California Speedway
February, 23 2007
-2nd race of the season and another night race.
-Ted has done very well here.
-Three straight wins and always in the top-5.
-Ted was 20th quick in 1st practice and then 4th quick in the final.
-Even after being 4th quick in happy hour Ted and his crew made
wholesale changes for qualifying.
-Ted qualified 9th for the race and was happy with the changes.
-During qualifying Ted brushed the wall.
-He didn't seem to think it was a big deal.
-Green flag 9:20 est.
-7th after the first lap.
-6th on lap 5.
-5th on lap 6.
-Ted is able to pass both high and low.
-The field starts to spread out and Ted settles into 6th on lap 9.
-Skinner is way out in front.
-15 laps in and the field is really spread out, Ted is 6th 12 sec. back.
-25 laps in and Ted is still 6th and 17 sec. back.
-Caution #1 for debris.
-Ted pits for 4 tires, fuel and some adjustments.
-Ted will be 7th for the restart on lap 35.
-Ted is in a hard 4 truck fight for 4th.
-38 laps in and Ted is 6th.
-Mark Martin takes the point.
-Half way and Ted drops back to 7th.
-Caution #2 as #47 Kinser spins off turn 4.
-Ted pits and just misses a loose tire leaving pit row.
-Restart with 43 to go and Ted is 12th.
-Benson is at the point by getting fuel only.
-34 to go and Ted is 9th and Martin takes the lead.
-33 to go and Ted is 7th.
-Caution #3 as #10 Starr spins off turn 4.
-Ted pits for fuel only and comes out 1st of the trucks that did pit.
-Restart with 25 to go and Ted is 11th.
-The top 10 trucks did not pit.
-24 to go Ted is 12th.
-Fuel may be an issue for some of the trucks that did not pit.
-22 to go and Ted is 11th.
-16 to go and Ted is up to 6th with Todd right behind him.
-Caution #4 is brought out by #7 Kingsland.
-With that caution fuel probably won't be an issue unless there is O.T.
-Restart with 9 to go and Ted is 6th.
-Caution #5 as #10 Starr spins again.
-This one should allow the trucks that did not pit with 25 to go to finish.
-Restart with just 6 to go.
-OHHHH BOYYYY! Hornaday lifts the leader Martin up on the start and Mark spins out.
-Caution #6 comes as a result.
-Restart with just 2 to go.
-Ted passes #50 Edwards on the outside to take 4th.
-On the last turn Carl Edwards passes Ted.
-Ted finishes 5th.
-Ted keeps his streak of top-5's at California alive.
-Ted is now 5th in points and (-57 back.)
-Three weeks off until the next race at Atlanta.
QUOTES FROM TED ON THE RACE:
"It was off a little bit in the beginning, but we just kind of rode it out. We made some adjustments. We could never really get it where we wanted, but it was a happy medium, and that was all we had. But we picked up a top five out of it with some good, smart decisions on pit road and some smart moves on the track. I love this place. It's a track I really enjoy racing on. I just wish we could come here every week."
"Carl (Edwards) and I had a heck of a battle. I did make it up to fourth on that last lap. Carl and I were side by side, and I came up on the high side trying to take away third, but I got a push in turn three and ultimately Carl got by. I was really hoping for more laps because the truck was really coming in late in the race as we ran more. We weren't going backwards - we were going forward. But it's the age-old story, you never lost a race, you just ran out of laps."
"It made for an exciting finish, didn't it. Things were rolling along fine and then there's a caution, and you're like 'Darn, everything was running so good and now the whole field's going to be bunched up.' Trouble happens, and it happened right at the front. I was just trying to keep myself in a safe position and get the best finish we could get."
(truckseries.com)