DARLINGTON, S.C., (November 13, 2004) - Chad Chaffin and the No. 18 Dickies Racing Team came into Darlington in need of a solid finish to turn around their bad luck, and that is exactly what they got. Chaffin overcame the challenges of the race track, racing solidly in the top-10 for most of the night. He finished 15th in the Darlington 200, garnering the team’s 13th top-15 of the season.
Due to rain on Friday, the race was canceled and rescheduled for Saturday afternoon. Chaffin started the race in 16th position, but didn’t stay there long. The first of 10 cautions came out for a spin in turn four only 14 laps after the green flag dropped.
“The truck is a touch loose, but I am reeling them in every lap.” said Chaffin, whose radio was breaking up all night, under the caution. “Guys we have to stay on top of our game here because we have a great truck.”
Chaffin raced to 13th position by the time the second caution came out 15 laps later. Understanding the importance of fresh tires Crew Chief Kip McCord called Chaffin down pit road under the caution when some of the top 10 did not pit. The Dickies Racing Team cranked out a swift pit stop changing four Goodyear Wrangler tires, adding Sunoco fuel and one round of bite to aid the loose condition. Chaffin restarted in 26th position.
He gained substantial track position under the third caution when most of the leaders pitted on lap 35. Chaffin restarted in fourth position and raced in the top five over the next 20 laps. Then the fourth caution came out for debris on the back straightaway. McCord called the No. 18 Dodge down pit road for a track bar adjustment to aid the persistent loose condition.
The adjustments tightened up the Dickies Dodge and Chaffin was able to pass many of his competitors in the next several laps. He was running in the 9th position when the seventh caution came out. Since the team had just pitted, McCord instructed his driver to stay out no matter what.
Chaffin was running 12th when the caution waved again on lap 136. He radioed the team telling them he was entering pit road for tires. No one in front of Chaffin pitted, so he restarted in 20th position. Immediately after the restart, Chaffin picked up five spots and then another caution came out on lap 144 which set the stage for a green-white-checkered flag finish. On the final restart he raced his way unscathed through a tremendous crash at the start/finish line and went on to finish 15th.
“Gosh, the truck ran really good tonight,” said Chaffin. “A 15th-place finish did not do our run justice. We did not pit when Bobby Hamilton and Hamilton Jr. did for fresh tires. When I saw how fast they ran on sticker tires and the caution came out again, I made the decision to come down pit road. It bit us in the end because we never went back to a full green-flag run. I don’t know if we could have made up much track position because we did not have sticker tires, but it was worth a try.”
Kasey Kahne won the Darlington 200. Bobby Hamilton, Ted Musgrave, Carl Edwards and Steve Park followed in the top five.
