The green came back
out, and after only a couple of laps, another quick caution came out.
This is when our Crew Chief shined… He made the call to stay out on the
track, and it put us in third position with only a handful of laps remaining.
Our tires were gone, but because we stayed out, we ended up finishing
7th… Not too bad considering how nothing much seemed to go right all day.
Every team has a leader,
and frankly, I think Jerry Cook (my brother) deserves the credit for the
excellent season we've had thus far. He is a brilliant tactician, an excellent
motivator, but mostly, he has the guts to make the risky calls. Hail to
the (crew) chief!
Some of the
Battle Scars from the Half Mile Oval in Bakersfield Seen After the Race
Preparing for Martinsville
It's interesting that
Bakersfield and Martinsville are back-to-back. Both are short half-milers,
and both eat up brakes. But that's where the similarities end. We did
learn a lot from Bakersfield, mostly in how we should put our brake package
together. We've already ordered new wheels that have a heat-barrier coating,
which will prevent the tire bead from melting. We will also add extra
ventilation ducts going down to the rotors in hopes of keeping them cool
as possible.
"When driving
Martinsville, I'm going to have to keep a cool head, and let the truck
come in."
Because Martinsville
is flat, you have to drive a certain way. Jimmy Hensley has been a great
help with tips on how to drive this track. Quite simply, he says "Patience,
Patience, Patience". The funny thing is, I was going to be a Doctor when
I grew up, but I didn't have the patience…
When driving Martinsville,
I'm going to have to keep a cool head, and let the truck come in. There's
absolutely no banking, so you go get off the brakes just before the corner,
and let the truck roll. I've only raced Martinsville twice before. Both
times I struggled. Why? Well, let's just say that I'm not a doctor.
