Musgrave starts/finishes third, moves to third in standings after Nashville truck race -- Dodge notes & quotes

Saturday, August 10, 2002
Nashville Superspeedway, Gladeville, Tenn.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Federated Auto Parts 200

Patrick Mason
Golin/Harris International
773-593-2044

TED MUSGRAVE (No. 1 Mopar Performance Parts Dodge Ram)
"The biggest thing that got us was the No. 20 truck ran me up in the third groove and Mike Bliss and the No. 14 truck got underneath me and passed me while I was up in the marbles I guess you could say.  From that point on it was history.  Once they get out in front there, there's no way I could've gotten them back unless it was a long run.  Our strong point was the long run about 20-30 laps in when they're fading off and I can come back and get them.  But I just can't get them in a two or three-lap run, so we ended up third.

"So, the dogfight is on again for the lead.  We've just got to keep working on it.  It was another good run for us.  We needed that momentum to get us going again.  Hopefully we can be strong for the rest of year again.

"We're trying to evaluate our final decision on taking two tires and gas at the end there.  When you get put in that position, do you pit?  Do you not pit?  Do you put on two or four tires?  We've got to get our notes in order to make sure we're making the right decisions.  But, then again there's a lot of circumstances that factor in there.  You've got to see what's happening on the racetrack.  With 15 laps to go, I would have put four tires on.

"I was loose all night long, and they could never fix it for me.  They put a wedge adjustment in, and all it did was make it a little bit tight in the center.  It didn't help me off the corner at all.  We were really loose off the corners all night long.  They just never fixed that - it was just there to stay evidently.  I kept telling them that I needed to get tight off the corner, but nothing ever came about.  We just couldn't get it done."

BRENDAN GAUGHAN (No. 62 NAPA/Orleans Dodge Ram)
"We had a talk with the NAPA gang about how they were struggling the last couple of weeks.  They were saying they were tired and all these things, so we went back to the shop last week and worked it out.  I told them, 'Hey look, I've got to have all the faith in the world in you guys, and I trust you with my life out there.  But I know we're a lot better than that.'  We were running into a bunch of little mistakes.  But we know that we were better than we were performing.  We came to Nashville with the Old Faithful Dodge - the one that's run the most races for it.  That Dodge was prepped better than any truck we've had all year.  So, we ran solid all night, and ran our fastest lap on the dead-last lap.  If we had had a yellow flag and could've made that adjustment earlier, maybe we would've been a contender.  I do love these guys, they're the best team in the whole world.  So, we feel like we're back on track, and we'll head to Richmond and look for another top finish."

BOBBY HAMILTON Jr. (No. 4 Square D Dodge Ram)
"The front three had this race covered all night long.  We were a fourth-place truck.  We had a great Joey Arrington motor, and our Dodge was turning good all night long.  Everything was great, we were just the fourth-place truck.  The team needed that to get up in points, and get the morale back up after some disappointments this year.  I'm just glad I got 'em a pretty good finish in front of the hometown.  We're happy, we didn't win it but we're tickled.  

We weren't loose, our Dodge was neutral all day long.  Our sticker tires were a little bit free, but then after like 20 laps we were one of the fastest trucks out there.  But, by then everyone was already so gone.  We didn't work it out like we wanted to on our sticker run.  But, we'll take a top-five and build on up.  You'll probably see me in a Dodge again sometime soon."

JASON LEFFLER (No. 2 Team ASE/CARQUEST Dodge Ram)
"Our right front tire just went down on us.  We went down into turns three and four, we got a little loose and it just blew up right there in the corner.  It's tough, you know, because was bound to be another good points finish for us but we'll get 'em next time.  The Ultra Bad Boys have been keeping us running all season long, so we'll come back out at Richmond and we'll be ready then."

ROBERT PRESSLEY (No. 18 Square D/Dickies Racing Dodge Ram)
"We started off good and just fell back.  We missed it today - we just were not on it.  We were lucky to salvage this night, so we'll go back and try it again.  The racetrack never changed all night. It was exactly the same at the end of the races as it was at the very beginning, and we just couldn't get a hold of it."

BILL LESTER (No. 8 Dodge Motorsports Dodge Ram)
"We just got railroaded at the end there.  We got freight-trained.  I don't know what to say about it.  We just didn't have anything for them.  They just ran off." 

CARLOS CONTRERAS (No. 43 Hot Wheels Dodge Ram)
"This was a good run for us.  The truck was too tight yesterday, and I was mad because we couldn't find the right setup.  Today was another day though, and the truck was a little tight all night, but it was comfortable.  We had some good pit stops, and by the time we had 15 laps to go the team told me I was 12th and it was a surprise for me.  On the last lap Coy Gibbs passed me because the No. 51 truck almost spun, and I had to lift.  He nudged me a little bit, and I lost my lane and gave up a position.  But I'm happy to be in the top-15 again, and we'll get working for Richmond."

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