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November 9, 2002
Robert
Pressley Finishes 14th after Engine Problem at Phoenix
Click Here For Robert Pressley
Career Statistics
Robert Pressley and the No. 18 Dickies Square D Dodge Team
appeared to have a solid performance in hand before losing a
cylinder in the engine at the midway point of the race. From
that moment the team worked pit strategy to lead a few laps
under caution, and managed to finish in the 14th position
one lap down.
"We're pretty disappointed about where we finished, and what
happened," said Pressley. "I think we had a good truck
today, and could have gotten a top five out of it, but it
just wasn't our day. I felt the engine lose a cylinder early
on and from that point I was just hoping to finish. It could
have been worse. We could have fallen out early, and lost a
bunch of points, thank goodness that didn't happen."
Pressley began the race from the 10th position after posting
a 126.971 MPH lap on Thursday afternoon. When the race
started, Pressley moved up to eighth position after the
first 20 laps. Pressley remained on the track after the
first caution of the day on lap 23. When the race restarted,
Pressley continued his strong run moving up to seventh just
before the second caution of the day on lap 67. It was at
that moment the race turned for Pressley and the No. 18
Dickies Square D Team. Pressley radioed in to the crew the
truck was missing and he
thought they had dropped a cylinder.
In the heat of the moment, Crew Chief, Danny Rollins, made
the call to stay out under caution to lead the race and
pickup five bonus points. Just before the green flag came
out again Pressley came down pit road and the team changed
tires, added fuel, and lifted the hood to check the engine.
It took about ten seconds for the team to determine that the
engine had indeed lost a cylinder.
From that point it was merely a matter of finishing the
race. Pressley continued on track the rest of the day and
managed to finish 14th one lap down as several other drivers
had trouble near the end of the race.
The finish did not drop the team any positions in the NASCAR
Craftsman Truck Series points standings, but it did close
the positions up a little. Pressley and the team now lead
the eighth place driver in the points standings by just one
point.
"We can still get to the top five in the points with a great
run at Homestead so we're not going to give up," said
Pressley. "The goal is to move up in the standings, and keep
those guys behind us after the last race next week."
Driver: Robert
Pressley, No. 18 Dodge Team
Starts
Pole Wins Top Fives Top Tens Earnings Points Position
21 0 2 6 14 $ 398,355 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 5 7 100 of 100 Running 14,450
Phoenix 10 14 151 of
152 Running 9,940
Homestead (Next Event)
Totals 3515 of 3603 (97.5%) $ 398,355
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Bill Lester
Records a 15th Place
Finish after Career Best Start
Click Here For Bill Lester Career
Statistics
Bill Lester and the No. 8 Dodge Motorsports Team came within
one thousandth of a second from making history by winning
the pole and erasing a 40 year old record held by the late
Wendell Scott. Lester's fastest lap of 28.054 seconds put
him in the No. 1 spot until the last qualifier of the day,
Rick Crawford. Crawford turned in a lap that beat Lester by
about one thirtieth of an inch.
Lester's second place effort was the best among Rookie of
the Year candidates, and the 11th race of the year he was
the top rookie qualifier, the most by any 2002 Raybestos
Rookie of the year candidate.
"I'm trying to get over the fact that we lost the pole by
just one-thousandth of a second," said Lester. "The lap was
one of those where you can definitely say that there was no
more left on the table. I did everything I could to extract
all I could out of that No. 8 Dodge. I don't think anybody
would have expected us to do what we did. It's really a big
vote of confidence for the guys to take what I've told them
- with as little experience as I've had - and turn that into
a Dodge that did just about everything that I asked of it.
It's hard for me to really hang my head here even though
it's heartbreaking. Going into this deal, I don't think any
of us expected to come out of it like we have. It's
refreshing. It's good. It just encourages us more. We know
we're going to get a pole. We know we're going to get a win.
It's just going to be a matter of not if, but when. We're
hoping to roll off real strong, and finish just a little bit
stronger."
