IRP Preview:  “Going to IRP reminds me of the racing I grew up around. It takes me back to the days at the old Nashville Fairgrounds. It is a one-day show so you have to unload and get down to business. The schedule does not allow us much free time so you must be on top of your game. I expect us to be fast off the trailer. Last year we had a competitive truck and were plagued by a mechanical failure. I was able to run with the leaders even though I was 20 laps down. The chassis I am piloting this weekend is the defending winner of the race. My guys have been reminding me of that all week. So, with the run I had last year along with the success the No. 18 team had I am pretty pumped about IRP. It is a fun track to race on, but you can really tear up a truck there. It is a flat track and you can really race there. The bottom grove is where you want to be when making a pass, but Chad (Chaffin) won passing on the outside last year. I guess it depends on which line your truck is better. Rather you’re racing on the high line or low line it will make for a good show.” 

Interpretational Moment: “The other day I was at the shop and I was looking at the bulletin board. It is a huge bulletin board that is outside the lounge. It is in a central location where everyone can see it. It is kind of like our command post. All important announcements, travel plans and test schedules are all posted on the board. Inspirational quotes also adorn the board in various places. I was reading the other day and was struck by this one quote. It said ‘Winning is not everything, but wanting to win is.’ It is so true. I want to win this year so bad, but there are only 11 races left so time is flying away. It is important for my team to not loose the desire to win even though luck has not been on our side this year. When you lose the desire to win in any area of your life you are letting yourself down. Each week we work hard at the shop and at the track. Our work ethic never changes no matter how good or bad our weekend was. We all still want to win so we are working toward that goal. We may or may not achieve it this year, but it is the desire to win every weekend that means so much to me.”

Talladega goes Trucking: “I may be the most excited NCTS driver about the series going to Talladega next season. I love super speedway racing and to get to go twice a year will be really neat. I have raced at Talladega several times in an ARCA car and I ran one Busch race there. I really enjoy the track. You can race three-wide there and you never stop racing. At Daytona we tend to run in packs, but in line with each other. At Talladega you run in packs, but it is three-wide the entire race. It is a mentally draining race track. It will be a challenging race, but I am looking forward to it.” 

Notes:
• Montgomery is racing Butthead this weekend at Indianapolis Raceway Park. This particular chassis is the defending race winner of the Power Stroke Diesel 200. 
• Montgomery raced the same truck four times this season with an average finish of 30th.    
• The Tennessee native will be making his second career start at IRP on Friday. He competed in last year’s NCTS event and finished 32nd due to a punctured power steering line. 
 
Tech Talk with Kip McCord: “The most important part of the truck during a wreck is the seat in which the driver sits and the roll cage surrounding him. It is what protects him from serious injury. Each driver is fitted for a seat by the seat supplier. We use Richardson seats at Bobby Hamilton Racing and each driver has three or four seats they use. The seat arrives to the shop already made. It is made out of aluminum. The fabrication shop makes the shoulder rests and it is mounted to the seat base. The seat belt is then inserted into the pre cut holes in the seat. The belts are adjusted to fit the driver before we leave for the race track. The seat is then bolted into the roll cage of the truck. It is bolted in several places and will not budge when the process is over. Each team at BHR has one person who puts in the seats for the driver every week. We do that because mistakes are less likely to be made if the same person does it every week. They know what they are doing and take great pride in their job. The seat is one thing you do not want to come loose.”