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October 16, 2002
Robert
Pressley Fights His Way from 15th Place to Finish Seventh
Click Here For Robert Pressley
Career Statistics
Robert Pressley and the No. 18 Dickies Square D Dodge
battled their way from the 15th starting position to record
their 13th top ten finish of the season. They also moved up
one position in the championship standings to seventh place,
matching their finish of seventh place in the event.
Pressley began the race on fire, moving from 15th place to
fifth place in the running order in the first 50 laps. Then
on lap 55, he stopped on pit road for the first time for
four tires and fuel. Pressley resumed his charge from the
eighth position after everyone had made pit stops. Then over
the next seven laps, Pressley moved up to the fourth
position and ran there until lap 88 when the caution came
out for Bill Lester’s spin. Pressley pitted for two tires
and a track bar adjustment. Then under the same caution, but
on lap 92, Pressley pitted again to top off the fuel. This
was to ensure that the team could go to the finish without
another pit stop.
Over the next 26 laps, Pressley battled his way back to the
eighth position before pitting for four tires on lap 118.
The truck had picked up a push and was just not handling
like it was in the beginning of the race, so the team
decided to roll the dice and make another stop.
After the restart, Pressley came out in the tenth position.
Over the final 30 laps, he fought his way through lapped
traffic and managed to pass three trucks in front of him, to
bring the No. 18 Dickies Square D Dodge home in the seventh
position.
“On our first set of tires, man, we were just awesome,” said
Pressley. “We came all the way up to fourth place there, and
we could go about wherever we wanted to. Then with the
second and third set of tires - I don't know if it was a
mismatched set or what it was, but we just couldn't get
going on the second and third set. We're pretty sure what
we've got to do about it, but I just can't say much about
it.”
Pressley and the team did move up to seventh in the points
standings after the race, and with just three races left in
the season, they sit 41 points out of fifth place in the
standings.
Driver: Robert Pressley,
No. 18 Dodge Team
Starts
Pole Wins Top Fives Top Tens Earnings Points Position
19 0 2 6 13 $ 373,965 7th
Race-by-Race Run Down:
Location Start Finish Laps Status Money Won
Daytona 10 1 100 of 100 Running $ 81,635
Darlington 3 2 147 of 147 Running 25,875
Martinsville 17 14 248 of 250 Running 7,365
St. Louis 7 31 141 of 160 Running 7,985
Pikes Peak 10 30 152 of 200 Engine 8,590
Dover 9 2 200 of 200 Running 32,875
Texas 3 6 167 of 167 Running 15,500
Memphis 7 12 200 of 200 Running 10,865
Milwaukee 8 7 203 of 203 Running 11,775
Kansas 7 7 167 of 167 Running 13,125
Kentucky 13 3 150 of 150 Running 37,875
Loudon 6 9 207 of 207 Running 11,525
Michigan 8 1 100 of 100 Running 48,250
IRP 4 5 200 of 200 Running 14,025
Nashville 4 9 150 of 151 Running 9,100
Richmond 11 15 199 of 200 Accident 8,765
Texas 11 7 146 of 146 Running 12,295
South Boston 8 24 241 of 257 Accident 5,465
Las Vegas 15 7 146 of
146 Running 11,075
California (Next Event)
Totals 3208 of 3351 (95.7%) $ 373,965
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Bill Lester Brakes Shock
Mount and Spins Finished in the 17th Position
Click Here For Bill Lester Career
Statistics
Bill Lester and the No. 8 Dodge Motorsports Bobby Hamilton
Racing Team had a tough day at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
They broke a shock mount early in the event, and then on lap
89, Lester got the air taken off his spoiler and spun in
turn two and down the back straightaway. Through all that,
they still managed to finish in the 17th position, just
three laps off the pace.
“We wanted a top 10, and we didn't get it,” said Lester. “We
gave it all we had though. The truck essentially was just
too free in the middle of the turns and too tight off. We
pretty much corrected for it all day, and towards the middle
to three-quarters part of the race, I thought we were
running pretty well. Then the truck started going away from
us again and started becoming a little tight off. We just
didn't have anything for them today. I'm just glad that we
brought this Dodge back in one piece.”
Lester began the day from the 12th position after a decent
qualifying effort on Saturday afternoon. It was unfortunate
that the team had the problem because Las Vegas Motor
Speedway is the type of track that Lester has shown to be
his best place to race.
“We had a little ordeal here with, I think, the No. 29 in
turns one and two,” said Lester. “I mean the air was off the
rear of my spoiler. I was already free in the middle of the
corner, and when I went underneath him, I just had nothing
on the rear end. I basically did a tank slapper all through
turn two. I thought I caught it, but I was just chasing the
wheel. Basically, I got caught behind the steering and spun
it. Then what really got us was that we knew we flat-spotted
our tires, we were already committed to pit road, and they
said that the red flag was out. We got penalized for coming
down pit road even though we didn't stop. That basically
just broke our hearts. It put us back at the end of the
longest line, and all we could do there was fight to get
back. We wound up 17th, we're bringing home the truck in one
piece, and we're pretty happy about that. Now we're going to
our next high-speed track in California, so we want to have
this truck for it. So, we'll just keep on digging. It's our
rookie year, we're learning, and we're gelling together.
Nobody is giving up on anybody else. We're just hoping that
we're building a good foundation for next year.”
The weekend was not a total disappointment. On Friday
afternoon, the No. 8 Team was part of a one-two-three sweep
in the Dodge Pit Crew Challenge at the Suncoast Hotel and
Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Lester and the team remain in the 17th position in the
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series points standings with three
races remaining in the schedule. Realistically with some
solid finishes, Lester could get as high as 15th position
before the end of the season.
