Truck Testing at Daytona!
#4
RE: Truck Testing at Daytona!
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Unrestricted NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series vehicles are the fastest to test at Daytona International Speedway, and in the two-day Preseason Thunder session that concluded Monday, proved to be most volatile.
With 39 drivers and teams on hand, no less than three on-track incidents over the two days made four teams cut their sessions short.
Former three-time Truck Series champion Jack Sprague, Terry Cook, Musgrave, rookie Regan Smith, Steve Park and Chad Chaffin were among the drivers who experienced tough times.
Sprague, Cook and Musgrave got tangled up in an incident coming through the trioval just after 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Sprague and Cook's teams packed up and left while Musgrave's Ultra Motorsports squad continued to test its second truck.
Sprague said he was following Hornaday in the draft when the former two-time Truck Series champion's Chevrolet got loose. Sprague lifted and moved up to give Hornaday room and when he did, collected Cook and Musgrave, who had a run on the outside.
"I checked up so as not to hit (Hornaday) and started to ease up the track to give him room to gather his truck back up," Sprague said. "The next thing I knew I was turning around and headed for a wreck in the wall."
Sprague later had a chance to view videotape of the crash.
"I tried to be careful in my comments prior to having the opportunity to look at the tape because at the speeds we are running out there, it's hard to know exactly what did happen," Sprague said. "The thing pretty much came down as I thought except that once I got lined up directly behind Hornaday again, Terry and Ted were coming with a full head of steam.
"Terry tried to pull to the outside of me but just clipped me a little bit and away we all went. It was unfortunate for all of us and I know that Ted is upset, but when the guy in front has to slow down and there are so many of us in a row, it's hard to get everyone's truck settled back down without having a problem like this."
Even though Cook had no idea what had happened when he first discussed the incident, he defended Sprague's innocence.
"I'm not exactly sure what happened (but) Jack is a good, clean driver," Cook said. "We definitely didn't need that to happen (because) we felt like the truck was really good and would be good when we came back for Speedweeks.
"That was the same truck we sat on the pole with last year and we were concentrating on it. A back-up truck down here is just an afterthought (so) we'll just go home and go to work on it."
Sprague's Xpress Motorsports teammate Smith ended the night's testing when he crashed in Turn 2 while in a multi-truck drafting formation at about 9 p.m.
"I was running side by side with another truck off the trioval, through Turns 1 and 2 and we were doing OK," Smith said. "It was a little loose but not as bad as I thought it might be. But then we came out of 2, it really pulled the air off me and around I went.
"I feel terrible for the guys on my crew (because) it was just a rough day for our teams."
Both Xpress trucks came to Daytona in a single hauler, thus ending the test Sunday night.
On Monday morning, Brendan Gaughan, who plans to run most of the Craftsman Truck Series races this season for the Orleans Racing team his family owns, spun his No. 77 Dodge harmlessly without hitting the wall. Defending Truck Series champion Bobby Hamilton also scuffed the side of his No. 4 Dodge when his tight truck pushed up to the wall.
Both drivers continued to test.
Gaughan's teammate Steve Park was not so lucky when he cut a right front tire on his No. 62 Orleans Dodge just after noon and collected Chaffin's Toyota when Park's truck pushed abruptly up to the wall in Turn 2.
"The right front cut down and the truck went to the wall and scrubbed it along the right side," Park said. "I feel bad for Chad because he didn't know I'd cut the tire and was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"That's just part of it -- we skinned up the truck a little bit," said Chaffin, who ended the test eighth on the cumulative time sheet. "This little deal today probably hurts us (because) it will be a couple -- or three days -- getting this thing back together.
"It's not a big deal, but at the same time it probably would have been a lot easier if we could have left here and not had to do anything to the truck."
Setzer sets the pace
Dennis Setzer, who has been second in the Truck Series standings the past two seasons, posted the quickest lap in the test, on Sunday in his No. 46 Morgan Dollar Motorsports Chevrolet, then promptly packed up and left.
Setzer's best lap was in 47.578 seconds, an average speed of 189.163 mph. Each of the series' four manufacturers had a truck in the cumulative top six positions, with Rick Crawford's Ford, second best (47.842 / 188.119).
