October 19, 2003

Lester Loses Forward Bite, Finishes 22nd in Martinsville

Dodge driver Bill Lester struggled with a forward bite problem in his No. 8 truck during the Advance Auto Parts 200 at Martinsville Speedway. Lester still managed to pick up three spots from his starting position of 25th to finish the race in 22nd position.

By the time the first caution came out on lap 56, Lester said, “My truck is tight from the center off. I can’t turn it right past the corner. It has lost the forward bite we found yesterday in practice.” Crew Chief and Spotter Kip McCord told the Dodge Pit Crew to change four tires and make an adjustment of three rounds to the track bar to help his driver out.

Lester said after the restart that his truck was better, but once his tires became worn the driver was battling the truck to turn on the track. He said, “I can’t get the back end to rotate.” For the next several laps McCord coached his driver around the track trying to help him use his brakes to make the truck turn.

By the second caution on lap 113 Lester was sitting in the 23rd spot. He received minor damage to the left front of his truck when he tangled with another on the .526-mile oval. The pit crew quickly made strips of tape to cover the fender up so it did not cause any further damage to his truck or others on the race track. While on pit road, the team also made another adjustment to the track bar to assist Lester.

Following the restart on lap 120, Lester said it was much better for about 20 laps. Then it started to get tight again. By the third caution on lap 147 McCord calculated the Dodge team had nothing to lose from pitting, so they changed four tires and made more adjustments to the truck trying to help.

Lester pressed on during the next several laps despite his problems. He pitted once again under the fifth caution of the day on lap 180 so the team could make another adjustment to the track bar. During the final laps Lester managed to pick up one position to finish the race in 22nd.

“Our truck was totally different today than it was yesterday in practice,” Lester said. “At the beginning of the race it was tight from the center off and I had trouble turning it past the corner. It would get better for several laps after we pitted then as the tires got rubber built up on them, it would go right back to being tight. We lost all the forward bite and that is what we need most here in Martinsville.”

Jon Wood won the Advance Auto Parts 200 in Martinsville. Carl Edwards, Dennis Setzer, Rick Crawford and Bobby Hamilton followed in the top five.

For More Information see www.bobbyhamiltonracing.com