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 21.191.

I was quicker in qualifying as I managed pole with a time of 20.994.

From then start I took the lead and was able to hold it comfortablly. 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 90 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 260 points.

I was now assured of a top 10 finish in the championship with 4 rounds to go.

Round 15 - Talladega Motor Speedway

The latest round of the championship took place on the high banking of the fastest super speedway of them all, Talladega.

Qualifying on a super speedway is not one of my greatest strengths so I was glad to be quickest in practise with a time of 52.993 .

As usual for a super speedway I qualified down the grid in 20th with a slightly slower time of 53.028. 

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 17 of the 38 laps I had reached 15th when I received the "FUEL EXTREMELY LOW" message and had to pit. To make matters worse I got caught speeding in the pit lane and had to do a drive through!

I rejoined and set about catching the pack. I hadn't gone a lap down which made my task easier and this was borne out by the fact that I took the lead with 7 laps to go.

Another win!

I have now extended my lead at the top of the table to 211 points.

My fastest lap time was 52.353.

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 21/10/2013 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 32.731.

Qualifying was slightly disappointing as I could only manage a time of 32.721 which gave me a 3rd place starting position.

This race could have been  a disaster for me.

My troubles started when I forgot that you couldn't pass any cars before the start finish line. The result a black flag meaning a drive through penalty. Coming in to serve that I was caught speeding! Another black flag, another drive through penalty. With only a few laps on the board I was already a lap down.

By halfway I had clawed my way back to the front however I'd hit a few cars on the way and so soon after taking the lead I was given yet another black flag resulting in yet another drive through penalty.

Having had the halfway on fuel warning I decided to make my pit stop for fuel with 20 laps to go.

I drove as hard and as fair as I could and by some miracle managed to finish 4th!

My fastest lap of the race was a 32.741.

I stayed on top of the championship however my lead was cut to 181 points.

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.