|
May 19, 2002
Bad Luck Continued For The No.
18 Team In Colorado
Click Here For Robert Pressley
Career Statistics
Robert
Pressley and the No. 18 Bobby Hamilton Racing Team have not
been
able to catch a break over the last three races. In
Martinsville, a cut tire got the team many laps down and out
of contention. Then in St. Louis, Pressley completed one lap
before the rear end gear broke and forced the team to the
garage area for repairs. Then this week, while running in
the top ten, the team's engine let go resulting in a DNF
(Did Not Finish) and a 30th place finish.
"Man we just can't seem to get this bad string of luck
behind us," said Pressley. "It just hasn't been our year
lately. This team is great and we have some really good race
trucks, but for whatever reason we just can't finish a race
without a problem. But at least I know we have the team to
rebound, and get back up there in the finishing order and
the points race. I'd be worried if I had a team with
no talent, but with everyone on this team I don't think it
will be a problem to get back on track."
Pressley started the day from the 10th position and
unfortunately fell back in the field early with a very loose
truck. But after the first 100 laps and three pits stops to
get the handle in order, Pressley began making a charge
through the pack. He moved from the 19th position to ninth
with 50 laps to go in the event, and that is when the bottom
fell out, literally. On lap 152, Pressley entered turn three
just ahead of his teammate Brian Rose, and the engine let go
spraying parts and oil all over the track. Pressley was off
for a ride from that point on. The No. 18 truck began
sliding in its own oil and slapped the wall in turn four
before coming to a stop.
"The engine letting go is just one of those things," said
Danny Gill, crew chief. "We have great engines all the time,
Joey (Arrington) is the man when it comes to power and
reliability, but I guess a part failed. It just happens."
Pressley's 30th place finish dropped the team to 12th in the
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series points standings, 130 points
out of first place.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bill Lester and The No. 8 Team Better Themselves Again This
Week
Click Here For Bill Lester Career
Statistics
Bill Lester and the No. 8
Bobby Hamilton Racing Team recorded career best qualifying
and race finishes at Pikes Peak International Raceway over
the
weekend, for the second week in a row. On Saturday, Lester
posted the ninth
fastest time in qualifying, and then on Sunday backed that
effort up with a
career best 15th place finish in the Rocky Mountain 200.
Lester's top fifteen performance earned him the second place
finish in
the rookie of the race standings and helped close the points
gap on Brendan
Gaughan to a mere eight points in the season long battle for
Rookie of the
Year.
"The truck was tight all day," said Lester. "The guys said
they were going to adjust it to tighten it up - we were
thinking it was going to be a little warmer than it turned
out to be. We thought as a result from our experience last
year, that as the track heats up it tends to turn these
tires loose. I think we just overcompensated. So, we ended
up with too tight a truck."
Lester entered the weekend in the 19th position in the
NASCAR Craftsman
Truck Series points standings, following the 15th place
finish Lester fell to the 20th position in the standings. It
is however very deceiving, considering there are only 59
points between 15th place and 20th place in the points
standings.
"We're just learning," said Lester. "The team, they're
learning what I like, and I'm learning how to better
communicate with them. We're pleased. We finished, and we
didn't get in any kind of real mess. This is a career-best
finish for me at 15th. So, I just want to extend my
thanks to Bobby Hamilton Racing and Dodge Motorsports."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Another Top Ten For Brian
Rose In Colorado
Click Here For Brian Rose Career Statistics
Brian Rose and the No. 4 Perry Connection Bobby Hamilton
Racing Team continued their consistent performance with
another top ten finish this weekend at Pikes Peak. Rose
started the race from the 13th position, and recorded a 10th
place finish when the checkered flag flew. Rose spent most
of the day fighting a loose handling condition with the No.
4 truck all day.
But with the exception of a one small scare when his
teammate Robert Pressley lost an engine in front of him Rose
had a very uneventful solid performance.
"We just really were struggling with the handling all day,"
said Rose. "We were really loose, but we had some good stops
today. We're just building a little bit more momentum each
week, and learning some stuff about these trucks that I
like. This series is just so competitive, it's hard to be
successful. You've really got to have your ducks in a row to
be in victory lane."
The 10th place finish by the team was their fourth top ten
performance of the season, which is the most of any Dodge
team in the Truck Series.
"To win a championship you've just got to run consistently
and finish races," said Rose. "We didn't win, but we
finished. We'll keep working on or team and both myself and
the guys will just keep getting better and thenmaybe we can
win one of these races."
Rose's finish helped keep him in the seventh position in the
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series points standings.
NEXT EVENT: NCTS 200, Dover Downs International Speedway in
Dover, Delaware on 5/31/02.
|
