolet coming out of turn four to bring out the red flag for the third time in the session (a minor debris yellow flew moments after we went back green following Shane Hmiel's scrape with the wall). Sutton made very light contact with the rear of her machine, and fired it up to bring it back to the pits for a quick once-over by her crew.

Flagman Dennis James just pulled in the red, and we are back to green flag conditions.

Practice 1 Results
11-03-2004 3:01 pm

1. Musgrave, 27.387
2. Hamilton, 27.480
3. Edwards, 27.529
4. Sprague, 27.568
5. Starr, 27.693

6. Schrader, 27.722
7. Kvapil, 27.772
8. Hmiel, 27.862
9. Reutimann, 27.913
10. Bodine, 27.919

11. Lester, 27.931
12. Jones, 27.932
13. Skinner, 27.948
14. Crafton, 27.961
15. Parker, Jr., 27.961

16. Park, 27.973
17. Hines, 28.016
18. Hornaday, 28.017
19. Houston, 28.046
20. Setzer, 28.058

21. Montgomery, 28.083
22. Crawford, 28.091
23. Chaffin, 28.103
24. Cook, 28.122
25. Wood, 28.131

26. Benson, 28.211
27. Huffman, 28.225
28. Cope, 28.405
29. Wimmer, 28.465
30. Whitt, 28.484

31. Lynch, 28.523
32. Weaver, 28.583
33. Patton, 28.614
34. Sutton, 28.762
35. Renshaw, 28.972

36. Murphy, 29.016
37. Teague, 29.382
38. Bagwell, 28.765

Notable Quotables, Practice 1
11-03-2004 4:25 pm

Chase Montgomery, No. 8 Dodge: "We have a very good truck. We worked on race set-up for most of the practice and we got the truck real comfortable. You usually have to give up one end of the track here but we got our truck working pretty decent on both ends. Our qualifying run in practice got messed up a little with some traffic so we are a little better than what our time indicated (28.08 seconds). I am hoping for a top 15 start or better as track position will be crucial on Friday."

Terry Cook, No. 10 Ford: “We’re looking for a little more speed. I had a chance to work with Wes Ward earlier this year and he produced some really good runs at Mansfield and Charlotte. We’re working on getting everything back up to speed and feel we’re heading in the right direction. We should have a good qualifying run here today and then we’ll put the Ford Power Stroke Diesel race truck in race trim for tomorrow and Friday.”

Post Practice Audio!
11-03-2004 4:38 pm

After todays practice, TrackSideLive! went to the garage for some thoughts from Tracy Hines, Chad Chaffin, Johnny Benson, Robert Huffman and Hank Parker Jr.

Click on name for audio. You must have the Windows Media Player installed, or a program capable of handling Windows Media .wma files. Click here for free player

Notable Quotables, Ford Post-Qualifying
11-03-2004 6:59 pm

Terry Cook, No. 10 Ford: "We're definitely not happy with the speed we've gotten out of the truck right now. We've kind of chased it since we've been here back and forth, tight and loose, and we've got a balance where we feel it's driving decent, we just don't have any speed. That concerns us because we've been that way a lot this year, but we've raced extremely well every time that we kind of get caught in this situation. It seems we've struggled here a lot more than we thought we would. We thought we'd be pretty good when we came out here,
but we're way off the speed chart from where we need to be, so we're going to put our heads together and think about it tonight and figure out what we can do for Happy Hour. Qualifying is over, and now we have to worry about
the race."

HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO PASS HERE?

"You can definitely pass here. If your truck is working you can definitely pass here. This is a track that it doesn't really matter where you start as far as passing is concerned, the problem you have at this track is that it's a small track that races like a big one because the leaders in the top five will drive away from you like there's no tomorrow. They can be a half of a lap ahead of you on the restart and you have to make up that deficit, so it's a situation where you don't want to start this far back, but that's kind of the cards we're dealt now."

Brandon Whitt, No. 38 Ford: "We just missed it a little in qualifying. We ran the same time we ran in practice and we were hoping for an improvement, but unfortunately we didn't get it. We'll have to see where we end up and race our way up; that's probably what's going to happen."

HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO PASS HERE?

"Generally, this place puts on some pretty good racing, so starting in the back won't be as bad of a thing as some tracks like Martinsville. I think we'll be all right. I think we have a pretty good race truck, we just missed it in qualifying."

Carl Edwards, No. 99 Ford: "The truck was perfect, I just didn't drive it quite fast enough. We should be on the pole
right now. We ran a (27).48 and it should have been a (27).38. I just didn't go quite fast enough. I expected it to not stick quite as well in one and two, but it did. Cowboy and the guys did an awesome job getting this truck set up. If I had another shot at it, we would have been faster."

THE THREE FASTEST TRUCKS IN PRACTICE HOLD THREE OF THE TOP FOUR SPOTS IN THE POINTS. DID YOU THINK ABOUT THAT GOING INTO QUALIFYING?

"I didn't even think about that. The race is going to be the important thing. We spent a lot of our time on racing stuff. We went about 15 minutes longer in race trim than we thought we were going to because I feel like tomorrow's Happy Hour temperature-wise is not going to be a good practice for the race. As long as we're in the top five or six and we get to start up there, I think we're going to be awesome."

THIS IS A ONE-MILE TRACK, BUT DOES IT DRIVE LIKE A SHORT TRACK?

"To me, this is the perfect size race track. It's big enough that you can move around and try different lines, but it's still small enough where you actually do a lot of driving and the setup is really important. I think it drives more like a real big track with the way the momentum is such a big factor."

IS THE ASPHALT PATCH IN TURN FOUR A CONCERN FOR YOU THIS YEAR?

"I haven't been running up there, but last year it was a little different and you had to drive a little different when you got to that. I like the way the pavement is a little wore out and there are spots on the track that have more grip and others that have less grip, and to me that is fun."

Jon Wood, No. 50 Ford: "We're still considerably off where we were last year, but we've made gains from
practice. We were a very dominant truck last year and hopefully with the extra practice time tomorrow it should put us back where we need to be. I think we now where we're lacking, so we just have to help it off the
corners."

ARE YOU RELAYING HEAVILY ON LAST YEAR'S NOTES?

"I think so. I think that's what's hurting us right now. We're relying too much on last year's notes and there have been too many changes that it doesn't work any more."

Rick Crawford, No. 14 Ford: "We're struggling a little bit right now. Maybe the guys that are here this weekend that haven't been here in a while are taking at shot at it and hitting and the guys that have been coming here and are looking at last year's notes and that won't work."

Notable Quotables, Chevrolet Post-Qualifying
11-03-2004 7:04 pm

Jack Sprague, No. 16 Chevrolet:

ON THIS POLE WIN AT PIR:

“I love this place, this is where I got my first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series win and then I won three in a row. This place has just been special to me, it is like a bigger Concord race track that I raced late models in North Carolina. I just love this place. I really wished they hadn’t changed that corner down there cause it took talent to get through there and now they made it I think too easy. But everyone is on the same racetrack. I sure would like to make it four in a row here on Friday. We have a rough year, we have had four or five races locked up and won, then broke. It has been disheartening because Dave (Fuge, team manager), Chris (Showalter) and all the guys on this Chevy Trucks team work very hard. Nobody on this team has given up and this pole proves it. We come out here every week and we qualify well and we have been running really well. We had a shot at the win last week but that didn’t happen.

“Chevrolet deserves better than what we have given them. They have stuck behind us and because they see the potential of this team. We came off the hauler today just awesome. We tweaked on it and did a few goofy things to see what it would do and some of it worked and some of it didn’t. Tomorrow’s practice won’t tell us a bunch because it is only 30 degrees here in the mornings and we race in the afternoon. We knew where we were at when practice neared its end today and we were really good. I am just looking forward to the race on Friday and hopefully everything will go our way and the stars will all line up and we can win this thing.”

ON THE CRAFTSMAN WIN FROM THE POLE BONUS OF $28,000:

“I don’t care how much it pays or if I have to pay $5.00 to get in the race, I just want to win.”

ON LOCKING UP BUD POLE AWARD FOR THE SEASON:

“It is nice to win something cause the rest of it isn’t looking too good for us!”

Ken Schrader, No. 52 Chevrolet: “Darn, I just didn’t go quite fast enough. We probably should have gone out on scuffs but we chose to go out on stickers so we didn’t get the pole. But I will take the outside of the front row. It is a good place to start. In the morning it will be cool so we won’t have a good feel for how the track will be Friday afternoon but based on how we were in the later part of practice, we should be fine for the race on Friday.”

