FORT WORTH, Texas (June 5, 2010) — Just one week after celebrating his 55th birthday, smart and patient driving allowed Ken Schrader to earn a top-five finish in his second career Truck Series start at Texas Motor Speedway. A failing tire and green-flag pit stops put the No. 2 truck two laps down to the field, but pit strategy and a honed-in setup gave Schrader the opportunity to score a fifth-place finish in the WinStar World Casino 400k.
After immediately nailing the setup and running fastest in first practice, Ken Schrader took the green flag from the eighth starting position in the No. 2 Silverado. The racing was three wide from the start, and with his truck turning too freely, Schrader slipped back to the 12th position.
When the first caution of the night came out on lap 20 for fluid on the racetrack, crew chief Butch Hylton took the opportunity to call Schrader into the pits for tires, fuel and a track-bar adjustment. Opting for only two sticker tires, Schrader emerged from pit road in the fourth position.
Immediately after the lap 24 restart, Schrader could feel that there was a serious issue with the No. 2 Chevrolet. A right-side vibration was followed by fishtailing in the corners, and by lap 40 the truck was almost impossible to drive. Rather than pushing the truck too hard and risking a wreck, Schrader moved back to the 10th position and ran conservatively, solely focused on keeping his Silverado in once piece until the crew could adjust on it. As the long green-flag run continued, the leaders began to pit on lap 58, and Hylton called Schrader onto pit road for four tires, fuel, a spring rubber and an air-pressure adjustment on lap 70.
Unfortunately, timing was not on the side of the No. 2 team, and a caution on lap 77 for debris put Schrader two laps down. Staying out under caution allowed Schrader to benefit from NASCAR’s wave around rule, putting him one lap down in the 14h position. As the team inspected the tires they had removed from the truck on the previous pit stop, the pit crew discovered that Schrader’s left-rear tire was literally falling apart at the seams, and had slowly been leaking air throughout his entire run, resulting in the unbearably loose condition.
Restarting 13th on lap 82, Schrader felt an immediate improvement to the No. 2 Chevrolet and began to run lap times identical to the leaders. It would take three more cautions and nearly 80 laps before Schrader would benefit from the Lucky Dog and earn his lap back to restart ninth on lap 161. Because the team had made one less pit stop than most of the field, Schrader had preserved a fresh set of tires and had the leaders in his sights.
A multi-truck collision brought out the caution on lap 164, after Schrader had already picked off three of his competitors and was scored in the sixth position. After the final restart and a green-white-checkered finish, the NASCAR veteran gained one more position, earning the No. 2 team a top-five finish. Todd Bodine took the checkered flag, followed by Johnny Sauter, Austin Dillon and Mike Skinner.
“I’m really happy with our finish considering the start we had to our night,” said Schrader following the race. “We had a tire coming apart and I knew that something big was wrong. We pitted, and when the yellow came out a few laps later I went two laps down, but I got the wave around one time and the Lucky Dog one time, and managed to get back on the lead lap. We had better tires at the end and came back to get a great finish. I’m so grateful to KHI for the opportunity to race this weekend. They gave me a great piece and proved that I can still go out there and drive the heck out of these trucks.”
The Truck Series hits the track again on Friday, June 12 for the VFW 200 at Michigan International Speedway. The race can be seen live on SPEED at 1:30 p.m. EST.
STATS RECAP
Race Info
June 4, 2010
Texas Motor Speedway
Race: 8 of 25
Driver: Ken Schrader
Started: 8th
Finished: 5th
Owner Point Standings: 3rd (-51)
Race Length: 167 Laps/250.5 Miles
Track Layout: 1.5-mile
Shape: Quad-Oval
Next on the Truck Series Schedule:
Date: June 12, 2010
Track: Michigan International Speedway
Event Name: VFW 200
Broadcast Time: SPEED 1:30 p.m. ET