BHR Driver Chase Montgomery felt right at home in the running of the Toyota Tundra 200 at Nashville Superspeeday making his ninth career start at the track on Saturday. Handling issues robbed Montgomery of the finish he was hoping for, but he was able to rebound in the final laps to finish in the 22nd position. It is Montgomery’s 10th top 25 finish of the season.
“It was not the finish we were hoping for, but it was not a bad day by any means,” Montgomery said. “I am so proud of my team for there effort this weekend. We had one of our most productive practice sessions and qualifying efforts of the season today. We struggled with the handling of the truck midway through the race and had it pretty neutral by the end. I know we all really wanted to bring home a top 10 this weekend in front of the home crowd, but I am not disappointed with our efforts. This weekend was a huge step in the right direction for this team.”
· Montgomery qualified 18th earlier in the day after a very positive final practice session in which he was listed in the top 10.
· On lap 25 Montgomery radioed he was suffering from a tight condition and was having difficulty turning in the center.
· On lap 44, while running in the 15th position, the third of nine cautions came out for debris on the track. Montgomery headed down pit road to the attention of his team. They changed four tires, added fuel and went up two rounds on the track bar to aid the tight condition.
· Montgomery restarted 25th after a lengthy pit stop due to a malfunction in an air gun and the truck stalling on pit road after the stop was completed.
· The fourth caution came out on lap 55 for an accident in turn two. Montgomery was running in the 26th spot and elected to come down pit road for fuel and another track bar adjustment. He restated in 24th position.
· Montgomery radioed in under the fifth caution on lap 73 saying he was loosing bite in the center. The team elected to stay out for track position instead of coming down pit road.
· The seventh caution of the night waved on lap 114. Montgomery and the No. 18 team made there final pit stop of the night changing four tires, adding fuel and going down 2 rounds on the track bar. He restarted in 18th spot.
· Montgomery brought the No. 18 Dodge home in 22nd position. It was the team’s tenth top 25 of the season.
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“I keep reminding my guys every that week we bring home a truck in one piece it is a good day,” Montgomery said. “And the last couple of weeks we have gotten pretty good at finishing these races. Seat time is huge for me right now and I am really beginning to notice a difference when we get to the track. My team continues to give me great trucks. I am learning as much as I can each weekend. I am happy with the progress we made this weekend at Nashville and look forward to heading to Bristol in a couple of weeks.”
David Reuitmann won the Toyota Tundra 200 Ted Musgrave, Todd Bodine, Mike Skinner and Todd Kluever followed in the top five.
