In a Nut Shell . . .

Nashville Race Review

Even though we headed to Nashville not knowing exactly what to expect, the No. 17 team was upbeat entering into the Toyota Tundra 200 weekend. We had a bad test with Truck 8 at the track a few weeks prior to the race, so we decided to bring Truck 9 back. This was the same truck we brought home to two third-place finishes at Kansas and Kentucky.

Friday morning we began the day with initial inspection and got through the tech line without any major problems. After tech, we got things ready to hit the track for practice. During the first run David came across the radio and said, “Man, this thing won’t turn in the center.” That brought back major flashbacks to the test we had.

So, what did this mean? . . . Boys, it’s time to dig! The hard work paid off and by the end of the second practice the truck was much better. However, we didn’t realize how good it was until late in the day after we had a chance to sit down and go over our notes.

The feeling among the crew at this point was much more relaxed.

The first focus for Saturday was to get ready for qualifying. We rolled the truck through inspection and out onto pit road, but before qualifying began we decided to make a last minute change with the rear shocks. We brought the truck back to the garage, made the change, then rolled back through inspection and back onto the grid. We were the 22nd truck to make a qualifying run and when all was said and done we sat on the outside of row three in the sixth starting position.

Following qualifying it was time to get our game face on and get ready for the race.

The race seemed short from the start to the checkered flag. Right off the get-go David set his sights on the front of the field. Jason (Overstreet) kept him calm and we eased our way to the front. In all reality, the day ended up being a two-truck race . . . us and the 5.

It was around lap 110, when David cut down a tire that I thought that was the end for the 17. With a little bit of luck and a two-tire call from the pit box, we were able to stay on the lead lap after the caution flag flew while we were pitting for new tires.

Jason told David to take it easy and ride it out. David remained calm and with about 15 (laps) to go he got the call to drop the hammer and that is just what he did. He gained on the 5 but caution flags slowed our progress.

Then late in the race when the 5 truck hit the wall, I felt confident the race was ours. After the caution for that incident, the 5 got a good jump on us at the restart, but I knew we could do it. Another caution flew and that set up a three-lap sprint to the finish. It was just a matter of the right moment.

David took the checkered flag in first and what had been building over the past several races was finally here.

One of the neatest things of the day was when I was making my way to Victory Lane, so many of the guys from the other teams gave a shout out to congratulate me. Victory Lane was cool, it had been a while since I was there. Once we got the festivities going things came back quickly . . . I was able to find my spot on the front row (this time next to D.W.) and enjoyed the moment.

Boys . . . We BROUGHT It!!!!!!!!!!!!