NASCAR Trucks: Terry Cook posts second place qualifying run at Gateway

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

May 6, 2001

TERRY COOK-29-K Automotive Ford F-150 (Qualified 2nd)

- THAT WAS A SOLID RUN. "Have you ever been disappointed qualifying second? We really can't be that disappointed because we picked up two tenths of a second from our simulated run in practice. But man, we really wanted the pole. We put in the synthetic oils, we did what we had to do to get the pole, but it looks like we just missed it by a little bit. They're still qualifying, but I don't think anyone else will be able to run that fast. All I can is that K-Automotive Ford is strong; we had a great piece. I would rather be standing here disappointed that we didn't win pole than happy if we qualified 10th. Anytime you can be disappointed and start on the front row is a pretty good day."

YOU MUST BE HAPPY THAT THE RAIN HELD OFF? "I am. We were sitting there praying it wouldn't rain because we had a shot at the pole. Anytime you have a truck that you think can sit on the pole, you want to take advantage of it and give it a try, so we were sure glad that it held off and got qualifying in. I can guarantee you one think, you have one stout race truck."

THIS IS A TRACK THAT VETERANS SEEM TO DOMINATE. "It's a driver's track. It's a track where you have to roll through (Turns) 3 and 4 at a high rate of speed, but you still have to be under control and finesse (Turns) 1 and 2. The K-Automotive Ford is just rolling through the corners awesome, and we had an Ernie Elliott motor that is just powering down the straightaways. We've got a really good overall package and I think that's the biggest part where veteran drivers like myself seem a little bit better. You need a lot of laps at Gateway International, and I have a lot of those."

Text provided by Greg Shea

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