September 16, 2003

Chad Chaffin says Bring on the Speedways

American Racing Wheels 200
September 20, 2003
California Speedway
TV: SPEED (Live) 4:00 PM-Eastern Time
Radio: MRN (Live) 4:00 PM-Eastern Time

2003 points standing after 18 of 25 races
Position Driver Points
1st Brendan Gaughan 2786
2nd Travis Kvapil 2777
3rd Ted Musgrave 2724
4th Dennis Setzer 2685
6th Bobby Hamilton 2602
10th Chad Chaffin 2316
13th Bill Lester 2048

Chad Chaffin Profile
Birthdate - July 20, 1968
Birthplace - McMinnville, Tennessee
Wife - Cindy
Children - Brooke, Chase, Chaz
Residence - Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Other Interest - Owner of South Eastern
Recycling in Nashville,
Tennessee.

NASCAR Truck Series Career Statistics Year-By-Year
Years Starts Wins Top 5's Top 10's Money
2000 3 0 1 1 $ 33,635
2001 2 0 1 1 23,215
2002 2 0 0 0 13,375
2003 18 0 2 8 210,710
Totals 25 0 4 10 $ 280,935

Career Best Start:
1st @ Kansas Speedway 7-5-03
Career Best Finish: (Most Recent)
3rd twice @ Michigan Intl. Speedway 7-26-03
Career Largest Purse:
$ 22,975 @ Michigan Intl. Speedway 7-26-03

NASCAR Career (1993-2003)
1. Busch Series - 79 Starts Career Best Ninth Place 1999

2. Two Track Championships at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway (1993, 1995)

3. Won Most Popular Driver Award at Nashville Speedway USA in 1995


Topics of Interest

Chad Chaffin Performance Record at: California Speedway
Busch Series: (One start with a 34th place finish on 4-27-02)
Truck Series: (Never raced at facility)

No. 18 Team History: Year Start Finish Driver
1999 4 2 Joe Ruttman
2000 10 3 Joe Ruttman
2001 15 16 Joe Ruttman
2002 5 7 Robert Pressley

Bring on the Speedways: Know for much of his career as a short track driver, Chad Chaffin is quickly becoming a force on the speedways in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Entering this weekend's event at the California Speedway, Chaffin has a swagger in his walk and a confidence in his voice.

"I'm ready to get after it," said Chaffin. "Before the season started, we looked at places like Indianapolis, Bakersfield, Martinsville, and South Boston as the best place for us to win a race. Now two-thirds of the way through my first season in the Craftsman Truck Series, I think our best shot to win a race is on the speedways. We've had a great speedway program this year. We've got two poles, a track record, and my best finish of the year came at California Speedway's sister track, Michigan. So to say that I'm a little pumped about running this race this week is an understatement. I feel like we have a shot at the pole and the win. But I'm not foolish enough to think it's going to be easy. This is a tough series with several guys capable of winning. So the first order of business is just giving ourselves a chance to run in the top five, and then you worry about trying to win."

Chaffin and the team have finished in the top ten in three out of the last four starts. They have been on the incline since they finished third at Michigan Speedway in July. Since that time, they have only been out of the top ten twice, and those were an 11th place finish at Richmond and a 12th place finish at Indianapolis Raceway Park.

"We've been running pretty darn well over the last month or so, but we know that one slip and we're right back where we were after Kentucky," said Chaffin. "It's going to take a top ten every week for the rest of the year to stay in the hunt. It's just that simple."

West Coast Swing: With the Las Vegas event next week, BHR plans to keep all three of its teams on the West Coast, as opposed to traveling home and then right back to Las Vegas.

Championship Contenders: With seven races remaining in the 2003 season, there are 14 drivers that can still mathematically win the 2003 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship.

This Week's Truck: Chaffin will be driving "Hulk" this week at California. It is the same truck that Chaffin has won the poles at Kansas and Nashville with and three front row starting spots in five starts this year. The truck has an amazing 3.4 average starting position this season with Chaffin behind the wheel.

Performance Chart: Hulk
Date Location S/F Driver 2003
6-6-03 Texas 10/8 Chad Chaffin
7-5-03 Kansas 1/14 Chad Chaffin
5-12-03 Kentucky 3/26 Chad Chaffin
7-26-03 Michigan 2/3 Chad Chaffin
8-8-03 Nashville 1/6 Chad Chaffin

Sonoma Trip: Immediately after the running of the American Racing Wheels 200, Chaffin will be traveling with his BHR teammates, Bill Lester and Bobby Hamilton, to Sonoma, California to take part in an event called the "Challenge Bibendum." DiamlierChrysler participates in this event yearly that tests alternative vehicles on a closed race course. The test will take place on September 21st-24th at the Infineon Raceway just north of the San Francisco Bay Area. Following the event, the drivers will travel to Las Vegas, Nevada for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event.

Chaffin's 2003 Craftsman Truck Series Event Results
Location Start Finish Laps Status Money Won
Daytona 6 17 103 of 106 Running $ 13,015
Darlington 7 5 147 of 147 Running 9,175
Bakersfield 27 20 253 of 255 Running 5,665
Martinsville 23 26 245 of 250 Out of Gas 6,865
Charlotte 10 8 136 of 136 Running 11,075
Dover 12 7 200 of 200 Running 15,375
Texas 10 8 146 of 146 Running 13,900
Memphis 2 28 76 of 200 Engine 8,940
Milwaukee 7 13 196 of 200 Running 10,125
Kansas 1 14 166 of 167 Running 13,640
Kentucky 3 26 50 of 150 Engine 11,540
St. Louis 13 13 160 of 160 Running 11,240
Michigan 2 3 100 of 100 Running 22,975
Indy 3 12 199 of 200 Running 10,515
Nashville 1 6 150 of 150 Running 11,950
Bristol 7 7 200 of 200 Running 13,050
Richmond 12 11 200 of 200 Running 8,800
Loudon 7 6 200 of 200 Running 12,875

California (Next Event)

2003 Totals
Starts - 18
Poles - 2
Wins - 0
Top fives - 2
Top tens - 8
Earnings - $ 210,710
Laps Completed - 2948 of 3188 (92.4%)
Laps Led - 115 of 3188
Races Led - 5 of 18
DNF's - 3

Chaffin Quotes

"We're having a great second half of the season. We've been running a lot better, and it has shown in the points. It has also helped get people back on the band wagon, so to speak, in pulling for this truck. I think the first half of the season a lot of people wondered why Bobby (Hamilton) hired me to drive this truck. Now I hope those same people in the garage area are saying, 'Boy, that guy drives his heart out. He's a pretty good race car driver'."

"This is one of the best trucks we have. For whatever reason, Hulk has been very good to me in every race we've run it except Kentucky. But even though we broke an engine and finished 26th, we did have a strong truck while we were running."

For More Information see www.bobbyhamiltonracing.com