- Atlanta has been a good track for Ted while he has been in the CTS.
- Ted has raced in the trucks 7 times in Atlanta.
- He has 5 top-10's and a 14th and 24th place finish.
- Ted and his crew were 4th quick in the only practice on the day.
- They would then go on to qualify 4th for the race.
- Ted said they brought the California truck and that during practice they were working on handling because tires would be a factor in the race.
- This would be a night race.
- Ted would start the race with a new paint scheme that looks sharp!
- There was also a new sponser Wyndham Peachtree Conference Center.
- On the Green flag just like Homestead in 2003 the driver ahead #8 McCumbee spun the wheels and Ted avoided him by passing to the left.
- And just like 2003 Ted gets black flagged and had to do a drive through.
- But this time he has the rest of the race to make it up.
- Ted comes out of the pits just ahead of the leaders in 31st out of 32 trucks.
- #33 Hornaday and #51 Busch are fighting hard for the lead.
- Lap 19 #23 Benson hits the wall to bring out the 1st caution.
- Ted does not get the lucky dog.
- The new paint scheme makes it easier to spot Ted in a crowd.
- Ted will restart as the 1st truck a lap down in 27th on lap 27.
- We see Busch driving like a maniac and spin a slower truck #6 Braun.
- NO CAUTION!
- Kyle is still driving very very aggressive.
- I guess if you drive like a maniac like Busch people will get out of your way.
- NASCAR warns Busch to calm down and to use the track not the apron to pass.
- Lap 35 and Ted is 26th.
- Caution #2 as #9 Justin Marks spins.
- Ted gets the lucky dog this time and will start 24th on lap 46 of 130.
- Now we can see what Ted has!
- Lap 50 and Ted is 21st.
- With 79 to go Ted is 16th!
- We hear that Donny Vaden the shop foreman got hit in Ted's pit!
- Donny is DV from the message boards.
- He was taken to the infield care center.
- 67 to go and Ted is 9th and 7.420 seconds back of the leader Hornaday.
- 65 to go and Ted is 8th and 7.2 seconds back.
- 55 to go and Ted is 8th and 6.9 seconds back.
- 41 to go and Ted is 7th.
- Green flag pit stops are startingwith 39 to go.
- Ted pits for four tires and fuel with 37 to go.
- There are only 8 trucks on the lead lap with 27 to go.
- Ted is 7th and 18 seconds back with 26 to go.
- Caution #3 with 20 to go for rain and Ted is 7th.
- Ted did pit for tires (the ones he started the race with).
- Restart with 16 to go and Ted is 5th.
- Caution #4 for rain again and Ted is 6th.
- The Speed position scroll has been flaky tonight just like all year.
- I am not sure when Ted got passed.
- The race gets red flagged with 6 to go.
- The trucks are back on the track.
- Restart with 4 to go and single file and Ted is 6th with #2 Sprague behind him.
- Ted got caught behind Skinner and McCumbee racing side by side.
- That allowed Sprague to catch up to Ted and pass him at the end.
- The Speed coverage at the end of the race flat out was horrible!
- They showed Todd Bodine way in the back of the pack while Ted was racing with four trucks for 3rd.
- We never see how Ted got passed at the end.
- A 7th is a nice finish for HT Motorsports considering how the race started.
- Ted is now 11th in points tied with Terry Cook.
- Ted is also just one point out of 10th and 38 points from 5th.
- We never heard anymore on the condition of Don.
- We all hope he is ok and I will post as soon as I know.
- On to Martinsville in 3 weeks.
- Keep up those top-10's guys!!!
-Quote from Ted:
“This was not a winning truck,” Musgrave said after the race. “We worked hard and had it running good; we just needed a caution there to make a shock adjustment. The truck was a little tight and the green flag pit stop did not give us enough time to make the adjustments we needed. The two-mile race tracks have touchy set-ups, but we’ll take what we learned today and apply it to Atlanta where we will be running this truck again with a similar set-up. Overall, we just want to come out running better and better each week, keep getting top-tens and top-fives to get up in the points for the start of the season.”
UPDATE on Don Vaden:
From the message board:
"Sorry for the delay but it has been an interesting 24 hours. There was a
problem on our first stop. The guy holding the sign in front of the truck
had gotten it tangled with the air hose. As I rushed to help him he threw
the pole backwards and there is was. It hit me directly in my right eye. I
spent the next 50 laps in the infield xare center. Because of where the
cuts were I went to local hospital and they operated on right lower eye lid. I was released at 7am today and rode home in a car. Tough ride. But I
am doing ok. Very sore. But this is why I love what I do. Ted called last
night and left a message and we spoke today. Terry Cook called worrying
about me and the guys are asking how I am. And Ted's great fans are still
checking on me. I will heal before the end of the season. I plan to be in
Victory Lane when we act like fools and believe me. We will."
"Thanks fans. I am alive and well. A few stitches and at least now you know I actually do work for the team,funny huh. The patch is off and it looks as though I was on the losing end of a fight."
- Thanks for letting the fans know what happened and that you are doing ok.