Michigan Speedway
Brooklyn, Michigan
June 14, 2008
- We are at the track this weekend.
- Hopefully if the weather holds out I will have updates.
- The weather was good enough for a shortened 1st practice and a full final.
- In the first practice Ted was 7th quick with a speed of 173.431.
- Then in the final practice he was 6th quick with a speed of 173.573.
- Ted and his crew did a good job fine tuning the Team ASE/Harris Trucking Toyota.
- In final practice Ted put up his top speed early in the session.
- He then continued to be in the top-5 all session as all the drivers speeds went down a little.
- Ted tried some low passes on a few trucks and the truck responded quite well.
- Ted did a mock qualifying run and of the trucks that did he was again in the top 5 in speed.
- Qualifying is tommorow and since there are only 34 trucks they will all make it.
- No live updates tommorow as I will be at the race.
- Not sure if the report will go up that night or the next day.
- Race Day.
- Ted would qualify in the morning 13th for the race.
- This would e a 100 lap 200 mile race.
- Green flag!
- On the first lap #2 Jack Sprague cuts a tire and causes a bottleneck up front.
- Ted would gain 5 spots and be 8th by the time Caution #1 for tire debris comes on lap 1.
- Restart on lap 5 and Ted is 8th.
- Lap 6 and ted gains a spot to 7th.
- Lap 10 and there is a bunch up of trucks ahead of Ted.
- Ted gets bottlenecked and drops back to 10th.
- By lap 13 Ted would regain one spot to 9th.
- Now Ted reports that he is loose and they talk about what to do on the 1st pit stop.
- Ted starts to drop back.
- Lap 18 he is 10th.
- Lap 19 he is 11th.
- Lap 20 he is 12th.
- At this time #30 Bodine is and has been out front.
- Lap 23 and Ted is now 13th as #33 Hornaday come from 34th to pass him.
- Lap 25 and Ted gets passed by 2 trucks at the same time.
- We hear again from Ted and now he says he is way loose.
- Lap 28 and Ted is 18th and getting passed by a truck each lap.
- Ted pits on lap 32 under green for 4 tires-fuel-and adjustments.
- This pit stop took a very long time and Ted loses a lot of track position.
- Lap 36 and Ted is 28th and already reporting that he is still too loose.
- Lap 38 and Ted is 27th and the lead truck #22 Speed is 15 truck lengths behind.
- Lap 41 and the leader is on Ted's bumper.
- Lap 43 and Ted is now 25th but gets lapped.
- Now just as green flag pits end and Ted is 2nd truck a lap down Caution #2 comes.
- All pit on lap 47 under yellow.
- Lap 48 Ted pits for four tires- fuel- and adjustments.
- Another long stop.
- Restart on lap 50 and Ted is 28th and 5th in line a lap down.
- Ted would find himself by turn 4 to be 4-wide.
- All would settle a bit and by lap 54 Ted would be 26th.
- Lap 58 and Ted passes #11 Starr for 25th.
- Caution #3 comes as #9 Marks spins.
- Ted would pit to top off and get an adjustment.
- All pit under a quickie yellow.
- Restart on lap 61 and Ted is 25th and 1st in line a lap down.
- Lap 66 and Ted is still 25th and showing good speed.
- Lap 71 and drops a spot to 26th.
- Ted would start falling back quickly now.
- Lap 80 and Ted is still 26th but dropping back through the field.
- Lap 90 and getting low on fuel Ted is still 26th.
- Caution #4 comes with a handful of laps left as #15 Mitchell hits the wall.
- Ted comes in for 4 tires and enough fuel to finish.
- Single file restart and Ted is 29th with 3 to go.
- Ted would battle his way up to finish 24th in the remaining laps.
- The finish up front would be the second closest in truck series history.
- #99 Darnell would edge out #23 Benson for the win.
- Also the driver of the #51 takes out #33 Hornaday on the last lap.
- Hornaday would track down the driver and give him the what for.
- While all this is happening crew chief Danny Rollins tells the crew that they have to stop beating themselves on pit stops among other things that they have to fix.
- It was a tough day for Ted and the crew.
Quote from Ted aout the race:
“We were just way too loose, we had a spring rubber in the left rear and tried to pull it out to tighten us up and for some reason we couldn’t get it out. It was so loose that every time I pointed it into the turns it felt like it wanted to spin out.”
“I was really loose and you could tell I was if you were behind me, I was on the high side just trying to hold on and then someone tried to slip between me and the wall. I don’t know what he was thinking but I wasn’t too happy about it at the time. Thankfully we didn’t wreck.”
- This was the fourth finish in the 20's this year.
- A top-10 at Milwaukee sure would be nice cure for this little rut.
- Keep your heads high guys!
- You can straighten this ship.
- There is still a lot of races left.
- See ya at Milwaukee.