November 17th - November 21st, 2008
Thursday: Editor's Note: This column has been postponed until Monday due to technical issues for Matt McLaughlin. NASCAR's testing ban for 2009 has race teams and fans up in arms. Matt McLaughlin Mouths Off and puts the ban under the microscope, dissecting the pros and cons of cutting costs in this way.
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We were on our way to Nashville last time I was here, and that weekend did not turn out at all the way we were hoping. Nothing went the way we wanted it to, and we just had one of those weeks where we were just off all weekend with our Power Stroke Diesel by International Ford F-150. We figured out pretty fast that we weren’t going to be bringing home that guitar trophy. We still finished on the lead lap, so it could have been worse — but it wasn’t at all the weekend we were looking for.
The next race we had was another Tennessee race, and Bristol went a whole lot better for us. We unloaded strong off the truck, and our Circle Bar Ford F-150 ran strong all night. We ended up coming out of there fifth, so we were real pleased with that. We gained a little ground in the points, too, by moving up a spot to sixth — although Johnny Benson still finished ahead of us, so we didn’t really gain anything on the lead. But there’s still some time left, and we haven’t given up yet. We’re going to take it all the way to the end trying to win this Craftsman Truck Series championship.
Frontstretch Driver Diary contributor Rick Crawford has taken to the skies… in a plane, not in his truck!
Off the track, I’ve taken up a new hobby. I’ve started taking flying lessons. I’m going to be a private pilot. I’ve always loved flying and I’ve always had an interest in it, so I decided to give it a try and take some lessons. I have an instructor that’s really great, and I take private lessons. It’s going really well and I love it so far.
I also got a chance to go check out the new zMAX Dragway, the new dragstrip they built over at Lowe’s Motor Speedway next door here. They had an open house last week, and it’s a really nice facility. They’ll be racing on it for their first event in a few weeks. We have to race in Loudon that week on Saturday afternoon, but I am coming home on Saturday night after the races so I hope to be able to get over there on Sunday and watch John Force and Ashley Force win in the final rounds in those Ford Mustangs.
We’re getting ready to go to Gateway International Raceway in St. Louis next, and I’m looking forward to it. Gateway has always been a good track for us. I enjoy racing there and we’ve done well there in the past, so we’re looking for it to be a good week. We’ll be carrying some extra sponsorship for the Casino Queen there as well, and our teammate Brendan Gaughan will feature the Casino Queen on his truck, too. That’s a casino property on the Mississippi River in St. Louis owned by the Gaughan family, so we hope to do well for them while we’re there. I’ll be back to fill you in on more of our season after we get back from Las Vegas.
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How does Jimmie Johnson compare to Cale Yarborough?
Ten things we hated about the 2008 season
Ten things we loved about the 2008 season
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