NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Ford Charlotte Advance

FORD RACING NOTES AND QUOTES

 Quaker Steak & Lube 200 
                         
May 18, 2006 

Lowe's Motor Speedway 
       
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competitors took to the newly repaved 
Lowe's Motor Speedway on Thursday for an open test session prior to 
Friday night's Quaker Steak & Lube 200.  Terry Cook, who finished 
second in last year's event, shared his thoughts on the track surface 
and the importance of open test sessions given NASCAR's rules that 
limit testing.


TERRY COOK-10-Ford Power Stroke Diesel by Int'l F-150 - WHAT ARE YOUR FIRST 
IMPRESSIONS OF THE NEW TRACK SURFACE?  "Well, I think the surface is 
phenomenal.  I think the company that did it, reading the press releases, 
\they've done many race tracks before, and they knew what they were doing.  
I cannot be any more happy with the race surface.  Now talking about the tire, 
that may be a different story.  Obviously, Goodyear was concerned and they 
brought a very conservative tire.  I personally don't have a problem with 
it running by myself.  I think that I was probably more shocked that it has 
as much grip as it does.  Maybe I got gun shy listening to everybody after 
the first two tests - the Busch test and the Cup test - about how little 
grip it actually had.  I was very surprised, and it has grip, and you're 
off the throttle a lot more than you were here last year.  My concern is 
that will we be able to race side by side lap after lap, just for the fact 
\it takes 40, 50 or 60 laps to see great speeds out of these tires.  
That's more what I'm concerned about."


 

DO YOU THINK THE TRUCK RACE TOMORROW NIGHT WILL GENERATE A LOT OF INTEREST 
FROM CUP AND BUSCH DRIVERS BECAUSE IT'S THE FIRST RACE ON THE NEW SURFACE?  
"I definitely think we will.  I think that the truck race will be the most 
tuned in race by our fellow competitors than any race this year just for 
that fact that it will be a good glimpse into the other races.  Ourselves, 
and other teams as well, are already talking about doing an entire race on 
the same set of tires.  If your tires' fastest laps are around lap 80 or 90, 
and the race is only 134 laps, and if you throw in the caution laps as well, 
it sounds to me like you're going to run the whole race on one set of tires.  
Obviously, you're going to have to stop for fuel twice, but it might be two 
fuel stops and then just keep on digging and work track position as best you 
can.  Had it not been for needing spare tires - NASCAR allots us four sets 
every week - and maybe we can save a little money this weekend and just
mount one set of tires."


 

DID THE TRACK LOSE THE CHARACTERIZES THAT MADE IT UNIQUE TO LOWE'S MOTOR 
SPEEDWAY?  "To me, it's the same old Charlotte because you drive off into 
turn one with such a transition from a flat track into the huge banking in
 turn one and two.  Our last time on the track we were carrying a little 
bit more speed.  Each time that we go out - just like everybody else - 
you're picking up more speed because you get a few more laps on the tires.  
Right now you're still off the throttle through one and two, but as we carry
more speed through the race, we can usually go up the track.  Maybe, and 
this is a big maybe, by the end of the day we might be able to flatfoot 
it through there on some older tires.  Turn three and four, the Humpy 
Bumps are gone, but I truly remember this track went through a transition 
last year for the truck race.  When they ground the track they pretty much 
shaved those bumps out, so to me, it's pretty much the same old Charlotte 
right now."

 

WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FIVE OPTIONAL TEST DATES THIS SEASON, AND 
WILL THE INFORMATION GATHERED TODAY BE APPLICABLE TO OTHER 1.5-MILE TRACKS?  
"I don't know if it will help us anywhere else. We were fortunate that the 
Ford Power Stroke Diesel by International race team just came off a two-day 
test at Chicagoland.  We were very fortunate to have a brand new Ford Racing 
Technology FRT chassis.  It's the first one ever raced on a speedway that 
I'm aware of, and we tested with it for two days at Chicagoland.  
We actually didn't plan on racing here this weekend, but it tested so well 
at Chicagoland that we decided to bring it here, and the results are showing 
early on that it's a fantastic chassis.  It's a credit to all of the people 
at Ford Racing for designing this chassis and giving us the opportunity to 
race it.  I think we're going to be building many more in the near future.  
That in itself, I think the Chicagoland test more suited us for all of the 
other tracks coming up.  The optional test days, at a venue like this, you're 
mainly gearing up that venue.  I don't know that we're trying stuff outside 
the box for other tracks, it's just mainly for this.  Just like when we go to 
Mansfield next, we get a half of a day to test there and it will strictly be 
for Mansfield.  When we go to Las Vegas later in the year and test there, 
with the new configuration of Las Vegas, maybe some stuff will carry over 
to Homestead, but it's hard to say.  Most of the optional test days that 
NASCAR has for the truck series are geared strictly for that race track."