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.
Heading into the Built Ford Tough 225 weekend the Tahoe Dodge Racing team knew they had a good chance at winning the race. Tahoe Dodge driver Dennis Setzer’s stats at Kentucky Speedway were impressive and he was looking to add to them while he was in town for the running of the 13th race of the 2008 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event. After posting the 11th fastest qualifying lap on Saturday morning Setzer was poised to take on the field later that night.
Once the green flag dropped Setzer drove the No. 18 Tahoe Dodge consistently in the top 15 much of the night. Between laps 22 and 42 Setzer was able to get in a rhythm and passed four trucks to crack the top 10 for the first time all night.
The sixth of eight cautions waved on lap 115 for debris. Setzer hit pit road for his final pit stop. Crew Chief Marcus Richmond made the decision to take on right side scuffs and only one can of fuel. The Tahoe Racing Team jumped into action busting out a great pit stop getting Setzer out in second place. Following the restart on lap 119 Setzer held his own for several laps before falling back to third and then eventually to fourth place before the night was over.
“The truck was the best it had been all night long there at the end,” said Setzer after scoring an impressive fourth-place finish. It was his second top-five finish and fourth top-10 finish of the season.
After scoring an emotional victory at Martinsville, Dodge Driver Dennis Setzer and crew went west to Kansas with high hopes of capitalizing on the team’s momentum.
Setzer made his way to the front of the pack, climbing as high as fourth position before disaster struck. On lap 73 as Setzer was coming out of turn one he was unable to miss a competitor who spun directly in front of his racing line. Crew Chief Marcus Richmond jumped into action on the radio giving each crew member a job as they went over the wall. “Get a bat, a hammer, lots of bearbond and duct tape,” said Richmond in a hurry. “Make sure you get the grill pulled back out so it does not over heat.” The Dodge Racing Team repaired the substantial front end damage and Setzer returned to the track still on the lead lap.
As the No. 18 Dodge headed into turn four on lap 113 the right front tire blew sending Setzer hard into the turn four wall. The extensive damage forced the team to retire from the event, where they finished in the 25th position.
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