David Starr, No. 75 Chevrolet: “The Spears Manufacturing Chevrolet was great in practice. We drew fifth for our qualifying run which was a bit of a disadvantage. The later you go out in qualifying the better it is because the track is much cooler and the times are faster. We really wanted a top-10 start in the race and we’ve got it. We had an excellent run and we are sitting fifth in the race which is a great place to be. We want to have a good finish in the Chevy Silverado 150 tomorrow and I think we have a truck that’s very competitive.

Ron Hornaday, Jr., No. 47 Chevrolet: “I can’t say anything about my qualifying but I can’t say enough about Randy Goss and everyone who works on this Morgan Dollar Silverado. They are just unbelievable. I just wasn’t quite ready for the truck, the truck just got so much better, it had a lot of grip and handled so well. The truck probably should be on the pole if I had been ready for the truck. What ever they have done to it between practice and qualifying but it was a whole different race truck. We will have an awesome truck for the race.”

Matt Crafton, No. 6 Chevrolet: "We ended this morning's practice session feeling pretty good about qualifying and made some very good adjustments that really helped our qualifying effort. All in all this GM Goodwrench Chevy is pretty good. I just have to make sure I don't overdrive it. Right now our biggest problem is in the middle of Turn one. If I don't hit it perfect then I lose the nose and the truck begins to chatter, but we'll take an 11th starting position and move on. We are going to look at some other adjustments during tomorrow
morning's Happy Hour to hopefully pick up some more speed and if my guys give me great pit stops then this GM Goodwrench Chevy will be up front fighting for the lead."

Dennis Setzer, No. 46 Chevrolet: “We’ve had a terrible day. We’ve had trouble and struggled from the beginning. We really don’t have a direction right now. I’m glad we have happy hour tomorrow we may be able to find some solutions for the race. Right now I just hope that happens. Our Chevrolet Silverado has been great all season and I’m sure that Danny Gill will be able to figure this out and we’ll be fine for the race tomorrow afternoon.”

Shane Hmiel, No. 15 Chevrolet: “It’s great to be here running in the Silverado 150 driving the TRIMSPA Chevrolet. My practice had some ups and downs. I was real loose and I thought we tightened her up. I hit the gas and it took off. We were so loose I actually came through the corner and clipped the wall. My qualifying run was disappointing. We were twitchy and loose in the rear the whole way. The Billy Ballew Motorsports crew does a great job and delivers me a fast race truck every week. I’m sure that Ritchie Wauters will have the Chevy Silverado all tuned in for the race.”

Kelly Sutton, No. 02 Chevrolet: "We were really expecting a stronger start, but couldn't quite get the truck the way I wanted it. I worked hard on entry into the corners during practice, and just as I found something that seemed to work, the line changed with all the rubber on the track; especially in three and four. We picked up about half a second on a mock run at the end of practice, and another half second during qualifying. We're heading in the right direction, and I'm looking forward to practice in the morning, so we can get this 02 ready to race."

Notable Quotables, Dodge Post-Qualifying
11-03-2004 7:09 pm

Ted Musgrave, No. 1 Dodge: "I don’t know, that was pretty bad. I knew something was up when I went down into turn one and it just didn’t stick in there anywhere near like it did before. We lost a little bit of time there, so we’ll be taking a look at that during the final practice. It’s disappointing, but I know with this Mopar team that the truck is going to be pretty good for the race. But, when the motor was so good before, I’m just wondering why it slowed down this time and slowed down so much?. Oh well, you can’t win ‘em all.

“The track’s pretty good here. You’ll see a lot of racing, a lot of side-by-side racing on Friday for sure. On the bottom of turns one and two you’ll see a lot of inside-outside grooves, which is really good. The trucks put on a pretty good show here. I love coming here. It’s a good place to race. It’s a track that really puts driving back into the driver’s hands.”

Steve Park, No. 62 Dodge: “I’m feeling pretty good about that lap. The Orleans Dodge team struggled just a little bit in practice, but we mostly worked on our race trim. We didn’t do a lot of qualifying runs. So, when it came time to qualify we came out 15th or so and just took an educated guess at what we needed. On the first lap I had to kind of feel it out, and we ran a pretty good lap. I just knew that I had a Dodge that I would stick the second lap. I got through turns three and four to take the white flag so well that I had the confidence to drive it down into turns one and two, and I just had a really good lap.

“I love this racetrack. I’ve raced this track a couple of years now. It’s a racer’s racetrack is what it is. It requires a lot of emphasis on truck preparation and handling and skill from the driver. It’s sort of like getting back to grassroots racing on the mile and half-mile racetracks. It’s not like running at Daytona where the driver checks out and just sails around all day.”

Bobby Hamilton, No. 4 Dodge: “Phoenix is a very disciplined racetrack. It’s very easy to overdrive the corners. It’s very easy for it to lure you into using a lot of throttle off the corners. So, you’ve really got to be on your toes a lot out here. It’s a cool racetrack. Usually it takes some time for a driver to learn the track and hit his marks, but the way these kids are anymore they just come with this stuff engrained in them. But, usually if you haven’t run a lot of laps here you’ll pay the dividends.

“All year long everybody’s been chasing us. Everyone’s been chasing us, and our strong suit is when we’re out there chasing other people. That’s when we’ve been at our best. So I think (the guys on the race team) are actually relieved that we’re behind now. What we had to do before was to sit back and say, ‘Well, we’ve got to finish 10th. Or, we’ve got to finish 13th.’ Now, we’re out here and we know we’ve got to win every race to stay in it.”

Chad Chaffin, No. 18 Dodge: “We’re not really fast right now. We’re right towards the middle of the pack. But the thing is, we struggled when we first unloaded. The last two races we’ve unloaded as the fastest thing here, and we’ve sort of adjusted ourselves out of being the fastest. We unloaded here and struggled, but we’re getting better every time out. That was our best lap so far by two-tenths of a second, so I’m positive that we’re going to race good. These other guys are putting up big qualifying numbers, but we know that can’t run those laps during the race, so we’ll be good.

“I like the track. I wish I was doing a little better here. It’s so similar to a bunch of the other places we run great at: Milwaukee, Gateway, Loudon. We know we should be running a little better, but we’re going to be fine in the race. With one practice session left, we know we’ve got everything we need to make sure our Dickies Dodge is running up front.”

Notable Quotables, Toyota Post-Qualifying
11-03-2004 7:12 pm

Todd Bodone, No. 30 Toyota: “We lost 45 minutes of practice right from the start. We missed a half-hour of practice because of the inspection process here, and then they held us for 15 minutes because they told us we were late getting in line for inspection in Martinsville. Basically, we were handicapped by missing all that practice time. Mike (Hillman, crew chief) did a good job getting it really close in terms of qualifying. But, we only got to make one qualifying run in practice. I really didn’t know what I had. We’re pretty pleased with where we ended up because of all the time we lost. As long as you can get the truck feeling alright and balanced right that’s what you have to do.”

Travis Kvapil, No. 24 Toyota: “That’s not at all what we wanted to do. We slowed down a bunch from practice. We really thought we had a top-five truck. It was real tight and I don’t know why. We slowed down from practice, and we’re not really sure what happened. I’m very disappointed. That’s going to be a bad qualifying run. We’ll have to work really hard on it tomorrow in practice to make sure we’re good for the race so we can work our way to the front. It felt pretty good this morning in practice and we just have to get back to where we were then.”

“We’ve had some pretty decent runs here. We’ve got the same truck that we won the race at Loudon with – and this is a pretty similar track, a flat, one-mile oval. I think we’ll be able to find something to improve for the race Friday. Think we have to just put this behind us and work on getting better for the race.”

Qualifying notes
11-03-2004 7:15 pm

Jack Sprague has won his fifth Bud Pole Award at Phoenix, extending his record; the last pole Sprague won here was in 2000 and it is his first appearance in a truck here since 2001...Sprague is now eligible to win $28,000 in the Craftsman Win from the Pole program; he also locks up the $10,000 for winning the season-long Bud Pole Award with six...Ken Schrader sits on the front row for the second time this season; he was the Bud Pole winner at Bristol in August...three of the four championship contenders will start in the top-10: Carl Edwards, third; Ted Musgrave, seventh; Bobby Hamilton, eighth; Dennis Setzer will start deep in the pack in 27th...this is Setzer's second worst start of the season; he started 30th in Loudon before finishing sixth...the top 16 drivers in qualifying broke Ted Musgrave's previous track record.

