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TV: ESPN2 (Live) 2:00PM-Eastern Time
Radio: MRN (Live) 1:30PM-Eastern Time
Bill Lester No. 8 Dodge Motorsports Race Notes
Performance Record: Martinsville
Speedway
Craftsman Truck Series (No Starts in
Series at Facility)
No More Mister Nice Guy:
For the first two events in the 2002 NASCAR
Craftsman Truck Series season, Bill Lester has had a fast truck but someone
has always taken him out of contention for the solid finish. After
Darlington, Lester said that it was time to make a change.
“I’m getting tired of being the proverbial pinball,” said Lester. “It just
doesn’t seem to matter how good the truck is we keep getting in someone
else’s mistake. I guess it’s bad racing luck but it has been hard to
handle. I know how hard every one of these guys work on this truck, and to
see their faces after the heartbreak we have suffered early on this year is
just tough. So starting with Martinsville, it’s no more mister nice guy.
I’m going to the front with what Kip (McCord) and I are calling, calculated
aggression.”
Lester was running in the top five just before being involved in a
late-race accident that relegated him to an 18th place finish at Daytona.
Then in Darlington, Lester was running in the 15th position when a fellow
competitor failed to slow down for turn three and ran in the back of the
No. 8 truck, sending it hard into the wall.
“The one good thing about our misfortune is the resilience of the guys,”
said Lester. “It would have been really easy to just take the truck to the
hauler and park it. But this Bobby Hamilton Racing team believes in no DNFs
(Did Not Finish). So no matter what happens, we fix it and get back out on
the track to finish. There is just no quit in these guys.”
Rookie of the Year:
After the event in Darlington, Lester
remained in the third position in the NASCAR Rookie of the Year battle,
just five points behind Jason Small.
Spotter:
Owner Bobby Hamilton is to be the spotter
for Lester during the running of the Martinsville Speedway event. This
should be a big plus for Lester, considering that Hamilton won the event
two years ago and is the all-time leader in laps and miles lead in Truck
Series history at the facility, with 428 laps for 225.13 miles.
Last Year:
Martinsville was something to forget for the
No. 8 Dodge Team. Last year, Willy T. Ribbs did not make the field for the
Advance Auto Parts 250.
Testing:
Bobby Hamilton Racing will test on Tuesday,
April 9, 2002 at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in Greenville, South Carolina
on their way to Martinsville Speedway. All three of Hamilton’s teams (No.
4, No. 8, No. 18) will be on hand for the test.
This Week’s Truck: Lester will be
driving “Rocket” at Martinsville Speedway. It is the same truck that Lester
drove at Darlington Speedway. It is also the same truck that the No. 8 team
recorded their best finish, 13th place, in last year at Pikes Peak.
Performance Chart: Rocket
DATE RACE START/FINISH DRIVER
3-4-01 Homestead 23 19 Willy T Ribbs
3-17-01 Bakersfield 23 28 Willy T Ribbs
5-12-01 Darlington 29 29 Willy T. Ribbs
5-20-01 Pikes Peak 23 13 Willy T. Ribbs
6-1-01 Dover 28 19 Willy T. Ribbs
6-30-01 Milwaukee 23 18 Willy T. Ribbs
7-14-01 Kentucky 24 30 Willy T. Ribbs
8-18-01 Chicago 18 28 Willy T. Ribbs
9-28-01 South Boston 28 28 Willy T. Ribbs
3-15-02 Darlington 13 28 Bill Lester
Lester’s 2002 Craftsman Truck Series Event Results
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 (Next Event)
Totals 213 of 247 (86.2%) $ 22,225
Best Start: 10th @ Nashville Super
Speedway 8-10-01
Best Finish: 18th twice @ Daytona
International Speedway 2-15-02 and
Phoenix International Raceway 10-26-01
Biggest Purse: $ 15,165 @ Daytona
International Speedway 2-15-02
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