Dodge notes from Richmond truck race

Richmond International Raceway
Kroger 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Sept. 9, 2004.
 

TED MUSGRAVE (No. 1 Mopar Dodge Ram) - Winner

"I was concerned because Jamie's truck was a little bit better on the
long runs. I kept getting tight in the center and he could rotate in the
center better and make up time. I was glad to see some cautions come out
because every time he came up on me I started getting tight. The tires
would get cool under caution and I could run off again. Sometimes it
goes your way. We had a dominant truck. I just had a better truck on the
short runs, and I had no communication. It all worked out well. We ran
1-2 and Ultra started on the front row. We've just got to do it again
next week.

 

"I really wasn't too sure. In the long run, his truck (Jamie McMurray's)
was better. After about 20-30 laps into a run, his truck seemed to pick
up speed and mine got a little tight in the center. I didn't want to
venture off and try a different lane because I could get some ground on
him in an early run. It kinda worked out where if I needed to I could
have blocked, but every time he came up trying to get the lead we had a
caution. For me it was time to cool the tires and get back out and run
again. Everything kinda worked my way, but it was great to lead all
those laps and look in the mirror and see your teammate barreling down
on you other than having someone else. We've been through some hard
times and good times back at Ultra. At least tonight, we had a good
night.

 

"I had a good run up in Milwaukee when I won that race. I was very
dominant at Texas but didn't come up with the win. I had a loose wheel.
I've had a few good runs like this, but I never capped it off. A 1-2 run
by Ultra, we haven't done that I don't believe since Jason Leffler and
myself did that out in Fontana, Calif. (2002).

 

"The reasons I was hoping for the cautions, being the lead truck, I
could more or less get past the guy on the inside and take the groove
and get some distance on the second-place truck. He had to fight that
lap-down truck through the corner. Any time I could get a restart I
could get a jump. Everything just turned out well. Everything just
played into my hand. Even though I didn't have the greatest truck out
there, we needed some adjustments, but I had no communication to the pit
area to tell 'em what was wrong with the truck. I could hear everybody
else, but I didn't make 'em do a change. It might have been the wrong
way. Everything just played into our hand.

 

"He (McMurray) was right there. I was trying to focus and hit my lines.
The spotter was telling me, 'OK, clear by one' or 'clear by two.' We
have a communication between us. I wouldn't even have to look in the
mirror. I'd know where he was at. I guess he had to be really-really
close. Throughout the night he was really close on the long runs. He
could have forced the issue early and probably have taken the lead, but
Jamie is in the 2 truck right now to run and bring that team up to speed
again. He's going to run it again this year, maybe at New Hampshire. It
would have been really dumb to go three wide and put two of our brand
new trucks in trouble. He's a very smart racer, and it's really good to
see that.

 

"We really didn't plan setting it up for a short run. It just turned out
as my truck ran longer and longer and his came back to him, more or
less. It wasn't intentional. We weren't set up for the short runs, but I
could not make an adjustment. I could have made my truck better for a
long run during the night, but I couldn't tell my crew chief what to do.
The difference is some of the springs and swaybars and things like that.
You can do a lot of things to make it run fast for a short period of
time. It wasn't intentional, just two different setups and it turned out
to be that way.

 

"We're trying everything. Everything has changed over there (2 team).
Some of the crew members are the same from the beginning of the year.
It's a brand new truck. It's the same type of truck we've been running,
it's just brand new. We have different people working on the truck.
We've tried everything really. We just tried to get it back up to speed.
We need to get a victory for the 2 team also. Jamie loves the truck
series.

 

"It allowed me to do a few things (cautions). When Jamie was really
pressuring me, I had to use the brakes a little bit more. My pedal was
starting to fade a little bit, so I was able to cool 'em down under
caution and get that brake pedal back. It cooled 'em (tires) down and
brought the air pressures down. A lot of things happen to the truck
during a caution period, and every caution that came out was in my favor
because it did everything for my truck.

 

"With the radio communication, I could hear the spotter. I could hear
the crew chief. I could hear everybody. They just couldn't hear me.
Maybe it was planned. Maybe they don't want to hear me. I'm not sure. I
was working with the helmet and all the wiring, and I did have
communication there for five or six laps. Then I lost it again. It was
very early in the race. I think it was during the first caution when I
got my radio communication back. Five laps later it went away, so most
of the night, I could hear everybody. We just made a communications pack
where if I clicked the button once for yes or clicked the button twice
for no, he'd suggest something and I'd push yes for the change. I
couldn't explain exactly what the truck was doing. I was sending up
smoke signals hoping he'd pick the right one. Everything was good. We
didn't hardly change anything other than just an air pressure
adjustment."

 

JAMIE McMURRAY (No. 2 Team ASE/Carquest Dodge Ram) - Finished second

"I got beside Ted two or three times with lapped traffic and just..... I
knew that guy was racing for points, and obviously that was a teammate
to the truck I was driving. More than likely if it had been anybody else
I would have been the winner of the race tonight. I'm not going to wreck
the guy that's my teammate. Right at the end I got up on the outside of
him. The outside groove came in and I really started getting good runs
on the outside. I really thought I could have completed the pass, but
the caution came out and I got up beside him in three and four. On the
last restart I drove in turn one so deep I got loose, and that was all I
had. It was a good run for the first time out with this team. They made
some good calls in the pits. I like the short tracks, and when it's fun
it makes it easier. The upper groove came in at the end, but I just
didn't find it quick enough. We should be good here Saturday."

 

BOBBY HAMILTON (No. 4 Square D Dodge Ram) - Finished 26th

"I just busted my tail. They told me someone blowed up in front of us,
but I don't know if that's what happened or not. Regardless, I just
busted my tail. I was trying to pass on the outside and I busted it. The
team did a heck of a job. That truck is totaled out. The rear clip is
knocked off. It's broken on one side. I don't know how we did what we
did. They put a whole bed cover on it. They're prepared for whatever
happens. On a bad night, we have to suffer a little bit, but on a good
night, they worked and pulled us out of a hole. At one point we were
running 33rd and ended up 26th, so that's pretty good. We'll talk about
points with five races to go. There's no need to worry about them now."

 

STEVE PARK (No. 62 Orleans Racing Dodge Ram) - Finished 12th

"That was pretty good for us considering the night we had. The truck
just didn't handle the way we needed it to. We still have a lot of work
to do. It was a good points night for us, but we're ready for a win. I'm
really looking forward to New Hampshire next week. It is the closest
track to my hometown, so I enjoy going back there."