After a disappointing finish at another concrete track two weeks ago in Nashville Crew Chief Marcus Richmond brought the best Tahoe Dodge chassis in the shop to Bristol Motor Speedway looking for redemption. The decision proved to be the right one.
The old saying “cautions breed cautions” proved to be true. A total of three cautions waved in the final 19 laps. Setzer used his veteran driving skills to dodge those wrecks and bring the Tahoe Dodge home in eighth spot. It was the team’s sixth top-10 finish of the season.
Kyle Busch won the O’Reilly 200. Todd Bodine finished second, Scott Speed, Johnny Benson, and Rick Crawford followed in the top five.
The NAPA 200 presented by Dodge got underway under dry conditions, however it was not long before NASCAR waved the caution flag due to heavy rain on the race track. For the first time in NASCAR history, a points race was contended under wet conditions. All teams were permitted three minutes to change to rain tires and add a windshield wiper to the car.
48 of 74 laps were completed before the race was called and the #7 GEICO Camry recorded a 15th place finish North of the border. Driver Mike Wallace was happy to escape Montreal with an intact race car.
“It was certainly interesting and I thought everyone did a good job of being patient and not getting too anxious,” Wallace said. “I think it was getting to a point where some of the drivers were getting antsy and it was about to get real interesting, so NASCAR made a good decision and called it off.”
Wallace continued, “This whole GEICO team did a good job today and we were obviously very competitive, both in qualifying and in the race. We’re 8th in the points and we’re looking forward to getting to Watkins Glen next week and shining once again on another road course. I have a lot to learn about these road courses, but I’m definitely having fun.”
The Craftsman Truck Series will run an early Saturday afternoon race at the tiny 0.50-mile Mansfield Motorsports Speedway oval.
Short track specialist Dennis Setzer is the defending champion after he edged Jack Sprague by 0.522 seconds. Setzer did it by completing all 250 laps without a pit stop. The race was interrupted by three rain delays and more than 100 caution-flag laps, but with 27 laps to go Rick Crawford led Setzer, Aaron Fike, Sprague and Ken Schrader to the restart.
Crawford's No.14 Ford pulled away from the field on the restart, but with 20 laps remaining Setzer started to chip away at Crawford's lead. With 13 laps left a flat right-front tire for Crawford caused him to slide high on the track allowing Setzer to make the pass for first.
Can it be done again?
Says Setzer: "We have smaller fuel cells this season and I can't help but wonder if that is because of me. But I think if the right circumstances played out it could still be done at a short track such as MMP. NASCAR also changed the carburetor this season. We are seeing with the combination of the new carburetor and smaller fuel cells that we are getting within a few laps of the fuel mileage we got last year at certain tracks. It may never be done again, but I wouldn't write it off just yet."
Anytime you can come out of the third race of the season and still be in the top 10 in points it is a good thing. It is a great way to start the season. So many times you hope for a good start to the season and bad luck comes your way and ends that. I am excited about being ninth in points, but I am more excited about making the drive to get inside the top five over the coming weeks.
I know the average person cannot see how much our team as grown since Daytona, but we have come a long way in a short time. The guys have put in a lot of long hours to make our trucks run more competitively and I think that is just beginning to show. Our team is only going to get better as the races go on.
Thanks to Dodge we are spending a substantial amount of time in the wind tunnel and at the eight post shaker rig. The Martinsville test went really well, but we still spent time in the tunnel and at the eight post after the test to make ourselves better. On top of that we tested at the Monster Mile to get some more track time before this weekend. If we can stay out of trouble at Martinsville I think we will be on our way to a solid spot in the top 10 in points.
Sporting new colors from Dodge's newest ride, The Journey, Dennis Setzer used his veteran driving skills to dodge numerous wrecks and use the low lane to his advantage to score a 10th place finish in the Chevy Silverado 250 at Daytona International Speedway.
The sixth and final caution waved on lap 88 for an accident in turn four. Knowing the final laps would be a shoot out Setzer came down pit road for fresh rubber. After receiving four fresh tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment he returned to the track in sixth spot.
In the final 10 laps Setzer made his biggest charge of the night towards the front. He jumped to the high side to help push teammate Stacy Compton past the leaders, but was unable to make his Journey Dodge work on the top lane. Despite getting up as high as fifth spot Setzer was forced to the low lane and fell in line. He scored a 10th place finish after staring 17th. It was Setzer's best finish at Daytona since 2004.
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