Post Qualifying Audio!
11-03-2004 6:32 pm

TrackSideLive! heads to the garage for some post qualifying thoughts from Chase Montgomery and pole sitter Jack Sprague. More to come!

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More Post Qualifying Audio!
11-03-2004 7:35 pm

More post qualifying comments from David Starr, Dennis Setzer and Ted Musgrave.

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That's a Night from PIR
11-03-2004 7:40 pm

The sun is going down, the teams are gone, there are a few stragglers wandering around the grandstand staking out their seats, and we're going to call it a night. We'll pick up coverage around 9:30 am Eastern as we prepare for an early morning Happy Hour (10:45-11:45 am ET). Until then, good night everybody!

Good morning from PIR!
11-04-2004 10:26 am

We're awake, the sun has crested over the mountains, and the NCTS teams have prepped their trucks for this morning's final practice session leading up to the Chevy Silverado 150 here at Phoenix International Raceway. We have about 15 minutes before the session is about to start, and we will keep you abreast of all the action here at the track throughout the session and after.

Whitt makes engine change
11-04-2004 10:29 am

Brandon Whitt's Clean Line Racing team had a long evening and early morning getting the engine changed in the No. 38 Ford. As is NASCAR's rule, Whitt will now be forced to take the green flag in tomorrow's race from the back of the pack.

Today's track schedule
11-04-2004 10:34 am

10:45-11:45 am ET: NCTS Final Practice
3:00 pm ET: NCTS Garage Closes

They Said It, Day 2 No. 1
11-04-2004 10:38 am

Mike Skinner, No. 5 Toyota: "It's a new day, so let's see if we can make it better than yesterday. All we have to do is get it driveable and I can pass these son of a guns."

Shane Hmiel, No. 15 Chevrolet: "It feels pretty good right here, I am gonna run about 15 or 20 laps."

They Said It, Day 2 No. 2
11-04-2004 10:43 am

Terry Cook, No. 10 Ford: "It just plain, flat out, absolutely will not turn. Through entry, the center and on exit. It is like we have a blistered right front tire. It got better as the pressures came up, but it's not good."

Kay Keselowski, spotter, No. 50 Ford: "The 50 is coming around you. That's Jon Wood, tuck in behind him you may be able to learn something."

Dennis Setzer, No. 46 Chevrolet: "It jumps on the initial turn in to one and three, like it is a little soft in the right front."

Practice 2 Rundown 1
11-04-2004 10:48 am

1. Musgrave, 28.185
2. Sprague, 28.232
3. Hornaday, 28.286
4. Hmiel, 28.289
5. Edwards, 28.343

6. Starr, 28.350
7. Schrader, 28.359
8. Hamilton, 28.373
9. Huffman, 28.406
10. Wood, 28.444

11. Parker, Jr., 28.456
12. Benson, 28.473
13. Crawford, 28.476
14. Jones, 28.485
15. Setzer, 28.500

16. Park, 28.512
17. Cook, 28.585
18. Reutimann, 28.586
19. Whitt, 28.610
20. Skinner, 28. 611

21. Chaffin, 28.653
22. Kvapil, 28.695
23. Murphy, 28.708
24. Bodine, 28.732
25. Houston, 28.757

26. Montgomery, 28.811
27. Lester, 28.837
28. Hines, 28.867
29. Weaver, 28.980
30. Wimmer, 29.159

31. Cope, 29.202
32.Crafton, 29.261
33. Lynch, 29.287
34. Patton, 29.421
35. Sutton, 29.438

36. Renshaw, 30.026

They Said It, Day 2 No. 3
11-04-2004 11:01 am

PJ Jones, No. 2 Dodge: "All we did there is take away grip. When I am rolling through the corner and I get too agressive and get on the gas early, all it does is push."

Tracy Hines, No. 88 Chevrolet: "This confirms what I thought yesterday. The front just will not turn. If we can get this thing to turn in the front with the grip we have in the back we will be really fast."

Hank Parker, Jr., No. 21 Toyota: "It feels like I need more steering. The front just wants to slide across the track."

Practice 2 Rundown 2
11-04-2004 11:09 am

1. Hmiel, 28.051
2. Kvapil, 28.160
3. Musgrave, 28.185
4. Hamilton, 28.186
5. Sprague, 28.232

6. Hornaday, 28.242
7. Park, 28.242
8. Setzer, 28.276
9. Benson, 28.319
10. Edwards, 28.343

11. Wood, 28.344
12. Starr, 28.350
13. Crafton, 28.354
14. Schrader, 28. 359
15. Hines, 28.370

16. Cook, 28.374
17. Huffman, 28. 406
18. Skinner, 28.414
19. Parker, Jr, 28.456
20. Crrawford, 28. 473

21. Jones, 28,476
22. Reutimann, 28.586
23. Houston, 28.594
24. Whitt, 28.610
25. Chaffin, 28.653

26. Murphy, 28.708
27. Bodine, 28.732
28. Montgomery, 28.811
29. Lester, 28.837
30. Weaver, 28.980

31. Wimmer, 29.111
32. Cope, 29.202
33. Lynch, 29.287
34. Patton, 29.421
35. Sutton, 29.438

36. Renshaw, 30.026

They Said It, Day 2 No. 3
11-04-2004 11:17 am

Steve Park, No. 62 Dodge: "It seemed like it took a few laps for the tires to come up, but it didn't feel too bad."

Chad Chaffin, No. 18 Dodge: "I think if we make that change, it will make us a little worse through the center, but we can try it."

Ritchie Wauters, crew chief, No. 15 Chevrolet: "That's it boys, let's bring it in and call it a day. I told you we had a pretty good hot rod."

Most laps in Happy Hour
11-04-2004 11:23 am

Who's run the most laps in the first half of Happy Hour?

Rookie Sean Murphy has run 52 laps
Jon Wood, 44 laps
Mike Skinner, 38 laps
Travis Kvapil, 36 laps
PJ Jones, 35 laps

Practice 2 Rundown 3 (Times unavailable outside top-10)
11-04-2004 11:30 am

1. Hamilton, 27.911
2. Hmiel, 28.051
3. Kvapil, 28.160
4. Musgrave, 28.185
5. Sprague, 28.232

6. Hornaday, 28.242
7. Park, 28.242
8. Setzer, 28.252
9. Benson
10. Edwards

11. Wood
12. Schrader
13. Starr
14. Crafton
15. Hines

16. Cook
17. Skinner
18. Lester
19. Huffman
20. Reutimann

21. Parker, Jr.
22. Crawford
23. Jones
24. Chaffin
25. Montgomery

26. Houston
27. Whitt
28. Bodine
29. Murphy
30. Weaver

31. Wimmer
32. Lynch
33. Cope
34. Sutton
35. Patton

36. Renshaw

That's It!
11-04-2004 11:38 am

Happy Hour is over...clean and green with no incidents...results will be posted here and off the main page as soon as possible...

Practice 2 Results
11-04-2004 11:42 am

1. Musgrave, 27,753
2. Hamilton, 27.911
3. Hmiel, 28.051
4. Reutimann, 28.055
5. Skinner, 28.120

6. Kvapil, 28.160
7. Parker, Jr., 28.161
8. Sprague, 28.165
9. Starr, 28.182
10. Hines, 28.188

11. Hornaday, 28.209
12. Crafton, 28.218
13. Chaffin, 28.241
14. Park, 28.242
15. Setzer, 28.252

16. Benson, 28.319
17. Edwards, 28.343
18. Wood, 28.344
19. Schrader, 28.346
20. Crawford, 28.360

21. Cook, 28.374
22. Houston, 28.387
23. Huffman, 28.406
24. Lester, 28.413
25. Jones, 28.476

26. Montgomery, 28.528
27. Whitt, 28.542
28. Bodine, 28.596
29. Murphy, 28.708
30. Weaver, 28.899

31. Lynch, 28.910
32. Cope, 28.930
33. Wimmer, 28.956
34. Sutton, 29.255
35. Renshaw, 29.281

36. Patton, 29.354

Brandon Whitt, No. 38 Ford
11-04-2004 12:35 am

"We looked at the engine and we saw we scuffed a piston. That is what hurt us so bad in qualifying. We figured rather than leave it in and ride around in the back all day, we'd get it changed and have a chance to race to the front. We need to be careful the first few laps not to get tied up in someone else's mess, but I think we can race through the pack."

