England’s John Mikel used his inaugural NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series start to gain a quick education in the finer points of American stock car racing. Mikel raced side by side with a group of the best oval track racers in the world and held his own throughout the running of Friday night’s Silverado 350 at Texas Motor Speedway. The end result was a better understanding of the value of aerodynamics and a hard fought 29th place finish.

“That was definitely a different form of racing than we are accustomed to in Europe, and I learned a whole lot about how the air really affects these NASCAR Craftsman trucks,” Mikel said following the event. “The toughest part for me was learning how to keep air on the front of my dsi nexdox Dodge. I could reel the other trucks in but as soon as I got to them, the truck would just get really tight and that makes it much tougher to complete the pass. One other way that the racing is much different over here is that you can stick your nose under someone and they give you room. Back home if you stick your nose underneath someone they tend to chop you off, so you can afford to be a little more aggressive over here because your fellow competitors give you more room and more respect. ” 

No. 4 dsi nexdox Dodge John Mikel Texas Recap

• Mikel qualified his dsi nexdox Dodge in the 35th position.
• Crew Chief Randy Seals brought Mikel down pit road for fuel only on lap 3 after the race’s first caution.
• When the caution flag unfurled for the second time on lap 39 for debris, Mikel brought his dsi nexdox Dodge to pit road for four fresh Goodyear tires, a full load of Sunoco fuel and a chassis adjustment – four rounds down on the track bar.
• Mikel came back down pit road on lap 62 after Justin Allgaier’s spin on the frontstretch. Once again his crew performed a flawless four tire and fuel ballet.
• Mikel pitted for fuel only on lap 86 after Aric Almirola slammed the inside retaining wall on the backstretch.
• While trying to overtake Deborah Renshaw’s No. 8 Dodge, Mikel lost the front end of his dsi nexdox Dodge and clipped the wall on lap 107.
• Mikel made his last pit stop after the caution flag came out on lap 133 for fluid on the track. His crew provided him with four tires and fuel.
• Mikel maintained his 29th place position over the last ten laps.

“I think if we had gotten a few more cautions early in the event it would have helped us a lot,” Mikel said. “I think that would have helped us with track position and we might have been able to claim a few more spots. It was just a great opportunity for us to come over here and race against these guys with our Bobby Hamilton Racing prepared dsi nexdox Dodge. We certainly hope to have the chance to race with them some more in the future.”

Todd Bodine won the Silverado 350K in front of an enthusiastic Texas sized crowd of 70,000 fans. Mike Skinner, Kyle Busch, David Starr and David Reutimann rounded out the top five.