Round 17 - Atlanta Motorspeedway Georgia

Round 17 of the series took place at the very fast Atlanta Motor Speedway in Georgia.

I started off the race weekend with a very satisfying practise session, where after my 10 laps I was  fastest with a time of 31.616.

Qualifying didn't as well for me as I qualified in second with a time of 31.664.

I grabbed the lead early in the race and held until lap 30 when I had to pit for fuel. For the remaining laps I tried to catch the leader. I managed to get back to 6th by the time the chequred flag fell.
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I led a total of 13 laps out of the 52.

My fastest lap of the race was a 31.535.

I was now in 2nd place in the overall standings 4 points behind the current leader.

Round 16 - Martinsville

Round 16 of the series took place on the tight 'paper clip' 0.5 mile oval that is Martinsville.

I was quckest over the 10 lap practise session with a time of 21.441.

I was quicker in qualifying as I managed pole with a time of 21.022.

From then start I took the lead and was able to hold it comfortablely. The only problem I had was when I was lapping the slower cars which on an half mile oval comes very quickly. I did get a warning about rough driving but did avoid the dreaded black flag. Another win for the collection.
 

I led all of the 80 laps which I think is my best ever performance.

My fastest lap was 20.721, the best of the weekend.

I was now leading the championship by 6 points.

 

 

Round 15 - Talledega Motor Speedway

The latest round of the championship took place on the high banking of the fastest superspeedway of them all, Talledega.

Qualifying on a super speedway is not one of my greatest strengths so I was glad to be 2nd quickest in practise with a time of 53.349 .

As usual for a super speedway I qualified down the grid in 24th with a slightly slower time of 53.207. 

I adopted the same tactic as last series when I stayed where I was in the pack until the cars thinned out somewhat which allowed me safer passage through the pack.

By lap 23 of the 38 laps I had reached 1st my highest ever position in a super-speedway race when disaster struck. I received the "FUEL EXTREMELY LOW" message and had to pit. No other car in the race ran short of fuel!

I rejoined to finish 29th.

I have now dropped out of the top 3 (4th) 54 points behind the leader.

My fastest lap time was 52.868 my fastest of the weekend.

Round 14 - Las Vegas Motor Speedway

I was on good form and feeling confident of a good result at the very fast Las Vegas Motor Speedway when the trucks arrived on 02/09/2012 for round 14 of the series.

The 10 laps practise session went very well as I was fastest after the 10 laps with a time of 32.771.

Qualifying was slightly disappointing as I could only manage a time of 32.783 which gave me a 4th place starting position.

This race was a disaster for me. Some of the 1.5 mile speedwaysare so fast that a fuel stop is required to complete the race. By now I should hae been used to this but for some reason today I just didn't hear the low fuel warning. I didn't realise my mistake until 2 laps from the end.

After pitting I rejoined at the back of the pack. I started to make my way back as best I could but could only get as far as 19th. This was only because I had previously lapped quite a few cars.

To compound my misery no one else stopped for fuel!

My fastest lap of the race was a 32.559.

I dropped to 3rd in the points 35 behind. The championship is still within my grasp.

 

 

Round 13 - New Hampshire

The Nascar Craftsman truck series rolled into New Hampshire on August 27th.

This one mile flat oval would prove quite a challenge or so I thought. Practise went well as I set the fastest time of 32.150.

In the qualifying session I qualified in pole position with a time of 32.377.

I took the lead early on in the race to get the 5 bonus points for leading a lap. I was faitly comfortable in the lead until I got the "half way on fuel" warning four laps from half distance. I decided to pit 10 laps later when I had secured the bonus points for leading the most laps. After pitting I made my way back to 3rd with 2 laps to go only top receive the dreaded black flag. I ended up in 20th. No one else stopped for fuel.

My fastest lap of the race was a 32.279. I managed to lead 37 of the 82 laps.
 

I was down to 2nd in the standings.

 

 

 

 

Round 12 Bristol Motor Speedway

The question as the trucks rolled into Bristol was whether the recent upturn in my form continue at Nascar's toughest short track.

With a lot of cars on track at one time setting a fast time in practise proved difficult but midway through the session I managed to set the fastest time (17.367).

In qualifying I went a tad faster (17.171) and managed to get pole position.

In the race I led all of the 80 laps. This time I managed to keep my cool until the chequered flag. Another win! 

Leading 80 laps gained me 10 bonus points. My fastest racing lap was 16.640 which was faster than both my practise and qualifying times.

I was now leading the championship by 39 points.

