dodge quotes from nascar truck series race at martinsville

Saturday, April 17, 2004.
Ray Cooper

Martinsville Speedway.
Clear!Blue

Kroger 250.
704-975-3232


 

 

CHAD CHAFFIN (No. 18 Dickies Dodge Ram) - Finished 10th

"It was a hard top 10. We had a real good truck. It was actually turning
too good. We work so hard to make these trucks turn. Bobby (team owner
Hamilton) and his engineers designed some stuff that's awesome. We just
overdid it. I could kill Jack Sprague at the start of the race. I just
didn't want to race him too hard. After about 20 laps it started getting
loose and started giving up. I don't know how we got a lap down. We got
spun, and my brakes started fading. That was my fault. We pitted on the
lead lap. They had the stop sign out, and I ran the stop sign on purpose
to stay on the lead lap. Somehow it was a lap penalty and the penalty
should be a stop and go or 15 seconds. They were telling us if we would
sit in the pits and let everything get straightened out that everything
would be cool. Then they changed their minds. I actually ran the stop
board twice. My guys did a great job. We were able to keep racing until
the end. We gave up some rubber to all those guys that passed us at the
end. I think we had a better truck. We had to get rubber to stay on the
lead lap and we just couldn't hang on there at the end. I'm proud of the
top 10. We're here to win, and we're going to win."

 

ANDY HOUSTON (No. 2 Team ASE/Carquest Dodge Ram) - Finished 11th

"We worked hard for that. This division is as tough as I've ever seen
it. Everybody runs the same speed. It's kinda like the NEXTEL of trucks.
The whole field is very competitive. To start dead last and come home
11th , we're not jumping up and down about it, but it's a good momentum
builder. We took a hit in the points the first two races, and this was a
good points day for us. When we get to Mansfield (Ohio) we're going to
have something for 'em. I feel 100 percent confident. Dennis Conner is a
great crew chief, and this is a great race team. They gained me as many
spots in the pits as I gained on the track today. We're getting this
Team ASE/Carquest Dodge Ram back up front where it needs to be. We're
going to put all the stuff that happened in the first two races behind
us and move along. We need to get the truck turning better in the
center, and I think from talking to the guys on Ted's crew had the same
problem. We just never turned as good as we needed to. It's typical
Martinsville. You could ask Rick Crawford right now and he'd tell you
his truck needed to be better. Everybody runs the same speed, and track
position is everything. We fought hard for what we got today. Darrell
Waltrip got a little excited there at the end I think. Chaffin didn't
started real good on the restart, and not wanting to crash him for just
one position, I cut him a little break there getting into one and
Darrell got in the side of me and got me crossways. He had a pretty good
head of momentum getting into three and I think he just got in there too
deep. I went up the racetrack. I knew he was underneath me. I knew all I
had to do was drag race him off two more corners and we'd beat him. I
felt him hit me a little bit and I guess he spun around, but that says a
lot of a guy that races only two or three times a year. It was real hot
today, and he was up on that wheel at the end of the race, that's for
sure."

 

TED MUSGRAVE (No. 1 Mopar Performance Dodge Ram) - Finished 15th

"We didn't keep up with the racetrack. These tires make the racetrack
real tight, and that's what happened today. My truck just wouldn't turn
in the center of the corner like it was doing in the beginning. That was
my strong point. I was rolling on the outside of the guys and coming off
the corner good, but we lost that. We never got it back, and that's
something to look at. It's our first short track race, and I hate to
throw it away, but at least we know the way to go now. All those
cautions put a lot of people on the lead lap, but that's the way it is.
Those are the rules, no problem. We'll go test and try to figure this
thing out."

 

BOBBY HAMILTON (No. 4 Square D Dodge Ram)

"You can't control stuff like that. The brake hose came apart, and there
was no reason for it. It spread open and the wire cut the right front
down. We'll just have to go and research and buy better parts. It was
just one of those things. We had a winning truck today. I drove it with
one hand most of the day. We took a hit in the points, but we've got
plenty of racing left. We've won two of the last four. I'll take that
winning percentage the rest of the season and be happy."

 

MARK McFARLAND (No. 59 Harris Trucking Dodge Ram) - Finished 21st

"We're pretty pleased. We ran real good. We were competitive. We got a
lap down and that put us in the back and something broke in the rear or
transmission or something. It went from being good to junk. We probably
made it to lap 150. We're going to go test a lot and go to Mansfield.
I'm going to drive this truck for at least 10 races this year and Ohio
will be the next one."

 

STEVE PARK (No. 62 Orleans Racing Dodge Ram)

:"We started off bad. Johnny (Allen) and the guys made improvements on
it, but we just never really got it to where we needed to be. We kind of
forced the issue, drove the wheels off of it, and got it up in the
top-15. Then the No. 99 got into the left rear and cut the tire down.
That hurt us with a handful of laps to go. We got a tire on it and got
back out. Then we passed the lapped truck, and he came down and cut the
right-front tire. Welcome to the truck series. I'm looking forward to
Mansfield. We get a chance to go to Cincinnati and see the Wyler's who
sponsor us. They are a big part of the Orleans Dodge truck team. I get a
chance to see all of the great race fans in Cincinnati at Wyler's, and
then we get to race Mansfield. I love Ohio, and I look forward to racing
there."  

 

####