Driver: Bill Lester, No. 8 Dodge Team
Starts Pole Wins Top Fives Top Tens
Earnings Points Position
19 0 0 0 0 $194,620 17th
Race-by-Race Run Down:
Location Start Finish Laps Status Money Won
Daytona 19 18 98 of 100 Running $ 15,165
Darlington 13 28 115 of 147 Running 7,090
Martinsville 13 25 230 of 250 Accident 7,865
St. Louis 12 17 158 of 160 Running 10,790
Pikes Peak 9 15 199 of 200 Running 11,690
Dover 22 12 197 of 200 Running 13,465
Texas 7 11 166 of 167 Running 13,350
Memphis 31 17 200 of 200 Running 12,065
Milwaukee 16 18 200 of 203 Running 9,665
Kansas 3 29 87 of 167 Vibration 9,295
Kentucky 3 14 149 of 150 Running 14,740
Loudon 20 14 205 of 207 Running 9,990
Michigan 19 15 100 of 100 Running 13,215
IRP 11 28 185 of 200 Accident 7,090
Nashville 12 16 148 of 151 Running 8,640
Richmond 18 36 5 of 200 Accident 5,215
Texas 6 28 49 of 146 Running 6,935
South Boston 31 17 255 of 257 Running 8,315
Las Vegas 12 17 143 of
143 Running 10,040
California (Next Event)
Totals 2889 of 3351 (86.2%) $ 194,620
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Ignition Box
Problem Stalls Ryan Hemphill with Two Laps to Go
Click Here For No. 4 Dodge Ram Team Statistics
It appeared that with five laps to go in The Orleans 350,
Ryan Hemphill and the No. 4 Bobby Hamilton Racing Team were
going to record their second top ten finish in as many races
together, but an ignition box problem ended the team’s day
just two laps shy of the finish.
Hemphill was running in the ninth position when the MSD box
began to smoke and the truck began to lost power. Hemphill
radioed in to the crew and said that he would try and finish
the last few laps of the event, but coming down the back
straightaway, the engine shut down and Hemphill coasted to a
stop on pit road. He was credited with a 14th place finish
after running the entire day in the top ten.
“We had a good run going,” said Hemphill. “I thought we were
going to get another top ten finish, but it just was not to
be. I have to give the guys on this team a lot of credit. We
had a solid weekend with the qualifying and the race. They
gave me a great opportunity, and I’m very excited about what
we accomplished during the weekend. I was able to race with
the leaders and even led a few, laps so it was a great
experience for both of us.”
Hemphill started the day from the fourth position after
qualifying, but moved up to the front row after the second
place qualifier crashed in happy hour practice and had to go
to the back of the field in a backup truck. Hemphill settled
into fourth place on the start of the race and ran there for
most of the first 50 laps. Then as the other leaders pitted
for fuel, Hemphill took the lead from lap 56 to lap 60
before his first pit stop. Then on lap 61, Hemphill pitted
for four tires and fuel. He returned to the event in the
tenth position.
From that point on in the race, he remained in the top ten
in the running order. Hemphill did make one other pit stop
on lap 90 during the first caution of the day, for two tires
and fuel, to go to the end of the event.
“I can’t wait to get to the next race,” said Hemphill. “I’m
having the time of my life with this team. I just want to
keep getting seat time and learning everything I can, so we
can be a factor before too long for a top five or better. I
know this team can do it, now it’s up to me to learn what I
need to do with these heavy trucks to make them run. It will
just take a little time together.”
Hemphill and the team still had a solid weekend finishing in
the second position in the Dodge Pit Crew Challenge over the
weekend.
Hemphill also moved up six positions in the NASCAR Craftsman
Truck Series points standings to 38th position.
Driver: Ryan Hemphill, No. 4 Dodge Team
Starts Pole Wins Top Fives Top Tens
Earnings Points Position
4 0 0 0 1 $ 39,895 38th
Race-by-Race Run
Down:
Location Start Finish Laps Status Money Won Driver
Daytona 4 3 100 of 100 Running $ 39,640 Brian Rose
Darlington 18 8 147 of 147 Running 9,975 Brian Rose
Martinsville 9 27 223 of 250 Running 7,815 Brian Rose
St. Louis 27 8 160 of 160 Running 14,425 Brian Rose
Pikes Peak 13 10 200 of 200 Running 12,675 Brian Rose
Dover 15 30 49 of 200 Running 9,415 Brian Rose
Texas 14 35 3 of 167 Accident 8,740 Brian Rose
Memphis 13 10 200 of 200 Running 12,100 Brian Rose
Milwaukee 12 19 200 of 203 Running 8,365 Brian Rose
Kansas 16 21 157 of 167 Accident 10,515 Brian Rose
Kentucky 19 24 144 of 150 Running 11,640 Brian Rose
Loudon 10 25 195 of 207 Accident 7,015 Brian Rose
Michigan 16 23 97 of 100 Running 10,390 Brian Rose
IRP 10 30 170 of 200 Suspension 7,045 Bobby Hamilton
Nashville 7 4 151 of 151 Running 10,375 Bobby Hamilton Jr.
Richmond 7 14 199 of 200 Accident 6,315 Bobby Hamilton
Texas 13 11 145 of 146 Running 10,945 Joe Ruttman
South Boston 12 10 257 of 257 Running 10,250 Ryan Hemphill
Las Vegas 4 14 144 of 146 Ignition 10,340 Ryan
Hemphill
California (Next Event) Ryan Hemphill
Totals 2941 of 3351 (87.7%) $ 217,980
NEXT EVENT: American
Racing Wheels 200 at California Speedway in Fontana,
California on November 2, 2002. The event will be televised
taped delay on ESPN at 5:00 PM Eastern Time.
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