Lester began the race from the second position, and raced
with the leaders for the first 50 laps, before the truck
began going away. Unfortunately for Lester, his truck became
very tight in the corners and he was forced to finish in the
15th position.
He made several pit stops during the day to improve the
truck, but they just could never get the truck where Lester
felt comfortable.
"We improved a lot after pitting on that second caution,"
said Lester. "But then the truck tightened up. That was what
we were fighting from center off. It killed our momentum
terribly, and I was just a sitting duck out there. It's just
going to take some experience with us working together to
get it right. But there's no question in anyone's mind, I
think, that we're definitely fast when it's right."
Following the race, Lester and the team remained in the 17th
position in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series points
standings, just 32 points behind Carlos Contreras for the
sixteenth position in the points standings.
Driver: Bill Lester, No. 8 Dodge Team
Starts Pole Wins Top Fives Top Tens Earnings Points Position
21 0 0 0 0 $217,475 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 Boston31 17 255 of 257 Running 8,315
Las Vegas 12 17 143 of 143 Running 10,040
California 3 14 100 of 100 Running 12,715
Phoenix 2 15 151
of 152 Running 10,140
Homestead (Next Event)
Totals 3140 of 3603 (87.1%) $ 217,475
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Ryan
Hemphill Crashes Out of the Event with Two Laps Remaining
Click Here For No. 4 Dodge Ram Team Statistics
Ryan Hemphill and the No. 4 Bobby Hamilton Racing team's day
ended two laps from the end of the race, when he was spun in
turn four by the No. 2 truck, resulting in a severely
damaged Dodge.
"We had trouble getting the truck to turn all day, so I was
just trying to stay out of the way and just finish," said
Hemphill. "I really don't understand what happened. I was
trying to give the No. 2 truck room, and he just hit me, and
off I went to the wall. I just hate it for the guys. This is
two week's in a row that I have brought a torn up truck back
to them. We'll just go to Homestead and try and get a good
finish there."
Hemphill was making his return to action after being knocked
out of the race last week in Happy Hour practice. He was
forced to sit out of that race, but was released by NASCAR
to compete at Phoenix International Raceway on Monday of
this past week.
Hemphill started the Chevy Silverado 150 from the 20th
position, and right from the start the truck began pushing
up in the turns. The team pitted on the first caution of the
day on lap 25 for a chassis adjustment and fuel, but the
problem continued. No matter what they did the truck just
would not turn in the corners. As a result Hemphill lost a
lap about midway through the race. With two laps remaining
in the race, Hemphill was attempting to move out of a lead
lap truck's way in turn four when that truck simply punted
him which caused an accident that took both trucks out of
contention.
"We're not running for points so we were just trying to get
as much track time as possible," said Hemphill. "We have one
more race together. This team needs a sponsor for next
season and I'm sure we can give them a run for their money
next year in the points."
Hemphill has competed in five races and sits 37th in the
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series points standings. The No. 4
Team is in the 16th position in the owner's points standings
entering the final race of the year.
Driver: Ryan Hemphill,
No. 4 Dodge Team
Starts
Pole Wins Top Fives Top Tens Earnings Points Position
5 0 0 0 1 $ 46,760 37th
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 B Hamilton
Nashville 7 4 151 of 151 Running 10,375 B Hamilton Jr.
Richmond 7 14 199 of 200 Accident 6,315 B Hamilton
Texas 13 11 145 of 146 Running 10,945 Joe Ruttman
South Boston12 10 257 of 257 Running 10,250 Ryan Hemphill
Las Vegas 4 14 144 of 146 Ignition 10,340 Ryan Hemphill
California 6* 36 2 of 100 Ignition 9,535 Ricky Bogart
Phoenix 20 26 144 of
152 Accident 6,865 Ryan Hemphill
Homestead (Next Event) Ryan Hemphill
Totals 3087 of 3603 (85.6%) $ 234,380
NEXT
EVENT: Ford 200 at Homestead Miami Speedway in Homestead,
Florida on November 15, 2002. The event will be televised
live on ESPN at 3:30 PM Eastern Time.
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