Chevrolet Trucks Blog

Among the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series circuit, Bristol Motor Speedway is considered to be the most exhilarating truck race wars. In preparation for the event prope, 30 competing teams had the time to road test the track.

The Bristol Motor Speedway race track has undergone a lot of changes here and there to improve concrete surface and add progressive banking. For these modifications, it was only necessary for racers to try out the new and improved track. Truck racer banking on a Chevrolet Truck Brendan Gaughan and the South Point Racing team were among the first to skid the wheels on the track. The eight-hour road test will enable the race participants to get the feel of the new tracks and will have enough time to do the necessary preparations and adjustments for the race proper set on August 22.

“We had a good truck, and we definitely got some laps in. We know what the new track feels like, and we have a good idea of what we need to do to get better,” said Gaughan.

Veteran racer Gaughan was able to achieve 318 laps on the .533 mile, which was considered to be the highest record for the drivers at the test, Tennessee short track. On the fast lane, racer Travis Kvapil registered a 16.040 seconds for the quickest lap time. On the other hand, Gaughan, who clocked in at 16.142 second per lap, was able to register the sixth fastest time of the day.

“One of the things we’ve been talking about is how far this South Point Chevrolet team has come in terms of preparation, and we unloaded good,” said Gaughan . “We were one of the first 10 trucks on the race track, and Bryan Berry (crew chief) and Mike Roos (shock specialist) had stuff they wanted to try, and we tried it. We never became the best truck today. I have to say that I don’t think we’re the happiest bunch here at the end of the day. We do not think we have a Chevrolet yet that can win this race, but we ended up sixth on the board.”

A good number of modifications were made on the Chevrolet Truck so that it can work well in any situation.

“We only changed the front and the back and all four shocks of the Chevrolet Truck,” said Berry. “Bristol is not the same monster that it used to be. If I knew whole answer, we’d be the fastest truck here.”

The Chevrolet Truck has undergone changes and upgrades especially in its suspension system. A huge vehicle like this, after all, needs a lot of powerful road control.

“The track is definitely smoother. The big transitions that we used to have to worry about as far as the shock package we would run, we don’t have to worry about now. We’re down on front spring, too. All that figures into the overall package here.”

Although the team still has about two to three weeks left before the truck race wars, South Point is not holding its horse to make the truck even better. More modification will sure be done as road tests continue. With all the preparation, the team hopes to get the top spots for the Bristol Motor Speedway.

“We ended today with changes we wanted to make, but I think we can make it better than what it is now. We ran 300 laps but we would sure like to run a 100 more,” said Gaughan. “There will probably be some more rubber on the track when we come back in August, and the race track should be a little faster. We’re going to go back, study what we learned, and see if we can get some more speed and put out South Point Chevrolet on top of the board.”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 31st, 2007 at 6:00 am and is filed under Chevrolet truck, Chevrolet news. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.