Speedvision finally did Ted some justice as they had a small feature on him before the race. They talked to Ted a little about his passion for junkyards and restoring old cars. Ted also mentioned his father when he was asked how he got his start in racing. When asked how he felt being close but not winning in the Cup series Ted said that he did race well there and held track records but he is now filling the trophy case with truck wins.
Speed even talked to Ted before the race on the back of the parade lap truck. Ted said that the truck wasn't that good but they made some adjustments and hoped that would help him get a top ten finish.
The race would start and Ted would drive Setzer hard for the lead. He wouldn't lead a lap but was very close. It wouldn't take long for the 1st caution as there were a few trucks spinning on the backstretch on lap 3.
The race would restart on lap 13 with Ted still in second. We would hear that Ted said the truck is tight and not responding like it did during testing.
The 2nd caution would fly for a blown tire on the 15 truck. The race restarts on lap 29 with Ted still in second. The 3rd caution appears on lap 34 when the 04 truck hits the wall. The race would restart on lap 38 and go green for a very long time.
On the restart Ted is in second place just ahead of Hornaday. They would fight for that spot for many laps. Ted would hold his position during the battle and eventually pull away from him.
Lap 66 ,Ted is faster than the leader.
Lap 76, Ted falls to 3rd as Hornady passes him.
Lap 79, Ted falls to 4th.
Ted would report that the right rear tire was losing it's grip. He would continue to fall back.
Lap 83, Ted is in 5th.
Lap 84, Ted is in 6th.
Lap 90, Ted is in 7th.
Lap 100, Ted is in 8th.
Lap 127 and Ted pits under the green. By this time he is down a lap. By the time the pit stops cycle through Ted is in 10th place. The race would stay green for a little longer and with 38 to go there are only 5 trucks on the lead lap. Ted is gaining some ground and with 35 to go Ted is in 6th place and the first truck one lap down.
Caution 4 would come out with 33 to go for a spin. Ted and the field would restart the race with 22 to go with Spencer in the lead.
With 15 to go Crawford passes Ted dropping him to 7th. With 12 to go Kelly Sutton spins again late in a race. Ted would somehow be in 14th on the restart and finish 14th.
Not a great night for the Mopar crew. It was almost saved by a decent finish until the late spin by Sutton.
Dennis Setzer wins his 4th race of the year.
Ted is now 227 points behind Setzer.
Hamilton is now only 2 points behind Ted.
I am officially sick of hearing that Setzer is a short track wizard.
Kelly Sutton can't drive..... or can she????
I love short track racing but am not a fan of IRP.
Ted will rebound from this race!
On to Nashville Superspeedway. A 1.333 mile concrete oval. Ted has finishes of 2nd-3rd-2nd-3rd. Ted has qualified in the top 5 three times at this track. It is a great place to start a mad charge to the points lead.
Go get 'em Ted!
We are ALL behind you!
Get Er Dun!