NASCAR Trucks: Chevrolets place second for fifth time this season; Schrader takes runner up spot
Posted By Terry CallahanMotorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
May 13, 2001
The inaugural Darlington 200, round 6 of the 2001 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, was shortened due to rain after being red-flagged twice for a total of approximately one hour. The checker and the caution flag were flown at lap 135 of the scheduled 147 laps. Bobby Hamilton, in a Dodge, took the victory, Ken Schrader's Chevy Silverado was second. This is the fifth time in six races the Silverado has finished second to Dodge. Dodge has won each of the six races so far this season.
* KEN SCHRADER, #52 FEDERATED AUTO PARTS SILVERADO (qualified 13th, finished second): "We finished second because Jack (Sprague) had a flat. We were good and solid. Bobby was a little better, but nothing big." WHAT DO YOU CREDIT YOUR MOVE TO THE FRONT? "We didn¹t get to practice Thursday because we had an engine problem, so we did all our practicing Friday instead of worrying about qualifying." ANY INCIDENTS? "Some wobbly lapped trucks."
* JACK SPRAGUE, #24 NETZERO PLATINUM SILVERADO (qualified first, led six laps, had a problem in the pits, stormed to the front, then cut a tire during final red flag, finished 12th): "The way our luck is going, I don¹t know. The Silverado was great, the guys did a great job. We cut a tire sitting still. I have a great truck, the guys gave me a great truck. We can¹t catch a break and I don¹t know why." ON THE PIT STOP INCIDENT: "I didn¹t have a tire when they let it down. They did fine, they just had a little problem, fixed it. It doesn¹t really matter now. I¹m getting further back and further back."
* TRAVIS KVAPIL, #60 CAT RENTAL STORES SILVERADO (sixth, first rookie, ran as high as second, takes over first spot in Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings): "We were pretty good in the middle part of the race. I was running second behind Bobby Hamilton. I was racing pretty hard and just trying to lead at least a lap, get our five bonus points for the championship chase. I was racing him hard. I used up a little too much tire early in the run and lost three to four spots on the track because our tires were pretty wore out at the end of the run. I kind of feel if we could have kept going around (after the second red flag) I probably could have gained another position or so. Before the last caution I was gaining on those guys and reeling them in. I kind of think I had a shot at two more spots. I had a lot of fun. Coming in here this weekend I was pretty intimidated. Our main goal was to finish the whole race and keep the fenders on the Silverado. As the race went on I realized that when you are with some good drivers out there you can race and there¹s room to pass out there. I was able to make up some positions on the track and in the pit area."
* MATT CRAFTON, #88 FASTTRACK DRIVEWAY SEALER SILVERADO (qualified 23rd, led four laps, finished eighth): "We had a real good truck. We made a lot of changes this morning. We changed springs, we changed everything we could possibly change. We struggled the first and second day here. We found some problem with the Silverado last night, made changes this morning and went into it blind, and ended up having a good truck, the best truck we have ever had." ON THE RACE: "My pit crew did an awesome job. They did great pit strategy. I was nervous. We all came in together, next yellow we came in and got four more and nobody else did on the second yellow. I figured we would be on a new tire for a little while, passed a bunch of them. At the end of the long run we pitted and had fresher tires than the others. We had our stickers so we were definitely looking forward to going green at the end of the deal. I didn¹t want to see it going into rain delay or a rainout. Just before the first red we put four tires on, no one else did. We were back a ways. The others made a second stop after us. We were leading the deal. We had short-pitted to keep the position and then we were doing our Indian rain dance in the pit and it didn¹t rain hard enough. We were right there at the end. We had a set of stickers on it. I definitely wanted to go back racing."
* RANDY TOLSMA, #61 TEAM RENSI MOTORSPORTS SILVERADO (qualified 10th, finished 13th): "Strategy in the end beat us. We really felt like we had no choice (pitting immediately after the last red flag). We had guys behind us who had fresher tires. That¹s the key here. With 15 to go we were in the catbird seat with a choice to put four tires on and run them to the end. That didn¹t work. Had a good day, all in all. The Silverado¹s in one piece, it rolled back to the trailer. The guys did an excellent job with four tires on pit road. That¹s the positive side. Had a real problem getting past lapped traffic. Sitting back there in 10th spot, by the time the leaders cleared lapped traffic they¹re gone. We have to work real hard on our qualifying, get up there a little bit so we can cruise like the rest of them."
* RICKY HENDRICK, #17 GMAC SILVERADO (qualified second, was knocked into wall by Bobby Dotter, then cut a tire under the yellow caused by the incident on lap 38. Came back out at lap 100 after making repairs, went out of race at approx. lap 114. Finished 34th): "It was one of those deals. It's Darlington, first time here, a lot of guys haven't been here. You can't pass in (turns) one and two and when someone pulls over and gives you room they really let you go. He pulled over and gave me room, but he forgot and he pushed up back into me. We saved the Silverado, everything was good, we were on the lead lap, then we blew the left rear tire. The crew told me to go around. When it blew we got into the wall and bent up a lot of stuff. We came back. It was tough here in Darlington. We were good all day. The worst we would finish was third. We had a rough time." WHY DID YOU PARK IT FINALLY? "We just couldn't gain any more points. We were running for points. The Silverado was pretty bad. We gained enough points. Five more is all we could get. We fixed it for five more laps and came back in." ON THE DODGE DOMINANCE: "The Dodges are still as strong as they were before. It's still the toughest Chevrolets that are hanging in there. The Dodges are still dominant. It's one of those deals. They might have been sandbagging in qualifying to get NASCAR off their backs. I think it's still pretty obvious that they're really strong. I think NASCAR will have to do a little more to get them as even."
POINT STANDINGS:
1. Scott Riggs, Dodge 1015
2. Joe Ruttman, Dodge 930
3. Terry Cook, Ford 911
4. Travis Kvapil, Chevy 873
5. Rick Crawford, Ford 863
6. Randy Tolsma, Chevy 858
7. Jack Sprague, Chevy 854
8. Ted Musgrave, Dodge 824
9. Ricky Hendrick, Chevy 821
10. Billy Bigley, Chevy 701
Text provided by Judy Stropus
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