Notable Quotables, Chevrolet Happy Hour
11-04-2004 12:39 am

Jack Sprague, No. 16 Chevrolet: “Our Chevy Trucks Silverado is pretty good. During Happy Hour, we continued to try adjustments to see how the truck would react. It is a little harder to get a true feel for it when we practice at 9 in the morning when it is cool and race at 3:30 in the afternoon when the track will be much warmer but I still think we have a good package to start the race tomorrow and starting on the pole helps us with track position as the race unwinds. With this being the Silverado race, I really want to win this for Chevrolet and well everyone who works so hard on this Chevy Trucks Team.

Ken Schrader, No. 52 Chevrolet: “We need to be better than we were this morning but practice in the morning and racing in the afternoon makes a huge difference. At the end of yesterday’s practice before qualifying we had a good neutral starting point so we will just start there and do what we have to do during the race to stay up front with the leaders all day.”

David Starr, No. 75 Chevrolet: “Pretty good but our Chevrolet Silverado wasn’t the best. We weren’t the fastest on the board but the truck handles well, turns well. We like to have our Spears Manufacturing Chevrolet in Victory Lane one more time before the season is over but if we can’t do that we want to have a top-5 finish for sure. We’ll do the very best we can do.”

Ron Hornaday, No. 47 Chevrolet: This Big & Rich Silverado is pretty good. I felt really comfortable out there this morning and we made huge progress in our setup for the race tomorrow. Randy Goss and all these guys on this Morgan Dollar Motorsports team are incredible. They really gave me what I needed for qualifying and I have no doubts I will have what I need for the race. We have built some adjustability in the No. 47 and I think we are one or two minor adjustments away from being where we need to be tomorrow. It is a blast to be back in the trucks, I forgot how fun they are to drive and I am really looking forward to racing with these guys tomorrow.”

Dennis Setzer, No. 46 Chevrolet: “We had a difficult day yesterday with a poor qualifying run. We made some improvements out there today in Happy Hour. We made quite a few changes that helped us improve out there today. I don’t like talking about the points and we are starting pretty far back so we plan on passing a whole lot of trucks tomorrow in the Chevrolet Silverado and try not hit anything. I think the improvements we made will help and we should be in good shape to pass a lot of people.”

Matt Crafton, No. 6 Chevrolet: “Our biggest problem right now is that we are really tight in the middle of the corners. The truck will just not rotate very well and it just slides the nose when I try to get back in the gas. It takes of few laps to get this GM Goodwrench Chevy going so long green flag runs and great pit stops are going to be key for us to get to the front.”

Tracy Hines, No. 88 Chevrolet: “It is one of my favorite tracks I’ve run a lot of laps here just not in a truck. I think it’s a driver friendly track. It has a wide groove not so much a wide racing grove more like a wide not mess up grove. If you get in the too hard in the corners you can change your arc. For us with the Menard Chevrolet it feels good and we are in the top-10 in happy hour. I think we are making gains but without a lot of practice time we are slowly getting there. It should be a great action packed race that the fans will enjoy.”

Shane Hmiel, No. 15 Chevrolet: “Wow the TRIMSPA Chevrolet is fast. Pretty sporty I have to say. I think we’ll be in great shape for the race. It’s a Chevrolet race, I hope to be the fastest and best finishing Silverado and hopefully bring home a victory for this TRIMSPA Team. This Billy Ballew Motorsports team puts the best equipment under me and Ritchie (Wauters) really knows his stuff. We have awesome horsepower under that hood. Barring any incidents I think we will do great tomorrow in the Chevy 150.”

Happy Hour Audio!
11-04-2004 12:45 am

Happy Hour final practice is over and TrackSideLive! heads to the garage for some final thoughts before tomorrows race from Mike Skinner, Chad Chaffin, Ken Schrader, Kelly Sutton and Scott Lynch.

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Musgrave Championship Hopes on the Line at PIR
11-04-2004 1:07 pm

IS A CLOSE CHAMPIONSHIP RACE JUST A NATURE OF THE TRUCK SERIES?

“Well, I guess it is. I really don’t have the answer for it, but if you look back every year – this is my fourth year now – and we’ve been second, third, and third in the points. And every time we’ve had a shot at the championship, and it’s always come down to the last race here. I think it’s a neat deal that the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series has going on that it makes it that way where nobody runs away with the championship. But, that just goes back to teams, the drivers, the rules and the ways things play out. It’s a neat deal. Every time we get down here towards the end of the season there’s more hype and there’s more drama.

WHAT’S YOUR OUTLOOK BEING 91 POINTS OUT OF THE SERIES LEAD?

“We’re all fired up. We’ve got to be that way because you’ve got to do everything you can possibly do to stay in the hunt and make a charge at this championship because we started out so bad. We’ve had to create a lot of points, and I think right now this team here has made up so many points, it’s been more than anybody else in the garage area. Yeah, the team is fired up. I am too. We’re determined. Win, lose or draw, we’re determined to make a good show of it. We’ve got a really good truck here at Phoenix. It looks like it’s going to be a dominant truck. If everything goes our way, hopefully we can close up that gap in the points. Theoretically we need to make up about 30 points each race to challenge for the championship. So, with three races left, we’re really into crunch time.

DNFs HAVE A MAJOR IMPACT ON A TEAM’S SEASON IN THE NCTS

“There’s not a lot of races to gain points back up after you get behind. The more chances you have, the more chances you’ve got to gain it back. It’s almost like the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series having it’s 10-race playoff, we’ve only got 20-some races in a season. Each race is important. Having a bad race or a DNF now will actually throw you out of a championship, but early in the season it’s very hard to overcome that because you don’t have much time.”

Get Well Wishes to Mark Meggitt
11-04-2004 1:18 pm

Get well wishes go out to Mark Meggitt, a part-time transporter driver for several NCTS teams. Meggitt was involved in a slip-and-fall accident recently and fractured a vertebra in his back. He will be off his feet for at least two months, and possibly longer. Best of luck for a speedy recovery from TruckSeries.com.

Pit road layout
11-04-2004 1:22 pm

Here are the pit assignments for tomorrow's Chevy Silverado 150 (colors signify color of the driver's truck):

Sprague
Hornaday
Cope
Bodine
Wood
Wimmer
Huffman
Musgrave

Break in pit wall

Schrader
Hamilton
Benson
Montgomery
Houston
Hines
Lester

Break in pit wall

Park
Skinner
Jones
Sutton
Whitt
Parker, Jr.
Murphy
Lynch
Chaffin
Renshaw
Reutimann
Patton
Starr

Scoring camera and Start/Finish Line Break in pit wall

Edwards
Weaver
Kvapil
Cook
Crawford
Hmiel
Setzer
Crafton

Callin' it a day
11-04-2004 3:06 pm

With the final practice coming so early, and the garage area closed for the day, TrackSideLive is going to call it a day from Phoenix. Many drivers departed as soon as practice was over, but with an early morning tomorrow we'll be here when the sun comes up to scour the garage for all the scoop leading up to the green flag in the Chevy Silverado 150. Good afternoon everyone, see you tomorrow!

Good morning from PIR
11-05-2004 11:33 am

Good morning from the Desert Mile here on the outskirts of Phoenix...there are a thin layer of clouds helping diffuse the sun, there is a gentle breeze blowing over the mountains, and PIR is buzzing with activity. On the track now is Busch Series Happy Hour, which will be followed by a two-hour session for the Cup Series as well as their qualifying session. The Tough Trucks take center stage at 5 pm ET when the Chevy Silverado 150 takes to the track. We will be here, scouring the garage for all the scoop and bringing it to you exclusively on TrackSideLive!

Suitcase Todd?
11-05-2004 11:37 am

In classic "Suitcase Jake" Elder form, Todd Myers has been as nomadic as one can be in 2004. Myers started out the season working with the Holigan Racing Busch Series team and driver David Starr before moving over to Circle Bar Racing and Rick Crawford for a couple of races. Myers' latest stop is with Fiddleback Racing, assisting crew chief Gary Showalter and driver J.R. Patton here this weekend.

Daylight going to be an issue
11-05-2004 11:40 am

The NASCAR Autozone Elite Division race last night took the green flag just past 3:00 pm local time, just like the Trucks are scheduled to this afternoon. That event was scheduled for 125 laps, and the first half ran green virtually the entire distance. A spate of late caution flags slowed the pace, and by the time the checkered flag waved it was virtually dark. With 25 additional laps in the Truck race, any delays or long caution flags could bring an early end to the race due to darkness.

