August 11, 2003

Chad Chaffin Leads Hometown Team with Sixth Place Finish at Nashville Super Speedway

It is hard to imagine that a sixth place finish in a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race would be disappointing, but that is just the case for Chad Chaffin and the No. 18 Dickies Dodge Team. They recorded their sixth top ten finish of the season, but when the race is the Federated Auto Parts 200 and it is at Nashville Super Speedway, your home track, it is a bit of a let down.

“We really wanted to win this one,” said Chaffin. “We won the pole earlier today and really felt like we had the truck to beat. I know our friends and families are happy with how we ran at home, but we wanted more. We wanted that guitar and the win. All in all, we had a good week of racing at home.”

Chaffin began the Federated Auto Parts 200 on the pole after posting a fast lap of 156.844MPH in qualifying earlier in day. It was the team’s second pole of the season and their sixth top three start in eight weeks. They now have an incredible fourth place average starting position over the last eight weeks.

When the race started, it was a dream come true as the No. 18 Dickies Dodge was the class of the field jumping into the lead. Chaffin pulled away at first, leading 17 laps before the truck began to get a little loose. The second place truck caught and passed him for the lead on lap 18. Chaffin was content to fade a little in the running order until the team had a chance to work on the truck. That chance came just 27 laps into the race when the caution flew, and the No. 18 truck came to pit road for service.

The Dickies crew jumped into action changing tires, adding fuel, and making a slight chassis adjustment. When Chaffin rejoined the field, he was in seventh position. When the green flag came out to restart the race, Chaffin wasted little time getting back into the top five in the running order. He was back into the top five in just five laps. Over the next 52 laps, Chaffin maintained his spot in the top five while battling a loose truck. The adjustments made earlier had helped, but the truck was getting worse the longer they ran.

On lap 88, Chaffin pitted again under caution for service to the No. 18 Dickies Dodge truck. The crew changed tires again, only this time, they adjusted the air pressure, and added fuel to get them to the end of the race.

On the ensuing restarted on lap 94, Chaffin was in fifth place again. By lap 112, he had moved into the fourth position with his sights set on third place. But that is when the handling began to go away again. Over the final 38 laps, Chaffin raced his heart out, but coming out of the last turn on the last lap, he lost fifth place.

“I’ve been in the transporter kicking and screaming and throwing a tantrum,” said Chaffin in a joking fashion. “The worst part is losing a position on the last lap. I tried to hold Brendan (Gaughan) off, but he got a run on me up high and that was it.”

Chaffin finished in the sixth position behind eventual winner, Carl Edwards. The finish did not change the team’s position in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series points standings. They remain in the 11th position with ten races remaining in the 2003 season.

Driver: Chad Chaffin, No. 18 Dickies Dodge Team
Starts Pole Wins Top Fives Top Tens Earnings Points Position
15 1 0 2 6 $ 175,985 11th

Race-by-Race Run Down:
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 8 167 of 167 Running 13,900
Memphis 2 28 76 of 200 Engine 8,940
Milwaukee 7 13 196 of 200 Running 10,115
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 (Next Event)

Totals 2348 of 2588 (90.7%) $ 175,985

NEXT EVENT: The O’Reilly 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee on August 20, 2003. The event will be televised live on SPEED Channel at 8:30 PM Eastern Time and also live on MRN radio at 8:30 PM Eastern Time.