Wrapping It Up In Kentucky
The Truck Series is getting ready to end a nine-race stretch this weekend in Kentucky. The 2010 season in general has been an up and down year for the No. 33 team; however, these nine weeks of the season have been a snapshot of the determination and staying power of our team. During this stretch we scored our only win so far this season at O’Reilly Raceway Park (ORP), but on the flip side we also had three finishes outside the top 20. The Truck Series in the past has never really had this long of a stretch this early in the year, but our guys have been geared up for this part of the season since January. We just keep building trucks all the time. It seems like I have a new truck every week and they keep getting better and better. I guess the Truck Series guys are lucky that I’m not in charge of making the schedule. If it were up to me we would race nonstop from January to December - racing a few times a week. For me, racing is pretty much equal to breathing, and I hate having breaks.
I think our team has come a long way during this part of the season. We are definitely finding our groove, or as some people would call it: Our “chemistry.” My crew chief, Kevin Buskirk, and I are beginning to learn each other. I think a lot of fans really don’t realize the importance of the relationship between a crew chief and a driver. At the end of last season my crew chief and Truck chief of three years, Rick Ren and Danny Stockman, both moved on to further their careers at other organizations. So this year has kind of been a rebuilding process for the entire No. 33 team. The team guys are getting used to taking direction from new people and so am I. The relationship between driver and crew chief is almost like being in a marriage. It really takes knowing the other person and understanding what a “tick” tight or a “smidgen” loose means. To one driver, that might mean a big adjustment; for another it might mean a very minor change. Buskirk has been with us for six races now and we have had good results. We haven’t made it back to victory lane, but I have a feeling that is not too far away for the No. 33 team.
As we head back to Kentucky, it makes me think back to last year. We won the race by sheer luck and good timing. We really didn’t have the best truck, but we put ourselves in the right place at the right time. It’s weird how racing is like that sometimes. Take, for example, last year at Milwaukee. We had the truck to beat, dominated the race leading 180 laps of the 200-lap event, but a few weeks later at Kentucky we really just lucked into, being at the right place at the right time and having all the caution periods and pit stops go our way.
I’m really excited to have back-to-back 1.5-mile tracks to race on because I think we can take a few things we learned last weekend in Chicago and apply them Friday night in Kentucky. We ran really well at Chicagoland, which is sort of surprising, because in all my trips to Chicago, I’ve never run that well. To lead a lap at Chicago was pretty big for me. Kentucky is sort of the same way; I’ve never really had the dominant truck there, even though I have two wins (2005 and 2009).
One of the things that I was able to accomplish last year at Kentucky, and something that I’m most proud of, is winning from the pole. I’ve only been able to accomplish that 10 times in my career. It is so hard to do. It’s difficult to set your truck up to run one fast lap and then maintain that type of pace all race long. I’m not exactly known for racking up poles. That is more Jack Sprague and Mike Skinner territory. I’m glad, though, that I’m the one known for collecting wins. I’d rather be known for being the Truck Series all-time winningest driver with 46 wins to date. That title comes with more trophies.
This weekend’s race should be a good one. As usual Todd Bodine, Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon, Aric Almirola and Mike Skinner will be tough competition. We will be bringing the same truck that we raced last weekend at Chicagoland. I like having new trucks, but sometimes I like taking trucks to the track that we have raced before - that way I know their quirks before I ever get to the track. This is a really good, smooth, consistent truck which will be important this weekend because I really don’t think we will see too many cautions. So what you have handling-wise with your truck at the beginning of the race, you are pretty much stuck with since the race typically has several long green-flag runs and you are not going to have many opportunities to come to pit road without losing a lot of track position. I think track position is really important at Kentucky because a lot of times the leaders will get a few seconds out in front and it is really difficult to run them down.
I’m looking forward to all 150 laps. I don’t think I’ve ever missed one of the 751 laps that the Truck Series has run around Kentucky Speedway, knock on wood, and I certainly don’t plan on missing one this weekend.