More TruckShots
11-05-2004 12:53 am

The teams were in early this morning to start race prep on their trucks, and we were there to get images! Click here to log on and see our ever-expanding TruckShots gallery , and don't forget, you can rate the images, leave comments, and much MUCH more...

Pick The Winner!
11-05-2004 2:32 pm

Pick The Winner! Your winning driver selection must be posted here prior to the live television broadcast of the next NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race. In the event that more than one person picks the winner; an officer of Keldan Media Group, Inc. will draw a Prize Package winner at random. Winner can choose from either Prize Pack #1 or Prize Pack #2. You must be 18 years old to enter. No cash value. Void where prohibited. Please allow four weeks for shipping. Click Here to Pick The Winner!

Race Day Audio!
11-05-2004 2:35 pm

TrackSideLive! went to the garage for some pre race thoughts from JR Patton and Ron Hornaday Jr. Also we talk to Dave Quay, President of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Drivers Association on their toy donation to Toys for Tots.

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Driver's meeting notes
11-05-2004 3:47 pm

Several items were discussed in the driver's meeting...pit road speed is 45 miles per hour and the pace truck speed is 50 miles per hour...pit road speed is in effect 254 feet before the first pit box entering pit road and stays in effect 75 feet past the last pit box exiting pit road...the restart point is the double red line on the wall exiting turn four...the minumum speed to stay in competition is 31.92 seconds.

Special awards
11-05-2004 3:52 pm

To be presented during pre-race ceremonies:

Bud Pole Award: Jack Sprague
Clevite Engine Builder Award: Joey Arrington
Featherlite Long Haul Award: Jon Wood
International Trucks and Engines Crew Chief Award: Trip Bruce
McDonald's/POWERade Pit Championship Award: Dennis Setzer
Mobil 1 Command Performance Award: Dennis Setzer
Raybestos Rookie of the Race Award: Robert Huffman
Waste Management Picking Up Places Award: Todd Bodine
Wix Filters Lap Leader Award: Ted Musgrave

Phoenix NCTS Averages
11-05-2004 3:55 pm

There have been 13 previous NCTS races at PIR...here is our weekly look at the track averages:

The average starting position of the winner at PIR is 4.38. There have been four winners from the pole, and the deepest anyone has started to win here is 16th. Jack Sprague starts on the pole today, Steve Park will roll off fourth, and Jon Wood starts 16th.

There are an average of 16 lead lap finishers at PIR. The most was 20 in 2000, the fewest was 9 in the fall race in 1996.

The average number of lead changes is 5.62, with a high of 12 in the fall race of 1998 and a low of 2 in the spring race in 1997.

The average number of lead drivers is 3.62, with a high of 7 in the fall of 1998 and a low of 2 in three consecutive races starting in the spring of 1996 and ending in the spring of 1997.

There is an average of 6 caution flags at PIR, with a high of 9 in the spring of 1996 and a low of 3 in 2002 and 2003.

There is an average of 26.5 caution laps at PIR, with a high of 45 in the spring of 1996 and a low of 14 in 2002.

The cumulative average speed is 98.025 miles per hour, with a record of 107.527 mph in 2003 and a low speed of 84.780 in the spring of 1996.

Career best finishes
11-05-2004 4:03 pm

Here are the career best finishes for drivers with at least one NCTS start at PIR:

Ron Hornaday, 1st
Mike Skinner, 1st
Jack Sprague, 1st
Ted Musgrave, 2nd
Rick Crawford, 3rd
Andy Houston, 3rd
Ken Schrader, 3rd
Dennis Setzer, 3rd
Carl Edwards, 4th
Travis Kvapil, 4th
Terry Cook, 5th
Bobby Hamilton, 5th
Chad Chaffin, 6th
David Starr, 6th
Jon Wood, 7th
Matt Crafton, 9th
Johnny Benson, 10th
Tracy Hines, 13th
Bill Lester, 15th
PJ Jones, 16th
Kelly Sutton, 35th

The following drivers are making their first NCTS start at Phoenix:

Steve Park, Todd Bodine, Chase Montgomery, Shane Hmiel, David Reutimann, Hank Parker, Jr., Robert Huffman, Derrike Cope, Scott Lynch, Brandon Whitt, Chris Wimmer, Ken Weaver, JR Patton, Deborah Renshaw, and Sean Murphy

YTD stats
11-05-2004 4:12 pm

Here are some year-to-date comparisons between 2003 and 2004:

Winning makes:

Chevrolet: 2003, 5; 2004, 5
Ford: 2003, 5; 2004, 4
Dodge: 2003, 12; 2004, 9
Toyota: 2003, N/A; 2004, 4

Number of Race Winners: 2003, 11; 2004, 12
Average Start of Winner: 2003, 7.73; 2004, 7.95
Number of Pole Winners: 2003, 9; 2004, 11
Cumulative Lead Changes: 2003, 198; 2004, 203
Average Lead Changes Per Race: 2003, 9; 2004, 9.23
Average Leaders Per Race: 2003, 6; 2004, 5.59
Total Laps Under Caution: 2003, 643; 2004, 952
Average Cautions Per Race: 2003, 5.82; 2004, 7.82

More MFR stats
11-05-2004 4:18 pm

Here are the current year performance figures for the four manufacturers:

Chevrolet: 5 wins, 7 poles, 38 top-5 finishes, 77 top-10 finishes, 1123 laps led
Dodge: 9 wins, 4 poles, 33 top-5 finishes, 55 top-10 finishes, 1422 laps led
Ford: 4 wins, 2 poles, 16 top-5 finishes, 39 top-10, 392 laps led
Toyota: 4 wins, 4 poles, 23 top-5 finishes, 49 top-10 finishes, 859 laps led

Point positions for the championship contenders
11-05-2004 4:27 pm

A quick look at the highs and lows for the championship contenders throughout the season:

Dennis Setzer has been no lower than 6th in the NCTS point standings since the start of the season. He led the standings for 10 consecutive weeks, taking over the lead at Mansfield and keeping it through the Michigan race. He was the second in the standings for 8 comsecutive weeks from IRP through Texas before taking the lead over again after the Martinsville race.

Bobby Hamilton was as low as 10th after Daytona, moved to third after winning Atlanta, and fell back to 9th after the first Martinsville race. He moved into the top-5 after the Mansfield race and has steadily moved up before taking the lead after IRP in August. Hamilton led from IRP through Texas before falling to second after the Martinsville race.

Ted Musgrave started the season off in 24th position after a crash at Daytona It took Musgrave 7 races to move into the top-10, which he did after the Memphis race. He jumped to 5th after winning the next race in Milwaukee, then fell back to 9th again after trouble struck in Kansas. His roller-coaster season saw him break into the top-5 before falling back out, but he moved into 5th in Richmond and has climbed back into championship contention when he took over third after the Texas race.

Carl Edwards started the season off in first at Daytona, fell to second after Atlanta, and retook the lead at Martinsville. He went back to second after Mansfield and stayed there for seven consecutive weeks before falling to third after Kentucky. He dropped to fourth at Nashville, but retook the third spot the next week in Bristol. He fell back to fourth at Texas and remained there through Martinsville.

Pre Race Audio!
11-05-2004 4:46 pm

TrackSideLive! gets some final comments before todays race from Derrick Cope, Shane Hmiel, PJ Jones, Matt Crafton, Travis Kvapil and Bill Lester.

Click on name for audio. You must have the Windows Media Player installed, or a program capable of handling Windows Media .wma files. Click here for free player

It's Friday night and it's time for racin'!
11-05-2004 5:25 pm

The last of the Cup Series cars are out making their qualifying runs, and as soon as that is completed, we're going to go into race mode for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chevy Silverado 150. Kick back, click over to Speed Channel for the telecast, then get back here after the checkered flag falls for all the post-race coverage you can use. Enjoy the race everybody, we'll talk to you when it's over!

