Round 15 - Talledega Super Speedway

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

My record on the superspeedways is not good so I was pleased with my first ever fastest practise time of 53.019.

As usual for a super speedway I qualified down the grid in 25th with a slightly slower time of 53.466. 

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 32 of the 33 laps I had reached 11th 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 36th (last).

I have now dropped out of the top 5 (6th) 494 points behind the leader.

My fastest lap time was 52.854 my fastest of the weekend and the first time I have broken the 53 second barrier..

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 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 32.782.

Qualifying was slightly disappointing as I could only manage a time of 32.803 which gave me a 2nd 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. When there was a caution period 5 laps prior to the halfway point I pitted for fuel thinking it was good strategy.

After pitting I rejoined at the back of the pack. I started to make my way back to the front but was in no hurry as I believed all the cars in front of me would need to stop for fuel.

The racing at Vegas is very close and because of this I made a few mistakes overtaking cars and was given the black flag. After rejoining I made up to 24th by the time the chequered flag came out.

To compound my misery no one else stopped for fuel!

My fastest lap of the race was a 32.603.

I stayed 5th in standings but now I was 379 points behind which is almost 2 races. The championship looks to be well and truly over.

Round 13 - New Hampshire

The Nascar Craftsman truck series rolled into New Hampshire on June 30th.

This one mile flat oval would prove quite a challenge or so I thought. Practise went well as I set the fastest time of 32.069 on the 7th of the scheduled 10 laps.

In the qualifying session I qualified in pole position with a time of 31.820.

I took the lead early on in the race to get the 5 bonus points for leading a lap. I was never truly comfortable in the lead and this was bore out when the second placed car spun me out on lap 17. Under the yellow flag I was sent to the back of the pack. With 53 laps remaining I begun the climb back up the field. I re-took the lead on lap 45 however I was spun out again on lap 50! From the rear of the field I tried to gain as many positions as possible before the fall of the chequered flag. Lap 68 saw me take the lead again but I was under pressure from the trucks behind so much so that I hit the truck behind with the finishing line in plain sight and out came the black flag. My win was taken away and I was placed 34th.

My fastest lap of the race was a 32.033. I managed to lead 20 of the 70 laps.

I was down to 5th 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 4th fastest time (17.841).

In qualifying I went a tad faster (17.364) and managed to get pole position.

In the race I led for 56 of the 70 laps. This time I managed to keep my cool until the chequered flag. Another win! 

Leading 56 laps gained me 10 bonus points. My fastest racing lap was 16.961 which was faster than both my practise and qualifying times.

I was now up to 4th in the standings.

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 (22.576).

The 2 lap qualifying period went well to as I improved my best time by 1/10 of a second to grab pole position (22.426).

The race went to plan as I ran in the top 2 for the entire 70 laps. I did get one warning for rough contact.

I led for 64 laps which gave me 10 bonus points. My fastest race lap was 22.095 which was quicker than I qualified.

I was up to 5th 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 30.667
.

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 I led the first 12 laps before being spun out. In my desire to get back to the front I got a black flag on lap 18! For the remaining 52 laps I climbed back through the field eventually finishing 3rd.

My fastest lap of the race was a 30.367 which was quicker than my qualifying time!

I was now 5th in the standings

Round 9 - Michigan 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 5th with a time of 41.633.

Qualifying next and the question was could I get further up the grid? The answer was yes as I managed 3rd  with a time of 41.544.

The race turned out to be something special for me - no black flags. On the first lap I passed one car to go 2nd and that is where I stayed until 2 laps from the end where there was a yellow flag period. On the restart I was passed by 4 cars to finish a credible 6th.

My best time of the race was 41.594 which was my fastest of the race weekend!

I was up to 5th in the standings.