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Track Advantage Washed Out For The Waterloo Tool Storage #63 Team
The Waterloo Tool Storage team and driver Larry Gunselman had high hopes that
the home track advantage, along with three weeks of meticulous preparation,
would give them the upper hand in the “Ram Tough 200” at Gateway Raceway. Lady
luck played her hand, however, as the right front tire ran over debris and went
flat during the qualifying run to put the #63 Ford Truck in the 32nd
starting position.
"You just never know," commented crew chief and owner, Mike Mittler. "The crew
has worked real hard the past three weeks to give Larry a good running truck,
and then something you can't control (cut right front tire) makes you start
from the rear of the pack."
Heavy rains soaked the St. Louis area, for the second year in a row, washing
away the rubber buildup from the previous days running. With the “green track”
the truck had a push in turns 1 & 2. The crew made a track-bar adjustment
and pulled a left front spring rubber during the pit stops to help “free-up”
the truck. Most of the day was run at full throttle, with only three cautions
to allow the crew to make adjustments. Driver Larry Gunselman piloted the #63
Ford Truck to a 23rd finishing position, 4 laps behind the leader.
"The truck is in one piece, with only minor cosmetic left door damage from
a pit road incident," stated Mike Mittler. "Now we can work on the setup for
the next race rather than have to totally rebuild the truck first."
"We had a good run today," commented Larry Gunselman. "The motor was strong,
we had awesome pit stops, but we just couldn't make up for starting in the rear,
especially with as tight as we were in turns 1 & 2. We had almost 200 people
here from our major sponsors Waterloo Tool Storage, Mittler Brothers Machine
& Tool, Childs Tire, Advance Signs, and Ranken Technical College. You always
want to run well, but especially so at your home track and in front of all the
sponsors, family, friends, and fans. Although we hate to see it rain on race
day, we did enjoy the additional opportunity to talk and spend more time with
our sponsor's people today."
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