Round 11 - Indianapolis Raceway Park

Round 11 of the series took place at O'Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis. The trucks do not race at the more famous motor speedway.

After somewhat disappointing finish at Milwaukee I wasn't expecting good things from this race, however  the race weekend started brightly enough when I set the fastest time in practise (22.769).

The 2 lap qualifying period went well to as I improved my best time by 3/10s of a second to grab pole position (22.453).

The race went to plan as I ran in the top 2 for the entire 80 laps. I did get one warning for rough contact.

I led for 75 laps which gave me 10 bonus points. My fastest race lap was 21.926 which was quicker than I qualified.

I was up to 2nd in the standings.

Round 10 - Milwaukee Mile

The famous Milwaukee Mile played host to round 10 of the series.

I was fastest after the 10 lap practise session with a time of 30.333.
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Could I go one better in qualifying and grab the pole? The answer was yes, a time of 30.285 was good enough!

In the race disaster struck as early as lap 2 when I spun out. I fought back to the front but too aggressiely for the stewards as I was black flagged on lap 46. Undettered I fought back to finish on the podium in 3rd place. I led 27 of the 80 laps.

My fastest lap of the race was a 30.129 which was quicker than my qualifying time!

I was now up to 2nd in the standings

Round 9 - Michigam International Speedway

Michigan Super Speedway was home to round 9 of the series.

This high banked oval which boasts speeds of 153mph in the corners is one of Nascar's fastest tracks.

The race weekend started off with the mandatory 10 lap practise session. I was just inside the top 5, placing 3rd with a time of 41.442.

Qualifying next and the question was could I get further up the grid? The answer was no as I could only manage 6th.

The race turned out to be something special for me - no black flags. I ran in the top 3 all race, mostly either 1st or second but had the misfortune to drop to third two laps from the finish. I was happy enough with an uneventful race and a podium finish.

My best time of the race was 41.448 not quite my fastest of the race weekend.

I was up to 5th in the standings.

Round 8 - Texas Motor Speedway

Round 8 took place at one of the fastest tracks on the championship circuit, Texas Motorspeedway.

The race weekend started well as I was fastest straight out of the box in practise with a time of 33.836 after the mandatory 10 laps.

I was a tad faster in qualifying and managed to claim pole position with a time of 33.858.

The 67 lap race was a success for me. In most previous races at Texas I'd been leading the race but had run out of fuel very close to the end with my opposition making it to the end. With the 5% increase in race length I was sure everyone would have to pit.

With this in mind I led for the first 34 laps until there was a caution period. I decided to take advantage of the yellow and pitted for fresh tyres and fuel. I restarted dead last but quickly began to make my way through the pack. My strategy played out during the last 10 laps or so when all of the other cars pitted for fuel. I was able to pass them and finish first.

My best lap of the race was a 33.663 which was my fastest of the race weekend.

I was 6th in the standings, 91 points behind the leader.

Round 7 - Dover, Delaware

The Monster Mile that is Dover played host to round 7 of the series.

As with recent rounds in practise I was fastest with a best time of 27.190.

Qualifying went well as I posted the fastest time and secured another pole position (27.088).

The raced turned out to be yet another fuel related disaster.

I kept the lead from pole for the majority of the laps. There were 2 yellow flag periods (not caused by me) before halfway so when I got the 'halfway on fuel' message just as I reached the mid point of the race I knew that I would either have to pit or if I got lucky run out as I passed the chequered flag.

Alas, for me the 'fuel almost out' message spelt the end of my race as I received it with only 5 laps to go.

To make matters worse I was caught speeding on the pit lane and had to serve a drive through penalty.

I ended up 36th and last.

 

My best lap of the race was 26.993.

I led 70 of the 80 laps.

I was now 7th in the chanpionship standings 154 points behind the leader.

Round 6 - Lowes Motor Speedway

The sixth round of series saw the trucks roll in to Lowes motorspeedway (formerly Charlotte) in North Carolina.

Another solid practise session where again I was fastest with a time of  32.555 after the 10 laps.

Qualifying almost followed the pattern of practise as I was fastest with a time of 32.465.

I led for most of the first half of this race and as it went on I began to confidently think of victory.
Just before halfway I was notified that I was halfway on fuel. I decided to pit after I had recieved my bonus points for leading the most laps.

I managed to recover to finish 4th however as has happened previously no one else stopped for fuel!

I led 28 of the 54 laps.

I was up to 5th in the standings, 106 points behind.

I set a fastest time of 32.420.