TIP: Click on subject to list as thread! ANSI
echo: nascar
to: All
from: Mike Powell
date: 2006-07-02 08:34:00
subject: NCTS KS Ford Post-Race Qu

TERRY COOK-10-Ford Power Stroke Diesel by Int'l F-150 (Finished 1st)

YOU LAST VISITED VICTORY LANE 94 RACES AGO. "Man, this is huge. The
competition level has gotten so tough in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
and we've been so good on the mile-and-a-half tracks, and to finally put it
all together is huge. ppc/Power Stroke Diesel Engines has built some great
trucks, and we've skated on the verge and we just can't seem to get over the
hump and today we did."

TALK ABOUT THE 151 CAUTION. "I was trying to get my knees to stop knocking.
It's been so long. That's the beauty of the Craftsman Truck Series. They are
such great competitors around here and everybody will race you clean. We saw
what momentum did for Johnny Benson and we're hoping to get some here today."

WITH THE STREAK OF NOT WINNING GROWING NEAR 100 RACES, DID YOU EVER DOUBT
YOURSELF? "When you're heading into the grave for that long, you start
doubting yourself and you start reaching. I knew that during the off-season
with the hiring of Dennis Connor (crew chief) that we were building a
championship-caliber team. Todd Bodine and his team have had a great season
to date, but I guess the 10 truck is just starting to build a little
momentum."

TALK ABOUT THE DECISION TO GET TIRES BEFORE EVERYONE ELSE. "That was all
Dennis Connor and I saw on that last run, the guys that had sticker tires and
the guys in front of me that were on old tires, I was having a hard time
getting around them, so I felt at that point that Dennis had made the right
call, and he certainly did."

***

RICK CRAWFORD-14-Circle Bar Truck Corral Ford F-150 (Finished 2nd)

"This is a pretty nice truck, the Circle Bar Truck Corral Ford F-150. A lot
of bold moves out there today, even from the get-go. I had a lot of fun.
Kevin Starland (crew chief) made some great calls in the pits and super pit
stops by my guys. I just really appreciate it, and I just like entertaining
the folks and putting on a great show here at Kansas City."

YOU WERE ON A DIFFERENT PIT SEQUENCE THAN SOME OF THE OTHER DRIVERS THAT WERE
EARLY-RACE CONTENDERS. "I've raced short tracks a long time and I've been on
some wore out race tracks and I was in conservative mode with about 40 to go.
I just didn't have anything for the 10 truck. Congratulations to the Power
Stroke Diesel team. Terry Cook and all of the guys over there, and they even
got some of my guys on the pit crew, so I congratulate them. That's all we
had."

HOW WAS THE HEAT INSIDE THE TRUCK TODAY? "I feel OK. I'm good. The heat
wasn't a concern, winning was. I'm proud our Ford was making some bold moves
out there, even from the initial start of the race. My Ford F-Series pickup
was really strong and really tough today. Go down there to pit five and
that's an old team, even the guys back at the shop. It was a whole Circle Bar
Truck Corral effort. I just hate it, Mr. Mitchell told me this morning when I
told him that A.J. Foyt had a knee replacement, I called him because he
always wants to talk to A.J. Foyt. I called him and told him what happened,
and he said, 'Well, you usually finish where you qualify,' and I told him all
I need to do is pass one truck. I don't guess I did that for him today."

***

MARCOS AMBROSE-20-Team Australia/Aussie Vineyards Ford F-150 (Finished 3rd,
Top Rookie)

"Man, I'm just so excited. I excited for the team. I joined Wood Brothers/JTG
Racing this year and they've been so good to me. I started my first
one-and-a-half mile oval at Charlotte and crashed on the fourth lap after
qualifying third. We had to wind it back a little bit and regroup and just
understand how to race these things. Todd Bodine and Brendan Gaughan and
those guys have helped me a lot here this year with just taking me around
each track and showing me what I should and shouldn't do, so I can just
confide in them. Those guys and the Wood Brothers team, and Ford, who plucked
me out of Australia to come over here and have a crack at it. And my wife, I
dragged her halfway across the world with a two-month-old baby. What a
special day for us. It just means so much."

YOU RACED IN THE TOP 10 ALL DAY. "Well, we qualified fourth, and the plan is
at these tracks that I haven't been to before, it's just ride around where
I'm comfortable to learn and try to move back to the front towards the end of
the race. Every race but this one I haven't been able to come back to the
front because I just haven't had enough experience. I feel more comfortable
with the trucks, I feel more comfortable with the people that I'm driving
with. You have to get to know the guys you're racing with, so you can react
or predict what they're going to do out there. I just hope we get a little
bit of respect for running good today and just build on this. We're not going
top three every week. We're aiming for a top-10 if we can, and anything above
that is a bonus this year."

DAVID RAGAN-6-Scotts Ford F-150 (Finished 6th)

"The Scotts Miracle-Gro Ford F-150 was awesome all day. It was a little tight
in traffic, but when we got out on our own it was really a rocket ship. Mike
Beam (crew chief) and them make great calls all year and that was another
great call. We came in and took tires with 20-some to go and we felt like
that would help us get back to the front, but obviously track position was a
little more important. We learned a little bit, and brought the truck home in
one piece, and it was a pretty good points day for us in the owner standings."

YOU POSTED A CAREER-BEST TRUCK SERIES FINISH. "We've had some fast trucks and
it's just cool to get out there and race with those guys. Todd and Mike
Skinner and David Reutimann, some of those guys, are awesome to race with, so
I had a good time and built some confidence. The confidence has always been
up, but it's up with everyone and I look forward to going to Kentucky."

---
 * SLMR 2.1a * Home of AutoSportsNet * 502/875-8938 * cco.ath.cx


--- GTMail 1.26 
* Origin: Kentucky's Capitol City Online * 502/875-8938 * cco.ath.cx (1:2320/105.0)
SEEN-BY: 633/267 270
@PATH: 2320/105 261/38 123/500 106/2000 633/267

SOURCE: echomail via fidonet.ozzmosis.com

Email questions or comments to sysop@ipingthereforeiam.com
All parts of this website painstakingly hand-crafted in the U.S.A.!
IPTIA BBS/MUD/Terminal/Game Server List, © 2025 IPTIA Consulting™.