Memphis Mania:  “Memphis is a great city and I really enjoy racing there. I ran well there a year ago. We were not as competitive as I had hoped, but we learned a lot and had a solid finish. I ran well there in a Busch car two years ago. We really had something figured out and were headed to the front when the engine let go. Having two solid runs there gives me confidence heading into this weekend. At Memphis it is really important to hit on your chassis set-up. It has two distinct corners. Turns one and two are really fast and turns three and four are a lot slower, but sharper. That is why you have to get your truck dialed in because it is important to be able to turn through the both corners well. It is important to conserve your brakes during the race. Memphis is a track you use the brake a lot in turns three and four so it is something I have to remind myself about during the race. It is a challenging race track. I am excited about our chances of getting our first top 10 of the season.” 

Halfway Point: “It is hard to believe we are halfway through the season. It is important to just keep doing what we are doing. We have not had the year we hoped for, but I am confident the second half of the season is going to be better. We have been fast at every single track, but struggled during the race. Most of the time we have been caught up in someone else’s mess and end up with a wrecked truck. I think that is the most frustrating part of the season. Knowing you have the truck to run up front and leaving with a wrecked truck because someone else made a mistake, but that is racing. My guys are doing a great job preparing the trucks. I have more confidence in them each weekend. Seeing how hard they work makes me more determined to run well on Saturday. We just have to keep logging laps and making the right changes. It will turn around for us. If we can get some good finishes under our belt things will begin to look up.”

Tech Talk with Kip McCord: “Last week at Kentucky Bobby Hamilton Racing left with two mangled trucks. When we came into the shop on Monday it resembled a junk yard. The amazing thing is we were able to salvage both the No. 18 and No.04. It is still hard to believe we were able to get Bobby’s (Hamilton) truck fixed during the race because it had a lot of damage. When a situation happens like it did at Kentucky it is always a busy day on Monday. We bring the trucks back in and unload them. The next step is to try to save as much of the truck as possible. You cut off the wrecked sheet metal and clean up under the hood. There is always tons of dirt and rubber crammed up in the body after a wreck. Many times the roll cage is bent. Usually, you can tell because there is a dent, but the best way to tell is if the paint is chipped. If the paint has shifted around the bars then it shows us the bars moved during the wreck. It will then be sent to the fabrication shop and they will rebuild the body of the truck. When they are done it is sent to the paint booth. It will eventually wind up back in our hands and we can begin preparing it for the next race.”   

Notes:
• Montgomery is racing Angel this weekend at Memphis Motorsports Park.
• Montgomery raced the same truck four times this season with an average finish of 23rd.    
• The Tennessee native will be making his third career start at Memphis on Saturday. He competed in last year’s NCTS event and finished 18th. In 2003, he competed in the Busch Series event at the track, but engine failure ended his day early.

Chase Montgomery: “The other day I was doing an interview with a journalist from a local paper and he asked me how I would describe myself to someone who did not know me. I was really stumped for awhile. I am really happy with my life right now so the most important thing is for people to know I enjoy living. I love my job. I am happy with my team and where things are going for us. We have not had the best performance this year, but a lot of it has been out of our control. Personality wise I am quiet, but I like to think of myself as outgoing. I enjoy being around my friends. If I don’t know you it takes me a couple of minutes to warm up, but then I am fine.  As a racecar driver I am always trying to out do myself. I am eager to learn all I can at such a young age. Sometimes I think it hurts me because I try too hard, but that is just who I am. The day I quit trying is the day I do not need to be racing anymore.”