Round 18 - Texas Motor Speedway

Round 18 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 33.799 after the mandatory 10 laps.

I was a tad slower in qualifying but still managed to claim pole position with a time of 33.815.

The 51 lap race was another fuel disaster for me. From the dropping of the flag I led for 41 laps before pitting under a yellow flag for fuel. No one else did. I used the remaining laps to climb back to 13th place.

My best lap of the race was a 33.647 which was my fastest of the race weekend.

I was 5th in the standings - still 4 places higher than the previous season.

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 3rd fastest with a time of 31.627.

Qualifying went even better for me as I qualified in second with a time of 31.643.

I grabbed the lead early in the race and held until lap 26. For the remaining laps I couldn't catch the leader, in fact I fell behind about a tenth of a second every 2 or laps. Finishing second was not a bad result though.
I led a total of 22 laps out of the 39..

My fastest lap of the race was a 31.542.

I stayed in 5th place in the overall standings 443 points behind the current leader.

Rounds 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 20.701.

I couldn't match that time in qualifying but I still managed pole with a time of 21.302.

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. A yellow flag near the end gave the comfort zone to finish the race unopposed. Another win.

I led all of the 72 laps which I think is my best ever performance.

My fastest lap was 20.641, the best of the weekend.

I was now back into 5th in the standings.

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.