LEBANON, Tenn. (August 8, 2010) — Ken Schrader continued his streak of top-10 finishes, earning his fourth straight top-10 in Kevin Harvick Inc. (KHI) equipment. After a solid fourth-place qualifying run, Ken Schrader battled the handling of his truck throughout the night, pulling off a 10th-place finish in the No. 2 Moore’s Marinade Chevrolet Silverado.
After working arduously throughout the day’s two practices to hone in on the setup of the No. 2 machine, the team felt confident that they had their truck prepped for a strong performance in the Nashville 200. Taking the green flag from the second row, a two-truck crash brought out the yellow on lap three with Schrader in the fifth position. Both Schrader and crew chief Butch Hylton determined that it was too early in the race to bring the No. 2 onto pit road, so they remained on the track with the rest of the leaders until green-flag racing resumed on lap seven.
Once racing had restarted, Schrader began to struggle with the handling of the truck, unable to turn into the corners as freely as he wanted, and he dropped to the ninth position by lap nine. He maintained his position until the second yellow flag of the day waved on lap 17 for a competitor’s blown motor. Although Schrader wanted to bring the truck down pit road for service, Hylton determined that the team would employ the same strategy as the leaders, and the No. 2 followed suit when the line of trucks in front of them remained on the track.
Going green on lap 22, a long stretch without a caution would force the field to begin a round of green-flag pit stops on lap 55. Although his lap times were improving, Schrader was unable to progress beyond the seventh position. Bringing the Moore’s Marinade machine down pit road on lap 60, the team opted for four tires, fuel and a track-bar adjustment. Unfortunately, a caution on lap 64 for a wreck on the frontstretch would interrupt the pit stop cycle, putting Schrader one lap down in the 11th position.
Remaining on the track under yellow, the No. 2 team benefited from NASCAR’s wave-around rule, putting Schrader back on the lead lap when the race restarted on lap 72. After a wild restart which put Schrader in the middle of a three-wide configuration for an entire lap, the No. 2 had advanced to the 10th position by lap 87. However, Schrader was still struggling with the handling of the truck, and he was forced to make big arcs into the turns, which cost him time. Fighting to maintain the position, a caution for debris on lap 107 would give the team one final opportunity to adjust on their truck. After changing four tires, adding fuel, performing a track-bar adjustment and putting a spring rubber in the right rear, Schrader emerged from the pits in the 12th position, a huge accomplishment after making so many adjustments.
Taking the final green flag of the night on lap 112, Schrader battled hard for the final 38 laps, earning two positions before crossing the finish line in the 10th position. Todd Bodine went on to take the checkered flag for the second time this season, followed by Austin Dillon, Aric Almirola, Timothy Peters and Johnny Sauter.
“I think we just missed the setup from the beginning of the race,” said Schrader after the Nashville 200. “I never felt like we could get the right rear of the truck up high enough to really get into the turns the way I would have liked. I’m glad I was able to get another top-10 finish for KHI, but I really wanted a much better finish for our new sponsor, Moore’s Marinade.”
The No. 2 now sits third in the Owner’s Point Standings, 24 points out of first place.
The Truck Series hits the track again on Saturday, August 14 for the Too Tough to Tame 200 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, where Ken Schrader will be behind the wheel of the No. 2. The race can be seen live on SPEED at 7:00 p.m. ET.
STATS RECAP
Race Info
August 7, 2010
Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway
Race: 14 of 25
Driver: Ken Schrader
First Practice: 17th (31.578 seconds, 151.967 m.p.h.)
Final Practice: 12th (31.384 seconds, 152.906 m.p.h.)
Started: 4th (31.065 seconds, 154.476 m.p.h.)
Finished: 1st
Laps Led: 0
Owner Point Standings: 3rd (24 points out of first)
Race Length: 150 Laps/200 Miles
Track Layout: 1.333-Mile Oval
Next on the Truck Series Schedule:
Date: August 14, 2010
Driver: Ken Schrader
Track: Darlington (S.C.) Raceway
Event Name: Too Tough to Tame 200
Broadcast Time: SPEED 7:00 p.m. ET