Ken Schrader drove the No. 18 Fastenal Dodge Ram to a top-five finish in the rain-delayed Power Stroke Diesel 200 at O'Reilly Raceway Park, Indianapolis, Ind., last Friday night, July 27. Next up in NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series racing: a 200-mile race at Nashville Superspeedway, in Lebanon, Tenn., on Saturday, August 11, 2007.
Schrader did it in style too. He started 18th and moved up steadily through the field all night on a track where the winner has always started in the top five. Not bad for an old man. He ended the night picking up two spots on the last lap. There was also this tidbit.
TruckSeries.com Report
Fifth-finishing Ken Schrader drove the No. 18 Fastenal Dodge to its first lead lap posting since May’s race in Mansfield where he took third – the veteran’s best of the season.
CROSSVILLE, TN.- Last Tuesday, July 17th, Ken Schrader and Kenny Wallace were in town to do some dirt track racing at the Crossville Raceway. An early afternoon rain came across the track threatening the nights racing activities, but nobody gave up hope. While waiting out the rain, I hogtied Kenny Wallace for an interview, but it soon became a story telling marathon.
When the subject of Furniture Row Racing expanding to a second team for 2008, Kenny was quick to mention Sterling Marlin and the fact that he was let go that morning from Ginn Racing. “Sterling looks like he is getting close to retirement, and he and Nemecheck just got let go from Ginn Racing, and I would love to have Sterling help us. He said he doesn’t want to run more than 20 races next year, so if we can find a sponsor and I can have a teammate, Sterling Marlin is one of the best guys around.”
While rumors surrounding Sterling Marlin potentially moving to Morgan McClure Motorsports have proven unfounded, Sterling has been quoted as interested in working at Furniture Row Racing and Kenny has been quoted now as interested in working with him. Another rumor has Sterling as a potential driver for the BAM Racing 49 at Indy. However, Kenny Schrader appears to have the leg up on that ride.
But wait there is more. Back to Joe and Kenny's story telling.
Now I have heard a lot of story’s about Sterling and back in March I listened as Kyle Petty was telling some stories about Sterling and he mentioned an incident with Sterling and Rusty Wallace’s son Steven. Kyle never went into detail, and left the story hanging, so this was a perfect opportunity.
When I asked Kenny, he started to laugh and said, “Well, Sterling is from rural Tennessee, where the roads are still dirt. Sterling thinks a quarter stick of dynamite is no big deal, in Missouri we used to call them M-80’s, but these aren’t no M-80’s. So he gave my nephew Steven a whole bunch of them things. Well Steven lights one of these things and throws it under a van, and it blows up, the van lifts about 2 feet of the ground and blows the rear tires right off the thing.” Kenny assured me that no one was hurt so they all laughed about it, but I knew there was more so he continued. “ Well, about a year ago Steven got really bored at the house, he was home and his mom was home, so he lit one of these quarter sticks of dynamite. As soon as he did, Steven decided this wasn’t a good thing to do in the house. So he went into the downstairs bathroom and threw it in the toilet figuring the toilet would put it out. Well it didn’t just blow the toilet apart, it blew the plumbing right out of the wall.” Steven had to spend a few days at Kenny’s house till his mom stopped spitting nails.
Sterling Marlin may not be without a Nextel Cup ride for long. Late Tuesday a team source at Morgan-McClure Racing which currently fields the no. 4 Chevy with veteran Ward Burton said that officials there are in discussions with Marlin for a possible second team. Marlin scored six of his ten career wins at Morgan-McClure while driving the No. 4 from 1994-1997.
Sterling wants to keep driving some. He just likes driving. The money is good. But he doesn't need it.
More than one driver has stayed out there too long. Richard Petty did. Darrell Waltrip did. More recently, Kenny Schrader, Kenny Wallace, Ward Burton and Ricky Rudd are.
I have a lot more respect for people like Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin and Terry Labonte who know when to say when. Bill Elliott is in a class by himself. He has proven to have an uncanny ability to drive anyone's car and help them out. See his recent renaissance in the Wood Brothers/JTG Racing car.
If Sterling goes to MMM, I'll give him a chance to pull off a miracle this year before giving up on him.