Brandon Whitt debuted his Toyota as the fastest for that manufacturer (47.891 / 187.927) in third and Ted Musgrave -- despite a crash Sunday evening -- was sixth quickest in his Dodge (47.986 / 187.555), after David Ragan and David Starr's Chevrolets.
Starr, who was one of only three drivers who tested two trucks Monday, was quickest in the full day of running in chilly temperatures and brisk winds, at 47.976 seconds, 187.594 mph.
Setzer said his team's Daytona test, with new crew chief Eric Phillips, backed up what they had learned in an earlier test at Talladega Superspeedway.
"We are pretty happy with our Chevrolet Silverado," Setzer said. "The speed was there all along. We've been fast but we had to try a few things to get it to handle in the draft.
"We had a goal when we came down here -- to learn as much as we could about what we needed to do in February without hurting our truck. We accomplished what we needed to (Sunday) afternoon and night so we are going to load up and head back to North Carolina."
Setzer said his team would test once more at the 2.66-mile Talladega trioval before Speedweeks.
"We were loose right off the hauler, which seemed to be a problem for a lot of trucks," Setzer said. "But things continually got better as the evening went on and I really do think it was beneficial for us be able to get to run at night -- to give us a better feel for how things will be during the race next month."
With the trucks being impounded after Bud Pole Qualifying on the Thursday evening before their race, most teams spent much of the two days running in the draft -- unlike last week's three-day Nextel Cup session, which was mostly consumed with single-car runs.
NASCAR.com
redriderbob
With 39 drivers and teams on hand, no less than three on-track incidents over the two days made four teams cut their sessions short.
Former three-time Truck Series champion Jack Sprague, Terry Cook, Musgrave, rookie Regan Smith, Steve Park and Chad Chaffin were among the drivers who experienced tough times.
Sprague, Cook and Musgrave got tangled up in an incident coming through the trioval just after 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Sprague and Cook's teams packed up and left while Musgrave's Ultra Motorsports squad continued to test its second truck.
Sprague said he was following Hornaday in the draft when the former two-time Truck Series champion's Chevrolet got loose. Sprague lifted and moved up to give Hornaday room and when he did, collected Cook and Musgrave, who had a run on the outside.
"I checked up so as not to hit (Hornaday) and started to ease up the track to give him room to gather his truck back up," Sprague said. "The next thing I knew I was turning around and headed for a wreck in the wall."
Sprague later had a chance to view videotape of the crash.
"I tried to be careful in my comments prior to having the opportunity to look at the tape because at the speeds we are running out there, it's hard to know exactly what did happen," Sprague said. "The thing pretty much came down as I thought except that once I got lined up directly behind Hornaday again, Terry and Ted were coming with a full head of steam.
"Terry tried to pull to the outside of me but just clipped me a little bit and away we all went. It was unfortunate for all of us and I know that Ted is upset, but when the guy in front has to slow down and there are so many of us in a row, it's hard to get everyone's truck settled back down without having a problem like this."
Even though Cook had no idea what had happened when he first discussed the incident, he defended Sprague's innocence.
"I'm not exactly sure what happened (but) Jack is a good, clean driver," Cook said. "We definitely didn't need that to happen (because) we felt like the truck was really good and would be good when we came back for Speedweeks.
"That was the same truck we sat on the pole with last year and we were concentrating on it. A back-up truck down here is just an afterthought (so) we'll just go home and go to work on it."
Sprague's Xpress Motorsports teammate Smith ended the night's testing when he crashed in Turn 2 while in a multi-truck drafting formation at about 9 p.m.
"I was running side by side with another truck off the trioval, through Turns 1 and 2 and we were doing OK," Smith said. "It was a little loose but not as bad as I thought it might be. But then we came out of 2, it really pulled the air off me and around I went.
"I feel terrible for the guys on my crew (because) it was just a rough day for our teams."
Both Xpress trucks came to Daytona in a single hauler, thus ending the test Sunday night.
On Monday morning, Brendan Gaughan, who plans to run most of the Craftsman Truck Series races this season for the Orleans Racing team his family owns, spun his No. 77 Dodge harmlessly without hitting the wall. Defending Truck Series champion Bobby Hamilton also scuffed the side of his No. 4 Dodge when his tight truck pushed up to the wall.
Both drivers continued to test.
Gaughan's teammate Steve Park was not so lucky when he cut a right front tire on his No. 62 Orleans Dodge just after noon and collected Chaffin's Toyota when Park's truck pushed abruptly up to the wall in Turn 2.
