NASCAR Trucks: Ford Racing Craftsman Truck 400K Post-Race Quotes

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

LARRY GUNSELMAN-63-Waterloo Tool Storage Ford F-150 (finished 36th) - WHAT TOOK YOU OUT OF THE RACE? "We blew the freeze plug out of the radiator. I think we burned a head gasket and that caused the freeze plug to blow. We replaced the plug, but when we filled the radiator back up, it still blew water. That's going to end our day. We wanted to keep this truck in one piece, but this isn't how we wanted it to happen."

RICKY SANDERS-19-TruckTrix.com F-150 (finished 33rd) - WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU IN TURN 3? "We got stacked up there running with a large group of traffic. Someone got into my left rear; it was just one of those racing deals. We're just all trying for one position. Somebody tagged me in the rear and it went around on me. We got into the wall pretty good, but we're going to see if we can't fix it and get back out there to gain some points." WHERE DO YOU GO FROM HERE? "I don't know if we'll go to Bakersfield, that's up to the owner. We may just decide to focus on Martinsville instead."

CHUCK HOSSFELD-50-JR's Garage Ford F-150 (finished 20th) - "I'll take that kind of run any day compared to what we had in Daytona." YOU MADE YOUR MOVE LATE IN THE RACE. "Judging by how the race played out, our plan was to pit later. We saw that there were some early cautions, but we didn't get the caution we needed at the end and we had to pit under green. Maybe we would have had something for them if we had a caution, and by that I mean 15th place. I don't think we could have won, but this is still a good start. The truck is in one piece, so we can take it home, wax it and build on what we learned."

TERRY COOK-29-K Automotive Ford F-150 (finished 10th) - "At the drop of the green I would have given you a $1,000 for a top 10. We just seemed to struggle all weekend long. If it wasn't for the knowledge of Ron and Bob Keselowski, there is no way that we could have brought this truck through the field and finished where we did. We kinda missed the setup at the beginning and in qualifying, but at the end of the race, we really got it to where we could turn and get some traction off the corners. We came across something, but it was a little too late in terms of going for the win." WAS THE TRACK SLICK? "It was very slick. I don't know what the lap times slowed down to at the end, but you were just slipping and sliding at the end. The guy that slid the least was the guy who was going to win. Fuel mileage come into play at the end and we knew couldn't go all the way on fuel, so we had to stop and that hurt us a little bit. I know that some guys picked up some positions because of the fuel deal. I'm just happy for a top 10 at this point."

NATHAN HASELEU-99-Roush Performance Ford F-150 (finished 14th) - "The truck was tight all day and we could have adjusted on it a little more, but it's rolling over more than I'm used to. I'm still just learning the truck and we hung out all day. Fourteenth isn't what we're looking to do, but it's an improvement. I got a 167 laps in the truck, we made some pit stops, the crew made some adjustments, so I think it's a big step forward for this program." DID YOU MAKE ANY MISTAKES? "I don't think I made the whole race without making any mistakes, but there wasn't anything major. I need to get better on restarts on colder tires. You always have room for improvement, and I know that I still have a lot to learn. I think that today was a good day for the Roush guys." WAS IT SLICK IN THE CORNERS? "It was off the corners, but this is such a flat track that it's hard to drive. You really need to be hooked up, but this was a good workout today."

RICK CRAWFORD-14-Milwaukee Electric Tools Ford F-150 (finished 8th) - "The Milwaukee Electric Tools Ford was best of class today. We needed a little wind to run with those other trucks, but we led our second race in a row and came home with another top-10 finish. We're accumulating some points, but we're not in contention for the win. I'm a little aggravated about that because I'm driving as hard as anybody else out here, but maybe NASCAR will figure it out. They usually have a way of making this series equal, but right now it's not NASCAR - it's a little unequal." IS IT A POWER PROBLEM? "I don't know if it's a power problem or an aero thing. We seem to be handling good, but there are some trucks passing you down the straightaway, and then there are some that just run off and leave you. We'll work hard on it, and our guys are working overtime to compensate." HOW WAS THE TRACK? "Same old Homestead. If the heat gets on it, (Turns) 3 and 4 get a little slick, and if the shade stays there, the track stays good. Ray Stonkus put an excellent setup under the truck and we never touched it all day." NOW YOU HEAD TO MESA MARIN, A SHORT TRACK. IS THAT ANY EASY TRANSITION? "We have our truck ready and we already tested it, so we're ready to go. I race my best every time I buckle myself in this truck. I'm a racer and it doesn't take but a lap to get ready."

DERRIKE COPE-86-National Wild Turkey Federation Ford-150 (finished 23rd) - "That wasn't what we hoped for. We struggled the whole time we were here. We could never get the truck to roll. It was tight the whole time. We could never get any track position. We had a couple of mistakes and that kept us at the back. All in all, we finished and the guys got some experience."

BARRY BODINE-25-Miccosukee Gaming Group Ford F-150 (finished 12th) - YOU MADE SOME GOOD SAVES AND CAME HOME WITH A SOLID FINISH. "Yeah, I thought I was out on a dirt track or something. It was a little rough, but we had a couple of good saves, although you know that from looking at the truck. We set the truck up to be consistent, and it was necessarily the fastest, but it was consistent and that helped us a lot. I'm not sure where we finished, but I happy. The truck looks like we just finished racing at Martinsville." WAS THE TRACK SLICK? "It was if you didn't have it set up right. You felt the truck drifting when you tires wore out, but these guys had the truck set comfortable for me." WILL YOU BE BACK IN TRUCK AGAIN? "This is my last race with this deal, so hopefully I'll get another ride or get a deal of our own, but I don't know if we'll make Mesa Marin."

Text Provided Ford

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