Brandon Whitt and the Cure Autism Now Ford F-150 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team ran a very consistent race, bringing home an 18th-place finish in the Infineon 200 at the 1.5-mile Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

For an initial visit to as difficult speedway as Lowe’s, Whitt was remarkable. He qualified 17th in Thursday’s pole qualifying session, even though the team spent virtually all of practice working on race setups. He maintained his position throughout most of the race, working through a slight “tight” situation with the truck.

“Clean air” was the key to getting around the track, the truck in front apparently always having an advantage. The leader of the race seemed always able to pull away from the pack, whether it was Carl Edwards towards the beginning of the race, Michael Waltrip in the middle or eventual winner Dennis Setzer at the end.

Whitt stayed in that 15-20 position area virtually the entire race, dropping back some when half-field pit stops were made but always able to get back up to where he left off.

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series next moves to the one-mile Dover (Del.) Speedway for the Dover 200, Friday, June 4. Pole qualifying is scheduled Thursday, June 3.