In the city accustomed to rolling the dice BHR Driver Chase Montgomery and Crew Chief Kip McCord took a gamble on a track bar adjustment halfway through the Las Vegas 350K at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. That gamble proved to be the right move for the No. 18 RoadLoans Dodge, Montgomery was able to pass several trucks in the closing laps to bring home a 19th place finish. It was the team’s 13th top 25 finish of the season.

“I can’t complain about our efforts tonight,” said Montgomery after the race. “The No. 18 RoadLoans Racing Team worked on it every pit stop. The truck was real loose in the beginning of the race. It was a challenge to drive at first. I was able to move around and find a new line. We made several track bar adjustments tonight that seemed to help in the long run. It is not the finish we were looking for, but we made some strides in the right direction. Our goal is to continue finishing races and gain experience with every lap. I am starting to notice a big difference in how we unload at the race track and how we race. It is all starting to come together and the top 15 finishes are right around the corner.”

• Montgomery qualified 24th for the 20th race of the season.
• On lap four the race was red flagged for six minutes when a multi-truck wreck on the front stretch left debris all over the track. Montgomery radioed he was loose in the center of a turn.
• By lap 20 the loose condition was causing Montgomery, who was running in the 28th position, to lose substantial ground on the track. Spotter Jerry Adcock keeps Montgomery focused reminding him to “let the truck roll in and roll out of the corners.”
• On lap 38 Montgomery running in the 24th position goes one lap down to the leader who was pacing the field at a unbelievable rate.
• Crew Chief Kip McCord called Montgomery down pit road on lap 55 for a green flag pit stop. The No. 18 RoadLoans Racing Team changed four tires, added fuel and went down two rounds on the track bar to aid the loose condition.
• The second caution waved on lap 68 and McCord made the decision to bring Montgomery back down pit road for another adjustment. This time the team went up two rounds on the track bar, changed four tires and added fuel. He restarted in the 22nd position.  
• By the halfway point of the race Montgomery continued to hold his own in 22nd place.
• The third caution waved on lap 112 and Montgomery came down pit road for another adjustment to aid the loose condition. The No. 18 RoadLoans Racing Team performed a lighting fast pit stop changing all four tires, adding fuel and making a air pressure and track bar adjustment.
• By the fourth caution on lap 127, the series of track bar adjustments had fixed the loose condition and Montgomery was now experiencing a tight condition. McCord radioed for Montgomery to come down pit road for fuel and another track bar adjustment. He restarted in 19th position.
• Montgomery held his own in the final laps of the Las Vegas 350K to bring home the No. 18 RoadLoans Dodge in 19th position. It was Montgomery’s 20th top 25 of the season.  

“We worked hard all night tonight,” said Montgomery. “We have four weeks off now and we are going back to the drawing board. I know we are going to go and test at some of the upcoming tracks. Everyone is eager to learn as much as we can so we can apply it to the final stretch. It is good to see everyone pumped up about testing and trying to better the trucks. The whole organization is looking for the secret ingredient to bring home top 10’s and top fives. I know if we keep working hard we will find exactly what we are looking for. It is great to have some time off, but I am not sure how much free time we are going to have.”

Todd Bodine won the Las Vegas 350K Ted Musgrave, David Starr, Jack Sprague, and Bobby Hamilton followed in the top five.