Unofficial Results: Chevy Silverado 150
11-05-2004 6:00 pm

1. Starr
2. Sprague
3. Crafton
4. Hmiel
5. Benson

6. Park
7. Hamilton
8. PJ Jones
9. Setzer
10. Edwards

11. Crawford
12. Schrader
13. Hornaday
14. Cook
15. Kvapil

16. Houston
17. Skinner
18. Lester
19. Musgrave, 149 laps
20. Whitt, 149 laps

21. Reutimann, 149 laps
22. Cope, 148 laps
23. Parker, Jr., 148 laps
24. Murphy, 148 laps
25. Patton, 148 laps

26. Wood, 147 laps
27. Lynch, 146 laps
28. Renshaw, 145 laps
29. Bodine, 142 laps
30. Chaffin, 133 laps

31. Huffman, 124 laps
32. Weaver, 121 laps
33. Wimmer, 115 laps
34. Hines, 106 laps
35. Sutton, 95 laps

36. Montgomery, 40 laps

Notable Quotables, Post-Race No. 1: Ford
11-05-2004 8:20 pm

Terry Cook, No. 10 Ford: "It was an aggressive race today. The track got real slick there at the end and everybody was just sliding around bad. You had to fight for the bottom and our truck was just terrible at the beginning. Wes Ward and the entire Power Stroke team went to work and we just kept working on it. We got it better, but we never got it great. We got it 50 percent good, and when we started we were 99 percent junk. We took a terrible truck and made something where we could get up there and make some things happen late in the race. It was
just kind of one of those deals at the end where everybody was pushing and shoving each other around, and we were fortunate that I was aggressive getting into turn one and I trapped a bunch of trucks down to the bottom
there and that was working pretty good for us on the restarts and we just kept working at that."

Carl Edwards, No. 99 Ford:

WHAT WAS THE CAUSE FOR THE GREEN-FLAG PIT STOP EARLY IN THE RACE?

"I think we just had a right-front wheel work itself loose. That's frustrating, but we had a really good truck; it's just really hard to pass. If we would have been out in front it would have been awesome, but there were just a lot of good trucks here today, and it was really hard to pass. Our truck was awesome and the guys worked hard on pit stops to gain back what we got back."

TALK ABOUT THE MENTALITY OF COMING BACK FROM ONE LAP DOWN TO FINISH 10.

"I'm just trying to learn how to make it to the end. You can't finish the race if it's all banged up. I've proven that, so hopefully we race like this for a long time."

WERE YOU KEEPING TABS ON THE 4 AND 46 TRUCKS ATT THE END?

"I saw them right there at the end and I was trying my hardest to catch the 46, but everybody is really good. That's why they're up there in points, they race really well. It's frustrating that we didn't capitalize as well as we
could have with such a good truck, but this is a championship-caliber team no matter what happens."

Jon Wood, No. 50 Ford:

WHAT WAS THE CAUSE FOR THE CUT TIRE YOU SUFFERED MIDWAY THROUGH THE RACE?

"There was a lot of beating and banging out there. We were racing for eighth and you usually can say that sometimes when you get a flat due to hitting somebody in the corner, maybe it's the person on the outside's fault for pinching him off, but I got a flat due to some stuff on the straightaway."

WERE DRIVERS BEING TOO AGGRESSIVE TODAY?

"Yeah, for Phoenix, this was ridiculous. There were way too many trucks with cut tires today. There was no reason for as many trucks to be tore up as there were. I don't know what else to say."

Rick Crawford, No. 14 Ford:

THERE WAS A LOT OF BEATING AND BANGING IN TODAY'S RACE.

"It's OK if you're chasing somebody for position, but when you're driving in defense it makes it a little hard. We had to make that F-150 pretty wide at times, and the Circle Bar crew did a heck of a job in the pits. They gave me a good, stable truck to drive. I wish it was a little faster, but we'll have to take this 11th and go on. That's about what you hope for, you want a top-10 but we finished 11th."

DID THE TRACK CONDITIONS CHANGE DRASTICALLY AS THE SUN SET AND WAS THE SETTING SUN AN ISSUE?

"Not necessarily in one and two, but down the front straightaway from the flagstand to the entry in turn one
the sun gets you pretty hard. You depend on that spotter because here's on the top of turn two over there. You really depend on the spotter a lot here, especially when the sun is going down, but as the sun goes down the
track temperature gets a little cooler and the trucks get tighter. You just have to plan for that adjustment, and we've been here a lot, so we knew what it was going to do."

Notable Quotables, Post-Race No. 2: Raybestos Rookies
11-05-2004 8:25 pm

Brandon Whitt, No. 38 Ford: "It wasn't quite the ideal day but we'll take it. We kind of struggled all day but we seemed to make the best out it as we usually do. We just stay with it and we brought it home. I think we made up some points today with guys that we were close to and that's what we're looking to at the end of the season. We didn't finish as high as we wanted to but we're still working with J.J. coming on and everything we're still trying to jell. I think we've got a good start with him."

YOU HAVE A LITTLE DAMAGE TO THE FRONT OF YOUR TRUCK.

"A couple of trucks got into it in front of us and one of them spun right in front of me and I got into him. Luckily it wasn't too major and the guys were able to get it fixed and keep me on the lap that I was on and we ended up 20th so it wasn't bad."

HOW MUCH WERE YOU ABLE TO LEARN HERE THIS WEEKEND?

"A lot, we learned a ton. We kind of struggled since we unloaded but I think we made big gains on it."

WHAT'S BEEN THE MAJOR THING THAT YOU'VE LEARNED THIS YEAR?

"The major thing that I've learned is keeping the truck for these long races, making two or three pit stops. In the tour car, it was just one pit stop and you just go as hard as you can. That's the biggest thing that I've had to learn is conserving my stuff for these long runs and being patient and trying to figure out what the truck needs and what we need to do when we make pit stops."

WHERE DOES THIS RACE FIT IN THE BUILDING PROCESS? YOU HAD A GOOD SOLID DAY.

"It was a decent finish and we learned what the truck wanted. It's good that you can end up where you know that you should have started so we can come back next year with those notes and have a good starting line for next year."

WHAT IS YOUR GOAL IN THE FINAL TWO RACES THIS SEASON?

"We still want to make it in the top-10. We keep narrowly missing it. We were 12th last week and unfortunately we were 20th this week. We want to get in the top-10 by the end of the weekend and keep the momentum going for next year."

David Reutimann, No. 17 Toyota: "We must have run over something on the racetrack. We didn't get into anybody or touch anybody. It just went down. I'm just sick about it. You run the whole race and you don't touch anybody and you have a good piece and you run in the top-10 all day and then a little something like that gets you. It's just the way it goes. We weren't very good in final practice and Bobby and Chase and the guys made some big changes and it was really good. You've got to get track position at a track like this. We were right there and on a longer run we could gain and gain but we needed some time there and we'd been all right. We'd have been good. The truck was driving good and good pit stops but if you can't keep air in the tire you can't finish. That's just the way it goes."

YOU RAN WELL ALL DAY TODAY. THAT'S GOT TO BE A CONFIDENCE BOOSTER.

"The first time that I've ever been here and run in the top-10 all day is great. We'll just have to come back here next year and be that much better. This feels good after trying to throw my neck out the window at Texas and then having a bad race at Martinsville it's good to come here and run like we ought to run which is how this team could run every race we run. We just have to get our stuff together and it's coming."

DID YOU NOTICE A LOT OF DEBRIS ON THE TRACK? IT SEEMED LIKE A LOT OF DRIVERS NEAR THE FRONT OF THE PACK PITTED FOR CUT TIRES.

"Yeah. Not trying to badmouth the clean-up crews or anything like that because those guys do an awesome job I think. You're trying to hurry and trying to get the race in and the sun's going down and I understand all that and sometimes you just say it's good enough. That may or may not have factored into it but there was quite a bit of trash out there on the track. But that may or may not have factored into it so I'm not going to point a finger but the bottom line is the air was out of the tire when we came in and that was it, the end of our day."

Robert Huffman, No. 12 Toyota: "We're done. I don't know why lap traffic wants to race those guys like they did. I guess Travis and the 08 got together and the 08 spun down across the track. I didn't have anywhere to go. I'd just like to thank Toyota and White House and all the people that are behind me. We've had a tough year this year. We've ran good and had things like this happen to us a lot."

Kelly Sutton, No. 02 Ford: "We broke two studs on the right front. This team has really been struggling that last couple of races but it's almost funny now. You've kind of got to laugh at it. We'll definitely come back. This isn't going to hamper the next couple of races. Hopefully we'll be strong at Darlington. We made one adjustment and it was real loose and made some adjustments and it was starting to come around but I think we may have went a little too far on the tightness. We were working on it. I really just wanted to finish the race. I didn't care where I was I just wanted to finish. I need to finish a race soon."

