Round 13 - New Hampshire

The Nascar Craftsman truck series rolled into New Hampshire on September 23rd.

This one mile flat oval would prove quite a challenge or so I thought. Practise went well as I set the fastest time of 32.015.

In the qualifying session I qualified in pole position with a time of 31.909.

I took the lead early on in the race to get the 5 bonus points for leading a lap. I was fairly comfortable in the lead until I got the "half way on fuel" warning five laps from half distance. I decided to pit 5 laps later when I had secured the bonus points for leading the most laps. After pitting I made my way back to 1st! Another win.. No one else stopped for fuel.

My fastest lap of the race was a 32.071. I managed to lead 40 of the 90 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 (17.364).

In qualifying I managed to get pole position.

In the race I led 71 of the 90 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 161 points, almost a race in hand.

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 (22.208).

The 2 lap qualifying period went well to as I grabbed pole position (22.259).

The race went to plan as I ran in the top 2 for the entire 90 laps. I did get one warning for rough contact.

I led for 89 laps which gave me 10 bonus points. My fastest race lap was 21.918 which was quicker than I qualified.

I was up to 1st in the standings 121 points ahead of the field..

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 30.266.
.

Could I go into qualifying and grab the pole? The answer was yes, a time of 29.970 was good enough!

In the race I led for most of the first 49 laps after which I spun coming out of turn 2. I managed to recover the lead but in doing so I was given another black flag on lap 70. I used the remaining 20 laps to recover to 5th place.

My fastest lap of the race was a 29.745 which was quicker than my qualifying time!

I was now 1st in the standings 75 points ahead.

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 2nd with a time of 41.467.

Qualifying next and the question was could I get further up the grid? The answer was no as I could only manage 2nd again with times of 41.505 and 41.555.

The race turned out to be something special for me - no black flags. I ran in the top 2 all race, mostly 1st. I led 36 of the 45 laps to easily secure all the bonus points. Another win and another giant step towards the championship.

My best time of the race was 41.338 my fastest of the race weekend.

I was still 1st 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 33.808 after the mandatory 10 laps.

I was a tad slower in qualifying but still managed to claim pole position with a time of 33.832.

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 40 laps and then decided to pit for fresh tyres and fuel. I rejoined dead last but quickly began to make my way through the pack. My strategy was playing out well until I caused a yellow 20 laps from the end by hitting a car slowing to enter the pit lane.

With just under 20 laps to go I managed to pass the 7 remaining cars in front of me to record another win.

My best lap of the race was a 33.700 which was my fastest of the race weekend.

I was 1st in the standings, 33 points ahead.

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 27.165.

Qualifying went well as I posted the fastest time and secured another pole position (27.132).

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

I kept the lead from pole for the majority of the early laps. However just before halfway I got the 'halfway on fuel' message. I knew that I would either have to pit or if I got lucky run out as I passed the chequered flag.

I decided to pit early so as to give myself enough time to make my through the field. I worked my way up to 2nd with a couple of laps left. I touched the leader as I went for the overtake and received the black flag for dangerous driving! I finished in the pit lane serving the penalty in 17th position.

My best lap of the race was 26.895.

I led 45 of the 90 laps.

I was now 3rd in the Championship standings 30 points behind the leader.