By Tommy Praytor, Circle Bar Racing
Photo(s): Rick Crawford at International Truck and Engine hospitality tent before the Power Stroke Diesel 200 at ORP. Compliments of Circle Bar PR.
As the defending Power Stroke Diesel 200 presented by Ford and International champion, Rick Crawford was looking forward to returning to the friendly confines of O’Reilly Raceway Park (ORP). Not only was Crawford returning as last year’s winner but he was also carrying the Power Stroke Diesel by International colors on his ford F-150. When your sponsor is also the sponsor of the race a normal race day routine takes on a few more stops before the green flag flies. With inclement weather holding up the start of the race, Crawford was able to spend more time at International Truck and Engine’s hospitality tent than he would normally. With time on his hands, an open microphone and a stray guitar, Crawford was in rare form and Elvis was ready for the bright lights of O’Reilly Raceway Park.
Coming back to defend his Power Stroke Diesel title, crew chief, Kevin “Cowboy“ Starland, did not have to look far into his Circle Bar stable for the chassis to run at ORP. Chassis CB-17, better known as “Elvis”, has become the team’s favorite short track truck, with 2 wins, one of them at ORP in 2006 and a double handful of top 10’s and top 5’s. Elvis was an easy choice but one that was not without issues. Elvis had been roughed up in his last outing in Memphis and required a rear clip and a lot of work to get ready for ORP. With the title on the line and the team’s sponsor, Power Stroke Diesel by International, as the race sponsor the fab shop was working over time. Elvis came together in time for a shake down at Caraway Speedway the Tuesday before Power Stroke Diesel 200. The afternoon test confirmed Elvis was ready to rock and roll.
Off the hauler Elvis was quickly in the top 10 on the speed charts but both driver and crew chief felt like something was missing to return to victory lane. Between practice sessions the team worked on improving their Power Stroke Diesel by International Ford F-150. Even with the changes, the second practice left the team feeling they were leaving something on the table and they proceeded to change just about everything under the truck to try and get back to victory lane. With qualifying rained out, the field would be set by owner’s points and the Power Stroke Diesel by International team would roll of 5th for the Power Stroke Diesel 200. With the drop of the green flag Elvis was ready to climb the charts but was trapped in the inside lane looking for room to race. By lap 20 the field sorted itself out and Elvis was posting lap times as fast as the leader and moving to the front. By lap 50 Elvis was up to 3rd and still as quick as the leader but needing valuable track position to get to the front of the Power Stroke Diesel 200. With a caution on lap 83 Crawford would bring his Power Stroke Diesel by International Ford F-150 to pit road for 4 fresh Goodyears and a full load of Sunoco fuel. With track position coming at a premium, this would be the team’s only stop of the night. With a couple of other trucks working a different pit strategy, Elvis would return to the track in the 4th position. Under green Elvis was on the move and quickly moved to 3rd. Crawford soon found himself pinned behind Willie Allen while Ron Hornaday was moving up on the inside. Hornaday tapped Allen and Crawford had to check up to miss Allen costing himself valuable positions on the track. With less than 60 laps to go Crawford was now back to 5th and looking for a way around the defending series champion Todd Bodine. After Bodine had cutoff Elvis a few times Crawford used a little gentle persuasion so Elvis could pass the Onion. With 20 to go and Bodine in his mirror, Crawford was as fast as the leader but in dire need of track position. A late caution would bring the end of the Power Stroke Diesel 200 down to a green, white, checkered finish. Having used up what he had to get back by Bodine and try to reel the leaders in, Crawford didn’t have any rubber left for the 2 lap finale and would take home a 4th place finish.
KEVIN “COWBOY” STARLAND: “After winning last year we thought we had a good setup but we struggled in practice. The guys kept swinging at it and we ended up with a top 5 finish.”
RICK CRAWFORD: “I had a lot of fun out there in my Power Stroke Diesel by International Ford F-150. We made some bold moves, and my hat’s off to Kevin ’Cowboy’ Starland and our car chief, Steve McCain. We had 10th place truck, and they made some changes before the green flag, major changes, and it just builds a lot of confidence between me and the team. We just needed a little bit of track position there toward the end. We got shuffled back one time and made it back to fourth. It’s fun running at ORP and I like putting on a good show for the fans."
The Circle Bar/Power Stroke Diesel by International Team will be in action when the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series holds round 15 of the 2007 season in the Toyota 200 at Nashville Superspeedway on Saturday August 11th at 6:00 PM EST. For live trackside reports of practice and qualifying go to truckseries.com. Live coverage of the race provided by Speed, MRN and Sirius Radio.
www.circlebarracing.com or www.rickcrawford.com
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