NASCAR Trucks: Scott Hansen Ready for Good Showing at Portland
16 June 1999
Great Percentages: NASCAR Craftsman Series Rookie contender Scott Hansen feels he will perform well at the Granger Industrial Supply 225 at the Portland International Raceway despite this being his first visit to the 1.95-mile road course."I have only competed in five road course races in my career," Hansen said. "But of those five starts, I won two of them. Those wins came in the ASA series at Brainerd, Minn., and Topeka, Kan. Portland is a new race track to all the competitors, so I hope my road course experience and success will benefit the Oakwood Homes Racing team."
Student Driver: Hansen took classes at the Bondurant Driving School that specializes in road course racing.
"The road course driving school really helped me improve my racing skills on road courses, " Hansen said. "I learned how to pick out markings on the race track and then memorize those markings. So during the race, I will focus on those markings because they represent where I will need to turn the truck to get through the corner best."
Mental Challenge: All races are physically challenging, but Hansen feels that road courses are harder mentally than any other type of track.
"I feel that road course racing is mentally more trying than any other type of racing," Hansen said. "When a driver races on an oval track, he only has to memorize how to get into two left hand turn corners, but on a road course the driver has to memorize as many as 10 corners and the corners are either left hand or right hand turns. It truly is a game of mental skill as well as driving ability."
Rain Gear: NASCAR has informed all truck teams that if it rains at Portland, the race will take place in the rain and the teams will utilize windshield wipers and rain tires provided by Goodyear.
"I'm in favor for getting the race in if it rains in Portland," Hansen said. "I grew up racing on dirt tracks and racing in the rain is slightly similar. I know the truck's limitations, so I feel I can be successful in getting around the track quickly and safely in the No. 52 Oakwood Homes Chevrolet." 1999 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results
Date Track Start Finish LC/TL $Won March 20 Miami, FL 21 7 172/172 11,475 March 27 Phoenix, AZ 24 13 150/150 5,765 April 3 Evergreen, WA 24 13 200/200 6,775 April 10 Bakersfield, CA 16 18 298/301 5,845 April 17 Martinsville, VA 21 14 250/250 6,740 May 8 Memphis, TN 17 15 200/200 8,765 May 16 Colorado Springs, CO 20 30 128/186 7,965 May 22 Kansas City, MO 4 13 202/204 7,200 June 5 Bristol, TN 16 10 200/200 7,600 June 11 Ft. Worth, TX 19 13 178/179 12,125 June 18 Portland, OR June 26 Watkins Glen, NY July 3 Milwaukee, WI July 10 Nashville, TN July 18 Nazareth, PA July 24 Brooklyn, MI August 1 Loudon, NH August 5 Indianapolis, IN August 20 St. Louis, MO August 28 Topeka, KS September 9 Richmond, VA September 24 Las Vegas, NV October 8 Louisville, KY October 15 Ft. Worth, TX October 30 Fontana, CA 1999 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Totals Starts Wins Top 5s Top 10s Poles Earnings 10 0 0 2 0 $80,255
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