BHR Driver Chase Montgomery stayed cool under tremendous temperatures Saturday night at Memphis Motorsports Park bringing the No. 18 Dodge home in 25th position.  It is Montgomery’s eighth top 25 finish of the season.

Montgomery qualified his No. 18 Dodge in the 21st position earlier in the day for the O’Reilly 200. He was running in the 26th position when the first caution waved nine laps into the event for a wreck in turn four. “My water is running hot and I am a little free center off,” said Montgomery. “But I think it will come to us when I run a few more laps.” He restarted in 26th position. 

By the second caution on lap 33 the loose condition had corrected itself, but now Montgomery was suffering from a tight condition exiting the turn. Crew Chief Kip McCord made the decision to pit. Montgomery informed his team he was hot and needed as much water they could get to him during the pit stop. McCord called for no tires and a track bar adjustment. The No. 18 BHR Racing Team performed a lighting-fast pit stop gaining six positions on pit road while adding fuel and pulling tape of the front grill to fix the over heating problem. He restarted in the 22nd position.

The third caution waved just five laps following the restart. “I have no rear grip,” radioed Montgomery. “If I can pit I need fresh tires.”  Montgomery came down pit road to the attention of his No. 18 Racing Team. McCord called for a slight air pressure adjustment, four tries and fuel. He restarted in the 30th position

Montgomery steadily made his way back to the front of the field. He was running in the 26th position when the sixth caution came out on lap 114.  “My brakes are hot, I am hot and I have no rear grip,” said Montgomery. “I need tires and cold water.” The No. 18 Racing Team changed all four tries, added fuel and refueled there driver with water in record time. He restarted in 28th position.

The seventh caution waved 10 laps after the restart and McCord made the decision to come down pit road for another adjustment. “Come in and we will make a track bar adjustment it should help your loose condition,” radioed McCord. He restated in the 26th position.

The eighth caution came out four laps after the restart and was an angel in waiting for Montgomery. As soon as the caution came out Montgomery suffered mechanical failure on his No. 18 Dodge. Coming out of turn four the No. 18 Dodge suddenly quit. He was able to coast it down pit road to the attention of his team. Montgomery was able to get the truck re-fired and back onto the track, but was one lap down to the leader.

Once again the caution came out four laps after the last restart and Montgomery was able to receive the lucky dog pass and return to the lead lap. McCord elected not to pit under the caution.

The 11th caution waved with 40 laps left in the race and the red flag was displayed two laps later. “I don’t want to complain, but I am burning up in here,” said an exhausted Montgomery. “I am doing the best I can out here it feels like a sauna.” Spotter Jerry Adcock encouraged Montgomery to hang in there. “You are doing a great job man,” said Adcock. “Just 40 more laps and we will get you cooled down.” He restarted in the 24th position on lap 166.

Following the final caution on lap 196 suffered another mechanical failure. Montgomery was able to salvage a 25th place finish. The team is working diligently at the shop to diagnose why Montgomery slowed down at the end of the race.   

“Gosh, it was hot out there. I cannot describe how exhausted I am right now. It was not a bad day for the No. 18 Dodge. We had some mechanical issues, but we still came out of here with a top 25. The truck was tight most of the race and it prevented me from being able to pass. I learned a lot I can apply when we come back next year. That is all I can ask is for us to keep learning and keep finishing races.”

Brandon Whitt won the O’Reilly 200, his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win. David Reutimann, Brendan Gaughan, Dennis Setzer and David Starr followed in the top five.