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.