"The right front cut down and the truck went to the wall and scrubbed it along the right side," Park said. "I feel bad for Chad because he didn't know I'd cut the tire and was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"That's just part of it -- we skinned up the truck a little bit," said Chaffin, who ended the test eighth on the cumulative time sheet. "This little deal today probably hurts us (because) it will be a couple -- or three days -- getting this thing back together.
"It's not a big deal, but at the same time it probably would have been a lot easier if we could have left here and not had to do anything to the truck."
Setzer sets the pace
Dennis Setzer, who has been second in the Truck Series standings the past two seasons, posted the quickest lap in the test, on Sunday in his No. 46 Morgan Dollar Motorsports Chevrolet, then promptly packed up and left.
Setzer's best lap was in 47.578 seconds, an average speed of 189.163 mph. Each of the series' four manufacturers had a truck in the cumulative top six positions, with Rick Crawford's Ford, second best (47.842 / 188.119).
Brandon Whitt debuted his Toyota as the fastest for that manufacturer (47.891 / 187.927) in third and Ted Musgrave -- despite a crash Sunday evening -- was sixth quickest in his Dodge (47.986 / 187.555), after David Ragan and David Starr's Chevrolets.
Starr, who was one of only three drivers who tested two trucks Monday, was quickest in the full day of running in chilly temperatures and brisk winds, at 47.976 seconds, 187.594 mph.
Setzer said his team's Daytona test, with new crew chief Eric Phillips, backed up what they had learned in an earlier test at Talladega Superspeedway.
"We are pretty happy with our Chevrolet Silverado," Setzer said. "The speed was there all along. We've been fast but we had to try a few things to get it to handle in the draft.
"We had a goal when we came down here -- to learn as much as we could about what we needed to do in February without hurting our truck. We accomplished what we needed to (Sunday) afternoon and night so we are going to load up and head back to North Carolina."
Setzer said his team would test once more at the 2.66-mile Talladega trioval before Speedweeks.
"We were loose right off the hauler, which seemed to be a problem for a lot of trucks," Setzer said. "But things continually got better as the evening went on and I really do think it was beneficial for us be able to get to run at night -- to give us a better feel for how things will be during the race next month."
With the trucks being impounded after Bud Pole Qualifying on the Thursday evening before their race, most teams spent much of the two days running in the draft -- unlike last week's three-day Nextel Cup session, which was mostly consumed with single-car runs.
NASCAR.com
redriderbob
#5
RE: Truck Testing at Daytona!
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Results of Sunday's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series combined single truck and drafting laps during testing at Daytona International Speedway:
1. Dennis Setzer, No. 46 Chevrolet, 47.578 seconds, 189.163 mph
2. Rick Crawford, No. 14 Ford, 47.842, 188.119
3. Brandon Whitt, No. 38 Toyota, 47.891, 187.927
4. David Ragan, No. 28 Chevrolet, 47.976, 187.594
5. Ted Musgrave, No. 2 Dodge, 47.986, 187.555
6. Jimmy Spencer, No. 1 Dodge, 47.992, 187.531