Notable Quotables, Post-Race No. 3: Toyota
11-05-2004 8:30 pm

Todd Bodine, No. 30 Toyota: “We had a rocketship. My Toyota Tundra was just awesome. At the end, I think I could have had a shot at getting by David (Starr). Our truck was definitely better on the longer runs. On shorter runs, David’s truck was really good, but after 15 laps I think our truck was better than his. We really shined on old tires. Everything went great except one miscue on the tires – and you can’t race with loose tires. The tires were coming off at the end. I knew it as soon as we went to green, after we put the tires on. I told Mike (Hillman, crew chief) we had a vibration. I didn’t know if it was just a tire or not. It was OK when we were running, but as soon as we went to a caution it loosened up. Sometimes, the heat from the rim, as you’re running, will tighten the lug nut up. When it cools back down, it loosens up. That’s what happened today.”

Johnny Benson, No. 23 Toyota: “We started off the race a little loose, but as we got going we got pretty good. I thought we had a shot at getting a top-three, or even a win, but the last stop hurt us a little bit. It was the last set of tires that really hurt. They were really tight, and the one in the front wasn’t working quite as well. But, I’m not going to complain. It was a pretty good run.”

Travis Kvapil, No. 24 Toyota: “The truck was terribly tight. It really kind of took me by surprise because I thought we had a pretty decent truck yesterday. But, it didn’t even close to driving like it did yesterday. A lot of it was track position. A good part of the race we were running lap times as fast as the top-five group, but we just were stuck in a bad position on the track. I was very surprised at what a tough time we had out there today.”

David Reutimann, No. 17 Toyota: “We didn’t touch anybody and we didn’t hit anybody. We must have run over something during the yellow at the end and got a slow leak in one of the tires. Right when we went green and took the corner – I felt it.”

Notable Quotables, Post-Race No. 4: Dodge
11-05-2004 8:48 pm

Ted Musgrave, No. 1 Dodge: “I don’t know what I did in my previous life, but it must have been something really bad because I’m sure paying for it in this life. Every time this team Mopar comes to life and goes for a championship, something out of their control (happens). The guys did great in the pits. The driver did good. The guys back in the shop built me an awesome truck. Everything was right, but it was an act of God again. We had a flat tire. It doesn’t really knock us completely out of the points championship, but it really puts us in a big hole and there’s nothing you can do. We’re just going to go to Darlington and kind of do like we did -today – just try and dominate and win that race with all four tires with air in them. We’ve been (going for it). Ever since a couple weeks ago that’s all we’ve been doing is just not really worry about the points, just trying to dominate if you can. We did it at Martinsville pretty well, but we just made a mistake on when to pit. We had the best truck there, and we had the best truck again in Phoenix. “

“You know it’s going down when it’s flat. On the corner before I called it in when I went in the turn and it didn’t respond. I called in and said, ‘Guys I’ve got right-front flat.’ They said, ‘Make sure,’ and I went down into the next corner and I knew. I’ve experienced that, and it was going down. It must have just run over something, because being the lead truck the guys in the back of the pack are usually dropping nuts and bolts and screwdrivers and whatever else they’ve got laying around in their truck. So, I’m the first guy to run it over evidently.”

“We did, but then the tire came apart. You can’t go very far when it starts coming apart, knocking the bodies off. You can’t go very fast at all once it destroys the truck. It’s a lose-lose situation, but that’s just the way it is. There’s nothing we can really do. The crew chief says, ‘You always get stronger from what won’t kill you.’ We’re going to be some strong sons of guns here pretty soon, evidently.”

“I’ve got a shot. I’ve never given up. Don’t get me wrong. It was really bleak because we’re so far behind right now where we could have only been some 40 points out with two to go. But, I told the guys we only needed 30 points a race, but that’s the way it is. We’re pretty much out of it, but we haven’t given up.”

Steve Park, No. 62 Dodge:

“It was just tough. There were a lot of guys up front that cut tires down. There might have been debris on the racetrack from all the wrecks and stuff. I’m not really sure. The Orleans Dodge, we started off with a fairly loose truck. The guys did a good job getting it tuned in. We pitted for two tires to get track position right there at the end. The right-front tire looked like the inside edge was wearing pretty good. I think that might be why you saw the No. 1 Dodge blow a tire and stuff. We decided to put on a set of tires that we put on for about 15-20 and took off and then put back on a second time, instead of risking maybe blowing a right-front tire. It was just a good day. It’s a great racetrack. I love it here.”

Bobby Hamilton, No. 4 Dodge:

“I just sort of kept my nose clean. We ran hot, and it was sort of a blessing in disguise because it got so wild up there. We just backed out of that. I decided just to run around right in 14th place – there was a little gap there – and then just see what I could get at the end. The No. 46 got by me and then we had enough left at the end to get back by him. So, it was a good day for us. We ran with four-tire pit stops all day. We’ve got to. We’re running for a championship. We don’t have anything to gain by going for track position. We need to finish. That’s the big thing.

“I’m just really proud of the people around me – my guys. They’re just being really patient right now. It’s pretty cool to sit there and know you’re racing it for a championship and nobody ever mentioned it out of the radio. We just don’t talk about. All the Dodge owners, Jimmy Smith, Michael Gaughan, were pulled together and meeting before every race and trying to strategize some of these races a little bit – just trying to make sure we help one another.”

PJ Jones, No. 2 Dodge:

“We were just so tight all day long. At the end, I was just trying to help this team out a little bit and pass as many trucks as I could. We had a pretty good Team ASE Dodge. We had a pretty good day. I’d like to get the truck working just a little bit better. We seemed to be tight since we unloaded and we just couldn’t get out of it. It was getting wild at the end there with everyone scrambling to get positions.

Chad Chaffin, No. 18 Dodge:

“We started out in the race pretty good. We had a really fast truck, but we just didn’t have the track position to show it. Our lap times were great. But we knew what we had, and we fixed it, Kip McCord made a great adjustment and all the guys had good pit stops today. But, Terry Cook was just bound and determined to just really show his ability today. So, he got around me on the re-start going into turns one and two and I let him go. Then I set him back up fair and square. I got under him off turn four. We race together a lot, and it takes a lot of give and take, and today he just thought he was going to do all taking. He just turned into me, and I tried to get off of him and, in fact, I wrecked myself. I turned it left and then when he hit me I got into the inside wall and busted my radiator and ruined our day.”

Notable Quotables, Post-race No. 5: Chevrolet 1
11-05-2004 8:52 pm

David Starr, No. 75 Chevrolet: “Every adjustment Dave (McCarty) and the crew made today made our Spears Silverado better and better today. We were having a problem, we could get into one but when we got to the center of one and two, it would shove the nose and I had to jerk it loose. They made the right adjustments where it would stick the nose and it was better through the center and the nose didn’t shove. It took two or three pit stops to get that done but everyone they made were the right ones. So we were fast enough and were able to take advantage of Ted Musgrave’s misfortune because he had the class of the field. He had us covered but had some misfortune and my crew had done an excellent job of getting me in the right place to take advantage of it.

“When I closed up on him so quick, I knew he must be having a problem. You have to run the 150 laps and be there so you can move when you need to. I can’t tell you how happy I am to be here in Victory Lane.

“Any time you have Todd Bodine and Jack Sprague behind you, there is pressure but I knew I had a pretty good truck. After that last pit stop, it was handling really well so I could get back in the gas really quick and I get through the corners. I knew I had a battle to the end because I knew that Sprague had gotten by Todd Bodine and was coming but I was just trying to stay focused on my laps and my marks and I had a clear racetrack in front of me and to get everything I could out of my truck I could. I just tried not to worry that Jack was coming but I knew he was coming and I did feel the heat.”

Jack Sprague, No. 16 Chevrolet: “We started off a little loose but for the most part our Chevy Trucks Silverado was really good today. Ted (Musgrave) was the class of the field until he had trouble and Todd (Bodine) was pretty strong as well but we were best on the long runs and the way the cautions ran there at the end, it didn’t work out in our favor. But I am happy for David (Starr) and even happier that we had a Silverado win the Silverado 150 and actually have four Silverados in the top-four. We just didn’t get out of the pits quite like we needed to that last stop but my guys did a great job today.

“I just really wanted to win this race today. I had my buddy Ricky (Hendrick) riding with me today and I wanted this one for him and his family. But this is a good day for us. We came out here and sat on the pole with a new track record and finished second. I had an awesome motor so all in all it was a good day for us.

