NASCAR Trucks: Ford drivers comment on race weekend
Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
June 24, 2001MORGAN SHEPHERD-21-Shepherd Racing Ford F-150 (Finished 29th, Retired Lap 28) - YOUR DAY WAS CUT SHORT. WHAT HAPPENED? "First of all, I have to thank Stan Hover for loaning us a motor to come up here. It was overheating, so we didn't want to hurt his motor. This team sure needs a sponsor so that we can get out there and race like we need to race. We had a better truck than that today."
TERRY COOK-29-TruckSeries.com Ford F-150 (Finished 25th, Retired Lap 102) - IT LOOKS LIKE MOTOR PROBLEMS SHORTENED YOUR DAY. "It's unfortunate. The TruckSeries.com Ford was strong today. We were in the top five early, we slipped back a couple of spots on the pit stop and we were just working our way up and passed the 61 truck, pulling back into the top five. We were right, the truck was just right, which is a shame because we had a good truck. We were just getting ready to get back in the top five, but that's when the motor failed. But, we'll be back and be ready for Milwaukee." YOU CAME INTO THE PITS AND IT LOOKED LIKE YOU HOPED TO GET THE MOTOR RE-FIRED. "We came in earlier and the motor dropped a cylinder, and then we got back out there trying to get in as many laps as we could. We came into the pits that time and the motor just stalled and locked up and we couldn't get it re-fired, so it kinda ended our day there, but we knew we had a problem and that it was only a matter of time." IS THERE ANY CHANCE THIS PROBLEM WAS RELATED TO MOTOR PROBLEM YOU HAD YESTERDAY BEFORE QUALIFYING? "It's possible. We had some problems yesterday and it's highly suspicious that that had a lot to do with it. It's a shame because the TruckSeries.com F-150 was really good today. We were running in the top 10 and we were just starting to claw our way back into the top five. We were just out there riding and having a good time. The truck was consistent on long runs and that's what we were set up for, but we just never got that far."
RICK CRAWFORD-14-Milwaukee Electric Tools Ford F-150 (Finished 16th) - "We fooled ourselves last night in Happy Hour. The truck wasn't as good as we thought it was. We agreed on some changes this morning, but it wasn't good from the get-go. We're going to take it back to the shop and look it over first, but then we'll cut it up; you'll never see this truck race again this year." YOU TOOK AN EARLY SPIN INTO THE GRASS. DID YOU HAVE A CUT TIRE? "When the 43 truck spun, it backed up into me and cut down the left-rear and I spun it out on the front straightaway. I came back around and I had a head of steam with a flat tire, and I went to swerve the 55 and spun it again. I'll tell you Victory Lane still isn't far out of our grasp, but I'll save our next spin on the frontstretch for after that victory."
JON WOOD-50-Eldon Ford F-150 (Finished 14th) - YOU BROUGHT THE TRUCK HOME IN ONE PIECE AND FINISHED ON THE LEAD LAP. "I wouldn't say that I'm happy or satisfied with that, but I feel a little better about things now that I have one race under my belt. I've learned a whole lot and I think it's going to get a lot easier working with Dan Binks; he seems to be really sharp, but I'm still having a hard time trying to relay everything that he needs. I feel really good about this, though, because the trucks are good and the team is good. I think we'll be all right." IT SEEMED LIKE THIS WAS A PRETTY PHYSICAL RACE. "They race real hard over here. It's amazing how much these trucks will take. Our truck was built Ford tough. Now we go to Milwaukee and try to better what we did today. We still need to finish on the lead lap, but I'd like to be better qualifying and maybe learn some more stuff."
GREG BIFFLE-99-Eldon Ford F-150 (Finished 9th) - YOU HAD A LATE-RACE PROBLEM. "I just looked at the truck and we had a flat-spotted tire. I knew we had a flat-spotted tire, but with the truck rules, we weren't sure if they'd let us change all four under caution. We had just changed rights and I was trying to avoid the Sprague incident and locked up the wheels. I knew that they were flat-spotted but we weren't going to have the chance to change all four under caution, so I rode around there for the last 60 laps with them that way. Anyway, it was undecided if NASCAR would let us stop and put four tires on it. Four new tires on that would have been something. The guys worked really hard. They're building really good trucks. We were a little bit off, but we probably just didn't have enough time." THE TRUCKS HAVE CHANGED SINCE LAST YEAR. WERE YOUR NOTES ON THIS TRACK CLOSE? "The setups were similar. I'd have to say that it was right in that range. If I were to show up every week racing what we had last year, I'd be able to fine-tune it into what I'm doing this year. It's the same in Busch Series. I have all of Mark's notes and we haven't raced one of his setups yet, but we're really close to it." ARE THE FORDS RUNNING AT A DISADVANTAGE? "They (Chevrolet and Dodge) have a little bit better aero package right now, but I think if we keep working on our stuff, we can get closer to them." YOU WENT WITH A DIFFERENT TIRE STRATEGY THAN MOST TO START THE RACE? "We took lefts first where everyone took rights, and I think that was the right thing to do. But, when we flat-spotted that tire when Sprague blew his engine, that slit our throat."
CHAD CHAFFIN-84-Park City/Full Throttle Ford F-150 (Finished 4th) - ANOTHER TOP-FIVE FINISH IN THE TRUCK SERIES. "This is awesome, to keep racing after everything that I've been through this year. Robert and Charlie Long built an awesome truck. They build their own motors and we could have run the motor we had in there yesterday and might have done even better. These Long Brothers are awesome. We had a volunteer crew. You talk about low budget, I'm talking no budget, just a lot of hard work. I've got to thank my sponsors for even giving us the chance to be here. I'm just tickled to death to race in Tennessee and I'm happy that we finished where we did." YOU WERE ESPECIALLY FAST ON THAT LAST GREEN-FLAG SEGMENT. "At the beginning of the race when everybody is on new tires, it's hard to do anything and we weren't able to show what we had. The Long Brothers build these motors, and we didn't spot motor to anybody today. This is my second race with them and second top-five finish. We've been good racing in my home state. I finished third my first time in this truck and this was the same truck we used at Nashville last year. To come out and run with these guys with $2 million sponsors is phenomenal." DO YOU ANY RACING PLANS IN THE NEAR FUTURE? "My plans are indefinite right now. I want to do some Busch racing and I'd like to run this truck some more, but you have to have money to run these things. Me or Robert or Charlie has to find some money so that we can do this again."
Text provided by Greg Shea
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