7. Chad Chaffin, No. 30 Toyota, 47.993, 187.527
8. David Starr, No. 75 Chevrolet, 48.053, 187.293
9. Kerry Earnhardt, No. 15 Chevrolet, 48.190, 186.761
10. Johnny Benson, No. 23 Toyota, 48.202, 186.714
11. Brad Keselowski, No. 29 Ford, 48.280, 186.413
12. Bobby Hamilton, No. 4 Dodge, 48.354, 186.127
13. Mike Wallace, No. 59 Dodge, 48.357, 186.116
14. David Reutimann, No. 17 Toyota, 48.375, 186.047
15. Casey Atwood, No. 04 Dodge, 48.384, 186.012
16. Mike Skinner, No. 5 Toyota, 48.394, 185.973
17. Chase Montgomery, No. 18 Dodge, 48.396, 185.966
18. Deborah Renshaw, No. 8 Dodge, 48.416, 185.889
19. Ricky Craven, No. 99 Ford, 48.422, 185.866
20. Todd Kluever, No. 50 Ford, 48.492, 185.598
21. Tracy Hines, No. 13 Chevrolet, 48.549, 185.380
22. Robert Huffman, No. 12 Toyota, 48.577, 185.273
23. Ron Hornaday, No. 6 Chevrolet, 48.581, 185.258
24. Shigeaki Hattori, No. 9 Toyota, 48.602, 185.178
25. Jack Sprague, No. 16 Chevrolet, 48.625, 185.090
26. Sean Murphy, No. 07 Chevrolet, 48.695, 184.824
27. Brendan Gaughan, No. 77 Dodge, 48.701, 184.801
28. Regan Smith, No. 19 Chevrolet, 48.833, 184.302
29. Johnny Chapman, No. 08 Chevrolet, 48.904, 184.034
30. Bill Lester, No. 22 Toyota, 48.944, 183.884
31. Matt Crafton, No. 88 Chevrolet, 49.048, 183.494
32. Terry Cook, No. 10 Ford, 49.234, 182.201
33. Kelly Sutton, No. 02 Chevrolet, 49.820, 180.650
34. Steve Park, No. 62 Dodge, 49.923, 180.278
35. Jason Rudd, No. 31 Dodge, 51.033, 176.356
36. Billy Venturini, No. 93 Chevrolet, 51.163, 175.908
NASCAR.com
1. Dennis Setzer, No. 46 Chevrolet, 47.578 seconds, 189.163 mph
2. Rick Crawford, No. 14 Ford, 47.842, 188.119
3. Brandon Whitt, No. 38 Toyota, 47.891, 187.927
4. David Ragan, No. 28 Chevrolet, 47.976, 187.594
5. Ted Musgrave, No. 2 Dodge, 47.986, 187.555
6. Jimmy Spencer, No. 1 Dodge, 47.992, 187.531
7. Chad Chaffin, No. 30 Toyota, 47.993, 187.527
8. David Starr, No. 75 Chevrolet, 48.053, 187.293
9. Kerry Earnhardt, No. 15 Chevrolet, 48.190, 186.761
10. Johnny Benson, No. 23 Toyota, 48.202, 186.714
11. Brad Keselowski, No. 29 Ford, 48.280, 186.413
12. Bobby Hamilton, No. 4 Dodge, 48.354, 186.127
13. Mike Wallace, No. 59 Dodge, 48.357, 186.116
14. David Reutimann, No. 17 Toyota, 48.375, 186.047
15. Casey Atwood, No. 04 Dodge, 48.384, 186.012
16. Mike Skinner, No. 5 Toyota, 48.394, 185.973
17. Chase Montgomery, No. 18 Dodge, 48.396, 185.966
18. Deborah Renshaw, No. 8 Dodge, 48.416, 185.889
19. Ricky Craven, No. 99 Ford, 48.422, 185.866
20. Todd Kluever, No. 50 Ford, 48.492, 185.598
21. Tracy Hines, No. 13 Chevrolet, 48.549, 185.380
22. Robert Huffman, No. 12 Toyota, 48.577, 185.273
23. Ron Hornaday, No. 6 Chevrolet, 48.581, 185.258
24. Shigeaki Hattori, No. 9 Toyota, 48.602, 185.178
25. Jack Sprague, No. 16 Chevrolet, 48.625, 185.090
26. Sean Murphy, No. 07 Chevrolet, 48.695, 184.824
27. Brendan Gaughan, No. 77 Dodge, 48.701, 184.801
28. Regan Smith, No. 19 Chevrolet, 48.833, 184.302
29. Johnny Chapman, No. 08 Chevrolet, 48.904, 184.034
30. Bill Lester, No. 22 Toyota, 48.944, 183.884
31. Matt Crafton, No. 88 Chevrolet, 49.048, 183.494
32. Terry Cook, No. 10 Ford, 49.234, 182.201
33. Kelly Sutton, No. 02 Chevrolet, 49.820, 180.650
34. Steve Park, No. 62 Dodge, 49.923, 180.278
35. Jason Rudd, No. 31 Dodge, 51.033, 176.356
36. Billy Venturini, No. 93 Chevrolet, 51.163, 175.908
NASCAR.com
#6
RE: Truck Testing at Daytona!
