November 3, 2003

Dickies Racing Recap: Chevy Silverado 150

Dickies driver Chad Chaffin battled with spongy brakes and a loose Dodge Ram during the Chevy Silverado 150 at Phoenix International Raceway. Despite his struggles Chaffin still managed to finish 18th, his 22nd top-20 finish this season.

The Dickies driver qualified his Dodge in the 20th starting position. In 30 laps Chaffin had moved into the top 15 even though his truck was loose in the center of the turns. The first caution of the day came out on lap 34 and Chaffin warned his Crew Chief Danny Rollins that his brakes were feeling ‘spongy’ during that run. Rollins told the Dickies Racing Team to change four tires and add fuel. He explained to his driver that the tires, which were already scuffed, had an air pressure adjustment from the first set to help his loose condition.

Chaffin restarted the race in 16th position. Almost immediately after the restart Rick Bogart in the No. 70 truck was racing in front of Chaffin and spraying oil on his windshield. Chaffin tried to dodge the oil by racing in different grooves. He found that the outer groove worked best for him at this time and his lap times reflected the same thing.

By the second caution on lap 69, Chaffin was holding his position on the track in 17th. The good-natured driver used the caution laps to remind his crew that his truck was better than it had been all week in practice, so their series of efforts paid off. He exclaimed that the motor was outstanding as well before the restart on lap 75.

By the time the third caution came out on lap 85, Chaffin’s tires had worn in making the truck feel better than it had been, although it was still loose. Since the team had pitted the time before and he could make it the remainder of the race on fuel, there was no need for Chaffin to pit again. The Tennessee native stayed out and withstood the challenge Phoenix’s race track put out. By the end of the race, Chaffin told Rollins over the radio that his truck was extremely loose, his brakes were hard to use and the truck had lost grip. In spite of the extreme condition, Chaffin still brought his truck home in 18th position without a scratch on it.

"I hated to give up a spot there at the end to Terry Cook, but I couldn’t hold him off,” Chaffin said. “I was just all over the place. The truck went from tight to loose and then got looser as the race went on. All in all it was better in the race then we had it in practice all week. The motor would flat out run and the guys hung with me so we could give Dickies the best finish we could.”

Kevin Harvick won the Chevy Silverado 150 in Phoenix. Ted Musgrave, Dennis Setzer, Carl Edwards and Bobby Hamilton followed in the top five.