Rick Crawford returned to the Daytona International Speedway ready to defend his title as the 2003 winner of the Florida Dodge Dealers 250 and start his chase for the 2004 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship. However, this year’s Speedweeks proved to be a roller coaster ride for Crawford and his Circle Bar team.

The team struggled early to find speed throughout preseason testing and chased the handling of their patriotically inspired F-150 the moment they unloaded at the 2.5-mile superspeedway. The Crawford’s problems continued to mount in qualifying as he turned the 31st fastest lap with a time of 50.270 seconds at a speed of 179.033 mph.

The team’s woes transferred to Thursday when Crawford was involved in a practice altercation that resulted in the unloading of the team’s backup truck.

"I hated to see what I saw,” said Crawford. “There were a couple of them out there that were out of control and they came off of two and went into the wall in front of me and I guess when they bounced off the wall I got hit in the right door. I spun the length of the back straightaway, I didn't hit anything but it tore my truck up."

Sometimes things happen for a reason and the altercation proved to be beneficial for Crawford as the team’s secondary truck proved to be faster in the cool Daytona air. “The speed of our backup just goes to show you what kind of equipment the Circle Bar Ford is,” commented Crawford. “We brought two trucks down here capable of winning the race. It was almost a blessing that the primary truck got dented up because we brought a better bullet out. We didn't know it at the time because the other truck had better numbers in the wind tunnel, and sometimes that fools you.”

After fighting the demons of Daytona for nearly a week Crawford was focused on taking the green flag for the Florida Dodge Dealers 250. Crawford’s patience was tested early starting in the rear, but kept the Circle Bar Ford in check slowly working his way through traffic.

"I hated being back there, but there was no place for me to go,” explained Crawford. “They were two-wide out there and you could run in either lane but you couldn't move forwards or backwards. I sat back there and watched, but it was very tense.”

Crawford persistence paid off as he moved into the top-ten by lap 36. After several pit stops by the Circle Bar crew, Crawford found himself fighting for a spot in the top-five. When the last caution flag flew on lap 84 Crawford told the crew he was heading to pit road.

"I was ahead of Jon Wood there with about 18 to go and he was trying to help me and I couldn't help him, I was actually hurting him,” quoted Crawford. “The truck was sliding up the race track and I knew we needed some grip. Gene Nead made the call to come in for four tires. With two to go, I think we were running 11th and finished fourth, so I think we made the right call."

After handling problems and an accident slowed the team’s success early in the week, Crawford and company proved their fourth place effort was well warranted. The team’s journey from the back of the field proves that Circle Bar Racing is now ready to contend for wins and ultimately the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship in 2004.

“What can I say about our Speedweeks experience,” laughed Crawford. “We chased the truck most of the week, lost it and took the backup from the back to the front. It’s all because of the guys on this Circle Bar team. They worked so hard to get us ready for this race and in the end we almost defended our title.”