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Results of Monday's NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series combined single truck and drafting laps during testing at Daytona International Speedway:
1. David Starr, No. 75 Chevrolet, 47.976, 187.594
2. Ron Hornaday, No. 6 Chevrolet, 48.057, 187.278
3. Kerry Earnhardt, No. 15 Chevrolet, 48.122, 187.025
4. Ted Musgrave, No. 2 Dodge, 48.137, 186.966
5. Chad Chaffin, No. 30 Toyota, 48.164, 186.862
6. Matt Crafton, No. 88 Chevrolet, 48.179, 186.416
7. Jimmy Spencer, No. 1 Dodge, 48.280, 186.413
8. Ricky Craven, No. 99 Ford, 48.312, 186.289
9. Todd Kluever, No. 50 Ford, 48.334, 186.204
10. Robert Huffman, No. 12 Toyota, 48.428, 185.843
11. Mike Wallace, No. 59 Dodge, 48.441, 185.793
12. Tracy Hines, No. 13 Chevrolet, 48.526, 185.468
13. David Reutimann, No. 17 Toyota, 48.545, 185.395
14. Brendan Gaughan, No. 77 Dodge, 48.572, 185.292
15. Brad Keselowski, No. 29 Ford, 48.595, 185.204
16. Chase Montgomery, No. 18 Dodge, 48.721, 184.725
17. Bobby Hamilton, No. 4 Dodge, 48.766, 184.555
18. Casey Atwood, No. 04 Dodge, 48.871, 184.158
19. Rick Crawford, No. 14 Ford, 48.872, 184.155
20. Shigeaki Hattori, No. 9 Toyota, 48.915, 183.993
21. Steve Park, No. 62 Dodge, 48.951, 183.857
22. Deborah Renshaw, No. 8 Dodge, 49.421, 182.109
23. Jason Rudd, No. 31 Dodge, 49.551, 181.631
24. Billy Venturini, No. 93 Chevrolet, 49.976, 180.086
25. Kelly Sutton, No. 02 Chevrolet, 50.251, 179.101
26. David Ragan, No. 28 Chevrolet, 51.333, 175.326
redriderbob
1. David Starr, No. 75 Chevrolet, 47.976, 187.594
2. Ron Hornaday, No. 6 Chevrolet, 48.057, 187.278
3. Kerry Earnhardt, No. 15 Chevrolet, 48.122, 187.025
4. Ted Musgrave, No. 2 Dodge, 48.137, 186.966
5. Chad Chaffin, No. 30 Toyota, 48.164, 186.862
6. Matt Crafton, No. 88 Chevrolet, 48.179, 186.416
7. Jimmy Spencer, No. 1 Dodge, 48.280, 186.413
8. Ricky Craven, No. 99 Ford, 48.312, 186.289
9. Todd Kluever, No. 50 Ford, 48.334, 186.204
10. Robert Huffman, No. 12 Toyota, 48.428, 185.843
11. Mike Wallace, No. 59 Dodge, 48.441, 185.793
12. Tracy Hines, No. 13 Chevrolet, 48.526, 185.468
13. David Reutimann, No. 17 Toyota, 48.545, 185.395
14. Brendan Gaughan, No. 77 Dodge, 48.572, 185.292
15. Brad Keselowski, No. 29 Ford, 48.595, 185.204
16. Chase Montgomery, No. 18 Dodge, 48.721, 184.725
17. Bobby Hamilton, No. 4 Dodge, 48.766, 184.555
18. Casey Atwood, No. 04 Dodge, 48.871, 184.158
19. Rick Crawford, No. 14 Ford, 48.872, 184.155
20. Shigeaki Hattori, No. 9 Toyota, 48.915, 183.993
21. Steve Park, No. 62 Dodge, 48.951, 183.857
22. Deborah Renshaw, No. 8 Dodge, 49.421, 182.109
23. Jason Rudd, No. 31 Dodge, 49.551, 181.631
24. Billy Venturini, No. 93 Chevrolet, 49.976, 180.086
25. Kelly Sutton, No. 02 Chevrolet, 50.251, 179.101
26. David Ragan, No. 28 Chevrolet, 51.333, 175.326
redriderbob
#7
RE: Truck Testing at Daytona!
The new Daytona infield was a focal point all weekend.
Ricky Craven takes a spin in his new No. 99 Ford.
Casey Atwood clocked in 19th for the two-day session. (NOTE Casey is wearing his Evernham Firesuit from 2001!)
Ricky Craven spends some time in the garage area with his new Roush Racing team.
redriderbob
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