“Like always, track position is everything. When we got the green with ten to go, it took my truck just a few too many laps to come in and I could stay with David but I couldn’t gain enough on him to get by. But we will take this run and head for Darlington.”

Matt Crafton, No. 6 Chevrolet: “I first have to say the pit crew did us one heck of a job today. We came in 8th on that last stop and went out 6th. That put us in a position to take advantage of the Musgrave and Bodine mishap and I was able to make a pass around Park to settle in the third position. On our very first run we were pretty good but on our second run we had a really bad times. The third run we started to come in but we still weren’t that great overall. We just missed it a bit but third is a great finish for the GM Goodwrench Chevy team”

Post Race Audio!
11-05-2004 8:42 pm

TrackSideLive! heads to the garage after the Silverado 150 and talks to PJ Jones, Bobby Hamilton, Chad Chaffin, Matt Crafton, Johnny Benson, Ted Musgrave, Steve Park, Shane Hmiel and Mike Skinner.

Click on name for audio. You must have the Windows Media Player installed, or a program capable of handling Windows Media .wma files. Click here for free player

Notable Quotables, Post-Race No. 6: Chevrolet 2
11-05-2004 9:01 pm

Shane Hmiel, No. 15 Chevrolet: “We had an excellent day in the No. 15 TRIMSPA Chevrolet today. We had to make a few a few air pressure adjustments to get the front to grip a bit better but other than that we had a great race truck. Matt (Crafton) and I have gotten into each other a couple of times this season by accident. I just didn’t have enough to take him over. I am happy that Matt and I were able to race each other fair and clean. If we had more laps I might have been able to pass him but there were a lot of cautions and my truck didn’t restart as well as I would have liked to. Overall I can’t complain taking home a fourth place finish is ok with me. We’re heading into Darlington which is one of my favorite tracks and I’m looking forward to it.”

Dennis Setzer, No. 46 Chevrolet: “We just struggled to get any side grip today. I thought that last set of tires was going to have more grip but we had the same problems. Based on our qualifying position, we made up a lot of positions today, but just didn’t have a decent finish. Our crew did a good job getting me a few positions in the pits today, but it was just so hard to pass anyone out there. These trucks are just so competitive; you really have to be on your game nowadays to get a good finish. We’re still in the championship fight, so we will just load up and go to Darlington and see what we can do.”

Ron Hornaday, No. 47 Chevrolet: “Our Acxiom Silverado was just a tick off today. We fought a tight truck right from the start. The first pit stop helped us a little but as the track got more rubber down and got more slippery, then we were tight and loose. We elected to pit under a yellow when no one else did in hopes to gain track position later in the race plus make some adjustments that would help us move up but we still just weren’t quite there.

“But I had a ball being back in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series today and really had a great time working with Randy Goss and everyone at Morgan Dollar Motorsports on the Big and Rick Silverado.”

David Starr, No. 75 Chevrolet: “I started racing for the Spears team in 2002 and we got their first win and my first win in Las Vegas that year and this team has been here since the first race of the series so this win is the first time both Spears and I have had two wins in a season. It felt good to me because I was so honored to be asked to drive the truck when Wayne and Connie Spears have had such great drivers like Ron Hornaday and Kevin Harvick as well as other great drivers, they gave me an opportunity of a lifetime. I can’t think of a better way to thank your owners than by winning a race for them, by winning their first race for them and now winning twice in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series this year.

“I have lost races like Ted (Musgrave) did today. Looking back at Nashville, we led the last sixty laps but we didn’t lead the most important lap, which is the last one. They had a restart with about six laps to go and I tried to slow the field down a little bit to get a jump and I started in first gear which I usually don’t ever do and I spun the tires and it gave Bobby (Hamilton) a chance to get up on the outside of me and he got by me on the outside and went on to win the race. That taught me a valuable lesson there to always make sure you do what you know how to do and don’t try to change anything up because sometimes when you try to change something up to snooker somebody, it backfires on you. Today I just restarted in second gear which is what I know how to do and I didn’t try to put it in first gear and slow everybody down to jump the start, I just did what I know how to do.”

“I am really good at trying to run somebody down but it is a whole different mindset when you find yourself leading. You can charge the corner a little bit quicker and try to get back in the gas a little bit quicker. And you can kinda judge and see if it working for you but when you take the lead, there is nothing to judge from and you really have to change your mindset. When I took the lead, my spotter was really working with me to hit my marks, stay smooth and keep my rhythm. You can overdrive corner number one pretty easy. I was really concerned about the sun but it finally went down and we could see clearly down the front straight and corner number one. At one point, it was in my eyes and I couldn’t see that well. It is definitely a different mindset but if you keep hitting your marks, you will be ok. I am not that experienced at leading racing but I can run somebody down so I had to keep my mind going in the right direction.

“We race hard in the NCTS, it is tough trucks and tough drivers. Earlier this year at one of the short tracks, I thought I was going to get a top-three finish and I ended up finishing sixth or worse. There was a little bumping and banging and I kept coming up on the short end of it. But that race was the last time we had more than one green-white-checkered and it took several times to finally get the race won. When I bumped Chad (Chaffin) there in St. Louis between one and two, I think he had slowed us all down way to much to protect the bottom and I had a good and I went in there and hit him square. It wasn’t like I ran in there and knocked him out of the way. Yes, I did what I had to do to win the race, and if the situation had been reversed, he would have done the same thing. It does fell better if you can win like we did today. If you have to do a bump and run, it might not be as good as it is today but sometimes that is what you have to do to win. I wanted to win another race just to prove I could win another race without any contact."

Tracy Hines, No. 88 Chevrolet: "Another day. More bad luck. We had a problem on pit road and lost a lap. We were running pretty good after that. Just making laps and trying to get whatever we could. The 5 truck drove onto the apron going into three, got loose, got into us and wrecked us."

Andy Houston, No. 13 Chevrolet: "I want to thank Duke and Rhonda Thorson for asking me to drive this No. 13 truck these last two races. This is a fun bunch of guys and I think they're going to get pretty good. We weren't great today, but we hung in there and finished on the lead lap. We were tight and we couldn't get it better."

Chevy Silverado 150 Post-race notes
11-05-2004 9:06 pm

David Starr picked up his third career win here this evening and second of 2004; he started fifth and led the final 28 laps...Jack Sprague notched his fourth consecutive fourth-place finish at PIR in the NCTS; he has five second place finishes in his last six starts here...Matt Crafton tied his best career finish tonight by finishing third; his other third place finish was earlier this season in Bristol...Bobby Hamilton unofficially takes over the points lead with his seventh-place run; he now leads Dennis Setzer by seven points (3,334 to 3, 327)...this is the closest points race with just two laps remaining in the series 10-year history; the previous closest was 1999 when Greg Biffle led Sprague by 24 points...with a 20th-place finish, Brandon Whitt was the highest finishing Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate...today's race averaged 90.756 miles per hour; it is the third-slowest in the 14 NCTS races that have been run here, and the slowest since April 1996.

Putting a period on the Chevy Silverado 150
11-05-2004 9:13 pm

David Starr grabbed the lead when a dominant Ted Musgrave cut down a tire with 28 laps to go then held off Bud Pole starter Jack Sprague to win Friday's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Chevy Silverado 150 at Phoenix International Raceway. Starr, whose Chevrolet started fifth, beat Sprague by just over a truck length to pick up his second victory of the season. He completed the 150-mile race at an average speed of 90.756 mph as six caution flags consumed 36 of 150 laps around the one-mile speedway. The win, worth $49,690, was the third on the series for both Starr and the Spears Motorsports team.

Sprague, who led twice for 47 laps, was second for the fourth consecutive time at P.I.R. Matt Crafton and Shane Hmiel were next - completing a Chevrolet sweep of the top four positions. Johnny Benson was fifth in a Toyota, passing Steve Park's Dodge on the final lap. Bobby Hamilton, P.J. Jones, Dennis Setzer and Carl Edwards filled out the top 10 as 18 drivers went the full distance.

Musgrave, who was pulling away from the field before his Dodge's right front tire shredded, finished a lap down in 19th while Todd Bodine - who restarted on the winner's tailgate after the final caution ended at lap 140 - dropped out with suspension failure and wound up 29th.

With two races remaining in the 2004 season, Hamilton clings to an unofficial championship lead of seven points over Setzer. The latter driver entered the Chevy Silverado 150 with a one-point advantage. The margin is the closest in the 10 seasons of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

The next NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event is the Nov. 12 Craftsman 200 at Darlington Raceway.

Good night everybody!

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