I do not like the way things at Ginn went down. However, all you had to do was look at Ginn's business record to know that he might do something like what he did.
Given Ginn may merge with DEI, might MMM merge with Haas? Burton plus Marlin = two car team + Haas = four car team (franchise for 2009)?
Wouldn't it be sweet to see Sterling back in the 4 with Kodak on the side? Damn, I'm starting to dream again already.
And oh yeah, wasn't Ward going to pay Sterling back or something? How might this work out?
One more thought. 1997? Ten years have gone by already?
When Bobby Hamilton Sr. began the search to fill his own seat of the No. 18 Fastenal Dodge three months before his passing he called upon a select number of drivers he knew could get the job done. The announcement was made at the end of last season that Hamilton Sr. tagged Ken Schrader as his replacement. However, Schrader’s Nextel Cup schedule does not permit him to compete full time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series leaving the BHR stable to find a co-driver. Referring to Hamilton Sr.’s list of drivers he had previously spoke with and the record books for all time winners in the NCTS, the management team at BHR, along with input from Fastenal and Dodge Motorsports, are proud to announce Joe Ruttman as the co-driver of the No. 18 Fastenal Dodge.
Ruttman, who is tied for seventh on the all-time NCTS race winners list, is no stranger to BHR. The Tennessee native piloted the No. 18 Dodge for the late Hamilton Sr.’s organization in 2000 and 2001. Coincidently, he gave the company its first victory at Phoenix International Raceway in 2000, the same venue Hamilton won his first Nextel Cup win in 1996. Ruttman has a total of 13 NCTS victories, including five of which came with BHR, 17 poles, 68 top five’s and 111 top-10 finishes in 168 starts.
“I can’t wait to climb into the Fastenal Dodge,” Ruttman said. “Bobby Hamilton and I had a great friendship. I am not here to fill Bobby Sr.’s seat; I don’t think anyone can do that justice as he did. But to have this opportunity to come back home to work with his organization and Dodge again is a real dream come true. All of the core people who were here the first time I raced with them are still there. I believe in the organization, the structure and the future of BHR. They have proven themselves as champions and one of the most competitive teams in the series in the past and will continue to do so. I have been using Fastenal products for years and look forward to promoting them.”
Don’t count Kenny Schrader among the worried drivers in the garage. Based on the team’s points finish last season, they are locked into the Daytona 500 despite how he finishes in Thursday’s Gatorade Duel. Schrader is set to start 25th of 31 cars in the first Gatorade Duel, set to roll off the grid at 2 p.m. EST on Thursday, televised live on the Speed Channel.
“I think the Duels are going to be a little hectic, but I’d like to nail down a starting spot in the 500 as close to the front as I can. We just have to keep our head on straight and run our race and get ready for Sunday. That’s what pays the points and the money so there is a little bit of the ‘big picture’ going on in our minds.
“Other than that, I think we’ve got a pretty decent car for handling in traffic. The shootout car did great and if this one performs in a similar fashion, I don’t think I’ll have too many worries. I’m just very pleased to be down here again in Daytona, kicking off another year with the Wood Brothers/JTG team and Little Debbie.”
Ernie Cope, Crew Chief of the No. 21 Little Debbie Ford Fusion added, “I’d say things have gone pretty smooth for us compared to some others, so we’ve been pretty fortunate so far. There are always so many story lines down here. You just have to keep focused and it’s easy to do when you have a crew like mine and the leadership of this organization. I think we’ve got a good enough car to get through the Duel and make a great showing in the Daytona 500. The only thing we can’t control is luck, but it’s been pretty good so far.”
Schrader and the No. 21 Little Debbie Ford Fusion are ready to make his 45th start at the Daytona International Speedway during Sunday’s running of the 49th Daytona 500, the Great American Race. It’s been a busy past weekend for the 51-year old Fenton, Missouri-native and one that has seen flashes of on-track success. During last Saturday night’s Bud Shootout, Schrader drew the 7th starting position, worked his way up to the second spot halfway through the event, then settled for an 11th place finish. Schrader was so impressed with how the car drove, he bemoaned the fact that it would be sitting in the truck as a backup this week.
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